SIMPLICITY

RATHER THAN LOVE, THAN MONEY, THAN FAME, GIVE ME TRUTH. - THOREAU-

Saturday, January 31, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETE


Happy 43rd birthday to my big brother Pete

You are more than just a brother, you are one of my closest confidants, a tower of strength & a true friend. Remember last summer when we stood at the shoreline & screamed with delight when the waves took hold of us? It was just like we were a couple of kids again.

HEAT


Here in Melbourne we are currently experiencing the worst heat wave on record - this past week the temperature has been in the mid forties (that's 112 in fahrenheit). There have been mass power outages with traffic lights not working, trains not running, & small fires bursting to life across the state. Birds were lying on the ground, not even flinching an inch as you walked by. I, along with many others, have been left feeling utterly drained & exhausted - like we've all just spent the past week in a sauna. Today has provided the first day of releif - it is a tollerable 27 degrees. Thank God the worst is over - I've never experienced anything like it in my life. And to think that just two weeks ago I was commenting on how mild the summer had been!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

FREINDS AWARD

Many thanks Faith ....you made my day!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

DEPARTURE


It is best to avoid the beginnings of evil
-Henry David Thoreau-

My heart is just breaking at the moment, just three short days ago we gathered at Vilai's funeral, & now, so it seems, everyone is gathering like a hoard of vultures to tear apart the remnants she has left behind. It's times like these I wonder about my own death & how a similar scene can be avoided. I would like to leave this world owing nothing & owning nothing, to leave my estate in its entirety to charitable organisations which I have supported (the Wilderness society & Friends of the Earth) as well as to the Greens party.

My father & his brother & sister still argue about who got what after their parents died - I think it is pathetic. Just a week ago they had a dispute over a photograph.....a simple bloody photograph! Money & possessions can bring out the very worst in people.

Friday, January 23, 2009

TODAY'S TREASURE


Put simply......waking up at home.

I spent 13 hours yesterday getting from Townville to Melbourne & no I didn't catch a bus! There was the initial delay in Townsville of 3.5 hours, & if my husband hadn't kept his phone on silent I could have spent them somewhere other than a boring departure lounge, like asleep in bed maybe. Then there was a 3 hour delay for the connecting flight in Brisbane, I got excited over this at first as I thought I could catch up with my parents but they had gone out for lunch & refuse to get a mobile phone so were not contactable. For all this inconvenience I, along with other fellow travellers, were given a $6 voucher to spend at any of the food outlets at the airport - how generous! Well I finished one book & started another & bought a new bag & purse from Guess which cost me $175 (a purchase I wouldn't have made if I hadn't been so blasted bored - I do like them though, I'm a sucker for handbags). Then I was harangued by some woman from Citibank. Waiting....it can be so tiresome - I have slept on & off most of today, it was definitley a day I'd rather forget.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

MUM


I have just returned home from Townsville where I attended my mother-in-law's funeral. The entire service was in Thai & was conducted by a Buddhist monk. It was lovely listening to the soothing chants & to individually go up & lay flowers on her body. My husband spoke of his mother with such love & affection. He told me later of how during his private veiwing of Vilai's body he had picked up her hands and stroked them gently, he did this in remembrance of the many times he massaged her feet & hands when he was a boy after she had had a long, hard day at work.


The strange thing is that today is also my mothers birthday. Happy 66th birthday mum - I love you so very much & just so you know - I'm not ready for you to die just yet, but my guess is I'm never going to be.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

BYE FOR NOW


I'm flying off to the Deep North for a couple of days to attend the funeral of my mother-in-law. Will be back soon....ciao. Isn't this a spectacular shot?

Out of the dusk a shadow,
then a spark;
out of the cloud a silence,
then a lark.
Out of the heart a rapture,
then a pain;
out of the dead, cold ashes,
Life again.
-John Bannister Tabb-

TODAY'S TREASURE


Getting a voice message on my mobile from my brother Steven - wishing me a happy birthday (a week late, but better late than never) & telling me "I love ya sis" - brought tears to my eyes, you'd understand why if you knew him, he can barely string two words together & his vocabulary consisits of "fair dinkum" & "you're kidding". This photo says it all really.

