The relevance of having my 6 foot garden angel statue taken from my home and then returned a week later has not been lost on me.

4 years ago when I set up RAW (Reclaim Another Women) a social venture model that works with recidivist female offenders (creating an incubated living plan as part of their life change that introduces education, work and legal life platforms), I was lucky enough to be speaking to a group of engaged ladies at a luncheon on the RAW model and its early workings and learnings. A RAW woman had joined the stage to assist me with this presentation, as they always do, and referred to RAW, in closing as “the angel on her shoulder”. I was touched by the description of our service, from one that had lived such a different and difficult journey to my own. So I asked her if I could use this as part of the model moving forward, she agreed and this term of phrase has frequently peppered my speaking about the model at many different levels and across a very diverse audience

Working with the women of RAW has certainly been a two way delivery for me, for as much as I have had an impact on them, they also have had massive impact on me. They have introduced me to a world where their normal is so very different to mine. Their detailed lives and journeys have moulded their pathways and generated the difficult events, delivering to me a balance and an understanding, coupled with a new way of working with people to get better outcomes.

So when the 6 foot angel was taken from our home (the garden statue requires a 4 man lift) I took to Facebook and the extended RAW community that I now thrive in each and every day to request its return. In the bigger picture you have got to worry about the karma of taking an angel from another, and even more so with the extended network that I have. The angel returned a week later, certainly the RAW women had a part to play in the recovery, but I guess it cemented for me that we all have an angel on our shoulder. I simply believe the perspective that we bring to each day that will depend on how active she is. Nothing is impossible (although somethings certainly take more time) if we have an absolute belief and determination as I did in seeking to find my angel.

So whether it is a health or other life battle we find ourselves in, remember your angel and trust that a positive perspective and an absolute belief in your self will simply guide you to the right place.