What if we swap Covid for compassion and consideration? As we lose the masks what would happen if we all made a conscious decision to share smiles with all the people we pass in the street? Knowing how impactful our contact with other humans can be, what would it be like if we spread a sense of warmth and acceptance of others? Remember the first days of clapping for the NHS? What would it be like if we reframed that appreciation and support and directed it to our everyday community, and they did the same in return? And how could we expand upon this?

What are the skills, resources, human qualities and emotions we can bring into this equation that might support a healthy community, a community that in turn nourishes us and our family? We have stripped our daily luxuries and better understand our needs vs wants and, in many cases, our unhealthy addictions. As we co-create the emerging future we have the opportunity to consider what we value more; a state of elevated independent material wealth in an unstable economy, or a state of elevated collective wellbeing that becomes part of a more primal and unshakable economy – one of human connection and positive energy.

They say it takes a village to raise a child and recently I have been reflecting that it takes a community to support an adult. This is a call for us to expand our thinking around how our actions and energy can bring benefit to our fellow beings, benefit to their physical, emotional, spiritual and mental health.

Money is a means to an end and in a growth economy those ends are inherently dictated by the pursuit of profit over people as decreed by those who receive profit. What if one of the symptoms of a pandemic of positivity (yup – it’s a thing now!) was for people to explore trades of time and skills? To actively seek ways to bypass the need for money?

It might be a tad idealistic to suggest a wholesale shift away from the established economic system but I maintain there is huge value in sharing our true selves and actively seeking to support those around us beyond our inner circles. We need to remember that a healthy and well balanced society represents profit for us all. So much of the stress and anxiety in life comes from a fear of judgement, of rejection, of failure. This leads to us being fake, pretending we are okay when we are not, of becoming disconnected with ourselves as we struggle to be the things we think other people want us to be. By seeking to acknowledge and explore each other’s stories, qualities and offerings as well as sharing our needs, weaknesses and vulnerability we build a connection based on the commodity of our true selves rather than the fabricated value of money.

This philosophy is at the heart of what Flip Your Dog For Mental Health is about. Like so many I have found great solace in dark times through yoga, meditation, counselling and, when I have let go of my dark clouds, community. By celebrating these simple gifts in both our commercial and charitable work, and collaborating with charities and communities who are holding space for vulnerable humans to explore their lived experience and move into a healthy mode of living, it feels we are aligning our values with intention, action with outcome. By generating and distributing finances in ways that focus on supporting positive mental health and the quality of human life on an emotional and spiritual level it feels we are sending out good energy. It’s not plain sailing and we’ll get lot’s of things wrong along the way and from that will come a deeper understanding of how to move forward with integrity and truth, which feel right. Welcome to the pandemic of positivty.

Careful, it might be contagious…

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