Self Care Archives - Page 2 of 3 - ...metaphorically speaking

25507789_1647046532024233_5043889748606638176_n

5 Nature Therapy Habits You Can Start Today

August 23, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Ecotherapy Healing with nature Health and wellbeing Mindfulness Nature and Forest Therapy Nature Connection Challenge Self Care Therapy on the Go Wellbeing

Want to spend more time in nature? Well if you need an excuse, here’s one. Spending more time mindfully in the outdoors will boost your immune system, take away your stress, help you sleep better and boost your creativity.

With the explosion of scientific research on the benefits of being in nature for mental health and wellbeing, you really can’t afford to not go outdoors. Here are five quick and easy ways to include more nature in your day.

1. Take your lunch break. Outside.

Too many of us work through our lunch break at work, either because that’s what everyone else does and we want to fit in, or we just don’t have time. Well, the truth is you will have a more productive afternoon if you give your brain a break. So turn off the computer, leave your devices behind and take your lunch to the park. Leave work problems at work; they will still be there when you get back. Sit and observe what is going on around you, breath the fresh air, listen to the birds. Return to your desk feeling refreshed and ready to tackle that To Do List.

2. Start a Sit Spot practice. Outside.

A Sit Spot is a spot in nature to simply connect, relax and observe. The ideal sit spot is in a natural area where two ecosystems meet, such as the edge where a meadow meets a forest. Choose a place you can visit frequently without too much effort, even if it is less than ideal. Your backyard can make a great sit spot.

Sit still and quietly, so that birds and animals nearby get past the initial alarm they feel when a human shows up. The longer and more often you visit, the more you’ll experience. The local animals will get to know you and become more accepting of your presence.

Clear your mind. Do nothing. Just notice.

3. Make a natural brew. And drink it outside.

Growing your own food is a great way to develop your connection with nature. Start by growing a few herbs in pots to make refreshing teas.

Treat yourself to a natural herbal brew once a day. Enjoy the pleasure of interacting with the plant using all your senses – sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing and bodily awareness, then go ahead and harvest a few leaves.

Find a place in your backyard to sit and enjoy your tea. At first, explore the tea without tasting by using your other senses. Then take a sip of the tea and explore its flavour and texture. Drink a full cup and notice its effect on you over the remainder of the day.

4. Do your exercise. Outside.

Apart from saving a lot of money on gym fees, exercising outside exposes you to the sounds of the leaves rustling in the trees, the feeling of fresh crisp air on your skin and the sense of spaciousness.

Rewild your body through real and practical natural movements like running, walking, leaping, dancing, throwing, balancing, crawling, climbing and hunting. Moving the way our ancestors did promotes strong bone growth, natural conditioning and mental fitness.
Incorporate a way to get to work without using the car.

5. Walk with your shoes off. Outside.

Once a day, take off your shoes and observe what it feels like to be connected to the earth. Bring the focus of your attention to the souls of your feet. Step slowly and intentionally noticing the effect of contact on your body.

The earth is endowed with electrons which are absorbed through your feet. There is evidence showing this grounding practice is good for your physical health like improving your sleep and reducing pain and inflammation. Our great ancestors never wore shoes and they were a pretty healthy mob.

You might also like to read: 5 Intentional Ways to Bring Nature Therapy Indoors.

For more quick and easy Nature Therapy practices you can incorporate into your day, sign up to my Newsletter and I will send you my free e-book featuring the 21 Day Nature Therapy Challenge. That’s 21 days of Nature Therapy ideas to help you develop a healthy new habit.

Riding out the Waves of Emotion with and in Nature

July 25, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Ecotherapy Feelings and Emotions Healing with nature Health and wellbeing Mindfulness Nature and Forest Therapy Self Care Shame Social and emotional wellbeing Spiritual practices Stress Therapy on the Go Wellbeing

What would it be like if we responded to perceived ‘negative’ feelings in the same way we responded to ‘perceived’ positive feelings? You know the feelings I’m talking about; the ones that make our body feel uncomfortable. Anger, sadness, grief, guilt, pain, hurt, shame, jealousy and the like. Growing up we learn to push these feelings away, ignore them, get over them, put a lid on them or deny them. In fact, society expects us to. And if we can’t, then we are told to go to a counsellor to learn how to, because there must be something wrong with us.

What if instead we were to normalise these feelings, rather than to see them as abnormal or bad? After all, it’s only the behaviour that accompanies these feelings that may cause a problem, not the feeling itself. Somewhere along the line society has labelled emotions ‘negative’ and ‘positive’. The so named ‘negative’ ones we want to avoid. The ‘positive’ ones we crave more of. We should to be happy all the time, right?