Monday, January 19, 2009

TODAY'S TREASURE

There is a client I have that I see three times a week, I was told he was a bit of an ogre but really he's just a big teddy bear & we've become friends. In a former life he was a pastry chef & when I visited today he had a surprise for me, he had gone to the trouble of making me a rasberry cheescake which was simply superb.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

CLOSING TIME


I'm just taking it easy today & thought I'd watch some TV for a change - and what do I find? Sport; sport & more blasted SPORT! I know it is so un-Australian of me but I just don't see the point, what are they running for again - can someone please remind me? And don't even get me started on sports that involve poor innocent animals. People just turn stupid when they watch sport - they drink; they swear; they shout & sing AC/DC songs. I thank God my husband shares my dislike of sport & I count my lucky stars that he refrains from the bogan activities that usually accompany this great Australian pastime. So I'll just sit back, turn off the tellie & put on a little Leonard Cohen - the great Canadian Poet, he never disappoints. Align Left


SUMMER

We have had such a mild summer here in Melbourne, a couple of hot days but that aside you would think we were in still in spring. Today was a perfect 19 degrees with not a cloud in sight.

"Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink in the wild air"
-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

TODAY'S TREASURE


Walking past a daschund having brunch with whom I assume was its owner at a local cafe. The pampered pooch was all dressed up & sitting on its own chair enjoying some sort of beverage (which I doubt was water) from a mug.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

THE SELFISH GIANT BY OSCAR WILDE


I


Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant's garden. It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. 'How happy we are here!' they cried to each other. One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden. 'What are you doing here?' he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away. 'My own garden is my own garden,' said the Giant; 'any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself.' So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.


TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED


He was a very selfish Giant.
II

The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. 'How happy we were there,' they said to each other. Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still Winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. 'Spring has forgotten this garden,' they cried, 'so we will live here all the year round.' The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. 'This is a delightful spot,' he said, 'we must ask the Hail on a visit.' So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice. 'I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming,' said the Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; 'I hope there will be a change in the weather.' But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. 'He is too selfish,' she said. So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.


III

One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King's musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. 'I believe the Spring has come at last,' said the Giant; and he jumped out of bed and looked out. What did he see? He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees. In every tree that he could see there was a little child. And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children's heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still Winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it. 'Climb up! little boy,' said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the little boy was too tiny. And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out. 'How selfish I have been!' he said; 'now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever and ever.' He was really very sorry for what he had done.

IV


So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the garden. But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became Winter again. Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he died not see the Giant coming. And the Giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant's neck, and kissed him. And the other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring. 'It is your garden now, little children,' said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were gong to market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen. All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to bid him good-bye. 'But where is your little companion?' he said: 'the boy I put into the tree.' The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him. 'We don't know,' answered the children; 'he has gone away.' 'You must tell him to be sure and come here to-morrow,' said the Giant. But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad. Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played with the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first little friend, and often spoke of him. 'How I would like to see him!' he used to say. Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children at their games, and admired his garden. 'I have many beautiful flowers,' he said; 'but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.'

V


One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing. He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting. Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked. It certainly was a marvellous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy he had loved. Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He hastened across the grass, and came near to the child. And when he came quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said, 'Who hath dared to wound thee?' For on the palms of the child's hands were the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet. 'Who hath dared to wound thee?' cried the Giant; 'tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him.' 'Nay!' answered the child; 'but these are the wounds of Love.' 'Who art thou?' said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child. And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, 'You let me play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise.' And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.

CONNECTIONS


On tuesday, two days before my mother-in-law's death, I had my review with the psychiatrist. I spent the entire appointment on the verge of tears for no apparent reason, and as a result my medications have been increased slightly. he is also talking of changing my medication altogether - something that would require time off work & possibly hospitalisation.


It's strange, the week leading up to Vilai's death I felt dreadful, I was depressed, teary & kept getting the constant sensation that someone was walking all over my grave. Was this some sort of premonition? I don't know. I have been described as being an empath. I recall one instance when I was a teenager, I was shopping in the Brisbane Valley and this strange small woman stopped me & commented on my large forehead - "you're a communicator" she said reaching up to touch my face "you're stuck between this world & the next." I have never forgotten this encounter - what possess a stranger to walk up & say such things?


I sense that deep down we are all connected,
I know not how but we are.
By a tie that binds
you to me
& me to you.
In some strange way
by some strange force
out on the edge of the ether


My husband has accepted the sudden death of his mother with such grace and level-headedness, as he does with most things - he truly is inspirational. The coroner's report found that his mother Vilai died of a ruptured aorta - her funeral will be held next week. A buddhist monk from Brisbane will conduct the service as Vilai was well known in the local buddhist community & once headed the Thai meditation centre in Townville. She will be remembered for her tireless work for others - I don't think I have ever met anyone, with the excption of my own father, who worked so hard. And then there was the constant efforts by her to bring a disjointed family together - something that will now happen as they all gather to commemorate her life.

