The third and final installment of Remote Community Musings from Balgo in the Kimberley in the North East of Western Australia. A conversation about broken systems, the little wins, the power of community and an enormous nod to an experience I will never forget. An important acknowledgement of the community I worked within - The Wirrimanu Aboriginal Community. Thank you. 

The Ebbs and the Flows is an emotional health movement focused on openness and transparency about the light and the shade of the lives we led and journeys we encounter. The Ebbs and the Flows is not a licensed mental health service and therefore if you are seeking mental health advice, assessment or treatment, you should seek expert advice with a GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For those struggling, or who know somebody who is, help is available:

@lifelineaustralia 13 11 14

@beyondblueofficial 1300 22 4636

1800-RESPECT (1800 737 732)

@headspace_aus 1800 650 890

@kidshelplineau 1800 55 1800

For advice specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people @13yarn 13 92 76

For LGBTQIA+ specific advice @qlife_aus

1800 184 527

The Ebbs and The Flows website: www.theebbsandtheflows.com
Substack: https://substack.com/@theebbsandtheflows 

For The Ebbs and The Flows Instagram page head to https://www.instagram.com/theebbsandtheflows/

At the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress.

Part II of our two part conversation with Raphael Wong, Opera and Musical Theatre performer who has just finished a run in The Phantom of The Opera at the Sydney Opera House. Raphael is a performer, but also a teacher, a mentor and a family man. Join us for a conversation about the highs and lows of performance, the bittersweet nature of rejection, fatherhood and which idol he'd bring along for a long lunch with his son. 

Part II features Me and The World on a page, where Raph delves into a heartwrenching part of his job as a performer at funerals, A Note To Self where he issues some advice to his demoralised 21 year old self and Weird Fishes where we chat Pavarotti, Kobe Bryant and the messy, chaotic nature of love.  

Weird Fishes: 

Album: Marshall Mathers LP 
Film: 20 Feet from Stardom
Book/s: Shoedog by Phil Knight, Gone by Michael Grant, Gallipoli Sniper by John Hamilton and The Gift
Local Recommendation: South of Johnston

Be sure to like and subscribe to the podcast on Spotify or other podcast platforms and on Instagram! 

Produced and edited by William Balme. 

The Ebbs and the Flows is an emotional health movement focused on openness and transparency about the light and the shade of the lives we led and journeys we encounter. The Ebbs and the Flows is not a licensed mental health service and therefore if you are seeking mental health advice, assessment or treatment, you should seek expert advice with a GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For those struggling, or who know somebody who is, help is available:

@lifelineaustralia 13 11 14

@beyondblueofficial 1300 22 4636

1800-RESPECT (1800 737 732)

@headspace_aus 1800 650 890

@kidshelplineau 1800 55 1800

For advice specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people @13yarn 13 92 76

For LGBTQIA+ specific advice @qlife_aus

1800 184 527

The Ebbs and The Flows website: www.theebbsandtheflows.com
Substack: https://substack.com/@theebbsandtheflows 

For The Ebbs and The Flows Instagram page head to https://www.instagram.com/theebbsandtheflows/

At the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress.

Part I of our two part conversation with Raphael Wong, Opera and Musical Theatre performer who has just finished a run in The Phantom of The Opera at the Sydney Opera House. Raphael is a performer, but also a teacher, a mentor and a family man. Join us for a conversation about the highs and lows of performance, facing rejection and the changing face of Opera in our post-Covid world. 

This conversation focuses on Raphael's triumphs in one of the most brutal industries in the creative world, as well as the many setbacks and lessons he has taken from his many years as a singer and performer across Australia and beyond. We delve into mental health, the state of live theatre, education and how important it is to be in the moment, but how hard it can be to stay there when you are always on your toes contemplating your next role. 

Tune in next Tuesday for part II of our conversation - and be sure to like and subscribe to the podcast on Spotify or other podcast platforms and on Instagram! 

Produced and edited by William Balme. 

