In this week’s podcast, we interviewed Jayne Lawson. Alongside her husband David and 3 young daughters and nephew, they operate a farm and vineyard called Black Wallaby Wines down near Bendigo in Victoria.
For them, farming is just a way of life and they do it with passion and love. We got Jayne onto the podcast because like most people from the land, she has such an incredible and unique perspective on positivity, resilience, and resourcefulness, and we wanted to share her journey and point of view with people during these interesting times during the COVID business shutdown.
We recognise, that it’s important right now to connect with your community. It is the heart of connecting. Reach out to those around you through technology. We’re able to keep in touch with those we love, and still able to watch those that inspire you. You don’t have to be alone in isolation. I think more than ever this is the time to connect, to go deep within, take a big breath and really assess where your life is right now. And take note to see if you are happy! The world is changing, so it’s a time to wake up and really call upon our resilience and our strength, because we all have it.
No one should take away from you how you’re coping with this period right now. How bad it may be or how challenging this is. You’re allowed to say ‘it's not fair’ and stamp your feet because we are all entitled to feel like that at one point or another. We all will feel like that. But feeling like that and thinking like that isn't changing it, and at some point you need to acknowledge that we're all still here and we really are in this together.
This is the time to ask yourself “So what am I going to do? Am I just going to sit here and feel sorry for myself or am I going to turn around and say ‘Okay, could be worse’ then take a deep breath and move forward from there.”
Spoken like a true farmer’s wife, there is so much we can learn from people that live on the land and face crisis on a regular basis. Flood, locusts, drought, bushfires, cancelled contracts, livestock issues… the challenges are very real when you’re in farming and Jayne shares with us that no matter what, you need to be grateful for the things you have. Gratitude is so important. We need to stop being so busy and look around, take stock and appreciate what and who we have in our lives and make sure that they know it.
These incredibly strange circumstances are bringing out everybody's true colours. While everyone is stuck at home, not distracted by the craziness and business of their everyday lives, they’re forced to take a break and look around at what really matters.
Timestamps
6:15
With the drought we’re still struggling through, there's a lot of politics behind it, there is water available, but it's not accessible.
24:54
In a crisis like Covid-19 it's important that we're still showing that we're taking business seriously...we’re sticking to our word.
33:57
It’s bringing to light about our white privilege, how much we think that we deserve and what we think that we're entitled to.
41:07
People struggle with anxiety. It’s a real condition. They're not making it up. They're not being dramatic.
If you would like to find out more about Jayne, follow this link:
https://www.blackwallabywines.com/
https://www.facebook.com/blackwallabywines/
To get in touch with Melissa, find her here:
https://melissajscott.com
https://divinecreative.com.au
https://hereticcreative.agency