2024 So Far…
When I decided on Psychology, I was driven by my own intense curiosity about the world and especially about people – how they became who they are, what drove their actions and choices, and how we all co-exist on this planet. It is all pretty mysterious, right?
How do we decide what to do, when we have hundreds of decisions to make a day? What influences that?
This is great novel writing fodder, which was another way I made sense of the world.
We know our past experiences, culture, values, personality, social supports, and personal context impact us. They inform the decisions we make, from what to say to what to eat. What makes these decisions more meaningful is the interconnectedness of our common humanity.
In our Gaythorne practice, when we decide on a cup of tea, it matters less about whether it is peppermint or camomile, and much more about how you experience it – hopefully with genuine warmth and care.
I have been reflecting on this and how incidentally we build community, one small decision at a time. Community is so important to us, fulfilling our need to know we are not alone and to have our experiences validated and shared.
Calm Collective Psychology has grown into a community that shares common experiences, like anxieties, self-criticisms, and inevitable times of suffering (as is our human way), and common values like compassion, self-growth, knowledge and empowerment.
It is a beautiful corner of the world to share, and I hope to facilitate that sense of community more for you as the year unfolds.
One moment I’d like to share with you was a recent talk I gave to a group of clever and curious high school students about their career pathways. This got me thinking a lot about ‘why psychology’ and how we get from point A to point B in our lives — as you can tell! I strongly believe in a sense of community as a guiding force and a place to borrow strength when we need it (including those cheerleaders we all need).
Our first quarter of 2024 has flown by, as you can tell by this quarter 1 review coming a little late. I am just now taking time to land and noticing this sweet community pulling together. I am happy to count myself as one of your cheerleaders but also not the only one — the common humanity of it!
We have been through a deeply challenging few months, with many crises unfolding around us in Australia and conflicts abroad. It is a time where you might imagine compassion to run dry, but I find it is evolving into something new and resilient.
I hope your quarter has given you a little of this – if not, how can you connect to your community and your values more strongly in these next few months?
The Calm Collective Newsletter will be featuring a lovely new freebie — a journal prompt to guide you into a moment of self-reflection — sent out to our existing subscribers today and to any new subscribers in their welcome email. This email also includes our next Calm Collective book club pic!
Warm wishes,
Grace