What if we were instead to ride through the wave of perceived ‘negative’ emotion, like a piece of driftwood that rides the ocean currents, knowing eventually the rough and tumble will be over and it will wash up on the shore, ready to dry out and fulfil its potential in the sun?

Nature has much to teach us about living with our emotions, just as nature is a stimulus for experiencing emotion. Nature shares with us her awesome presence and we experience feelings of awe and wonder staring at a sky filled with millions of stars. We dwell in delight and joy at the sound of birdsong or a fleeting visit from a timid animal in the forest. We are wrapped up in happiness and excitement as we discover unexplored, beautiful places that take our breath away. Our bodies respond to these sensory experiences in pleasurable ways. We are totally present in the here and now, relishing in the feeling of the moment.

The skill of being mindful in nature can be applied to all our emotions, not just the ones that give us sensations of comfort. Nature provides some clues about this. A fire sweeping through the bush is horrifying and scary. Trees do not enjoy having their leaves stripped bare or bark scarred. But they stand there, remaining steadfast. They ride it out. They slow down their breathing and conserve their energy. Trees have learnt how to protect themselves from past experience by growing thick bark. Eventually, the smoke clears, the rains come, and seeds burst forth in regrowth.

What if we were to sit with our emotion in the moment and bring the same kind of awareness to our experience, as we do with ‘positive’ emotions? To sit and dwell in the pit of crappiness, to bring awareness to the tightness in our stomach, to be accepting of our vulnerability, to notice the change in sensations as the feeling eventually passes.

What if we were to treat our emotions like a friend to get to know rather than an enemy to run away from. With curiosity, get to know its habits, its likes, its dislikes. If you can recognise the signs of its arrival, you can be prepared, and find a place to sit and ride it out (preferably in nature which has immediate calming and relaxation effects).

Indigenous peoples do not push their grief away or hide it or try to move through it quickly. They spend many days or weeks, sometimes months expressing their sorrow after the passing of loved ones. They feel it shifting through their bodies as they dance and sing to the natural rhythms of the earth.

Experiencing and sitting with the full gamut of emotions is what it means to be human.

For those that have experienced trauma, the experience of sitting with emotions can be much more difficult. Our response, driven by the brain’s need to protect us, might shut our body down completely so we don’t have to feel at all, or help us get ready to fight or run away from a perceived threat. This is where nature’s healing powers can really do its work. When uncomfortable or painful feelings come to the fore, nature provides the distraction needed to calm our over-reactive limbic system. Taking some time to sit in green space with the sun on your face, the breeze drifting over your skin or the grass beneath your feet, is the first step to retraining your brain through a mindfulness practice. Building up the muscles in your brain to bring awareness to your felt sense, slowly makes space for the more uncomfortable feelings to be explored in small steps over time. Sometimes a support person or counsellor is needed to guide this process.

Every feeling we have is normal. They are part of this journey called life. They come and go. Even those that are a result of traumatic experience can be healed, through a practice of mindfulness in nature.

Be gentle on yourself. Sit with your emotions. All of them. Breathe through them. Notice their passing.

Nature is brave enough to do it. Humans are nature, so we can too.

Stressed at Work? Take it Outside.

May 30, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Eco-social work Ecotherapy Forest bathing Healing with nature Health and wellbeing Mental health Nature and Forest Therapy Self Care Stress Wellbeing Workplace Wellbeing

Did you know that more than half of the Australian workforce is stressed and almost just as many of us will go on to experience mental illness? Stress related claims cost Australian business over $200 million annually!

The impact of stress usually results in deteriorating work performance, taking more time off and running down your immune system. Illness has a direct effect on both the quality and quantity of your work. You will work more slowly than usual, make more mistakes or need to repeat tasks. This lower labour productivity translates to increased costs for employers.

It’s a pretty depressing picture, isn’t it? What’s going on? Why are we such a stressed out bunch? Well, there’s probably a lot of reasons! And something needs to change. We spend a lot of our lives at work, we deserve to be happy and for work to be a fun and relaxed place to be, where we feel respected by our (not stressed out) colleagues and valued by our (not stressed out) boss.

One view is that people are spending much less time in nature and that we are suffering from ‘nature deficit disorder’ which affects us mentally, physically and spiritually. I’ve been doing a lot of research recently around the effects of nature on health and wellbeing and how this carries over into our work life. People who spend time in nature are not only happier and healthier but also smarter and more successful inside the office. Happy people are 31% more productive, less absent with 23% fewer fatigue symptoms and up to 10% more engaged in their work. The benefits flow on to business with a happy workforce bringing in 20% higher profits. It’s a win, win for everybody.

