Celia Hammond (Curtin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier this month 100 volunteers came together, despite storm warnings, to sit in quiet contemplation at the iconic North Cottesloe Beach, emulating Andrew Baines's painting Consideration of Contemplation. Volunteers pulled on their bathers and headed down to the beach for an early start, at 7 am, where they participated in guided breathing exercises followed by 20 minutes of meditative reflection. During this, spectators and professional photographers captured the living art and shared photos via social media to raise mass awareness of the not-for-profit mental health research foundation Meeting for Minds. Meeting for Minds is taking a fresh and innovative approach to researching mental health by working with people who have a lived experience of mental illness. They are also working on projects with institutions in my electorate—the University of Western Australia and the Perron Institute.

During the pandemic taking care of our mental health has become a priority for many of us, with a larger number of Australians accessing mental health services and seeking help with feelings of isolation and loneliness. Braving a storm to sit and independently reflect on our place in the world as a community is a wonderful metaphor for the importance of taking a moment in our lives to consider our own mental health and standing together with those who suffer from mental illness.