STORYTELLING ...

• 
• 

Details

Created on Tuesday, 16 December 2014 14:27

Written by Marian Moore

 

Marian @ Krysan

THE WELLBEING CONSULTANCY

Planting Golden Seeds in Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, and Durham

____________________________

 

"I believe the greatest gift I can conceive of having from anyone is to be seen by them, heard by them, to be understood and touched by them. The greatest gift I can give is to see, hear, understand and to touch another person. When this is done I feel contact has been made,"  

 - Virginia Satir (1916 - 1988)

 

  

STORYTELLING ON PLANET WORD

 

 

 

Surprised by Tenderness

 

 

 Tenderness ...

According to my family's old and tattered 1933 copy of 'Nuttall's Popular Dictionary of the English Language (based on the labours of the most eminent lexicographers)' the word tenderness has several meanings:

• sensibility
• kind attention
• scrupulousness
• care not to injure

A feather on the breath of God.

Tenderness is an adjective describing an ancient strength* that I haven't used in a long while, that is until I was moved nearly to tears this week by an overwhelming tenderness towards the challenges of others (and myself). One such occasion is hidden in plain sight within this short 300-word blog, a story intended to call attention to how and why three NTW NHS governors spoke their truth on matters related to the oft-hidden story of disability - a feather on the breath of God.

• NTW WELCOMES FIVE NEW GOVERNORS
• 9 December 2014

Research (and anecdotal evidence) informs us that public speaking sits near the top of life's most feared challenges. Yet, once again, I found myself looking fear squarely in the eye to speak out publicly on serious issues in mental health. I started my talk with a short story, a story designed to make people think about their inner world.  These are truly words full of wisdom and worth sharing.  

A grandfather was talking to his grandson, telling him, "I have two wolves barking inside of me. The first wolf is filled with anger, hatred, bitterness and mostly revenge. The second wolf inside of me is filled with love, kindness, compassion and mostly forgiveness." "Which wolf do you think will win?" the young boy inquired. The grandfather responded, "Whichever one I feed."

We are all stakeholders in the circle of life.

That aside, my observations as a participant observer are that the entire event was underpinned by (1) a respect for all present, (2) for the dignity of the occasion, and (3) due regard to research into the value of conversational meetings. For me, we hit the target in that the event was:

• Inclusive, 
• Participatory, and 
• Conversational.

At the outset, the scene was beautifully set as if for a theatrical performance and three governors (including me) 'followed the music' and rose to the occasion to speak our truth. Our talks were around current mental health challenges and their implications for the wellbeing of individuals, families, communities, and the nation. Even the World. We spoke, with one pure voice, about stigmatising attitudes towards disability, touching upon labelling, language, medication, and stereotyping.  

As intended, the programme provided a sound base for one-to-one conversations around an over-arching theme of Equality and Diversity. This is a sensitive subject for any organisation to tackle. It takes courage, insight, collaboration and safe hands. This was a brave attempt at something brand new which gave everyone a say and which might well set a pattern for the future.

Make Ripples.

• I can make Ripples on my pond of life,
• Not the waves and foam of personal strife.
• I can be reflective and stop to think,
• See the calmed mirrored surface, then sip a drink.
• Know that my Ripples reach someone's shore,
• That Ripples of love return to me once more,
• Causing reflections that I can see,
• In the Infinite Ocean of Eternity ...

Make a difference; be the change.

• Marian Moore
• Governor for Older People's Service

And so, for your kind (and tender) attention, the above is one (unofficial) account of an event where three governors 'summoned up the blood and stiffened the sinews' to tell the oft-hidden story of disability - their way! I should add that we, the speakers, were sustained throughout by trusted colleagues, all elected governors of the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (NTW).  See link below.

~~~~~

Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt the power of a small group of people to change the world. Nothing else ever has.” Mahatma Gandhi was even more insistent: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

 

• A Common Humanity.
• Surprised by Tenderness.

 

 Principles of living ...

I turn now to an editorial taken from the final issue of Reality, a home-spun mind, body, spirit magazine created solely for the Krysan.org website at its inception more than six years ago. The editorial was written some years into the start-up, but like much else on this website has stood the test of time.  It too tells a story, a story worth re-telling. (See PUBLISHING for more).

Rehabilitating the human spirit.