In what ways are you most often misunderstood?

After what seemed an eternity, the first Make it Better (MiB) Table for 2023 kicked off on Thursday, 23 March. We have changed a few elements, the first being that rather than doing the MiB Tables every two months on alternating weeks, we’ll be having them once a month on the fourth Thursday. We also returned to an ‘old’ MiB Table practice of participants pitching for help on a challenge or opportunity.  

We have always believed that whoever is at the Table are the right people, and last week we had a full table (almost overflowing) of regular and new participants.  

Col acknowledged country, sharing that on his way up to Melbourne he was reflecting on the Joni Mitchell lyrics ‘they paved paradise to put up a parking lot’, prompting the Table to consider both the implications of the diminishing of the natural environment, but also on how the small pockets that are retained feed our souls.  

Then we tackled the question about being misunderstood, with Col facilitating one half of the table and Ashlee and Craig the other (Paul and Jane were at the Venus Bay Impact Investment Retreat). These were deep conversations, ranging from how people living with a disability can be misunderstood, how labelling can restrict what we assume a person is capable of, the need to watch how we say what we say, and to check in with others on how they are doing so that they can best hear the hard stuff we may need to say to avoid misunderstandings. As the two halves came back together, there was a feeling that important and deep conversations had occurred – and that we had taken our capes off.  

There were the pitches (see attachment) and then further conversations over drinks and clean up.  

It was so good to gather in this way again.