This week’s blog is another first of its kind, this time shared with a heavier heart.
On 13th November I heard the sad news of the passing of a dear mentor of mine, the beloved Capacitar Founder and Executive Director, Dr Pat Cane. Already in her 80s, Pat was still travelling the world spreading light and hope and there were several plans in place to have her share her presence in Ireland throughout 2026. Like many who were blessed to know her, I thought she’d be with us forever. Her peaceful passing came as an enormous shock.
Pat was a woman of amazing spirit, integrity and leadership. Dedicated to transforming injustice and building peace, she touched lives in over 45 countries. She developed trainings and resources centred on trauma healing and transformation and taught them to grassroots groups and professionals in areas affected by violence, war and disasters in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Her work leaves an imprint that I am confident will long outlive her 80+ years of being a leader and light on this planet.
On a personal level, Pat’s influence on my own growth and leadership spanned over a decade. In that time, I took several trainings with her based on Multicultural Wellness Education and as a Facilitator. She lived everything she taught and had a capacity to see to the core of each of us who had the privilege of working with her. There were several times when her perception and clarity stopped me in my tracks, and which stayed with me ever since.
✨ I’m sharing two such times here today because they really were so significant for me in my own growth as a coach and facilitator and because I think they potentially serve all of us.
The first related to learning all the tools of trauma healing and being inspired and encouraged by how impactful they were and knowing that they’d be of value in my organisation at the time. But I was also a bit fearful of how they’d be received, there certainly wasn’t anyone offering anything similar in-house at the time. I shared my concerns and Pat said words to the effect of ‘Never hold back from sharing a tool or resource that you know would help because of your own discomfort’.
Her gentle intervention really woke me up. And while I may still hesitate at times, I remember her words always and I endeavour to have her courage and to press on.
The second intervention came at another training where Pat asked us participants about how we were sharing the Capacitar tools and trainings with others, in our personal or professional lives. Many of us spoke to how we were simply using the tools in support of our own self-care and I also shared how a colleague and I were doing some workshops on a wellbeing theme, bringing in some Capacitar strategies and trainings.
To her credit, Pat endorsed and encouraged use of the tools for ourselves and to support our wellbeing. And she also made a rallying call for us all to bring the tools to community groups and people in need. She was less interested in the idea of them being used as a kind of alternative ‘spa day’, rather she wanted us to use the tools to change the world.
As a result of both of these interventions, I have shared Capacitar tools in universities, at conferences for professionals, researchers and academics, in prisons, and in community groups and of course with my own clients and in my own workshops. Capacitar teachings and tools are universally welcomed in my experience.
So let Pat’s words speak to you also today.
Where are you holding back from sharing your gifts because of some embarrassment or discomfort. Stop doing that!
And where could you lean in more to bring those gifts to people who really need them – who in your community, local, national or international, really needs to see more from you currently and are you willing to meet that need?
Pat had a vision, and she was so tenacious in pursuing it. She studied and travelled and shared everything she learned with others. One of her great gifts was stripping back tools and strategies to their core so they were memorable and easy to teach onwards to others. She gave those resources away free or at minimal cost to remove all the barriers that were within her control. She responded to requests for help all over the world and created resources in response to the challenges of her day for the best part of 40 years.
I mourn her passing. I’d have loved a few more years of her leadership and teachings. And I also feel her loss as another rallying call. It’s time for those of us touched by her life, her presence, her teachings and her role modelling to pick up the baton! I commit to doing my best to be up to that task. At minimum, I commit here to bringing more Capacitar teachings to the world in all the ways my own work creates opportunities for it. You can hold me to that!
🌐 Following are some links to resources created and shared by Pat that you may find useful. The first is the Capacitar Emergency Tool Kit. It comprises several pages of tools and strategies to support you in any challenges you may encounter. The link here is to the English Language version but know that you can find it on the Capacitar International Website in over 20 languages.
The second is to a YouTube video of Pat leading Chakra Tai Chi. I’m sharing this because it is one of my absolute favourites! Capacitar Tai Chi was the first tool that I really embraced in my life, it was the first thing that I felt was of such positive impact it got me out of bed in the mornings a few minutes earlier so that I could do it. I highly recommend to you to try it.
And finally, with some discomfort but pressing through it, I’m sharing a video of me leading one of the more recent tools I learned from Pat: Butterfly Tapping. Enjoy!
Thank you, Pat, for the legacy you leave, for the role modelling of leadership, care and integrity that has guided me for over a decade. Your light shines on through your work and the community you have created. I trust we will be worthy torch bearers into the future.
All Photos by Capacitar International