What is Australia Day?

January 26 has come around again.

However you view today, and whatever you do on this day, the important thing to remember is be kind to everyone you meet. It doesn’t matter if you don’t agree with their view of the day. They are entitled to their opinion, just as you are.

Some indigenous people call it survival day. I understand this sentiment. It must have been terrifying for those aborigines back in 1788 when they saw white men for the first time carrying weapons and invading their land, not afraid to shoot to kill people only armed with the most rudimentary weapons.

It is 233 years since the First Fleet arrived on Australian shores. A lot has happened in this country. We have people who have emigrated from all over the world to make Australia home. We do have a wonderful country of diverse cultures that have enriched our lives. There is one thing though, lurking in the background that needs to be addressed, and that is the division that surrounds us on this day. How we can come together to create reconciliation and move together as one?

Is it possible? Yes!

We have no control over what our forefathers did back in 1788 and before then. They made choices that they thought were right at the time. What they didn’t realize was the implications their actions would have on the generations after them, and it is so very important we think very hard about our actions that will affect the future.

So here we are 233 years later beginning the debate of how we can create a better Australia for all inhabitants. A place everyone can call home regardless of origins. A place where everyone can feel safe and cared for as well as caring for others. We all want the same result, but there are our personal issues that first must be worked through.

Each and everyone of us must look deeply for the truths that we must know first within. We must know who we are. We must know our doubts and insecurities about our own existence. The feelings of shame and inadequacy must firstly be addressed and worked through. Let the differences be debated and brought out into the open. Let everyone see and let everyone believe and love one another for who they are.

At this point of self-knowledge we will become a mature country embracing our indigenous culture without discrimination and without the threat to our freedom of speech. Let us rise up, listen and hear the hearts and needs of these people so that we may understand fully, and unite us as one people, one race, albeit diverse, and move into a unified future that will bring peace and prosperity to our nation. It is time!

The indigenous people have moved toward our culture, learning and assimilating as they are able. The white feller though, I’m not sure whether we have embraced this equally. The government has supported our indigenous people in many ways. Can we, the average Australian reach out and embrace the aborigines in their space in their time and in their way?

I haven’t because I don’t know how. I have many questions because of the respect I hold for these people who have been persecuted, and yet still hold a deep connection to the land, who wait patiently for us to be courageous and reach out. I want to know and understand that connection they have with the land. I believe during these times of climate change that connection to the land is the secret to the survival of our Mother Earth.

Each of us must take the time to listen, hear and learn what is next in the development of our culture as we move forward into a tumultuous world that is changing daily. Fear of change is because we are afraid of what we might hear, but listening brings understanding that enables change, and the exciting thing about that is that it goes both ways.

Enjoy your 26 January, 2021 in whatever you are doing today that is special and close to your heart.

I’d love to hear what you have been doing. Leave a message below.

ANZAC - Lest we forget

Lest we forget.

It is 100 years since the ANZACS stepped ashore at Gallipoli. I've been watching movies and real life videos set in and of that time. What astounded me beyond belief was the hand to hand combat that our men faced during that battle. It cannot have been easy for the soldiers to climb out of those trenches and come face to face with the enemy with only a rifle with a bayonet sticking out of the end of it. Their bravery and their dedication to serving their country is extraordinary. The ANZACS paid the ultimate price and since then others, too, have lost their lives serving on foreign shores.

Our Australian soldiers are second to none. They are brave, well-trained and are ready and willing to leave our shores at a moment's notice aware they may never see Australian soil again. I am proud of our soldiers. We will remember them always. Lest we forget.

Back to school

It's been a few months since I've posted. Life has happened and challenged me in many ways, but I am a better person for having come through the struggles. It has been a time to learn about the person I am and how I see the world. The start of the new year is a good time for me to get back into blogging and re-joining the world.

The first week of school has ended and I feel excited even though my son has left the family nest and is on his unique journey of life. Today I reflect on the first week of the home schooling years. Back to when the box of books and lessons arrived on the door step. We opened the box with curiosity and anticipation. What would the theme of Dan's learning be this year?

There is no other smell that comes close to that of new books. For me it brings pleasant memories of hours spent in the library, choosing books, checking them out and taking them home where I anxiously waited for the first quiet moment when I could sit and let the words fill my imagination and take me places.

