Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
- Thomas A. Edison -
After having experienced a lot of life, highs and lows, and how those things have lasting effects upon a human, (me or others), I saw an opportunity. It happened by default if I'm honest. I noticed that people openly told me things, confided in and opened up to me with thoughts and feelings, concerns and problems that I'd never thought they'd want to share. I'd listen and make responses that helped them see things more clearly, opened their minds to different paths of thought, challenged and supported them, empathised, guided and empowered, as best I could.
Eventually I began to take on clients, mentoring business people, first-responders, military and other such people who wanted to excel in their chosen field. They paid me for it, quite well in fact, although reward also came from knowing I was helping people add layers of value to their personalities, helping them find how to, and where to, step a little more sure-footedly in their life-paths. Empowerment.
I also spent/spend time volunteering and working with military personnel suffering with PTSD, an area the government seem quite reluctant to invest in.
That eventually pushed outward, as things do, and I, (along with a couple other guys), formed a group - essentially a men's mental health group.
It's a men's group and not just a group because we felt many men were not well-supported when it came to mental health issues...you know what men can be like: Stubborn, stoic and closed. I am one of those myself and I know many others like that. We don't feel all that comfortable admitting we need help, are feeling fragile or that we feel a lack of confidence and competence. We saw a need and filled it I guess and started small, just a few guys having coffee and talking out stuff, and began to grow as word spread.
The group consists of those I mention above, but also random others who feel in need of a place to speak out, or just listen to others, about their troubles in which they felt unjudged; a forum in which they could openly confront their issues knowing it's private to the group and will be supported by those around them, and that others have been, or are going, through similar issues. It's been years now and I believe we're making a difference. Of course, it helps those of us who organise and orchestrate it as well so there's nothing but benefit for all concerned.
We do events like barbeques, go-kart racing, outdoor activities like kayaking, hiking and off-roading and with select people we take them shooting and hunting. We have dinners, drinks nights and general gatherings where the guys bring partners and support people and we hit a lot of cafés too.
What's cool is that there's often groups within the group meaning people gravitate towards each other and hold their own catch-ups either one-on-one or in threes and fours. I'm in on one such group of guys who have been through similar scenarios to me and I find value and support in that bond.
We don't always get everyone in the same place at the same time, it's fluid, but there could be eight to thirty fellows at any given event or gathering.
Occasionally we arrange larger events and it's one such thing I'm we're working on at the moment.
The core group all have the same likes and dislikes generally and the outdoors is our thing. We off-road, go camping and hunting, hike, kayak, fish and other such things so we decided to put an event together around those things.
I have a friend with a very cool property in the middle of the Flinders Ranges, a vast working sheep station with mountains, rolling hills, scrub and forested areas, creeks and some great places to camp. There's also great four-wheel-drive tracks and reasonable hunting opportunities...perfect for a few days away with the men's group. (We really need a name for it I guess, we have called it simply, the group for many years...we'll make a name up someday. Or not.)
The idea is a camping weekend for three days, off-roading, hiking and generally just hanging around.
There'll be a few set activities but it's mostly about getting the guys together and letting them do whatever they wish I guess, for them to interact and chat. I'm planning a mission for the group though, a hike where teams will need to work together to navigate (using compass and map) to various points to gather intel, an item from each checkpoint, and return in the shortest possible time. Of course, not all of the folks know how to navigate so we have an instructional class before that and each unit will have an experienced nav-guy to help along the way; getting lost out there isn't much fun. I'm really looking forward to that activity, I'm making it brutal...some four to five hours at least. [Insert evil grin here]
It's all about fun and teamwork though, and building confidence, skills and helping people achieve something they might have thought the could not. It's going to be epic.
Besides a few planned things most of the time is free. We'll have loads of four-wheel drives, dirk bikes and quads there along with other things to play around with; one of the chaps is going to do a few sessions on bushcraft and survival, and of course there'll be a big campfire each night for us all to sit around...bear skins optional.
It's been in planning for several weeks now and will happen in early October when the weather is pretty-much perfect for this sort of thing and so far we have thirty eight group members attending with a cap of forty five.
My mate runs part of his huge property for eco-tourism so has cabins, shower blocks and open camp areas and the whole thing will be ours. The super-cool thing is there's no cost, to anyone...at all. (Well, they have to get there I guess, but most are car-pooling with other group members.) The group members come from all walks of life and many have businesses and it's those who are supporting the event with sponsorship. Cool right? It's a costly thing to put together and there's many elements to it but we want it to be free of cost for the group guys. The core leadership guys have been seeking additional sponsors for food and drinks where required and it's all looking really great and is coming together well.
Putting together events like this are the fun part of what I do with this men's group, a reward of sorts, but it has a serious side too. The volunteer work I do, the paid mentoring and the many calls I get randomly from people who just want a quick chat doesn't always go to plan and we've lost people to suicide unfortunately; I've lost personal mates to it as well, which I've loosely written about before. Having said that, I feel we're doing some good and will continue to push towards that and support those who need it.
Do any of you folks volunteer your time to help others? I don't just mean with PTSD and mental health issues, but generally? I believe volunteering is one of the most important things a person can do; it shows character, selflessness, generosity and care for others, and oneself. I find that I get so much more value than I probably give through volunteering and I know many of the guys who help me do this (doctors, psychologists, health practitioners and so on), feel the same. How about you?
Feel free to comment below, I'm interested to hear your stories, thoughts or general comments; I always respond.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
[All original and proudly AI free]
Any images in this post are my own.