This is not a political post as such, it’s about politics, but not political…
I have spent a lot of time over the last few weeks thinking about the future, my future, the future of those who have had their livelihoods crushed, those losing their businesses, who have spent years of putting their heart and soul into them, to have the security ripped away. The artists and creatives, the entertainers. Those who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, not furloughed, new starters, new businesses. Those who took bad advice - or good advice that has since been used against them, those being labelled fraudsters and cheats by the same people getting paid to sit on their sofa, or worse still, using that time to do second jobs (legally if not morally acceptable). And now intermingled with the ‘great news’ of a vaccine, we have the absolute farce that is Brexit.
I’m not going to go into how I feel lied to, robbed, treated like an idiot. We are way too far down the road for that, but I am going to talk about how much of what is about to happen was not communicated, the ‘oven ready’ deal is actually the turkey still running round the field. The lies on the side of a bus, the stirring up of racial hatred about immigrants (just people suffering and wanting a better life), the ex-pats who are only just now realising their lives in the sun are at risk. The care workers overworked, underpaid and now short staffed due to rulings that their colleagues can no longer work with them due to visas and other red tape. The farmers, that we were so determined to keep British, now discarding unpicked crops as migrant workers have been blocked. I could go on, I really could, but it makes my blood boil, so I’ll stop, right there.
We were all invited to dine at the Brexit buffet. Thing is, even before the official opening, due to the pandemic, some of us have had to eat there and have found that, although it might look so tempting on the menu, yum, yum - it’s actually just sh*t on a plate. Problem is, those who have not yet had their invitation, still see the wondrous list of options and are looking forward to gorging on all that delicious food. Very few imagine how bad it is, the spin doctors and mainstream media have encouraged them to believe that we are making it up, that we are trying to discredit them, or just leaving a bad review due to spitefulness.
Today I just realised something though, after January 1 2021, the queues will start forming at the Restaurant de caca, the drive through will snake back for miles, chock-full of lorries who can’t go anywhere, filled of stuff that may even perish in the queue. The materialistic stuff, the stuff we don’t need, the stuff that’s of value, but not valuable.
The Transformation Trail
On my free workshop Being: in full colour - The Change Challenge, we go through the change curve, we talk about accepting change and the emotions we go through on the way down the curve, ready to take the difficult steps to come out of the other side.
We take into account the Great Pause of 2020, which has given us an insight into what is important, and more significantly, what is not. How everything feels like it’s in greyscale right now. How we are rushing out every day, to commute to a job, to earn money, to pay for a house we only have time to sleep in, not spending time with our families. How not enjoying a worklife balance is making us sick. How ‘things’ are not as important as people, how the clothes we once bought for a night out have now been replaced by smart tops, as that’s all you see on Zoom. How a walk in the countryside with loved ones can be more relaxing and uplifting than a £1000 a night spa (although I could really do a spa right now!)
I had hoped that this time would be a wake-up call, but I was sadly disappointed… or have I just interpreted it wrong? Maybe those of us who have suffered over the last 9 months are the ones who are now ready for that change, we have had the time to adjust and make some important decisions about our lives. Maybe we are the ones ready to start that journey out of the other side of the curve? We’ve had a head start on the preparation for survival in the new world. We have gone through the pain and the anguish, we’ve blamed ourselves, blamed others, we have hit rock-bottom, we are ready to make the trek to a more purpose driven future.
So in the New Year, when things start to get harder, trade is more complicated, movement is less free, maybe, just maybe, things can change. Those of us who have started on the Transformation Trail, that journey out of despair, can look back and encourage those who didn’t believe us that the menu was a load of crap, we can be the Purpose Pioneers and create the footpaths for others to follow?
Who’s with me?
Being: in full colour - The Change Challenge https://www.raychel.co.uk/coursesandevents