A deeper sense of empathy

It’s been a while since I blogged, I know… I have found myself pre-occupied - glued to the TV watching the horror of the floods unfold, particularly the flash flooding in Toowoomba. Such tragedy – it’s like those horrible images shown on TV simply weren’t real. Those kinds of things don’t happen in Australia, do they?

Watching the News isn’t something I do regularly – in all honesty, I find it too upsetting… too many terrible things to take in that I become overwhelmed – violence, environmental tragedies, world disasters and dirty politicians. I don’t seem to have strong enough boundaries to take it all without being left feeling seriously wretched and depressed. Which is why watching the near 24-7 coverage of the recent floods is so out of character for me, yet I found myself watching in horror, unable to walk away.

I always thought I had a deep sense of compassion and empathy for others. I’ve now discovered that having a baby of my own has deepened this compassion 100 fold. Perhaps this is why I found it so difficult to turn away from the tragedy unfolding before me on TV. In particular, those stories of parents losing their children or partners – these devastating stories had me in tears as I tried to imagine the horror of their experience. The thought of losing a partner is truly gut-wrenching, but losing a child? There are no words to describe the overwhelming pain the mere thought of this induces. How do you ever recover from such a tragedy? It goes against nature and against every single instinct you have as a parent.

These recent events have reminded me how important it is to find joy in each day, no matter what I am doing and what challenges I may be experiencing. Life is so fleeting and precious and can be taken away in the blink of an eye, as nature has recently shown us. I remind myself daily to be grateful for the simple fact that my family is here with me and we are healthy and safe – they are the most important things in life.

I can’t imagine the full extent of the grief these poor families must be experiencing right now, however my heart goes out to each and every one of them. I dedicate this blog to those families… You are in my thoughts and prayers - I wish you much love through this difficult time and hope you may find some peace in knowing that all of Australia grieves with you.

Love Nicky xo