Hugh Mackay speaking of revolution? It doesn’t seem to make sense. Yet in fact a revolution that Hugh dreams of is about Australia being a loving country, with a commitment to kindness – and on a large scale. Hearing Hugh’s address for Social Health Australia – Kindness is not a Spectator Sport - was a great good fortune.
Hugh outlined that the number of households has increased 10 fold in Australia yet every 4th household contains one person. He very poignantly pointed out that “human beings have never lived like that in our history.” The social trends that have bought us to this moment are the choices we have made. Now the number one health issue in our country is social isolation and as we know that can, for many people, lead to loneliness.
It can be difficult for someone so knowledgeable and having waded through a great deal of research to identify the solutions and make them relatable. Yet Hugh identifies that we need to focus less on being busy and importantly to listen and be kind to one another. So “recognising we have a common humanity”, like some people have been forced to confront in times of crisis and natural disaster.
It seems to be a revolution worth joining……….