One study showed that staff on long-term sick leave from stress related illness show improvements in functioning and mood after being in a forest. Even just looking at trees out a window has a positive effect on mood; workers experience less frustration, more patience, less health complaints and higher job satisfaction.

Employers that invest in staff health and wellbeing can expect increased work performance and productivity, cost savings from higher retention and lower absenteeism, and a happier organisational culture.

So what can you do to bring these benefits of nature into your office space? Here’s a few ideas.

Take your lunch break outside. Go for a walk to a nearby park and lie under the trees or ask your boss for an outdoor sit space to eat. Get your daily boost of Vitamin D and invite in the sights, sounds and textures in your environment to relax and restore your mind, body and soul.
Bring a pot plant to put on your desk. They provide numerous benefits such as cleaning the air, helping to relieve stress, contributing to your creativity and giving your eyes a break from the computer.
Add nature to your commute. If you walk or cycle, change your route to include a park. If you catch public transport, be intentional about noticing nature on your route. Get on later, or off earlier so you can include outdoor time as part of your journey.
Take your next meeting outside or try a walking meeting in a natural space. Being in nature brings with it better decision making, more creativity and alertness.
Turn your desk around so you are facing the window and can give your eyes a rest from the computer now and then.
Open the blinds to allow the natural sunlight to flood the room. Or better still open your window to let in the natural (non-airconditioned) air and the sounds of the birds or leaves rustling in the wind.
Block out the office noise and listen to nature sounds like running water, bird song and gentle rain on your headphones.
Hang up a painting, artwork or photography showcasing nature’s wonders or install a nature computer screen-saver. Even looking at nature has health benefits too!
Have a nature play table in your office with shells, stones, bark, feathers or other things you find, alongside your oil burner decanting a natural pine scent. Colleagues that visit might linger a while longer!
Sweet talk the boss into investing in biophilia as a core design principle in the office or outdoor spaces. For inspiration check out what Google and Ferrari have done.

This Saturday at #StartUpsCoffsCoast I will be launching a new service to promote a nature-based approach to health and wellbeing in the workplace. This includes Half-Day Corporate Wellbeing Sessions for team-building, planning days and Corporate events; Guided Lunchtime Daily Doses for Staff, and access to Consultation Services to develop and implement Green Wellbeing policies, drawing on the combination of professional expertise at Nature and Wellbeing Australia. My new look website with more details is on its way very soon.

I hope to see you in nature. And don’t forget to take the boss with you!

33186784_1809177755811109_5291953046488612864_n

A Grief Encounter with Nature

May 23, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Ecotherapy Grief and Loss Healing with nature Health and wellbeing My personal journey Nature and Forest Therapy Self Care

As much as it hurts to write this because my sadness is raw and alive and being lived in this very moment, I want everyone to know that when you are in the midst of grief, nature has your back.

Back in March my mother had a fall and broke her hip. Upon admission to hospital it was discovered she had sepsis, life threatening blood poisoning. This kills a lot of people! I hopped on a plane and flew ‘home’ to see her; it was touch and go for a while. Over the next two weeks, the surgery was on, then off, then on again, then mum wasn’t well enough to operate on. At one stage she was going to have to learn to live with a broken hip, because her heart might not survive an operation.

Meanwhile a few days after mum’s accident, my dad fell and was discovered passed out many hours later in the hot sun. He suffered first degree burns to his legs and face from lying on a metal ramp. Severely dehydrated, he was also lucky to be alive.

Was this really happening? Two parents in hospital. It was as if time had slowed down so much that I had trouble breathing. I needed space. I needed air. I needed time to process this.

I am grateful I had the opportunity to just walk and ride and run outside on my brothers farm (I don’t usually run because my knees aren’t up to it, but I did it anyway because I knew it wouldn’t hurt any more than my heart). I climbed the old gum tree I played in as a child, reminiscing about fun imaginary times and appreciating opportunities laid out for my future there. As I gazed towards the setting sun over long, dry grass blowing in the wind, my tears fell on the brown, cracked earth, momentarily breaking the drought. I lay on the grass, staring at aging eucalypts in the paddock, which had lost hope and turned an unsightly brown. They were doing it tough too.

My favourite childhood memories are growing in this gum tree.

Eventually another surgery opportunity presented itself to my mum in Melbourne. And dad agreed to skin grafts. Can you believe they both travelled to the big city on the same day? Weird. Coincidence.

Mum didn’t quite make the painful three hour journey in the back of the ambulance, having to stop momentarily at another hospital to administer more pain medication and stabilise her. After numerous set backs including infections and low blood pressure, she finally had her operation two weeks after the fall. I had made peace with the fact that she might not survive it. It was a nervous moment. I was beside dad’s bed when his blood pressure dropped so low that his heart monitor alarm went off. My own heart skipped a beat; life on a knife edge.

