“We want autonomy for ourselves and safety for those we love.” Keren Wilson – founder of Assisted Living model

This quote has stuck with me for a couple of weeks now. I am seeing it played out in my parenting, in my observations of choices made by family members, in how people are approaching the reopening of schools and services in the time of a pandemic and in my professional world. The measuring of risk and reward is a highly subjective and personal perspective. I have also realized that it is a highly emotive subject and often hard to put into words. This makes communicating and seeking to understand another perspective even more of a challenge. The challenge means it is even more important to have the conversations and to have them before you face situations that are critical.

Acknowledging the position you are starting from, having enough self-awareness to know how you think/feel about risk, being able to articulate your most important values and having the currency in your relationship bank accounts to forge through heavy and murky topics are some of the elements that make finding or accepting the balance between autonomy and safety possible.

As the Toad turns into a teenager, as my parents age and as I support program and policy development in healthcare, I will have lots of practice having these conversations and finding my own balance point.