Making the World Better Through our Struggles
My husband and I attended an event called ‘Aspiring Conversations’ where we listened to musicians talk about their creative process, what music meant to them, and the moment they knew they had to create music. Adam McGrath, Julia Deans and Ebony Lamb contributed their stories and perspectives to the engaging conversation and then each sang one of their own compositions and one cover song. Each of them shared in different ways; how music was the deepest expression of who they were. This made me think a lot about how important it is to find a way to express our ideas and feelings. Great musicians use rhythm, sound and words to express what is often hard to express simply with language. Ebony Lamb chose Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compares to You’ as her cover, as a tribute to a woman who spoke the truth.
The song pulled me from my gut to my heart and back again. The simple opening phrase, “It’s been seven hours and fifteen days since you took your love away,” stops my heart. In those two short sentences, I am there with her feeling her pain, her longing, feeling my own love and losses. This was the power of this remarkable musician, even when she was sharing the most personal of experiences, her voice could pour into your living room and touch your rage, your frustration with the injustices of the world, she could speak to your own discontent or longing. You could hear the honesty in her performances, her lyrics, her voice. In this tribute to Sinead O’Connor, I was remined how Sinead was raw, vulnerable and brave.
The evening ended, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Sinead. How much she suffered, and even though we knew so much about her, there will be so much of her story we will never know. We knew she suffered and that she turned her suffering into songs that were beautiful and powerful and sometimes an act of rebellion. I started thinking about all the amazing people I have met these last five years in the mental health space. At the charity I founded, Unsinkable, we amplify the voices and stories of people who have struggled with their mental health, who have known darkness and sorrow, who have fought through the darkness and fight every day. So many of the story tellers I have met through my work are truth speakers, warriors, and champions for others. I realize that I started Unsinkable, in part, so that people could hear their voices. These beautiful and often remarkable people deserve to have their stories told, and we deserve to hear them, because they can give us hope, and courage, and a way forward.
From the Unsinkable community, I am learning so much. I am inspired daily to be brave, because I am surrounded by brave people. In our conversations about mental health, we so often forget that people who struggle with their mental health are often also the people who are making things better for others. They are using their experiences to make the health system better, they are advocating for young people, they are fighting for change. We forget to acknowledge that some of these people are the ones who create beautiful music, art, and culture.
Perhaps this is why I find the mental health story-sharing space so inspiring. It is the willingness to be real and vulnerable that makes their stories relatable and inspiring. These storytellers feel, they struggle, they suffer at times, and they are brave. It is good to remind ourselves how much these people bring to the world, how much their stories, or music or art can expand our thinking, challenge our prejudices, and illuminate our ignorance. I know how often it is the people who suffer the most are the ones who stand up for others, who challenge injustice, and who ask us to think differently, to think better. Our world is infinitely better because of these people.