A lot of time was spent bedside. Or travelling to hospital. Or negotiating the public transport between two hospitals in a city that doesn’t know how to go slow. I sought nature again, and space, and air. All I saw were tall buildings of concrete crowding out the warm sun and other depressed-looking city folk stuck on the mouse’s wheel. The only trees I saw were in a beautiful park, from nine stories up out a hospital window. I was desperate to get there to feel the earth under my feet, to run amongst the autumn leaves, to breathe freely, but I never did. The weather had turned so bitterly cold, dreary and wetter than my tears.

The trees I desperately wished to visit, out of mum’s hospital window.

I was angry too. Hospitals were not conducive to healing or recovery. People got sicker here not better (it happened to my mum). I couldn’t stop thinking about the research that shows patients who have access to nature outside their window recover more quickly from surgery and illness. Some of the beds I’ve seen, don’t even have natural light!

Eventually I had to fly home. I contracted a chest cold and I didn’t want to infect anybody.

Seven weeks later and my parents are still in hospital. There have been infections and unexplainable turns. Multiple tests, scans, xrays. MRI’s and ECG’s. Staphylococcus contraction from surgery. Wounds that won’t stop leaking. Patience running thin. Surgery to re-do unsuccessful grafts. Going off food. Back on food. Ups. Downs.

Wide open space allow me to run and breathe and hide and chase shadows with my son.

But the tipping point came this week, when I learned that the surgeons had also removed a lump from my dad’s ear which turned out to be Melanoma, an aggressive form of cancer.

There is nothing worse than watching those you love in unbearable pain. Now there would be more to come. I never dreamed that this would be dad’s way of exiting the world. And mum is still not out of the woods yet (pardon the pun).

Upon hearing this latest news, I took off on my regular walk up the country road where I live. I didn’t get far before my eyes became too clouded to see where I was going. I plonked myself down on the roadside in the bushes, overlooking the valley. I listened to the breeze as it bent young eucalypts. I watched the ants moving about their daily business. I gazed at fluffy white clouds moving across the brilliant blue sky. And then I heard something, a gentle pounding, of little feet. I didn’t move. Then right on cue I noticed a wallaby meandering towards my direction. It stopped behind a tree. Then slowly it moved towards the fence five metres in front of me, crouching down to move through the wire, and pop up on the other side. I told myself if I sat still, perhaps it would hop right on past me, allowing me to appreciate this close up encounter. The wallaby started up the slight embankment towards me. Before I had struck eye contact, he had caught a glimpse of me and with tremendous leg strength, had dramatically propelled himself into reverse, the ground reverberating, bouncing off the rise and back up the fence line. I didn’t even have time to react. Even my breath had stopped dead still.

I watched him as he sat at a safe distance plucking up the courage to look back at the strange phenomenon he had just encountered. It must have been a shocking discovery to find me sitting there. I couldn’t help but feel sad that he wasn’t brave enough to continue on past me, as if I was invisible. Or just a part of nature too. Part of his web of life.

Yes, I know how you feel young wallaby. You’re shocked. You’re rattled. The natural rhythm of life has been upset momentarily.

But I notice something else. You bounced back. Sure, it was in another unexpected direction. But you also had the courage to look back and ponder what it was that knocked you off your feet. To take stock before you carry on. To appreciate this moment of being alive in nature.

You and I have a lot in common.

POSTNOTE: My dear mum passed away on June 9, 2018. Forever remembered.

Nature Connection for Beginners – 30 Day Challenge

March 25, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Bush therapy Ecotherapy Forest bathing Nature and Forest Therapy Nature Connection Challenge Self Care Social and emotional wellbeing

Image: Kelly Ferris

There is a mountain of evidence telling us that 30 minutes a day in nature has enormous benefits for our health and wellbeing. But who has time to find an extra half hour every day to spend outside, right?

Well, if you are SERIOUS about making a POSITIVE DIFFERENCE to your life without it becoming an onorous task, especially if you know nothing about the therapeutic benefits of a ‘green prescription’, then this 30 day challenge is FOR YOU. There are no real rules just very simple invitations for you to take up if you so wish, and if an invitation doesn’t fit for you, there are plenty of other practices you can do instead. Failure is not an option because you choose to participate at a level that suits you.

Here’s how it works. Each day during April, we will issue an invitation to help you (re)connect with the natural world, ignite your senses and induce mindfulness. It will be simple, achievable and above all relaxing. All you need to get started is just 5 minutes a day and accessibility to a green space such as your backyard garden or local park. We will slowly work up to the optimal 30 minutes a day by Day 30, maximising the benefits for your body, mind and spirit.

