Whatever happens we are going to need each other...

This point of the YTYT year is always a bit of an odd one.  Yesterday saw the very excellent performance of Lit on the Lawn (see Jacobs blog for more details about that) but it also saw the last Gold sessions for some people who have been getting up for drama club on a Saturday morning for a significant amount of years.  It’s sad but it’s the way it goes – I’m very grateful I get to share the formative years of so many brilliant people and I’ve learnt over the years that when it’s time to let them go, despite the sadness there’s a celebration in watching them start the next chapter. Don’t get me wrong I’ll miss them all but I know they are on to bigger and brighter things, we are not suddenly set on opposite sides…their world and our world just gets bigger.  This was illustrated beautifully when on the same day as the performance and final sessions I spent my lunch time with a YTYT member who left 12 years ago.  She lives in London, is so very successful in so many ways and still finds time to have a catch up with me when circumstances allow.

All that said – transition is tricky and whether or not it is chosen or forced upon us there is an awful lot to process and manage.  This is mainly due to the whole heap of unknown that is going on.  There are so many variables, factors, influences and we have such varying degrees of control.  This makes projection of what might be inevitable and finds us trying to make plans based on what if’s and maybe’s.  The overriding point here is that we cannot, in any way, predict the future.  At this point the only choice open to us is to hold on tightly to our philosophies, our values, our beliefs and our compassion.   These are the things that will allow us to successful charter our new landscape. It also helps to understand that so many other people are going through the same thing…or perhaps already have or even will do in the near future.  All of these people can be our co pilots as we navigate the unchartered terrain and all of these people have the same needs as us…they need to be nourished, have shelter, feel safe, find belonging…they need to be part of a community that cares for them.  As we leave one community behind we look for the next one that will support us through the next chapter.

I have to wonder at this point how many of you saw this third paragraph coming - how many of you realized that not even the YTYT blog is EU referendum free.  The whole country at the moment is navigating a transition regardless of the result on Thursday.  One of the saddest things is so many people seem to have forgotten that everyone that is experiencing this pivotal moment is united through their needs.  What is also overlooked is that no one knows what will happen.  All we have to base our future on is a number of projections of what might be, we are being forced to make plans based on what if’s and maybe’s.  Again the overriding point is we cannot, in any way, predict the future.  And so at this point the only choice open to us is to hold on tightly to our philosophies, our values, our beliefs and our compassion.  I have been starved of breath as I witnessed the cruelty humans are capable of when we allow ourselves to become a polarized society…the heartbreak of the headlines are one thing but the every day tragedies of casually insulting people and exhibiting unnecessary aggression are also entirely and utterly sad.  An acceptance that everyone is trying to navigate a complicated landscape to the best of their ability, that we are united in our needs and that we all deserve the chance to be listened to and our views respected as long as they are articulated in a respectful, mindful and compassionate manner has never been more vital.

It won’t surprise any of you that know me that I will be voting to remain as part of the EU on Thursday.  I have listened and read and considered and debated.  In the end I have decided to hold fast to my belief that bigger borders do not fix anything, that division is reductive and that there are more things that unite us as divide us.  I also think it is much easier to make things better if you are part of it…this is oversimplified but it’s a concise summary.  You might agree with me, you might not but whichever way you want the referendum to go and whatever happens we are going to need each other to make the next chapter of our world work so there is no point falling out over it.  Make your vote and by all means engage in healthy debate as you decide which box you will choose on the day but please try and listen as much as you speak when you do this and remember that when it comes down to it there is more that we have in common than sets us apart…it’s just we lose sight of it too easily.