Don't give up

If you're as old as me, then you'll remember Kate Bush twirling around in a red dress singing to Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, Devo bopping to Whip It in their flower pot hats, and Mike and The Mechanics making us all cry in The Living Years.

You might also recall the closures of many large manufacturing plants, which left so many people out of work. You would recognise the look of fear and of desperation reflecting in the eyes of people now, who face similar insecurities.

I think back to the late nineties, when I came home to Newcastle after living in Sydney for about ten years. I started my first business as a massage therapist, and was continuing my training. I met some people in my massage courses, who had been retrenched by BHP - the largest employer in our region. When you got a job with BHP, you got it for life; but here were these people having to face a new existence without that security.

I really admired them. They would have felt betrayed, because that "job for life" was ripped away from them. It would have been terrifying, because they still had bills to pay and mouths to feed, and no idea how to get a job in their fifties.

Instead of crumbling (or staying in the foetal position indefinitely), they picked themselves up and tried something completely out of their comfort zone.

How unbelievably courageous!

I didn't stop to think that my choices might have sent a shiver of terror down their spines, but the truth is, that's probably what happened. I'd left a perfectly good job in Sydney to come home and try massage. Nay, worse, I'd done so to follow my intuition. A mere hunch (which proved correct).

So, now, I think of those who are facing similar insecurities and of those in nursing homes, and I can't help but wonder what the world would be like if we could get them talking.

Imagine, someone who knows what you're going through as you face unemployment. Imagine, someone who will help to advocate for your safety (and who could work as your aid).

The song that's reminded me of all this was by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush - Don't Give Up.

While watching this, the tears poured down my cheeks. As a single person, I am keenly aware of the lack of hugs during COVID, and it brought up all sorts of emotions. I felt their hugs, their support, across space and time.

Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush sang the soundtrack to my life, and reflect so much that has happened over the years. I looked over the comments underneath the YouTube video, and saw just how relevant and poignant this song is right now.

"You're not the only one"

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