Thank you Sam for your encouragement upon reading this excellent article -Hooray!- and also Kermit’s blog. Much appreciated. Louisa
MIstake on my part
The stanza I quoted was from a poem by a Spanish poet, Antonio Machado, from the poem, Last Night I Dreamt.
Thank you for your comments and reflections. We hope to have another Town Hall in three weeks if all goes well.
Responding to madmom’s insight that aspiring to be a Town Hall will require patience from us all, as we are on “a learning curve.” I will confess, I am not learned in Town Hall etiquette but, as Kermit said to me this sunny, snowy morning, we ”feel fortunate and blessed to have met these estimable people and to have the opportunity to invite them to our virtual table and hear their dialogue.”
Bear with us please, dear Sam, oldman and madmom and other contributors.
My brain is still a scramble from years of terror walking beside my son into madness and the biomedical and not so humane response. My “tool” is admittedly not so sharp. Help us out with your wisdom and experience, as you are doing in your comments.
Perhaps “MWE” all do our best to speak and offer what we can and invariably make lesser and also terrible mistakes. Let the hive make honey together.
Rumi’s
Last night I dreamt,
Oh Marvelous Error!
that there were honey bees in my heart,
making honey,
from my past mistakes.
I am from a small town in NH but we didn’t have town meetings. Close by in Nelson, they held these forums in their Town Hall. I remember the ethos of everyone’s voices being heard and the meetings going on and on and on.
Currently we are planning on a half hour of opening the conversation up to the attendees’ reflections, questions and comments, at the end of the panelists’ conversation amongst themselves. As we see how this Friday’s gathering unfolds, the form will evolve. At present, Some of these written reflections, questions and comments from the attendees will be read aloud by Kermit and me and responded to by the panel. The thought behind this is, as best we can, to make space to respond to as many voices as possible. Perhaps in the future we will use the Zoom function to break into small groups for discussions and report back. Your feedback is important so let us know how you feel about this first gathering and your suggestions going forward.
Your words, madmom, “… it could be a way to gain trust in community again and reintegrate.” ring in me. I think of Gheel in Belgium. People came there for the waters, to be healed and then families took them in. may the world follow their compassionate lead.
If a hundred people offer their voices on Friday, we will sadly, only, in a half hour, be able to respond to a few.
Yes, Cat night, Let’s Do Something. Many things. Let’s all Do Something to be of help to one another. Listen with more care. Respond more readily. Change the system to support and encourage rather than label and drug. Work together on this.
missing you Matt, feeling your spirit,
Louisa
Thank you Mariel for writing as you have, and for surviving, and for mustering all you have been through to help others. I feel sure you are and will be a strong force of both activism and healing. There is no much more to say but not tonight. Enough to say, I am grateful for you, your life ~ that you are so very alive, and speak with power and clarity. I am hoping our paths will cross. respectfully, Louisa
I am stunned and without words at present, except to say, “Thank you Andrew. ” I admire your courage. May lives be saved. May justice be served. May great good come from what you have done in bringing light to this cover up.
My life is also changed by reading your life story, so beautifully and tenderly narrated, dear Matt. I am thankful to your parents and to you for your goodness, wisdom and courage and inspired to see and live differently and with more compassionate wonder.
Thank you dear Michael for sharing your perspective. Your words have inspired a lot of folks to speak up. May the dialogue further our cause for social justice, tolerance of differences and truth telling. ” Come on people now, smile on your brother(s and sisters.) Everybody get together. Try to love one another right now…”
Thank you for taking the time to write this your first MIA blog, Paris. I am sending it out to family members many of whom draw some comfort from seeing my son Luke’s years of anguish and his death as being the result of “mental Illness.” I have been puzzled how to respond to them, not wanting to take away anything that comforts them but feeling ill at ease with their explanation. Your perspective, clear and honest, written from a deeply compassionate and wise heart, carries the more tragic but also hopeful truth in a way I have not yet found.
