I’ve been thinking back recently to a call I had last summer with a friend who lives in New York.
I mentioned to her that she should think of what January 2021 might look like.
I suggested having a plan for the start of this year that was based around self care and generally how she was going to manage a Covid January.
My intuition told me January was going to be a hard month for everyone but I am sure not many of us could have predicted
what the first week would
present us with.
On a personal level, my
challenge of jumping off a cliff into the sea pales into
insignificance compared to what we face with Covid-19.
However, it remains so
important during this pandemic
that we set our own goals within the guidelines that we have to work with. No matter how small these goals or challenges may seem, we still need to find ways to live and challenge
ourselves in a good way.
I left you with a cliffhanger last week. But eventually I jumped off it and I am very happy I did. Once in the water I must have been in the sea for fully four hours altogether and was lucky enough to swim with a sea turtle for 30 minutes.
I have spoken about how
incredible water is for people with a spinal cord injury as gravity is not an issue.
The freedom I had after jumping off the cliff was even better than what I get on the bike.
Part of the reason I was
diving out for so long was I wasn’t very keen on facing the reality of how I was going to get out of the water. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay in the water forever and as I swam towards the ladder the water was starting to smash off the cliffs.
Like any situation that
causes anxiety, it is important to stay calm; however, this is not always easy, and especially
harder when you have water coming over your head.
Grabbing onto the ladder was going to be a pretty difficult task, thankfully I had some friends on hand to help drag me up once I had managed to get a hold of it.
A few cuts and bruises later I lay looking at the water
processing the experience I had just had.
It isn’t often, after all, that you swim along with a sea
turtle, sting rays and the
deadly puffer fish.
It was a very special moment and a small win for me.
But I am aware that writing from the Caribbean talking about challenges of jumping off cliffs might not come over well during a time when we face challenges that leave most struggling on levels they have never experienced before.
The prospect of a lockdown until March is something I can relate to through my times in hospital, and also around the stress of the uncertainty that we all face.
I don’t like to say “we are all in the same boat” because when I was in Stoke Mandeville we used to say that we are all in the same storm but our boats are all very different.
That was one of the best
lessons I learned in the spinal hospital, as it was easy to look at others who were moving and try to compare your injury with them. This only led to frustration and ultimately shifted your
inner narrative into a negative environment, which was not good for your mental health.
Positive psychology highlights the benefit acts of kindness can have on our overall health. This was evident on our ward daily.
One of the patients would pull me to the cafe with his electric wheelchair and I would then spoon-feed him. We saw it as both our boats helping each other through our storm of paralysis.
As I leave you this week, maybe think of your boat and the storm we are in. Consider whether you have the ability to either help others or need help yourself. And remember it is okay to ask for it.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here