Rose, Poppy and I are all home from a big day out in very, very hot weather. We have turned on the air conditioner and collapsed on a mattress on the floor of the lounge room in our underwear, like a big pile of puppies. Rose is napping and Poppy is nursing and I’m checking Twitter and accepting new friend requests on Facebook. 

Not a lot could have persuaded us to venture out in 42C, but today was something special. Rose let me sleep in until 15 minutes before we had to leave because I am fighting a sinus infection and was feeling so rubbish I cried when the alarm went off an hour earlier. Today was the first meeting of the Community Advisory Committee put together by the brand new SA Mental Health Commission. We were both successful applicants which is very exciting, and brought Poppy along as it was an all day event and she still won’t take milk from cups or bottles. I was anxious about that but it went incredibly smoothly. She’s such a social little baby and the folks there are so friendly. She had a wonderful day cuddling everyone and singing. 

It was a special day. They’ve assembled an amazing group of people and I feel very honored to be included. My headspace was rough to begin with and I felt very small – boardroom type meetings are so very out of my culture still and my sense of failure is very attuned and intense at times. But I drew my distress (as I do) and my sense of dislocation calmed and as it eased I could see how I fit here and what I could bring to it.

“I’m here representing self loathing, insecurity, failure, bewilderment, inadequacy, poverty etc etc etc.

So here we are, helping hold a space to make something new! Other brilliant, vulnerable people with their own communities and experiences of failure and success. People who have heard of pluralism and open dialogue approaches to communication and diversity! Doubt and vulnerability are also valuable to bring to such spaces. I am very excited and hopeful.