Here is one of the last photos taken of my husband with his mother - from left to right is Vilai; my husbands nanny (in the middle); & my husband.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Vilai


I've been slack with my posting lately & today I have made a pact with myself to be more consistent. Today has been pretty rough so I have no treasure to share, it's possibly the worse day I've had in months - this morning my mood was low & I was on the verge of tears a lot of the time. The saddest moment came when I returned home to find out that my husband's mother died suddenly today, she presented to hospital 2 days ago with pain & was awaiting a gallbladder operation. We are all in shock, she was only 60 years old - it's now a coroners case. Goodbye Vilai.....may you rest in peace

Sunday, January 11, 2009

DOUBT


I went and saw the film Doubt today & let’s just say it’s left a pretty big impression. I can’t quite recall the last time I identified so much with a character as that of Sister Aloysius played by Meryl Streep. I wont give too much of the film away only to say that Sister Aloysius, the school principal, suspects the parish priest Father Flynn of inappropriate conduct with one of the school students. It is never quite established whether or not he is guilty, hence the title “Doubt.” Sister Aloysius approaches the Monsignor with her suspicions only for him to dismiss her & instead transfers Father Flynn to another school & promotes him in the process. The film ends with Sister Aloysius, who has thus far been portrayed as being of strong moral character & steadfast conviction, questioning herself & proclaiming her “doubts” to Sister James. It is left open to interpretation as to whether these doubts are about Father Flynn – has he committed no crime & she has therefore persecuted an innocent man? Or is he guilty & has now moved on to yet another school where he can continue to abuse young children? Or maybe she is questioning the very essence of her own personal faith in God?

Like Sister Aloysius I am a person of very strong moral convictions - to the extent that my psychiatrist believes they may well lie at the root of my depressive episodes. My approach to life is often deontological in nature, a series of obligations & duties which I am bound to regardless of the consequences – unfortunately I ascribe these rules to those around me also. I lost one of my closest & dearest friends due to this when I reported her for receiving single parent benefits when her partner was living with her & reported him for rorting child support payments. Shocking I know; I justified my actions by believing I was doing it for the honest tax payer & that what they were doing was fundamentally wrong…. but was what I did any better? I have even isolated myself from members of my own family by accusing them of nepotism & by claiming that if I find out one more time that they are pirating movies or doing “cash in hand” jobs I will notify the respective authorities. There was even an instance when a friend of mine who is a primary school teacher told me of how he, along with his male colleagues, discuss the attractiveness of female students - I couldn't sleep that night & even now I can't see him or think of him without recalling this conversation. What is wrong with me? Why am I so sanctimonious & self righteous? Most people just turn a blind eye & let sleeping dogs lie. Maybe it’s because I’m a nurse & have had to report such acts as child abuse & elder abuse, I don’t know – even now deep down I believe what I did was right…..how it's all black & white, just like a nuns habit.

THIRTY-FIVE

35 years old today! I'm off out to see the film Doubt - have received lots of goodies including L'Eau D'Issey by Issey Miyake, Cherry Blossom by L'Occitane & a compilation CD of Nina Simone.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

PAINT

Thanks for showing me how to use PAINT on the computer Jan - this is for you! Pretty average but I'm just a beginner!

GRAVE STEPPING


You know that feeling you get sometimes like someone has walked over your grave? Well lately I've been experiencing it quite frequently. No doubt it's probably just yet another side effect of the medication but it's quite unsettling.

Ever since I had that lucid dream just before Christmas I have had the desire to go to church so tomorrow I am going attend the service at the Presbyterian church just down the street - who knows it might be just a one off thing....& maybe not.

Friday, January 9, 2009

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

You want to hear something funny? When I was undergoing training the other day we were all getting to know one another a bit better over lunch - we were swapping horror stories of community nursing, most of which were stories that dealt with psychiatric clients - one nurse started talking about patients with Bipolar disorder & then everyone else contributed by adding their stories about BPD. I sat silent, in an attempt to include me, one nurse asked me where I had been working previously & I explained that I had been off work due to illness. They all looked intrigued & started asking questions, skirting around the one that they really wanted to know - what was wrong with me. And so I put them out of their misery & told them I'd been diagnosed with BPD - well you could have heard a pin drop.

