Captain Tom – Is that money going where you think it is?

He is a hero.

At the time of writing this he has raised over £27 million for NHS Charities. It is a remarkable achievement. He captivated the nation with his warmth and humour and wanted to do something, anything, to help out in anyway he could to support the frontline workers based on his admiration for his local doctors and nurses.

100 laps later and international acclaim, and maybe the time this gets a posted even a UK number 1 after featuring on You’ll Never Walk Alone with Michael Ball. Even The Weeknd was tweeting about it to get him knocked off the number one spot.

I love this camaraderie and togetherness that Captain Tom has developed. I’ve also really enjoyed how much his daughter, Hannah, has come out of her shell and isn’t just the interpreter anymore. I’m really pleased for her. On the day they completed the 100th lap she was side by side with Captain Tom and was looking direct into the proper camera and was smiling and could have easily been presenting the news that day. Really pleased.

What I’m not loving as much is how the NHS is being passed off as a charity.

The fund-raising effort from people all over the country for the NHS charities is incredible. Everyone should feel proud that they are supporting NHS staff all over the UK. It’s wonderful to see. What I hope people realise is that this money is not being used to procure Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and it’s not being used to change anything else in the hospitals or the wards. It’s being used for emotional support for NHS workers and other such types for workers.

As a mental health worker I support this whole-heartedly and hope that with the money raised and some canny investments from the funds they use that combination of NHS charities can sustainably support itself going forward; that would be marvellous.

The NHS as we know it is not a charity. It is publicly funded and the government distributes the funds to the different health boards. Health is also devolved so that Wales and Scotland are responsible for the allocation of the funds in these areas.

Why am I writing about this? It’s not as you may think a growing concern among many that the NHS is being sold off by the Conservative government. I will let you make your own mind up about that.

But what I will encourage is the desire to learn and educate yourself and everyone around as to where that money is actually going and more vitally important, is it supporting the cause true to your values?

I don’t want you to be hoodwinked thinking that you’re keeping your local hospital afloat with these donations because that’s not what they’re doing. If we really want to fund the frontline of the NHS pay your taxes and hold the government of the day accountable so that it receives proper investment, and if they’re not, vote in another one when you can if they believe in the same health provision you do.

Don’t let your values put you in a place where you’re parting with money with belief you are supporting one thing over another. Do your research and find out what and who is being supported and what the impact is.

I’ll do another post about charity donations and my thoughts over the last couple of years of working in the charity sector.

I Accept | Why Clothing?

If you’ve spent some time looking through these blogs and the website as a whole, or taking the time to check out my Facebook Live’s you’ll see that I adorn myself in I Accept clothing.

First of all you may be thinking, what is I Accept?

It is my mantra for life, along with ‘everything that happens to me is the best thing that could happen to me’ from the book, Zen and the Art of Happiness. This quote and I Accept go hand in hand.

How I hear you ask? Simple, just because something that is the best thing that could happen to you doesn’t mean it’s not going to be uncomfortable or painful. Some of the best things that have happened to me have arguably been the most painful things that could have happened to me! And yet here I am writing these regular blog posts sharing my experiences with other people and feeling more enlightened and at peace than I ever would have otherwise.

So why clothing? We wear it all the time!

If I’m in the middle of a situation which is testing me, or there are thoughts I can’t shake, I can immediately remind myself of acceptance. I can embrace these situations and thoughts and welcome them an old friend. I can look down and see that phrase and know immediately that I am larger than any thought or feeling I’m having.

I am the sky, and those thoughts are just the weather. I can hold it all.

Once grounded in this place I can then look at moving forward with commitment. I can distinguish what is more important to me and move in that direction, with the unhelpful thoughts and feelings. I don’t need to push them away, they can just float along with me. 

They might be noisy and get in the way from time to time but they can never touch me. They cannot steer my actions away from what I have determined I need to do.

I Accept on my clothing reminds me every day that I can carry those thoughts and feelings through everything I do. So I do whatever I want with them.

I Can Do What I Want

And so can you.

Yes, this may be a break from what is expected of you.
Yes, this may also make you feel uncomfortable and potentially embarrassed.
Yes, you really can do whatever you want (within physical limitation that is).

Could you break the law? Yes. If you really wanted to.
Could you tell some friends and family exactly how they make you feel? Both good and bad? Yes. If you really wanted to.
Could you perform a sky dive? Yes. If you really wanted to!

For many years we all got so entrenched as to what we do as out ‘characters’, that is, doing what other people expect of us. We got so hemmed up in this character of ourselves that we stop living our own life and limit your actions based on other people’s perception of us. This in turn can make us feel very unhappy and even trapped.

But we seriously do have the power to stand up and fight through the discomfort and start being true to who we really are and start taking actions that reflect who we actually are.

Will other people judge us? Probably.
Will we feel embarrassed? Probably.
Will we get better at doing things we really want to do if we carry on doing the things we really want to do? Probably.

Another reason people don’t take action is because they’re worried their friends or family might turn their back on them. If they’re meant to stick around they will. And if they don’t? Acknowledge that they were part of the learning process of you becoming you and thank them for it. They don’t need to be with you for the rest of the journey. You don’t need to stifle who you are to keep others happy.

What we need to remember is that if we trap ourselves in a prison designed by those judgements around us, it is our actions that are the keys to breaking out. We really do hold all of the power.