Seeing the Beauty

The start of this year was a very difficult time for me, I ended up allowing myself to become very stressed. I didn’t recognise it then and I have spent months thinking about it and how to learn something from that time.

What is clear to me now is that when you are under stress it is difficult to see the beauty.

That in itself is not earth shattering, nor is it the statement of the century, but for those of us who work in Social Care it is really worth reflecting on.

In recent times I have consciously taken the time to try and look for the beauty, this can be challenging especially when we are surrounded with a culture of negativity. When you are working with individuals who are marginalised by society it is easy to see those individuals as a series of diagnosis, ailments, addictions and traits. It is much harder to see the individual as just that an individual, one who may be living with a diagnosis, ailment, addiction or trait but an individual nonetheless.

When you stop to listen to what we say and how we say it, when you stop and challenge yourself to stand firm in defence of, when you stop another individuals diatribe and infuse the conversation with challenge, then and only then can we start to see the beauty again.

Separating the human from the behaviour is a start, engaging  with their story and allowing time for relationships to build is what can make my working world so satisfying.

Those that we work for, our clients, residents, and those that we work with, our colleagues deserve at the least the chance to relate. For it is in the relationship that the real change takes place.

My challenge is to never allow stress subsume my want, need and desire to relate for it is in the relationship that I find joy.