They say it takes three weeks to develop a new habit. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to incorporate nature connection into your busy day. We guarantee it won’t be another thing to do on your task list. You will want to do it!

And if you’re still not convinced, here are 10 reasons why this challenge is worth taking on.

Using the words of one of my recent nature therapy walk participants, “I would say it is something that needs to be experienced, rather than spoken about.” I will be writing more about the scientific benefits in future blogs, but I can’t wait to hear about your experience and what you notice.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up now for the “Nature Connection for Beginners – 30 Day Challenge”. To receive your daily invitation beginning April 1, join our Facebook Event or follow me on Instagram.

19225139_1469672906428264_5533211837811229960_n

Love yourself First: A Valentine’s Day Message

February 14, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Ecotherapy Forest bathing Healing with nature Health and wellbeing Love Mental health Mindfulness My personal journey Nature and Forest Therapy Self Care Social and emotional wellbeing

I recently had the opportunity to go out on country with a respected Gumbaynggirr man living and working in the Bellinger Valley. I’ve come to know him in a short time as a storyteller, photographer, culture man and healer.

Image by Bernard K Edwards, Never Never Creek in the Promised Land

Early in a conversation with him, I commented that one must learn to love themselves first, before they can love others. Later that day, we are sitting on a fallen tree across the Never Never River in the beautiful Promised Land, looking out over refreshing, crystal clear water gently flowing over the river rocks. I am reflecting on my happy life and questioning why I should be so lucky to have things always fall my way, while other people are not so lucky. I’ve never had anything traumatic occur that has changed the course of my life, in fact, quite the opposite – I’ve been able to achieve all the goals I have been able to set myself, without any barriers or hiccups. Putting aside the fact that my white skin automatically gives me privileges over other cultural groups, I attributed my “success” in life to my parents that had provided a safe, loving, healthy home, surrounded by nature and fresh air on Victoria’s farming country, protected from the worries of the world. My companion politely pulls me up “do you not think, that YOU have had something to do with it?” and points out the contradiction with my earlier statement – YOU must love yourself before you can love others. He goes on to share that once we have left our mother’s arms, we are out on our own. As adults, we are responsible for our own decisions. The choices we make in life are ours alone and cannot be attributed to our parents.

I think about this in silence as the water trickles below my feet and a tiny blue bird visits a nearby rock. It would not have been possible to learn how to love myself without the love of my parents to show me that I am worth loving. But I get his point. There comes a point as adults when we have to take responsibility for our own choices in life. This is what it means to love and respect yourself. To know that YOU are truly worthy of setting the course of your life. And no one else can do that for you.

I peer into the reflection of the water now cooling my feet. Water knows how to flow. It learnt this from mother earth since the beginning of time. The fallen tree does not prevent the water from doing what it wants to do. It finds a way to flow through, around, up and over. And new life springs forth from the rotting tree.

As you reflect on the love that others have provided you this Valentine’s Day, consider what nature can teach you about loving yourself? What choices will you take today, on the path towards love? Make a decision today, knowing that the universe has your back!

Image by Bernard K Edwards

Burnout and Vicarous Trauma: An employee defect or a yearning for collective action for social justice?

November 29, 2017

by metaphor with No Comment Burnout Challenges and struggles Commentary Ethics and values Justice issues My personal journey Self Care Social Justice Social work blog Social Work with passion Strengths and Resilience Strengths-based practice Vicarious Trauma

If you work in the area of trauma counselling, chances are you have an organisation or colleagues keeping a watchful eye out for the first signs and symptoms of burnout or vicarious trauma.

In my workplace we have to complete two tests every year – the Compassion Fatigue Self Test for Practioners and the Trauma and Attachment Beliefs Scale. We also have regular training so that employees can identify the symptoms in each other.

While it might be considered admirable for our organisations to have a Vicarious Trauma Policy and working proactively to promote the health and wellbeing of its employees, what is it that is really happening here? And what effect is this having?

If someone returns high results to vicarious trauma testing, the onus is on the individual to address it. They are encouraged to revisit their self care plan or self refer to the Employee Assistance Program. This kind of response pathologises the problem and locates it within the individual, that the counsellor is somehow defective or not strong enough. It follows then that the client is to blame for somehow causing an injury by sharing their story with us. Vikki Reynolds says using self care as an antidote for burnout “does nothing about the social determinants of health for people…. The problem is not in our heads or our hearts, but in the social world where clients and workers struggle with structures of injustice.” Vikki argues that assuming a position where clients are seen to be hurting us is not an act of accountability at all.

In Darwin where I practice, we are surrounded by some of the worst cases of injustice in Australia such as the mistreatment of youth in detention, the highest rates of removal of Aboriginal children from their families and concerning numbers of child abuse within the foster care system. Not far from us, refugees on Manus Island continue to suffer.

