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Its not about the event or people involved in the event that impacts us. Its our feelings that are key. If we don't label our emotions and process them, then we stack them up. This then creates behaviours that impact our environments and relationships. Left unresolved, our emotions keep us stuck, and this produces us to act out sideways. Its very important to allow ourselves to feel our emotions, but collecting them and carrying them is risky and unhealthy for us.

We have heard and read several reports recently about issues from drug use at festivals and schoolies events. And while no use is the safest way to use drugs, it's just not a realistic approach. People will always engage in use on some level.
What we are not hearing or reading are reports on issues from alcohol use at these same events. Alcohol is a drug after all. How many assaults, accidents, injuries, emergency service responses, intoxication, health issues or arrests are occurring due to alcohol? Are we to assume none? Or are they simply not being reported on? And if that's the case, then why aren't they being reported to the community?
What's you're thoughts?

Words from The Velveteen Rabbit.

"Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it Hurt?”

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen to people who break easily or have sharp edges or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But those things don’t matter at all because once you are real you can’t be ugly except to people who don’t understand.”

This passage screams out to me strongly right now. Ive seen proclamations of being real, yet it is so obvious there is NO authenticity whatsoever. In fact, another person's "realness" intimidates those who are struggling with being real. To be respected or revered is not a self appointed privilege, it comes with being raw and real. Being real is not to be prejudice, punishing or to silence those who are different. It is to embrace the differences, to connect to them and to learn from them.

Just arrived back after having spoken at the Manifest Symposium in Sydney Town Hall.