Many of you reading this newsletter live in other states. For those of you who are in Metro Melbourne, you know we are currently in Stage 4 Lockdown.
I’ll be honest and say it's been a tough couple of months for me.
We are only allowed to leave the house for 4 reasons... Medical, Shopping, Work or Exercise.
We can only exercise away from home for 2 hours maximum and only with 1 other person while maintaining social distancing.
I have friends and family in other states and they have NO IDEA what we are going through down here in Victoria. My sister just got back from a camping trip to Stradbroke Island.
Now the reason I tell you this is that many people have had to work out ways to deal with this second lockdown. I have
tried a few things but my latest challenge has been to answer your questions for a month.
Every day I have answered a different question that has been sent to me by posting a short video.
There are still a few days left for you to ask me something so please get your questions to me by sending a message to woody@cnbsafe.com.au
Ask Woody A Question - How do you wash the car?
October is Safety Month
Many companies are doing something different this year by hosting 'Virtual' safety meetings and training.
We have safety speakers available in WA, QLD, NSW, SA and VIC for those of you who would like to show your people the real impact of getting hurt at work.
Give Vanessa a call or send an email to arrange a speaker for your workplace.
In Person or Zoom/Team Online Meetings
All our Safety Speakers are continuing to deliver their Safety Presentations around the country.
Be it online or in person... we will work with you to keep Safety a priority.
It’s the NEW way of doing business and training.
Call today to book an in person or online live presentation from one of our Safety Speakers for National Safety Month.
Our Safety Speakers Share
Stories from Alan, Michael and Michelle about what they have been doing during these strange times.
Not everyone would know this but in January 2013, the very week that we lost Alex, our family home was meant to be put up for Sale.
We had dreams just like anyone else, but that week they were shattered without warning. As you can only imagine, our lives irreversibly changed. We could no longer sell, our future plans ceased to exist and life appeared to stand still for what felt like an eternity.
How could we sell the family home when all we now had were memories? Memories of Alex’s and has brothers growing up. Could you ever imagine having no choice about your future?
No is the right answer, and I’d never want anyone to have that choice taken away from them in the way it did our family.
Wind the clock forward 7 ½ years and somehow we felt ready, It has taken me this long to understand and accept that Alex would be with me no matter where I went.
And in what seems to have been a very long time, I have finally found inner peace.
We have moved, we have found that happy place just short of the Barossa Valley. This tells people that amongst tragedy we can come out the other side and for us it was in our own time, at our own pace
But more importantly it tells everyone the magnitude of which loss impacts.
COVID-19 second wave in Victoria has caused me far more issues than the first one.
I'm not sure why, I have been through worse as we all have with our incidents.
But this time it took me back to when my accident happened.
One of the first things said to me was, 'you have lost your right arm, all your qualifications for work, you should just get the disability pension.' In other words your working career is over and the only way I could put food on the table is take the pension.
For some reason COVID-19 took me back to this dark place. Being told to stay home, staying home again, not doing what I love doing. Presenting...sharing my story! Put me in a very dark place, bringing back all the bad
memories.
20 odd years down the track l never thought I would be fighting those demons again, this is what COVID-19 has done to me.
Once again Kathy(my wife) has been picking me up saying it will get better, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
I cannot wait to see my friends at CNB Safe and get out presenting, it's what makes me happy.
Well if there was anything I can be grateful for during the COVID-19 in 2020, was the time I have utilised to do some renovations at our house which included a major garden make-over at both the front and backyards.
I have always loved gardening throughout my life but nowadays my gardens mean much more to me now than ever before. The garden is a place that I can go outside to, get some fresh air and talk with our old family member “Hogan the Labradoodle” (Hogan’s Hero’s) who is 14 years old this year.
Most important to me is it’s a place that I can escape to when I need to meditate and focus on mindfulness.
Recently, my wife Donna bought me a 'Panda Drum' for Father’s Day and it has been extremely relaxing to sit outside in the garden and play
some tunes on the Panda Drum. I have found that the sounds are extremely calming for me and add another element to my times outside. The bonus that my wife and I have recently discovered is that Hogan will immediately laydown when he hears the Panda Drum and drifts off to sleep…just amazing!
If only we had one of these when our adult kids were babies.
So, whilst COVID-19 still controls our lifestyle (no more-so than Victoria at present), there are still the simple things in life that we can embrace to assist with keeping our Mental Health and happiness in check.
Speaker Chats - Michelle & Woody
Keep an eye out for the next Speaker Chat where I was lucky enough to catch up with Michelle Rath.
Michelle explains how her life was turned upside down when her 23-year-old son Alex lost his life in a workplace incident.
It will be out in the next week or so but while you are waiting it might be the perfect opportunity to watch some of the other Speaker Chats.
I’m a bit biased here but Safety Annie is sooooooo cute. I watch her videos and it just makes me smile.
She recently did a couple of videos to encourage Victorians and her school mates to 'Hang in there' during Victorian Stage 4 lockdown. She also did the BEST message for her birthday and anyone else who has had a bir Do yourself a favour and get online to watch some of her videos, she’s great. Show them to your kids and your workmates.
