Monday Muses ~ Craig's Table.

Just a few days back this garden bed was over grown with weeds and littered with rubbish. And now veggie seeds have been planted, these are the first two pumpkin seeds that have emerged. There are beans and peas and zucchini seeds as well. There are also marigold seeds sprinkled among all of it. I know that according to the gardeners who are watching this grow, they will say that the ground is growing veggies and flowers- but if you look very carefully you will also see hope and achievement and self-belief and commitment growing. You may even get to catch a glimpse of hugs and happy tears and smiles that almost outshine the sun. There is also an overdose of pride from myself for every member of the A Team for daring to dream and for daring to step forward into their own lives.

Thank you to Andrew Ellery for donating the Varidesk that he won to Craig's Table. This member of the A Team has put the Varidesk to good use.

As you all know I am a constant reader of books and watcher of TED Talks. And as a few of you know I am a scribbler of notes on windows and glass doors and even bedroom mirrors when I don't have a white board or sticky notes handy. I write things down, I look at concepts put forward, I draw out the connections from one book, one white paper, one TED Talk and connect dots. I have notebooks and folders filled with thoughts and newspaper clippings and photos, just to pull the fragmented concepts that oft stay disconnected for a very long time. Then as has happened over the last few days a random clip that I have watched countless time and a TED Talk also the words and the deepest truest courage of a friend combined with an issue filled with frustration and annoyance for one of the A Team set off a cascade of thoughts and questions and dots that needed to have lines drawn to pull it all together. So please come with me on a journey that has me still seeking ways to ask the questions that although I know what they are, as yet the words are not quite in order.

Please note this is just me thinking out loud.

It started with this clip How Wolves Change Rivers The return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park altered the ecology of the Park- the wild life, the flora the fauna and the bird life, the aquatic life and the river itself. what this clip doesn't tell us is how much the wolves also altered human interaction. What was the increase of bed nights for the nearby accommodation what was the increase of sales from every angel from petrol to souvenirs, to camping equipment. I would imagine that the increase of funds has filtered far and wide and that people who track data would be able to trace every component and connect all of it to the wolves.

So to my first set of questions that had me scribbling on the mirror in the middle of the night because the only way I was going to get any sleep was to write the thoughts/questions down.

1. What would happen if we put injured workers back into the central focus of their claim?
2. Who would benefit the most from such a change? A: the system ------the community A: the employer ---- the State A: the injured worker --- the Nation
3. What new concepts could/would emerge?

TED Talk Bono: My three wishes for Africa Bono has absolutely nothing to do with workers compensation or the injured worker community- other than many people would be fans of his music However in this TED Talk Bono said some words that I needed to write down "when we admit we can do something about it- we actually have to do something about it." then Bono said "idealism detached from action is just a dream"

Then I watched my friend and colleague Dr Caroline Howe Opening Pandora's Box Caroline spoke the words- "this was my normal"

Then I watched another TED Talk by Zachary Wood : Why its worth listening to people you disagree with Zachary used words that we all use "common ground"

All of this combined with the knowledge that "Last year, over 2,900 people were injured in workplaces in Newcastle" (Australia) and the frustration of one member of the A Team was having; an issue that raises its ugly head all too often .

All of it has been rattling around in my mind for the past few days. Each day I walk into Craig's Table, I get to see the garden growing, I get to see the donations spilling into Craig's Table Op Shop and I get to see the work being done in Bay One . Each day I get to see the training schedule on the white board and I get to see the names of the A Team under the group they are in. Each day I get to see so many changes and I get to be a first hand witness the changes that each member of the A Team is building back into their own lives and the lives of their families and wider communities.

So I come back to Yellowstone National Park (3,472 square miles) and all the changes the first 14 wolves made and all the concept dots that have formed and connected (at least in my mind) over the last few days and as serendipity would have it 14 members of the A Team at Craig's Table.

The Marksman will tell you that I have never been very good at following rules. He would set rules, and then I would question why the rules were required when the framework didn't insist on rules. Then the Marksman would challenge me to break the rules and add more layers of concepts to it all. For me right now I have my faith in 14 members of the A Team, as with the wolves in Yellowstone, they are changing the workers compensation concept within the framework provided- What the outcomes are to be, what the new normal will be, what the new common ground will be right now just forms many many more questions that need real discussions with my "dreamers" ?? ????????? As Sheryl Sanberg said- we all need to be at the table (Craig's Table) and we all need to lean in. It really is a conversation that needs to be had.

Next the need to have real and meaningful work for the A Team to do lead Corey to find ways to build using discarded wooden pallets, this was just one of the projects that can be built.

Tomorrow is an important day- tomorrow we will set the date for when Craig's Table Op Shop will open.

(I really do have the best job anywhere in the whole world)

It is that time of the evening again, time to get some dinner then do the dishes.

Thank you for indulging my random thoughts.

Yours in service

Rosemary

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Social equity for injured workers

Global Goodwill Ambassador

PS

Massive congratulates Ruth Hogarth on your appointment to ABIME Global Board of Advisors

PPS WorkCompCentral Blog Spot