Ack, I missed a day!  I guess that happens in a crazy busy week.  I don't think I've mentioned previously what type of work I do.  I have the honour and privilege of working with some of our most vulnerable people.  I don't say honour and privilege lightly, as these are people who have experienced things that the majority of us will hopefully never experience.  Their resilience in the face of adversity and trauma never ceases to amaze and humble me.

I work with asylum seekers, those who have arrived by boat and who have been locked up in mandatory detention as seen fit by our government, and who have later been some of the fortunate ones who have been released from detention centres to live in our community.  

Yesterday I attended an art exhibition called Love & Hope: Through the Eyes of Refugees.  Refugees being asylum seekers who have had their claims for asylum recognised and been given a permanent Protection Visa.  (Sadly this system has now been changed and there are no more protection visa's being issued for these people but that's a whole other story).

It was only a small exhibition, but incredibly moving.  Some of these paintings resonated at a deep level, the artwork depicted some of their experiences and showed what we see in our work with these people who have come to our shores seeking safety.  I was able to take some photo's but I'm unsure if it's ok for me to share them here, so until I find out about that, I will just have to describe some of the paintings that moved me most.

One was an incredibly detailed image of an Australian goanna which the artist had seen at an outback detention centre.  Another painting showed many faces, some filled with hope, others with uncertainty, and throughout the painting and across the top, appeared to be doves as symbols of peace and hope.  The same artist had also painted a very confronting piece of something he'd witnessed.  That of a boat breaking up and a woman and child falling into the sea.  The inscription below the painting said they'd survived but he'd captured the fear in their eyes which spoke volumes.  

There was a water colour painting of a child looking through the crack of a door, uncertainty and perhaps a little fear on his face.  We see this so often in children in the early days.  Another water colour was of an Iranian woman and her baby.  One that I found really emotional to look at was of a Sri Lankan woman.  This woman had lost her entire family and was sitting in a detention centre, eyes downcast, a look of deep sadness on her face and in her posture.  It made me wonder where she is now and if she is ok.  It was a painting that made my eyes well up.

There were some other artworks that reflected joy and hope.  One of a woman performing a traditional dance.  Another of two sisters, one of whom is giving her sister a gift of a goldfish in a fish bowl.  Gifting a live fish is a symbol of life and hope.  The exhibition was all in the one room so it only takes a little while to go through it, however, we spent around half an hour or so there. It is probably the most deeply moving exhibition I have ever attended.  All I could think was these paintings need to be shared more broadly in the community.  The saying a picture is worth a thousand words is so very true in this instance.

My team and I wandered off afterwards and shared some lunch nearby.  It gave us time to reflect on what we'd seen and lighten the mood a little over a meal before heading back to the office.  I'm truly blessed to work with such amazing people, both my colleagues and the people we work with.  

After work, I attended my first session to look at the anxiety thing.  As I've mentioned previously, it's not constant anxiety, it has very specific triggers. Dr's, needles, dentists, absolutely anything remotely medical, and flying.  I found I had a good rapport with the therapist so I guess that's a good start.  I was a little concerned I may be seen as a bit ridiculous given the work I do and I turn up with anxiety around silly things, but she wasn't like that at all.  

I finished the day having dinner with a friend.  It was a perfect way to end the day, that was full in so many ways.

So up to today!  Not much else to report for today really.  Another busy one at work, but a good one too.  My weight is stubbornly stable and not budging. I've done my yoga nidra yesterday and today despite struggling to stay with it and on track so to speak.  

I'm sure there's more to write, however, I'm a little tired again tonight and I can't recall what else.  Yesterdays thoughts were the ones I really wanted to get down and I've done that.  Oh.. one other little bit, I picked up some brochures for NZ (not that I have any shortage of them, but the ones I have are from last year and the year before that) and have possibly found another activity or two that could be handy for the retreat. 

Well that's it from me tonight.  I trust all is honky dory in your part of the world.  Until tomorrow!