This week, students all over Australia opened books, smelled the freshness of new paper and hopefully are looking forward to the year with anticipation and curiosity as they learn academically, socially, physically and spiritually. For some students, school isn't greeted with the same enthusiasm. I feel for you. You require a different approach to learning and life, but I believe schools are looking for new and innovative ways to help you, too. To all the students from prep to university and mature aged, grasp hold of these opportunities, learn much, but most of all have fun.

Never think you can't do it. Change your attitude...yes you can!

I'd love to hear how your first week of school went. Please leave a message. Thank you.

Lest We Forget...

Anzac Day - April 25 every year

I write this post with tears in my eyes. I woke up early this morning thinking about Anzac Day and the mothers of the young soldiers who left Australia in November, 1914 to fight half way around the world. My chest tightened with fear and sadness as I put myself in the mother's shoes visualising my twenty-one year old son leaving for foreign shores to fight an unseen enemy. I can't describe the pain and anguish that clenched my heart so hard I could hardly breathe. The women didn't know how long their men would be away for, or if they would ever see them again.

Some mothers lost two, three or more sons as well as their husband. The pain must have been indescribable. It is often said that time heals, but I'm sure the ache is carried in these mother's hearts until they die. Likewise, the men and women who came back with the memories and/or injuries of the events shared with their mates who didn't make it would leave a perpetual agony inside them for those lives lost. I'm sure they wish it had been them who had died instead of their mates. The soldiers march today with memories and, I'm sure, feeling the presence of their mates beside them while they pray for future generations that they will be spared the pain that war brought to them.

What impresses me about the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought in the early part of last century was their eagerness to serve the mother country, Great Britain. They held an allegiance in their hearts that spurred them on to want to protect. Their efforts have given us the freedom we enjoy today.

Thank you men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, and to all those who have returned, I honour you. You live with the memories of war every day. That can't be easy. To all our soldiers who've served on foreign land since Gallipoli and are serving today, I salute you, too, for your willingness to serve and protect lives throughout the world. Please know that your courage and work inspires others. Anzac Day is your day to accept, without reservation, the admiration and respect of our community . Thank you for the priceless gift of yourself to Australia and New Zealand.

Lest we forget...

Jigsaw Puzzles and Writing

A Christian Riese Lassen Puzzle

Did you know there's a lot of similarities between doing a jigsaw puzzle and writing a book?

Several years ago, I completed a jigsaw puzzle of an orchestra. It was all musical instruments, bald heads and red noses. It was a challenge and it was fun. I worked the jigsaw to keep my mind quiet and focused during an extremely busy time in my life. Putting all the pieces together helped in reducing stress when I felt my life was out of control.

I also found the shapes, splashes of colour and the slotting together of all those shapes and colours aided my creativity as I planned my manuscript. Ideas for my work come to me at different times and places. I jot them down on loose pieces of paper or in my trusty notebook with its worn, grubby edges. When I'm ready to start a new writing project, I have my puzzle pieces to hand, ie., the research content, characters, plot ideas, and setting. I sort and swap, change and rearrange all these elements together to make the plot of my new novel. I approach my jigsaws in the same way. I paddle my fingers through all the pieces, searching for all the straight edges and when that outline is finished, I start filling in the middle.

While I'm writing and puzzling, I have my earphones on and listen to my favourite musician, James Andrew Black. These two activities keep me focused and in the world I've created until the work is done. An added bonus is being able to rest the eyes on colour and shape, which is a great relief after looking at black and white text for extended periods.

Recently, I understood why the travelling around Australia exercise sabotaged my writing. I had no jigsaw puzzle time while writing Web of Lies and this project took much longer than I'd planned. Now, I'm one hundred percent focused on my new novel, Broken Dreams, working title. My new jigsaw, of two swimming dolphins, a Christian Riese Lassen puzzle, is laid out on my dining room table, ready for me to place random pieces whenever I get up and walk around to release the tension in my shoulders from hunching over the keyboard. By the time I finish writing my first draft, the puzzle is done, too. It's also a great visual tool to monitor the progress on my novel, as the puzzle comes together so does my manuscript.

How about you, do you have an activity you do while you're writing or performing your work?