Sometimes it can feel overwhelming to hear the sad and heartbreaking stories of abuse and violence and the impact this has had on our clients. And yes, I see and hear the impacts of intergenerational trauma outside my house; it’s difficult to escape it sometimes. However, I return a normal vicarious trauma result. I also hear inspiring stories of skills, knowledge and strengths of survival; stories of people speaking out to the Royal Commission so that the same thing doesn’t happen to other people; stories of people taking action to reduce the isolation caused by their poverty and homelessness. I admire the steps of resistance my clients make against systems of injustice. Indeed, clients do not hurt us, but instead inspire us, teach us and critique us says Reynolds.

The biggest critique our clients could legitimately make is why we, as workers, are not ‘fostering collective sustainability’*, coming together in solidarity to challenge the institutions and systems which marginalise and victimise our clients.

Indeed the collective silence of social workers in Australia is more likely to lead to my potential burnout, due to my frustration with the profession. Why are social workers not out on the streets marching together to get Manus Island refugees to Australia? Why are we silent in our support of our Indigenous comrades in the fight for Recognition? Why are we standing back and allowing removal of Aboriginal children from families to go up and up? Isn’t that why we entered this profession in the first place, to make a real difference to the social structures of injustice? I was once accused of getting too close to a community because I cared too much, and was threatened to be removed by my employer. However I was proud of my role as an advocate for social justice for the community and its people.

Social justice activism is a protective factor against vicarious trauma. It’s not our clients that are hurting us. It is our silence and inaction.

Perhaps the care we can show our colleagues is not to watch out for signs or symptoms of vicarious trauma in the workplace, but to gather in solidarity around shared ethics of social justice and collective accountability. Let’s get out on the streets and do what we signed up for.

*‘Fostering collective sustainability’ is one of the guiding intentions advocated by Vikki Reynold in Justice Doing in Community Work and Therapy.

‘Continuing the Bold and the Beautiful’ with Josephine Lee

August 2, 2017

by metaphor with No Comment Aboriginal world views Community Work Cross Cultural practice Culturally Fit Social Workers Dadirri Hope-Focused Social Work Indigenous Voices Speaking Up Inspiring Stories Podcast Self Care Social Work with Indigenous communities Social Work with passion Talk the Walk podcast White privilege

The bold and beautiful Josephine Lee

Welcome back to Part 2 of my conversation with Josephine Lee, an inspiring Senior Aboriginal Social worker who has traversed all breadth of social work and currently finds herself supporting children, families and schools in remote parts of the NT.

We are often told that we can’t change the world, even though we enter social work to do just that. After listening to this conversation with Josephine, you will walk away with renewed belief that change really IS possible!

Be prepared to be confronted and have your white middle class assumptions challenged, as we head into part two of my conversation with Josephine.

While it was an easy decision for me to interview Josephine surrounded by the beauty of nature, doing so means being open to the elements. So I apologise for the sound quality at those times when the wind picked up.

This episode covers:

Why Josephine is very comfortable with who she is and what she has to offer the world
What it’s like to walk to two worlds and how it impacts on Josephine’s work
Racism in social work
Why politeness goes out the window so Josephine can be the best she can be as a human being
The importance of holding adults accountable for the harm they have caused
Strengthening the voices of compassion and human decency
How to be a change agent for the right reasons
How boldness can help us all shine in the world
Authentic warrior-like self care for practitioners with a trauma history
Establishing authentic connection in this risk-averse world
The gifts of ‘Kuleana’ from Hawaii and ‘Dadirri’ from Daly River for living and working authentically
Our responsibilities for ourselves, each other and the planet
Packing the essential sense of humour and relishing moments of joy
Reflections on suicide in Aboriginal communities and society’s response

We hope you enjoy this episode of ‘Talk the Walk’. And if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’ send us an email from the Contact Page.
Warning: occasional explicit language.
Just click on the Play Button below and enjoy! We hope to have ‘Talk the Walk’ listed on popular podcatchers like iTunes very soon. Or subscribe by email via our Home Page.

Things to follow up after the podcast

In the song ‘What a Wonderful World’, Israel Kamakawiwo’Ole uses the word “Kuleana“.

Josephine says “Kuleana is the value of responsibility. It drives self-motivation and self-reliance, for the desire to act comes from accepting our responsibility with deliberate intent and with diligence. We want to be held accountable. Responsibility seeks opportunity. Reciprocal relationship between the person who is responsible, and the thing which they are responsible for.”

