Sometimes, someone just takes my breath away, has me scratching my head. It’s how I feel whenever I have the privilege of speaking with Emma Gallagher.

I leave our conversations wondering at the inherent wisdom of one so relatively young. I ponder how we might help more people experience that compassionate, humble way, the way Emma seeks to travel, a different way. I believe that if we could, the world would be a better place. I challenge myself to do more to help the world hear about these qualities, about the life that people like Emma live in service to others, in service to their true selves. I wonder if just by putting it out there, in the Universe, we might inspire more compassion, humanity, and humility in the world; for my sense is that we need it.

To that end, I spoke to Emma recently and we recorded a Scott Poynton podcast. You can listen below and there are links on the Homepage to find our chat on Spotify, iTunes, and other hosting platforms where you can listen and share with others. A mate who listened in described it as ‘a beautiful interview’ and said that he’d gotten much out of it.

I first met Emma in May 2020, on a Zoom call, when I was supporting Emma’s then boss, John Watkin, to explore how his team was faring during the first Covid lockdown in the Australian State of Victoria. Emma works for Cricket Victoria, in the Community and Key Stakeholders (CCKS) Team. The CCKS Team had been decimated by budget cuts that had been deemed necessary when Covid hit Australia and income generating international tournaments and tours had been cancelled.

Emma was one of the standouts from the remaining team. I was taken by her humility, her compassion for the leaders who had been forced to make tough decisions, but equally, by her determination and courage to speak her truth.

Emma is extraordinary, in my view, for her groundedness, her deep humility, for her passion and energy to serve, her commitment to her broad community and to her own growth towards living truly to who she really is. It’s what I feel when I speak to her. She radiates it, there are few contradictions. I’ve only ever met a handful of people who have these qualities and I’ve met more than a few people.

Perhaps we can thank her family for that. In our podcast, Emma shares how important both her father and mother have been in her life. She is deeply anchored in and enriched by her family and community. She’s from the bush and has those rural qualities. She highlights the importance of sport, particularly cricket, in helping her develop as a person in general, but particularly her leadership skills. She shares how on a trip to Japan, she was able to calm her mind and find freedom to be Emma.

We discuss her self-care practices – which include her own dancing routines in the kitchen – and how important it is to ‘feel’ your way forward while being present in the moment, speaking your truth, acknowledging when you’re not feeling right, and supporting others when they’re not going great either.

In one part of the podcast, Emma says that she’s not saving lives. I beg to differ. The impact Emma has in helping people to find their own freedom will save many a life and enrich so many more.

I think that what Emma shares is very important indeed. I invite you to listen with an open heart and I look forward to speaking to Emma again in the future.

P.S. In the picture, that’s Emma on the lft.

My podcast with Emma is the second in my series of discussions with folk from the Victorian cricket community. My first discussion, with Josh Beaumont, is equally uplifting and inspiring – where do these extraordinary young people come from?

Here’s the link to my blog and podcast with Josh.

I’m hoping to entice at least one more fantastic cricket community soul to share with me their thoughts and philosophies too. I am so enriched by my discussions with these amazing people.