Let the Light Pour In

Last night I had the absolute privilege of seeing Lemn Sissay perform Let the Light Pour In live at The Lowry in Salford. And I am still trying to find the words to explain what I experienced.

Who Is Lemn Sissay?

For those who don’t know Lemn Sissay, he is an extraordinary poet, author, broadcaster and former Chancellor of the University of Manchester. But his story began a world away from the stages he stands on today.

Born to an Ethiopian mother in Britain, Lemn was taken into care as a baby. He spent his early childhood with foster parents before being placed in children’s homes, growing up within a system that should have protected him but left him carrying profound experiences of rejection, separation and loss.

And yet, from those beginnings came this remarkable man whose words have the ability to reach into places you didn’t even realise were waiting to be touched.

Darkness and Light

There was something almost impossible to comprehend about the beauty of what I was hearing. The juxtaposition of trauma and truth. Of darkness and light. Of pain and pleasure. Of abandonment and belonging. How someone who had experienced so much could create something so breathtakingly beautiful from words alone.

I was completely captivated. I went from goosebumps to tears, from tears to laughter, from laughter to moments of absolute joy.

At times I was frozen in my seat. Not because I couldn’t move, but because I didn’t want to miss a single word.

The Moment I Wasn’t Prepared For

So much of what he said landed. But there was one moment I wasn’t prepared for. And perhaps, given the two worlds I work in, I really should have been.

Lemn started talking about WELLNESS. Yes, wellness.

Suddenly, this extraordinary poet had stepped right into my lane, my work, my purpose, perhaps even the next chapter of my own book. He spoke about the importance of wellbeing for those working in care, including social workers, carers and care home managers.

And something in me shifted.

Emotionally Well Enough to Be Emotionally Available

Because wellness isn’t simply about being physically fit, eating well, getting enough sleep or taking a holiday. It’s about being emotionally well enough to be emotionally available.

Think about that for a moment.

How can we truly hear what isn’t being said when our own minds are drowning in noise? How can we offer patience when our own nervous systems are constantly operating at capacity? How can we hold space for somebody else’s pain when we have nowhere to put our own?

How can we remain curious rather than reactive, compassionate rather than frustrated, present rather than simply getting through another day? How can we continually pour from something that has barely anything left?

Hanging On by Their Fingertips

And yet, every single day, people working in care, education, health and support services are expected to do exactly that.

Wonderful, compassionate, committed people. People who genuinely care. People who entered their professions because they wanted to make a difference.

And so many of them are hanging on to the edge of burnout by their fingertips. Still showing up. Still smiling. Still listening. Still carrying responsibility. Still telling themselves they’re fine. While somewhere beneath all that commitment, their own capacity is quietly disappearing.

When Burnout Doesn’t Announce Itself

And the frightening thing about burnout is that it doesn’t always announce itself.

Sometimes it looks like losing patience with somebody you would normally have endless patience for.

Sometimes it’s emotional numbness. Sometimes it’s resentment, exhaustion, poor sleep or feeling overwhelmed by the smallest request. Sometimes it’s simply not recognising the person you’ve become.

Permission to Be Human

And it made me think about how many professions require us to hold space for other people without ever really teaching us what holding space means.

Teachers. Social workers. Residential carers. Nurses. Therapists. Coaches. Managers. HR professionals. Parents. The list is endless.

We teach people how to perform their roles, meet their targets, complete their paperwork and fulfil their responsibilities. But how often do we teach them how to recognise when their own emotional capacity is running out?

How often do we give them permission to be human? To need support? To step away? To recover?

Wellbeing Is Not an Optional Extra

And how often do organisations recognise that the emotional wellbeing of their people is not an optional extra, but an essential part of the care and support they provide?

Of course, individual wellbeing practices cannot fix an overstretched system. We need safe working conditions, realistic workloads, supportive leadership and cultures where people can speak honestly about how they’re coping.

But we also need to understand ourselves.

Our triggers. Our learned responses. Our boundaries. Our bodies. Our capacity.

Because when we are emotionally overwhelmed, our ability to listen, respond, connect and make thoughtful decisions can become compromised. And sometimes the people who need us most are the ones who experience that reduced capacity.

Why I Talk About Self-Recovery

This is why I talk about self-recovery. This is why I talk about nervous system regulation. This is why I believe so deeply in the relationship between our emotional and physical wellbeing.

And this is why Soulstar has never been simply about massage, breathwork or treatments. It’s about creating space to notice yourself. To recognise when you’ve been surviving rather than living. To understand what you’re carrying. To restore some capacity before everything becomes too much. To come home to yourself.

Why Wellness Matters

Because wellness matters. It absolutely matters.

Not because we should all be permanently calm, positive or functioning at our best. But because our wellbeing influences how we experience life, how we relate to others and how much of ourselves we have available to give.

And perhaps one of the most important things we can learn is that caring for ourselves isn’t taking something away from somebody else. Sometimes it’s what allows us to continue caring with compassion.

Let the Light Pour In

Last night, Lemn Sissay reminded me of the extraordinary light that can exist alongside the darkest experiences. And he reminded me why the work I do matters so much to me.

I went to listen to poetry. I came home thinking about humanity, emotional capacity, the care system, self-recovery and the responsibility we have to ourselves as well as to others.

So if you’re standing on that ledge right now, feeling full to capacity, please don’t wait until you fall to recognise that something needs to change.

Maybe it’s time to step away from the edge. Maybe it’s time to let somebody hold space for you. Maybe it’s time to step into Soulstar.

Come home to yourself. ✨

And Lemn, thank you for reminding us that even after the darkest chapters, there can still be light.

Soulstar | Holistic Wellbeing & Self-Recovery