About Desmond Tutu

About Nelson Mandela

About Barack Obama

A Truly Civil Society by Eva Cox, 1995 Boyer Lectures

Josephine says “This book and many other writers that I’ve been fortunate to have been exposed to or read in depth, raised further my awareness around “don’t forget that humans have constructed society”, the busyness, franticness and dehumanising processes. It can be deconstructed and reconstructed.”

Aboriginal Social Work writers that have influenced Josephine’s practice:

Connect with Josephine Lee on Linked In

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

How a Life of Devotion to Kinship Care saved Patricia from Death by Heart Disease

June 29, 2016

by metaphor with No Comment Healing from Injury and Chronic Pain Indigenous Voices Speaking Up Inspiring Stories Self Care Strengths and Resilience Traditional Healing Practices

Patricia works as a Child and Family Support Worker at Relationships Australia NT

It was a total accident that Patricia Munkara came to be employed at Relationships Australia as an Aboriginal Child and Family Support Worker. Another Patricia in the community had applied for the job and when I went knocking on doors trying to find her, I ended up going to the wrong house. Or the right house depending on how you look at it. It was Patricia Munkara that ended up with the job. And I am so grateful she did. Now five years later, Patricia has also joined the Healing Our Children project.

There are many things that I admire about Patricia, not least of which was her decision to adopt her grandson six years ago and raise him as her own. This required Patricia to turn her back on a life of gambling, smoking and family unrest.

“He [Patrick] was like an underweight baby, 6 months old, and he was all covered in sores. We didn’t have welfare that time. But luckily I talked to my niece about me and my partner, giving him to us. ‘We can grow him up’ I said. He [Patrick] made me change.”

“I used to gamble, get involved in fighting and violence, arguing with other family. When Patrick came into my care, I learnt bit by bit…. to look after him”

“It changed my life you know, doing good things for him.”

“I want to teach him growing up, take him to school everyday, make sure I keep him healthy. When he is sick I take him to clinic straight away.”

Patricia had clear hopes and dreams for Patrick including teaching him to be independent, work for himself and look after himself.

“Mum was a rolemodel. She taught me everything. How to be independent myself. ‘Look after yourself’ my mum said, ‘maybe in the future you’ll have your brothers grandchildren or children [to look after]’. And that’s true, her word. She taught me how to hunt when there’s no food…She said ’You might go hunting for your brothers kids or grandchildren’. Now I’m doing that.”

“My mum was an adopted kid too. That’s what I’m doing now. Me and Rosita (my sister) growing up kids”.

“I don’t want him (Patrick) when he finish up school to walk around like bludger, doing bad things. Instead [he do] good things.”

One of Patricia’s other strength is her faith and culture. This is something that was also passed down from her mum and dad.

“I had to pray, go to church. I remember crying for my mum and dad when they used to go to church. I used to run behind them when they leave me home.”

“I always be with my dad when he do that kulama ceremony…. He taught me hunting, where my country is, from each place. I still remember going to our country. Our dad took us there when I was a little girl. And we’re teaching our children now.”

Patricia working in the Healing Our Children project.

Patricia says one of the big motivations for her to become a carer was her knowledge that Patrick was going to grow up without the love of a father. This is where Andrew, her partner comes in as a strong male role model.

“… other kids are bullying and teaching him wrong things, behaviour like swearing and backtalk. I don’t like it… He’s got that cheeky attitude because of those other friends. So Andrew said ‘OK, bring him here [to Raminginging]. [It’s] my turn, I’m gonna teach him now. Andrew gonna grow him up and make him man. So he learn ‘lore’ and he understand behaviour.”

“Andrew will make sure he is [learning about] healthy weight and eating. Andrew teach him about hunting and bush tucker.“

Life hasn’t been easy for Patricia. She has suffered from rheumatic heart disease, the number one killer of young people on the Tiwi Islands.

“I had twice heart surgery. Before I went to Adelaide I was still crying for [Patrick]. The doctor told me that I had two choices. Whether you gonna live or whether you gonna finish. He said to me ‘I give you this pacemaker then you will last longer…and see your grandson growing’. I said to the doctor ‘I don’t want to die, leave my grandson’. I want to raise him up, see him grow, have a little family of his own.”

Patricia with Patrick (right) and his younger brother Albert.

So strong is her faith, love and devotion to Patrick, Patricia has even cheated death, to make sure she is around to finish what she started.

“Yeah, Jesus and Mary, they were calling out to me and waking me up. I can remember how I slept, and I was finish, my heart was stopped…When I heard that voice, it was calling out to me get up, get up. I opened my eyes and I saw that bright light. I was in a strange room. I was nearly finish, three days finish, in intensive care… All them nurses, doctors and everything, they had put it [defribulator] on my chest. It wasn’t them that bought me back to life, because I seen that bright light. He [Jesus] was still there standing beside me. He said ‘you not dead, you still alive’. He said, ‘I know what you worrying for…[you are] too much worrying for Patrick and you didn’t want to leave him behind”.

