Wholeness

I am noticing that there is a thread that runs through brilliant support - it seems to be about wholeness. When things are good in the lives of people they are seen and felt as whole, not broken and in need of fixing. This way of seeing and being creates a kind of magic because when you know that others see you as whole just by being the way you are, you can grow from the inside out...you are affirmed because there are people in your life who stand alongside without any force or disquiet.

As Dan Gottlieb says:-

"Advice not sought is never respectful"

I am aware that for people with learning disabilites life is often a daily diet of unsought advice and fixing. How about the people in a person's life, whether paid or not, begin by simply offering their non judgemental presence, simply delight in knowing them, not trying to make them be any more or less than they already are?

We all want this acceptance, it gives us our own power and means we lead our days and our lives. Thankyou to the committed people of Grapevine and Get a Life, both in Coventry, and to Andy and Pat from Diversity Matters, for helping me to think in this way....it has made my mind quieter and my heart more open...and thankyou to Jackie for being this quietness, it is deeply liberating.

Andy spoke of Alex, a boy who needs very attentive health care to stay alive. Andy thought his role as advocate for Alex would involve this health care, asking questions and prompting better ways....but Alex has taught Andy to just be there...it is this simple presence without seeking anything new which allows wholeness to be felt by both Andy and Alex - this subtle magic when Andy shows Alex he is perfect and is just beside him....this is where joy and freedom are to be found. When Andy spoke of Alex there was a sense of reverie and awe - this can only be found in the quietness of being together.

The Grapevine people sat quietly listening to each other without interuption - we were seeking to create a level of listening we were calling profound - no interuptions, a quiet mind and an open heart....feelings are welcomed, thoughts are set free...the sense that what comes is all that is required in that moment - no fixing, no feedback, no judgement....more reverie.

So many people see themeselves as broken - to show them they are not is a precious gift.

Andy

GIVE

Dear friends and allies

The message in this blog is simple - give.

Your time, your heart, your best, your resources, your appreciation, your gifts, your hopes, your joy, your pain, your truth.

Give - because giving transforms.

The world needs us all to give - we have lived through an era of take, and we urgently need to reconnect with what is deep inside us - be of service to each other by giving.

...and one last thing, every single human being on the planet has things to give.

Andy