Hi everybody,
My name is Michelle Falzon and you are listening to Positive Wellbeing Education.
Let me take you back 23 months.
2020 was a year that was derailed right from the very beginning.
Firstly,
By ravishing bushfires during our hot Australian summer,
Followed shortly by the devastating onset of COVID-19.
It's definitely difficult to see the trees through the forest,
Or the light at the end of the tunnel,
When our days are all very much consumed with an overloaded work schedule and daily breaking news updates that continue to heighten our confusion and frustration all at the same time.
And essentially I speak of this from the perspective of being a well-rounded,
Educated adult.
So imagine how our young people must be feeling.
Yes I completely agree with the real fact that children or young people are far more resilient than what we sometimes give them credit for.
However the craziness of the reality that we are all living is most certainly taking its toll.
And quite frankly,
I say this with first-hand experience and knowledge that I have obtained.
For the past two years I bared witness to the emails that were sent to me on a daily basis from people who were looking for someone to help support their child and therefore their family as they faced the struggles that were impeding their wellbeing and mental health.
And this is ultimately bringing me to my topic of discussion for today.
As I reflect on my time as a Student Wellbeing Coordinator,
I recall quite clearly one particular moment that has stayed with me for various reasons.
In my exploration one morning for a short prayer that I was to share with an online class of Year 7 students during remote learning,
I found Proverbs 13.
12.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
It is there,
At that very point,
That I stopped,
Took a deep breath,
And I closed my eyes.
Hope.
The hope that resides in every single one of us varies,
Yet not one element of hope from anyone is less important or insignificant than another.
In times of crisis,
It is only natural to have a longing,
A desire,
A prayer,
Or a sense of hope for normality,
Regardless of whatever that normality may be or look like,
We pray for it to return.
However,
I've come to realise over the past few months that with hope there is strength.
Every single day,
Each one of us is graced and blessed with the strength to put one foot in front of the other.
We move forward to make yet more progress.
And with this progress,
We are learning brand new things we once thought we would never know.
We are inevitably becoming more educated in ways we have potentially not yet even realised.
And it is with this message that I want to wholeheartedly share with you.
The message of hope you need to remember is far from lost.
We have been living in isolation with various forms of restrictions for the past two years.
During this time,
We have essentially lost a great deal of our freedom and our overall physical connections and interactions with many of our loved ones,
Friends and colleagues.
This turn of unforeseen events has meant that we as a society have needed to severely readjust,
Adapt to and become acclimatised to a new way of living.
The reality however,
When we stop for just a brief moment to reflect,
Is that we are all doing exactly that.
We have adjusted,
We have adapted and we have acclimatised.
The journey thus far has not been easy and I will be the first person to put my hand up to acknowledge that the struggles have been and are still very real.
But each day I wake up and I find strength and I find hope.
Just as Proverbs 13-12 reads,
True during these times,
Our hearts hurt and they are sickened by the horrible realities that innocent lives and livelihoods have been lost.
Families have been broken,
Jobs have been ripped away,
But the longing we hold onto that is underpinned by strength and hope is still so strong.
We cannot lose faith,
We cannot give up,
We cannot let go of hope.
Remember that all we desire will return,
Maybe not tomorrow or the next day or even the day after that.
But deferred hope only means a temporary hold.
Deferred hope can build our resilience.
It deepens our love and passion for the things we truly want and value.
It opens our eyes and hearts to the smaller things in our lives that we should be grateful for.
Deferred hope is exactly as it reads.
It is deferred,
Not lost.
The longing for all the things we want back in our lives,
For all the things we are hoping for,
Know that when we receive them,
We will have a profound sense of fulfilment.
And it is with this that we then will grow in mind,
Body and soul knowing what we have hoped for for so long,
We will take back with an enormous heart that is open and filled with love and gratitude in abundance.
I encourage you to stay strong,
Stay focused,
Remember yourself and remind yourself all the time that hope is a sign of strength.
And whilst you have strength,
Your hopes will not fade or disappear.
Reflect upon and embrace your newfound talents and gifts that the past two very trying and challenging years have given you.
This journey has so much to offer and all you need to do is take the time out to stop and see it.
Let it be the fire that keeps your hopes alive and your heart strong.
Always sending you light and love.
Stay focused.