The Ebbs and the Flows is an emotional health movement focused on openness and transparency about the light and the shade of the lives we led and journeys we encounter. The Ebbs and the Flows is not a licensed mental health service and therefore if you are seeking mental health advice, assessment or treatment, you should seek expert advice with a GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For those struggling, or who know somebody who is, help is available:

@lifelineaustralia 13 11 14

@beyondblueofficial 1300 22 4636

1800-RESPECT (1800 737 732)

@headspace_aus 1800 650 890

@kidshelplineau 1800 55 1800

For advice specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people @13yarn 13 92 76

For LGBTQIA+ specific advice @qlife_aus

1800 184 527

The Ebbs and The Flows website: www.theebbsandtheflows.com
Substack: https://substack.com/@theebbsandtheflows 

For The Ebbs and The Flows Instagram page head to https://www.instagram.com/theebbsandtheflows/

At the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress.

Welcome back to The Ebbs and The Flows, Soft chats about Hard stuff. Today is our second edition of Remote Community Musings and we chat about despair. Why does despair send shivers down our spine? We look at the state of despair in the context of the recently released film 'The Iron Claw' which is a biopic based on the Von Erich family - a wrestling family out of Texas, who were struck by so many cruel blows they were deemed to be 'cursed'. Spoilers galore so be careful if you want to see the film soon. 

I am a lapsed wrestling fan who has come back around since COVID and the whole artform intrigues me more than ever, but there is no intrigue that is deeper than the dark cloud of despair that hangs over the industry. But why are we so afraid of despair when it teaches us so much about humanity and life? I use Soren Kierkgaard's work to get my head around this tricky and dark topic. Well, come along as I muse about 'the sad and bad stuff' on this episode.

Couple of quick notes - I speak about these two ads - https://www.therock.net.nz/home/rock-news/2023/10/watch-english-football-teams-viral-ad-for-mens-mental-health-will-absolutely-crush-you.html 

The other I have not been able to track but I will source and post it soon enough. 

The Ebbs and the Flows is an emotional health movement focused on openness and transparency about the light and the shade of the lives we led and journeys we encounter. The Ebbs and the Flows is not a licensed mental health service and therefore if you are seeking mental health advice, assessment or treatment, you should seek expert advice with a GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For those struggling, or who know somebody who is, help is available:

@lifelineaustralia 13 11 14

@beyondblueofficial 1300 22 4636

1800-RESPECT (1800 737 732)

@headspace_aus 1800 650 890

@kidshelplineau 1800 55 1800

For advice specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people @13yarn 13 92 76

For LGBTQIA+ specific advice @qlife_aus

1800 184 527

The Ebbs and The Flows website: www.theebbsandtheflows.com
Substack: https://substack.com/@theebbsandtheflows 

For The Ebbs and The Flows Instagram page head to https://www.instagram.com/theebbsandtheflows/

At the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress.

A twenty minute ramble with Willie from Balgo in remote WA - the Tanami desert. The first of the Remote Community musings. 

William mumbles and murmurs about wellbeing, misconceptions, January 26th and the implications of not observing history and whether there are any benefits to periods of isolation. A chance to reflect, regroup and rehash a busy start to the year and a good chance to do some thinking. 

A couple of numbers for First Nations folk who found Jan 26th difficult - 13 YARN (13 92 76), Brother to Brother 1800 435 799 and Lifelife below. 

The Ebbs and the Flows is an emotional health movement focused on openness and transparency about the light and the shade of the lives we led and journeys we encounter. The Ebbs and the Flows is not a licensed mental health service and therefore if you are seeking mental health advice, assessment or treatment, you should seek expert advice with a GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For those struggling, or who know somebody who is, help is available:

@lifelineaustralia 13 11 14

@beyondblueofficial 1300 22 4636

1800-RESPECT (1800 737 732)

@headspace_aus 1800 650 890

@kidshelplineau 1800 55 1800

For advice specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people @13yarn 13 92 76

For LGBTQIA+ specific advice @qlife_aus

1800 184 527

The Ebbs and The Flows website: www.theebbsandtheflows.com
Substack: https://substack.com/@theebbsandtheflows 

For The Ebbs and The Flows Instagram page head to https://www.instagram.com/theebbsandtheflows/

At the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress.

