It's OK not to be OK.

It’s OK not to be OK. What could we possibly mean by that? It means that you will be treated with the same respect and compassion however open you choose to be about how you really are. In July’s newsletters I wrote about the charity Kintsugi Hope https://www.kintsugihope.com/. I have since finished training online to roll out their course in Stourdene. Please be in touch with me to express an interest. I will be running two groups on Tuesdays at 11am and 7.30pm. They will both be face-to-face in Ettington church beginning in October with breaks to match school terms. These small group gatherings will be a space to invest together in our mental and emotional wellbeing. To be clear, this is not group therapy but somewhere where we can talk as openly as you choose about issues that affect us all using the resources to help us address them from Kintsugi. The weeks cover themes such as disappointment, loss, anxiety, stress… the first session begins with the theme of honesty. It is sometimes hard to be around honesty. Most of us will trot out the same answer to the polite enquiry “how are you?” with “oh, fine!” before taking the conversation somewhere easier. In the general daily round that is good etiquette, possibly also professional, and kind to the enquirer not to offload inappropriately. But in the right space, with the right people, and at the right moment, we can, and I think should, be more honest about how we really are. But even if the “I’m fine!” is completely genuine, we are surrounded by people who, in all honesty, are not ok right now for all kinds of reasons. To invest in mental and emotional wellbeing would be to be better able to listen, understand, and reach out to those we live alongside in every sphere of our life. To help me and you prepare to engage with the Kintsugi Hope resources, I do need to know in advance if you are hoping to come, so be brave and get in touch if this might be for you. God bless, Sharon.

Email: sharon.goble@btinernet.com

Tel: 07799 220407