Happy New Year everyone! What better way to spend it than by starting my Walk the Talk for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health virtual tour? I’m at Kurrawa Beach on the Gold Coast in Queensland, one of my all time favourite places. From here I’ll be heading north-west up to Coomera to make my first stop at Kalwun Health Service in Coomera, which is the clinic I used to go to when I was living there. I should get there easily today so expect another post sometime soon.
I chose Kurrawa Beach as the start (and it will also be the finish) of Walk the Talk because it’s a special place to me. I love the beach and the ocean, but Kurrawa is a place where I can find peace in myself. When I lived here I would often come to Kurrawa to get away from everything; to clear my mind, calm myself, and get my head back on straight. If I had a problem I needed to work out, or something was worrying me and I didn’t know what to do, a walk along the beach, a swim in the ocean, a little time lying under the sun, feeling the warm wind on my skin, smelling and tasting the salt water, hearing the white noise of the waves crashing over and over again, and many times the answers would come to me. Or if they didn’t, I at least left with a reassurance that the answers weren’t far away, and that I could deal with what was happening around me.
Having a place like Kurrawa, a place that makes you feel at ease, that you can escape to or run to, that nurtures your mental, emotional and spiritual well-being is very important for your mental health. The type of place doesn’t matter: it could be a beach, like for me, or the bush, or the heart of the city. It could be a concert hall, or a community centre, or a room in your own home. The important thing is how it makes you feel and what it does for you. It’s a good place, a positive place, a place where you can recharge. We all need a place like that, because that helps us cope with the rest of the world.
It would be great to hear about your special place! Feel free to share with us in the comments below!