The remarkable Stephanie Williams joins us for this special episode of The Ebbs and The Flows. Stephanie is a woman on the move. AFLW player, artist, young leader and compassionate, resilient and big hearted - and just 21 years old. We chat footy, culture, grief, hope and love on this spellbinding episode. Stephanie is a Larrakia woman from the top end who moved down south for school and sport at the tender age of 11 - her journey from here is something to behold. 

This episode is about homecomings, grief, setbacks, mental health struggles but also a celebration of culture, country, education, wellbeing and the ultimate notion of hope and love. Her 'Note to Self' is beaming with pride and passion for the person she is becoming, whilst simultaneously harbouring immense grief following the loss of her beloved sister. So many takeaways and learnings from this beautiful conversation with a beautiful person. 

As per usual,  features 'The 90 second nugget', 'Me and the World on a Page', 'A Note to Self' and of course, 'Weird Fishes'. Plenty of the good stuff with many unique life lessons to take on. 

Weird Fishes: 
Film: The Hate U Give
Book: Let Go by Hugh Van Cuylenburg
Album/Song: Blonde by Frank Ocean and/or The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by... Lauryn mf'ing Hill of course.
Local Recommendation: The Top End - https://northernterritory.com/

Check out: https://www.reddust.org.au/ to check out the work Stephanie has been up to.

The Ebbs and the Flows is an emotional health movement focused on openness and transparency about the light and the shade of the lives we led and journeys we encounter. The Ebbs and the Flows is not a licensed mental health service and therefore if you are seeking mental health advice, assessment or treatment, you should seek expert advice with a GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For those struggling, or who know somebody who is, help is available:

@lifelineaustralia 13 11 14

@beyondblueofficial 1300 22 4636

1800-RESPECT (1800 737 732)

@headspace_aus 1800 650 890

@kidshelplineau 1800 55 1800

For advice specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people @13yarn 13 92 76

For LGBTQIA+ specific advice @qlife_aus

1800 184 527

The Ebbs and The Flows website: www.theebbsandtheflows.com
Substack: https://substack.com/@theebbsandtheflows 

For The Ebbs and The Flows Instagram page head to https://www.instagram.com/theebbsandtheflows/

At the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress.

Carter O'Regan is our first guest on The Ebbs and The Flows for 2024. Carter is a fiancé, a footballer, a nurse and a creative soul. He also happens to be a trans advocate who affirmed his gender over the course of several years. I met Carter several years ago at Kew Football Club and have heard him speak as part of Pride Round, and while also acknowledging the excellent chats we always had at the football club, I have learnt a lot about the importance of gender affirmation and why inclusion and acceptance is so important. This conversation captures the priorities now in Carter's life. He is a nurse who loves his job and loves being around people, with his caring and empathetic nature shining through, however it is in his 'Note to Self', when you will hear the intimate impact a life event that occurred when he was 28 has had on him and the rest of his life.  An episode focusing on gender identity, dysphoria and trauma, how inclusion is far more than just the changeroom and how finding your true self will let your spirit soar.

As per usual,  features 'The 90 second nugget', 'Me and the World on a Page', 'A Note to Self' and of course, 'Weird Fishes'. Plenty of the good stuff with many unique life lessons to take on. 

Weird Fishes: 
Film: She's The Man
Book: Fourteen by Shannon Molloy
Album/Song: Anything by Pink
Local Recommendation: Northcote Aquatic Recreation Centre

Check out: https://www.minus18.org.au/ if you'd like to learn more about issues affecting the LGBTIQ+ community. 

