More about Lucy
My father is Welsh, my mother a New Zealander of Irish stock, I was born in England, my sister was born in Hong Kong, and we came to Australia when I was one. I lived for a year in France when I was 10 and for a year in Denmark when I was 17. My father was a free sprit with basic education and great charisma which saw him make it in boom time, and loose it (and find himself again) in bust time. The making it phase saw me through a conservative, ambitious education which fed all of my mother's ambitions for the world she wished she had been brought up in. Intellect was highly prized and expectations were high.
One of the most exciting times of my life saw me running a youth development program shortly after I had graduated from law. I was alive being part of the creation of a space where young people from diverse backgrounds came together and allowed themselves to be powerful creators of their own reality and to believe in their dreams, and to be moved and wowed by the dreams of others.
It sounds so naïve but I have seen enough dead adults thinking they are being realistic about life being hard, even relationships being unexciting, and have been there myself, and am once again a passionate believer in freedom, purpose and dreams.
It was through this experience that I realised that the law was going to lock me into a life of believing that intellectual superiority was the key to winning in life and that truth and justice were dependent upon the depth of our wallets. I know there are many good lawyers out there doing wonderful work but I felt my soul would never survive the initiation. So I left the law and continued to pursue my interest in truth and justice through social work. A wonderful body of knowledge although the practice sometimes left the practitioners as much victims of a system and story of powerlessness as the clients.
Dealing with adversity in life
I'm not sure that my earlier beliefs have done much more than have me be the creator of my own ‘adversity'. What I can share is some of the lessons I have learned through walking my journey.
- As a long time crusader for change and person who attaches myself to various causes, I have finally learned (through the parallels in how we do human relationships) that being right about one's mind-set, and seeking to turn others to our point of view only serves to reinforce their ‘right-ness' on the other side. It is by reaching to understand others with genuine interest, respect and open heartedness, and allowing others their own view-point, that we have any chance of achieving change for the greater good. Tragically so few of our governing systems are set up this way.
- That the answers are in me, not in a book or in some more authoritative person. Equally, I don't have the answers for others.
- That we are all products of our life experiences, that we put on masks to have us come across as capable, confident, competent etc, and we buy the same masks from each other that would have us compare ourselves more or less favourably to them - ie: most of our anxiety and hardship is an illusion.
- That joy is simple and available in the present moment, not....when the kids are a bit older, when I graduate or get the next promotion, when my husband / wife / friend takes a look at how they are treating me, when I retire etc....
- That love is abundant and available fully to and from us all, and is our ultimate human purpose.