I had a wonderful conversation with my fellow Directors of Australian Coastal Health Collective last week and I hope they don’t mind if I share some elements of it with you. Sometimes, we find ourselves around wisdom that is just too precious not to share. I believe Rhani Pearson and Roxanne Paynter, my amazing colleagues may just inspire you too.
We were having our weekly Directors meeting when we each shared how it is to be in the world at the moment. Where we live on the Gold Coast has been hit hard by flooding. Our neighbours in Brisbane were also affected and the nearby cities of Northern New South Wales were devastated. Some towns unlikely to be rebuilt. It is not all that long ago that we lived through and helped our friends recover from the same devastating flood waters.
Globally, we are all feeling the pain for the people of the Ukraine and at times are at a loss as to how this warfare could happen again and why more can’t be done to save the courageous citizens fighting for their homeland.
We can feel helpless. When we are inundated by news of the world and living through devastating times locally, we sit within the confines of our safe little worlds and wonder what can we do? We want to help but what can one individual do when we are constantly bombarded by events that cause so much pain and suffering.
And this is where those few little words, come into being. Just be You! The World Needs More of the Magic Only You Can Create. I put those words into a meme years ago and every day since they have been relevant, many even more so with each passing day.
So, what was it the Directors of Australian Coastal Health Collective discussed at their most recent meeting? It was how do we help and how do we support our clients to feel as if they are making a positive influence in the world today.
Collectively, as if sharing the same brain, we instantly agreed. It is that each person can play their part in the world that only they can play. We are all counsellors, and our role is to show up each day and be truly present for our clients. We leave at the door our own feelings of pain and we show up authentically to be present for each and every client we have booked that day. That is our superpower. Our empathy, skills and training allows us to hold a safe space for our clients to say anything. We metaphorically hold them and allow them to feel whatever it is they are feeling and say whatever it is they need to say. And often, in speaking these words they are given a voice for the very first time. I do not know how many times in my career I have heard the words, “I have never told anyone else that.” Each time I hear these words I feel honoured that I have played this role for someone else.
In my other career as an author and a publisher, I felt for a day or two unsure as to what I should do to help others. My Directors reminded me that as a writer I have a certain skill to reach people. You are reading this now, and people will read this blog a year from now. It is through the written word writers can inspire. The journalists among us will keep us updated with the current global and local news. The non-fiction and memoir writers will tell the story of this moment in time in history. The fiction writers may take the facts and create a world where something important is learnt from the pain that people have suffered. As the President of the Gold Coast Writers’ Association, I have written along a similar theme for the March newsletter. I want to encourage writers to create a moment in time, a distraction, words that entertain, that give hope or make us laugh.
The morale of this blog is… you be you! Each and every one of us has a superpower, a special skill or a passion that no one else has. We are each unique and we each help in our own way. If you are a teacher, hold that safe space for our youth. Help them navigate the truth from the fiction. If you are medical staff, you are likely exhausted from the pandemic, but you keep showing up and providing your expertise, and in doing so, saving lives. If you transport goods, you are keeping us fed, even when supplies can be in short demand. If you are a painter or a musician, you are creating images or music that allows our hearts to feel a little lighter. You might bring us to tears, but those tears are needing a reason to fall. If you are a kind neighbour, you might check on those living alone, bake a cake or share in a chat over a warm beverage
Even if you have nothing left to give, you probably don’t realise how much someone is inspired by your smile. You are magic. And you have magic that is uniquely yours. Thank you for showing up when you can and for making a difference in the world.
Keep on being your magical self. You all see you and cherish you for it.
By Kellie M Cox
Director, Counsellor, Author, Publisher.