The Ebbs and the Flows is an emotional health movement focused on openness and transparency about the light and the shade of the lives we led and journeys we encounter. The Ebbs and the Flows is not a licensed mental health service and therefore if you are seeking mental health advice, assessment or treatment, you should seek expert advice with a GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For those struggling, or who know somebody who is, help is available:

@lifelineaustralia 13 11 14

@beyondblueofficial 1300 22 4636

1800-RESPECT (1800 737 732)

@headspace_aus 1800 650 890

@kidshelplineau 1800 55 1800

For advice specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people @13yarn 13 92 76

For LGBTQIA+ specific advice @qlife_aus

1800 184 527

The Ebbs and The Flows website: www.theebbsandtheflows.com
Substack: https://substack.com/@theebbsandtheflows 

For The Ebbs and The Flows Instagram page head to https://www.instagram.com/theebbsandtheflows/

At the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress.

Welcome to The Ebbs and The Flows, soft chats about hard stuff.

Edited by The Ebbs and The Flows
Thank you to Chantelle Clark for designs used to promote this episode

On this episode of The Ebbs and The Flows, William talks about why Mental Health Matters in a solo chat about the challenges some of us face in a period where we are expected to feel joy and happiness, be it struggling to cut back, loneliness, difficult conversations with relatives or friends, grief and loss, as well as a conversation about conflict and the duality of beauty and brutality in relation to the conflict in the Middle East and an ode to those who joined us in 2023. 

Mental Health Matters focuses on the intimate details of how our mental health can make us feel ashamed, humiliated and isolated if we do not discuss the many faces of mental health. The misunderstood nature of these disorders and conditions is rife throughout society - so why not talk about them? 

Acknowledgements: 

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0spQCw35D4

Poem by Fadwa Tuqan: https://pij.org/articles/93/enough-for-me

The Ebbs and the Flows is an emotional health movement focused on openness and transparency about the light and the shade of the lives we led and journeys we encounter. The Ebbs and the Flows is not a licensed mental health service and therefore if you are seeking mental health advice, assessment or treatment, you should seek expert advice with a GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For those struggling, or who know somebody who is, help is available:

@lifelineaustralia 13 11 14

@beyondblueofficial 1300 22 4636

1800-RESPECT (1800 737 732)

@headspace_aus 1800 650 890

@kidshelplineau 1800 55 1800

For advice specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people @13yarn 13 92 76

For LGBTQIA+ specific advice @qlife_aus

1800 184 527

The Ebbs and The Flows website: www.theebbsandtheflows.com
Substack: https://substack.com/@theebbsandtheflows 

For The Ebbs and The Flows Instagram page head to https://www.instagram.com/theebbsandtheflows/

At the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress.

For part I, check the episode out here (https://the-ebbs-and-the-flows.simplecast.com/episodes/s2-e3a-ebbs-with-pat-kennedy-a-candid-conversation-about-alcoholism-love-letters-to-the-things-that-are-destroying-us-crying-in-the-toilet-and-taking-vulnerable-risks-in-recovery)

Pat Kennedy joins The Ebbs and The Flows for episode 3 (Part II) of Season 2. This was initially supposed to be a discussion that fit into one episode, however things took a turn for the better and what has been produced is two parts of a candid and open conversation about the respective struggles of two people connected by one season of footy in 2017. Pat Kennedy is a political staffer-cum-small business owner who has been sober for two and a half years after an exhausting and painful battle with booze ending in two visits to rehab and he is now a proud advocate for Alcoholics Anonymous. The second part of the conversation focuses on Pat's life post-alcohol - the consistent meetings, the breakthroughs, the heartaches and the struggles that come with sobriety, but also the supreme feeling of being 'there' and seeing people in colour for the first time in years. 

I wasn't quite sure what to expect, as the Pat I knew the last time we meet in person was a long way from the Pat who walked into the studio for this discussion. The second part features 'The 90 second nugget', 'Me and the World on a Page', 'A note to Self' and of course, 'Weird Fishes', alongside a couple of interludes for a conversation about 'rock bottom'. This has to be one of my favourite episodes so far, simply because I felt like I was in the company of a completely different person from the Pat I knew in 2017. I don't mean that offensively, because Pat has always been an intelligent, well spoken guy, but he really has found a part of himself he felt he had lost in the insidious battle with alcohol. 

