Commonalities of being human

[Lamiya Samad]

Today was my first day of being so very warmly welcomed by Community Life Competence - a group of unique individuals having shared vision - 'the art of seeing the invisible visible'.  These words define vision and echo in my mind - presented as a plaque to my father during one of the Diabetes Conferences.  A man of principles and wisdom, who I value even more as time passes...he passed away just before the first lockdown started here in the UK.

As I was familiarising myself with the documenting process of the virtual Global Learning Festival (which started from today/1st October), just thought I would write about the inspiring group conversation we had (as part of the GLF).  The video that we watched included a woman reaching out to her grandmother to learn how to stitch masks during Covid - the need for connecting with each other.

We talked about what strengths we've discovered in ourselves and communities that have become anchors (in our response since the pandemic), and how did our experiences with SALT/CLCP help in adapting to new situations. 

A beautiful sentence is said by the grand mum (in the video) 'Although I fear the disease (Covid), I feel the calm'.  This made us think about how we can find internal 'anchorage' - by embracing uncertainty and vulnerabilities, which can also be our strengths. 

We talked about how we all (re)discovered moments of pause - to reflect on what really matters to us, being with family, learning from our children (and the way they see life through a simple, beautiful lens), the 'yoga mat' being a symbol for that 'moment of pause' - to meditate and be with ourselves with gratitude, spirituality, including ways that help us heal collectively, as a community. 

The SALT philosophy relates to a way of thinking, a way of reaching out and working together by harnessing strengths - a way of being.  It is the commonalities of being human that binds us, gives a sense of belonging and keeps us connected.