"Walking for a better journey"

I had a very tumultuous couple on months in my personal life prior to joing the Solas group. I was more than a bit sceptical that a walking group would be of benefit. However over the two years I spent on the programme has benefitted my life in immeasurable ways and in multi faceted ways i would not have ordinarily expected. 

The physical health benefits of the programme are obvious. But perhaps more importantly the psychological benefits are more linger lasting. The programme gave me time to make physical activity habitual whilst also helping me develop inter-personal skills that others in life take for granted. The aspect of the programme i found refreshing was the empathy and camraderie amongst the participants. It really was like Dogtanian 'all for one and one for all' 

This was evident by virtue of the fact that the other participants were peers who had gone through similarly difficult times in their personal lives. This is not to say we revelled in misery, on the contrary our days were filled with candour, honesty, respect, with luke minded individuals. The strength of the programme lay in people being in similar positions yet taking a plethora of individual strategies which they found helpful and openly shared how these were beneficial. We had discussions about mental health without ever mentioning the word health this was refreshing because if you go to a medical doctor its more clinical as opposed to it being peer focused. We supported each other through some tough times as a group but the loyalty and friendship was touching. 

Now many years since I participated in the programme, I occassionally bump into some peers and we always genuinely hope for the best when we meet each other socially. Some of the people i have met there have been friends many years now and some make the effort to stay in touch more than others, but life moves on and at times there is a real air of nostalgia for the halcyon days I spent walking in beautiful places all over Donegal. 

It was a true privilege to be afforded a place on the programme. My only sadness was the day my two years came to its conclusion. But this was part of the strength of the programme by the time i did leave the biggest compliment I can pay the programme is simple yet equally heartfelt i left the programme in a much better place than I arrived to its door. I developed social skills, felt much less socially awkward, have a sense of confidence and in both my speaking or my times of silence. Sometimes words dont need to be enunciated. They can be without wondering why they are so. Don't get me wrong, Solas is not a panacea to fix all of the ills in ones life. It is however a very useful way and invitation to fight a personal battle in a different way. It is beneficial to anyone who has experienced mental ill health.

The caring nature of the programme was heart warming. On the wall there was quote 'a laugh a day, but this might strike one as surprising but the cohort of people in the group (always private omerta without the mafia membership) made the group what it was.

During my time in the group we had poets, writers, musicians, golfers, swimmers, runners, footballers, painters, younger men, middle aged men, older gentlemen, younger ladies and motherly types of women. This was the strength of the group peer support, no judgement, confidentiality and a little insight shared amongst ourselves on our walks.

I learned so much from people there was understated brilliance in the group. There were people who knew languages, people who read widely, seen the world by travelling, some professional people and some who the battle meant they were finding ways to move forward into the future. But people are not to be viewed in terms of contribution. Its like that old european folk story of the soup. People brough many different things to the table and the whole always exceeded the sum of its parts. It was a honour to count such people among my new friends. In a world where everybody wants credit for what they do and the days of going out of your way to aid someone in their time of crisis comes without expectation of gain. The group when I was a member seen its trials and dificulties in some very unexpected ways. But we rallied, we talked and put the world to right. 

This part of the journey is how the programme is useful. Before I joined the programme, I was not very active. I now walk six kms a day years after I left the programme. It imbeds habits and routine. I am still in contact with some people from the group. I push myself socially within my own parameters to engage with the external world outside. I am more honest with myself, I don't tell myself comfortable lies like i dont need people or the need to engage is over rated. I push myself and like Robert Frost said "This is the road less travelled by, it has made all of the difference".

It is worthwhile making that call, because it may just well be the start of a new road and journey which might just pleasantly surprise you. It certainly surprised me all those years ago, when i made that call and heard soothing and dulcet tones that empathised with my personal and psychological predicament. The friends I made here have been very valuable and the amount of incessant laugher from someone in the group saying humourous things was contagious. Not only were the people I met on the programme among the best people I met in my life they were among the funniest too with quips, rejoinders, double entendres. Some of the one liners were comic genius and in my memory I look back and laugh in reverie.