Weird Fishes: 
Film: Oppenheimer
Book: Matthew Perry's Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing 
Album/Song: I'm Still Standing - Elton John
Local Recommendation: Canteen - Cafe

The Ebbs and the Flows is an emotional health movement focused on openness and transparency about the light and the shade of the lives we led and journeys we encounter. The Ebbs and the Flows is not a licensed mental health service and therefore if you are seeking mental health advice, assessment or treatment, you should seek expert advice with a GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For The Ebbs and The Flows Instagram page head to https://www.instagram.com/theebbsandtheflows/

At the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress.

The Ebbs and the Flows is an emotional health movement focused on openness and transparency about the light and the shade of the lives we led and journeys we encounter. The Ebbs and the Flows is not a licensed mental health service and therefore if you are seeking mental health advice, assessment or treatment, you should seek expert advice with a GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For those struggling, or who know somebody who is, help is available:

@lifelineaustralia 13 11 14

@beyondblueofficial 1300 22 4636

1800-RESPECT (1800 737 732)

@headspace_aus 1800 650 890

@kidshelplineau 1800 55 1800

For advice specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people @13yarn 13 92 76

For LGBTQIA+ specific advice @qlife_aus

1800 184 527

The Ebbs and The Flows website: www.theebbsandtheflows.com
Substack: https://substack.com/@theebbsandtheflows 

For The Ebbs and The Flows Instagram page head to https://www.instagram.com/theebbsandtheflows/

At the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress.

Pat Kennedy joins The Ebbs and The Flows for episode 3 (Part I) of Season 2. This was initially supposed to be a discussion that fit into one episode, however things took a turn for the better and what has been produced is two parts of a candid and open conversation about the respective struggles of two people connected by one season of footy in 2017. Pat Kennedy is a political staffer-cum-small business owner who has been sober for two and a half years after an exhausting and painful battle with booze ending in two visits to rehab and he is now a proud advocate for Alcoholics Anonymous. The first part of the conversation focuses on the perils of addiction, taking vulnerable risks in recovery, finding solace and meaning in Alcoholics Anonymous and a lengthy chat about William and Pat's connection at a football club in 2017 when both were lost in their own respective battles with their problems. 

I wasn't quite sure what to expect, as the Pat I knew the last time we meet in person was a long way from the Pat who walked into the studio for this discussion. This first part is something of a preamble to the classic EBBS format - with a candid, open and wonderfully transparent chat focusing on addiction and mental health, but with the periphery of the benefits and detractions of community, how social norms can be insidious and how our experiences shape us but taking risks in finding new environments and communities are essential in us finding out who the 'real you' truly is. 

The Ebbs and the Flows is an emotional health movement focused on openness and transparency about the light and the shade of the lives we led and journeys we encounter. The Ebbs and the Flows is not a licensed mental health service and therefore if you are seeking mental health advice, assessment or treatment, you should seek expert advice with a GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For The Ebbs and The Flows Instagram page head to https://www.instagram.com/theebbsandtheflows/

At the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress.

The Ebbs and the Flows is an emotional health movement focused on openness and transparency about the light and the shade of the lives we led and journeys we encounter. The Ebbs and the Flows is not a licensed mental health service and therefore if you are seeking mental health advice, assessment or treatment, you should seek expert advice with a GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

For those struggling, or who know somebody who is, help is available:

@lifelineaustralia 13 11 14

@beyondblueofficial 1300 22 4636

1800-RESPECT (1800 737 732)

@headspace_aus 1800 650 890

@kidshelplineau 1800 55 1800

For advice specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people @13yarn 13 92 76

For LGBTQIA+ specific advice @qlife_aus

1800 184 527

The Ebbs and The Flows website: www.theebbsandtheflows.com
Substack: https://substack.com/@theebbsandtheflows 

For The Ebbs and The Flows Instagram page head to https://www.instagram.com/theebbsandtheflows/

At the end of the day, we are all just a work in progress.