Just one wave is all it takes to hopefully move someones headspace in the right direction for a healthy and happy life; at least, thats the premise behind the One Wave grass roots movement. The idea was developed in Sydney by a young man suffering from bipolar. While I personally have no idea what it’s like to suffer from a mental health issue like that, I can tell you that anxiety and depression have played a part in my life for a long time.
I can also honestly tell you that, as a bodyboarder who grew up on the coast, I can absolutely relate to the idea of hitting the water and feeling all my troubles disappear. Even if it’s only for that hour or so that I’m in the water, there honestly is nothing like it.
With one in four Australians suffering from some form of mental health issue it’s fare to say that we all know someone somewhere who is affected by a mental health problem. It might be as simple as just having a friend who has a member of their family who is dealing with something or you have a friend is having a hard time or someone in your family but one way or another mental health issues are around us every day. The thing that has become more and more clear in recent times is that hiding these issues is not the answer, it’s important that we talk to our friends or are just there to listen when we are needed.
Lachlan Mackenzie manages The Escalators, a roots and reggae band based on the south coast of NSW, he told me that social conscience and a personal connection to mental health issues was what drove the band to recently write a song about the ‘One Wave’ project. I caught with Lachie from the Escalators and Grant Sebilco from ‘One Wave’ recently for 2BOB Radio and I started by asking Lachie what drove them to write a song about the ‘One Wave’ project.
Fluro Friday events are taking place on beaches all over the world these days and as Grant Sebilco from ‘One Wave Is All It Takes’ said, you can find their events on your local beaches by Searching for the One Wave pages on Facebook.
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if you’re interested, here’s a great little video story about a group of mates off on a bus adventure who are also participating in Fluro Friday events where ever they go https://www.facebook.com/ABCRural/videos/1428783813849046/