Thank you Sam for your encouragement upon reading this excellent article -Hooray!- and also Kermit’s blog. Much appreciated. Louisa
MIstake on my part
The stanza I quoted was from a poem by a Spanish poet, Antonio Machado, from the poem, Last Night I Dreamt.
Thank you for your comments and reflections. We hope to have another Town Hall in three weeks if all goes well.
Responding to madmom’s insight that aspiring to be a Town Hall will require patience from us all, as we are on “a learning curve.” I will confess, I am not learned in Town Hall etiquette but, as Kermit said to me this sunny, snowy morning, we ”feel fortunate and blessed to have met these estimable people and to have the opportunity to invite them to our virtual table and hear their dialogue.”
Bear with us please, dear Sam, oldman and madmom and other contributors.
My brain is still a scramble from years of terror walking beside my son into madness and the biomedical and not so humane response. My “tool” is admittedly not so sharp. Help us out with your wisdom and experience, as you are doing in your comments.
Perhaps “MWE” all do our best to speak and offer what we can and invariably make lesser and also terrible mistakes. Let the hive make honey together.
Rumi’s
Last night I dreamt,
Oh Marvelous Error!
that there were honey bees in my heart,
making honey,
from my past mistakes.
I am from a small town in NH but we didn’t have town meetings. Close by in Nelson, they held these forums in their Town Hall. I remember the ethos of everyone’s voices being heard and the meetings going on and on and on.
Currently we are planning on a half hour of opening the conversation up to the attendees’ reflections, questions and comments, at the end of the panelists’ conversation amongst themselves. As we see how this Friday’s gathering unfolds, the form will evolve. At present, Some of these written reflections, questions and comments from the attendees will be read aloud by Kermit and me and responded to by the panel. The thought behind this is, as best we can, to make space to respond to as many voices as possible. Perhaps in the future we will use the Zoom function to break into small groups for discussions and report back. Your feedback is important so let us know how you feel about this first gathering and your suggestions going forward.
Your words, madmom, “… it could be a way to gain trust in community again and reintegrate.” ring in me. I think of Gheel in Belgium. People came there for the waters, to be healed and then families took them in. may the world follow their compassionate lead.
If a hundred people offer their voices on Friday, we will sadly, only, in a half hour, be able to respond to a few.
Yes, Cat night, Let’s Do Something. Many things. Let’s all Do Something to be of help to one another. Listen with more care. Respond more readily. Change the system to support and encourage rather than label and drug. Work together on this.
missing you Matt, feeling your spirit,
Louisa
Thank you Mariel for writing as you have, and for surviving, and for mustering all you have been through to help others. I feel sure you are and will be a strong force of both activism and healing. There is no much more to say but not tonight. Enough to say, I am grateful for you, your life ~ that you are so very alive, and speak with power and clarity. I am hoping our paths will cross. respectfully, Louisa
I am stunned and without words at present, except to say, “Thank you Andrew. ” I admire your courage. May lives be saved. May justice be served. May great good come from what you have done in bringing light to this cover up.
My life is also changed by reading your life story, so beautifully and tenderly narrated, dear Matt. I am thankful to your parents and to you for your goodness, wisdom and courage and inspired to see and live differently and with more compassionate wonder.
Thank you dear Michael for sharing your perspective. Your words have inspired a lot of folks to speak up. May the dialogue further our cause for social justice, tolerance of differences and truth telling. ” Come on people now, smile on your brother(s and sisters.) Everybody get together. Try to love one another right now…”
Thank you for taking the time to write this your first MIA blog, Paris. I am sending it out to family members many of whom draw some comfort from seeing my son Luke’s years of anguish and his death as being the result of “mental Illness.” I have been puzzled how to respond to them, not wanting to take away anything that comforts them but feeling ill at ease with their explanation. Your perspective, clear and honest, written from a deeply compassionate and wise heart, carries the more tragic but also hopeful truth in a way I have not yet found.