Nurturing the In-Between
A Reminder of the Power of Critical Reflection In Both Practice But Also Life.
I’m just finishing up writing my lecture on Art and Care for tomorrow.
30 minutes goes by quickly & I have other points I want to make, so I search through my archive of work and projects to see what can be best - alongside other theorists, writers and artists. In this process I re-find a reflective comic that I drew at the end of 2022.
I had forgotten all about it.
Re-reading it is like going back in time.
It wasn't long after the loss of my nan, I got really poorly from covid, all 20,000 trees that my community & i had planted burnt in a wildfire (thanks to the climate crisis) & then in the middle of 2022 my friend and mentor died from suicide.
In the journey of life, much like that of a gardener, we find ourselves navigating the delicate balance between grief and hope. As I immerse myself in the act of planting, nurturing, and observing the interconnectedness of our environment, I am continually reminded of the profound lessons embedded in nature and in Adult Social Care.
Each seed sown is a testament to resilience; it embodies the potential for new beginnings amid the harsh realities of climate change, injustice, trauma, illness and loss.
The duality of grief and hope teaches us that to truly live in this world is to embrace the full spectrum of human experience. In the words of Brene Brown (2010), ‘Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change.’
It is in these shadows of grief that we discover unexpected sources of strength, perspective, and clarity.
Reflective practices allow us to tend to our internal gardens, turning our experiences into fertile ground for growth - not necessarily productive, or toxic positivity - but strength. A new idea, a different way of working, a slightly different gesture, a space of care for ourselves.
In this comic below, I see that each pen stroke, each cup of coffee shared, and every seed planted becomes an act of defiance against the status quo, against uncertainity.
Finding 2022 year relfective comic serves not only as a narrative of my experiences but also as a living manifesto of how we can nurture our spirits and forge connections amid life’s complexities.
In holding both the beautiful and the profoundly hard in the same palm, we engage with one of life's most potent paradoxes. It is through this embrace that we cultivate radical care, foster resilience, and ignite the potential for renewal.
As we enter this next chapter, let us commit to allowing ourselves the space to grieve (in all of the meanings of this word), to feel, and to create.
In doing so, we honour the full tapestry of existence, affirming our power to support each other, to begin anew, and to celebrate the myriad ways that life unfolds.
I hope you enjoy/find useful this short graphic novel as much as I did re-finding it.
To my nan and to friend Peter Lloyd Jones.
