January 2023 Newsletter – Self-Activation

THE MAGIC OF THE TO-DO LIST
By Jonathan, Grow Member, Easter Region

Sometimes I have a lot to do, or my mood is low, and the thought of doing thing

s is overwhelming. The motivation is minimal or non-existent. This is where the To-Do List, the one piece of advice from my father, and a piece of the Grow Program do their magic!

First is the To-Do List. I make my list the night before. Quite often if I have a number of things to do the next day and it can seem a lot, the things revolve around my head. However, when I write them down the list is not as big as I imagined. It looks doable. It also gets it out of my head. I make peace with what needs doing. It's also like signing a contract- I make a commitment.

THE COURAGE TO START
Written by Grow in Kilkenny

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” – President Theodore Roosevelt.

The above quote gives much food for thought, but the part about ‘there is no effort without error and shortcoming’ is very relevant to us in Grow Mental Health.  Each week we take a practical task to change some part of our life – be it great or small.  Perhaps we forget that we commit to merely make the effort – we are not promising 100% success, since we cannot know beforehand how well our efforts fare. 

Roosevelt’s quote reminds us that it is our constant efforts that build character.  It also hints that success or failure can be random.  But if we develop the habit of constantly making an effort, then our numerous successes will more than compensate for our equally numerous failures.  Perhaps there is only one true failure in life – the failure to make an effort.  If we try but don’t succeed, at least we learn from the experience and can do better next time.  But we can never learn anything if we don’t take the risk, and don’t make an effort.  This brings to mind a quote from Maya Angelou:  “Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you cannot practice any other virtue consistently”.

TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER
By Jonathan, Grow Member, Eastern Region

Naturalists have said nature is about the survival of the fittest. But now they understand that cooperation and bonds of love are stronger. There are many instances in nature of individuals of a species caring for each other and are greater than the sum of the individuals.

Bees of a hive work together and produce not just enough but an excess of honey. By weight of mass, the humble little ant and termites are the most successful creatures on the planet. Mammals nurture their young with love and can heal each other’s sadness and wounds with compassion. One individual will lick the wound of another.

Bonobo monkeys are especially caring. The young are raised by the whole troop. One naturist observed in one troop that one Bonobo was elderly and blind, and the other monkeys would pick her up and take her to where she needed to go.

Lone wolves are intelligent hunters but in a pack, they are a lot smarter and more capable. Meerkats keep lookout for each other. Shoals of fish and flocks of birds find safety in numbers. It is now known that crows are organised. At the end of the day, they communicate with each other as to where food is located. In the morning most of the crows will fly to the food sources. However, a number will volunteer to find new sources of food and will relay their discoveries at the end of the day. Recently naturists have discovered that trees in a forest are connected by roots and fungi fibres and share water and nutrients with each other. Sometimes with different species of trees. By looking after individuals, you look after the whole forest too.

Many of us have experienced times when we struggle and feel weak. Often the love and kindness of a fellow being not only heals but makes us stronger and renews courage. Love casts out fear and helps bear all. Together we are stronger.

Kate Slater, Area Coordinator in the Southeast retired from her position at the end of December 2022.

Kate has been part of the fabric of Grow Mental Health in the Southeast for over 10 years and has shone in so many different roles there.

Kate came to Grow MH as a member initially and very quickly took on board the concept of leadership, taking on roles within her group and supporting her fellow members.

Kate’s commitment to volunteerism continued over the years. She joined the Regional Team and became a member of the National Program Team. Kate has also given of her time to supporting the Staff Induction/Support Grow group and was an invaluable and generous support to all of us who struggled with Zoom and related technology issues when Covid happened.

Kate came to work with Grow a few years ago on a CE scheme and was a central part of the Team that worked on the impressive production of the 50th Anniversary Magazine.

Kate was then asked to take on the role of supporting groups in Wexford when aStaff member was on sick leave, this she did willingly and well for a number of months. She was then asked to increase her hours with Grow MH and take on the position of Area Coordinator.

In her role as AC, Kate has supported groups in Kilkenny, Carlow, Cashel and Clonmel and has given 100% to supporting the people attending and the development of the groups.

Kate, together with Aisling, Administrator in the Region, has done incredible work in sourcing our new building in Kilkenny and moving Grow MH out of Ormonde Home and into Bridgewater House. The hours of work and physical effort that went into this move cannot be quantified and Kate’s part in it was carried out with her usual practical, efficient and can do attitude to all she takes on.

As a Region, we would be bereft if Kate was completely leaving us, but we are so glad that she is staying on as a Volunteer, Group Support to the Cashel Group, and Regional Team member.

As Kate’s colleague and later, her Line Manager, I want to personally thank Kate for her selfless contribution to Grow MH in the Region, for her willingness to always get stuck in and give her best to any task she is asked to take on, and for her good humour and lovely approach to life and living which endears her to us all.

On behalf of all in Grow MH, Nationally and in the Southeast, we thank you Kate for all you have done to date with and for Grow, we wish you well in your (semi) retirement and we remain very thankful that you will be part of the future of Grow MH in the Region – may the best in life, loveand happiness be yours.

Mary Purcell
Regional Manager,
Southeast Region.

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