Patricia also believes in the power of culture for healing, something she learned from her father.

“Our doctor told my mum and dad ‘your child got asthma’. My dad used to go hunting every day and when I finished school I always see long bum, mangrove worm, mud muscles cooking. I used to eat that after school. When Kulama ceremony came, my dad gave me that potato to eat, that chilli potato cured my asthma…. Following week I went to check with doctor, no more puffer for me. And when they found out, they sent me for x ray, they thought I had lung problem but nothing. No more short of breath, nothing.”

Patricia is one of the strongest people I know when it comes to tough love and protecting herself from the stress of family humbug. The warning signs of feeling weak and low blood pressure means she takes some time out for herself.

“I help myself. I stay home, watch TV. Sit outside for fresh air or listen to music. Or go for a walk to the airport and come back. When night-time come….sometimes say a little bit of prayer then sleep.”

Thinking about the impact that Patricia has had on Patrick’s life, she recalls Patrick telling her recently

“Amawu [grandma], I can remember everything you taught me, I’m still growing and I’m still gonna learn more from you. And I’m gonna teach my little brother.”

For Patricia the impact on her is profoundly simple “He has given me new life.”

But the last word should go to Patrick. When I asked him what was the best thing about his grandma he replied

“Amawu tells me go to school and learn everyday.’

Patricia is now considering having another two children come into her kinship care. Despite being on the Disability Pension, Patricia chooses to work because she is passionate about protecting children in her community and supporting women who are struggling. It’s a privilege to work alongside such an inspirational strong woman.

Mindfulness: A new fad OR a practice used for thousands of years in Australia?

October 21, 2015

by metaphor with No Comment Dadirri Mindfulness My personal journey Self Care

Nature has a way of bringing us back to the moment.

Has anyone noticed how busy, how violent, how damaged, how lost the world is lately? Sometimes it feels like I spend more time defending some right, advocating for some justice or worrying about some worthy cause, than I spend with my own children just living and being. My Inbox is flooded with agencies wanting my signature on their petition or money to fight their case. As a peoples, we seem to have lost our sense of self – our humanity – distracted by the temptation of technologies and drawn into the seduction of social media. We have been sucked into believing that our leaders and politicians have our collective human interest at heart. We have been disconnected from what our intuition, our bodies and our earth is telling us. We are detached from relationship to each other.

It seems like there are quite a few of us out there who are despairing at the ravaging of the planet and the inhumane treatment of human beings at many levels. It has been refreshing to witness the emerging movement of people standing up for human and environmental rights around the world. There is change on the wind. Some have called it the time of the Great Turning. There is also a movement of people simplifying their lives, ridding themselves of the possessions of consumerism, growing and sharing free food, moving into a tiny house, cutting back their work hours and looking for a tree change. These are not what might be called hippies or tree huggers but average people. Yes it is the average person that is waking up and looking within for what is true and just.

Mindfulness is also making a comeback with a wider audience than just the yoga-loving types. Mindfulness teaches us to stop, to breathe, to reconnect, to listen. Seigel (2015) calls it taking ‘time in’ (as opposed to time out) inviting us to become aware of our bodies, feelings and thoughts at this moment in time. Not the past. Not the future. Now.

Professionals in the field of neuroscience now have the evidence that mindfulness really is good for our human brains. So evidently the human services sector is jumping on board with mindfulness being the answer to all manner of human problems like addictions and mental illness, manifestations of the crazy, stressed-out world we have created.

I would argue that Aboriginal people in Australia have been practising mindfulness for thousands of years. It appears to be very close to what Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann, from Daly River calls ‘Dadirri’.

“Dadirri is inner, deep listening and quiet, still awareness. Dadirri recognises the deep spring that is inside us.”

“The contemplative way of dadirri spreads over our whole life. It renews us and brings us peace. It makes us feel whole again.“

“There is no need to reflect too much and to do a lot of thinking. It is just being aware.”

Miriam has said that dadirri is not just an Aboriginal thing, it is deep inside each one of us. Sitting in nature is one way we can become more connected with the practice of dadirri. Sit, feel and listen – to the birds, the wind, your breathing, your heartbeat. Allow yourself to be quiet and be still in this moment. It won’t fix the worries of the world. But it will allow you to just be.

It’s pretty ironic that the one culture we have tried to destroy in Australia is the same culture that can teach us how to live in peace with ourselves and the earth? If only we had just listened.

References

Siegel, D. 2015 ‘ Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain’.

…metaphorically speaking

Posts in category: Self Care