It's interesting how much social stigma there still is, how people with a psychiatric diagnosis are "typecast" - even by people in the health care industry (I think they may well be the worst offenders). At work we go to such great lengths to respect & protect the identity of clients with HIV/AIDS but we don't do the same for people with a mental illness....& why is that?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VALYSHA


A happy belated birthday to Valysha for yesterday!

Lots of love & kisses xox - hope you've had fun in Townsville with Grandma & Grandpa Rowley.

TODAY'S TREASURE


Making it to the end of week 2 at work. My goodness I've become deconditioned! I have to get back into shape. This week has been pretty hectic & included two full days of hand held computer device training - practically everything is computer based & I have to lug a tablet PC around everywhere with me. So far I have a great bunch of clients, including a few young ones which is always a bit heartbreaking. Driving on the roads around here is pretty scary, what with the trams & everyone being so bloody impatient. I have a big sign plastered across the back of the car saying 'caution vehicle stopping frequently' but drivers still get shirty with me.
I haven't felt the greatest over the last couple of days, been a bit grumpy but I believe things will get better once I get in the swing of things, I'll just have to brave the storm for a while. I hope I'm coping a bit better by the time uni starts back or I'll be in big trouble - I will finish my Masters..... one day.

'It's hard to be brave,' said Piglet, sniffling slightly,
'when you're only a Very Small Animal.'
-A. A. Milne-

Sunday, January 4, 2009

THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

Can anyone tell me why people continue to play games with each other, usually with the opposite sex, even when they are well into adulthood? I've never really understood it, as I've never been one for playing games -even when I was a child. Lets take women for example - do they think that for a relationship to be real it has to have high drama in it? Do they think that their love life should read like a Barbara Cartland novel? It all seems like way too much effort for my liking. Some might say it's due to low self esteem or self preservation but I'm not so sure.

I'm really angry today as I'm fed up with this woman who has continued to play with my brother's emotions for far too long. I'm also disappointed, as I have stood up for her time & time again. I know it's really none of my business & I shouldn't be talking about it here, but really, when a person you love keeps getting hurt shouldn't you make it your business? I don't know, thanks for letting me vent....& for listening.

"Never idealise others. They will never live up to your expectations. Don't over analyse your relationships. Stop playing games. A growing relationship can only be nutured by genuineness"”
- Leo F. Buscaglia -

Saturday, January 3, 2009

VISION


Just yesterday I was visiting a client at her Toorak apartment, awestruck by her view I exclaimed "you must get the most tremendous view of the fireworks on New Years" I barely mouthed the words & a hard lump became stuck in my throat....she was blind. She smiled & as if talking to a child said "I fear I can't see any of it my dear" & then she reached out for my hand, gave it a gentle squeeze & said "would you describe it to me?". How gracious she was, she could have so easily become embittered by my foolish remark but no she turned it into something quite special - she was an enchantress.

CHANGE

From a very young age I decided that as soon as I was able to that I would leave home & move far away. I loved my family but resented what we were - provincial, uneducated......& average. I always wanted something more. And deep down nothing has really changed. Well here I am, almost 35 years old & living a thousand miles from home in a metropolis of 3.5 million people - in the "cultural capital" of Australia. And with each passing year I can feel myself becoming more & more isolated from the people I love. Is this normal? Am I a snob? "The more you change the less you feel" right? I adore my parents but even the fleeting thought of returning home (for anything more than a brief visit) makes me cringe. What happens when you finally become what you set out to be & then realise you're standing out there all on your own......alone?
"To thine own self be true"
-Shakespeare-

Friday, January 2, 2009

TODAY'S TREASURE

Getting a surprise phone call from my husbands daughter Valysha & seeing the joy on his face as he came up to speed with the busy life of a young adolescent. Here she is - the spitting image of her father.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

HIDDEN

As I stand here arms outstretched,
do they reach far enough?
Or am I to remain rooted
to this patch of earth
watching the world pass by.
Lovers, children, they come & go
breaking the boundless silence
with their laughter….with their joy

As I stand here arms outstretched,
Do they reach far enough -
to be seen, to be heard.....to be touched?

A NEW DAWN


Another year has crept in overnight as I slept, yes - I fell asleep before midnight. I vaguely recall shouts & fireworks coming from the world outside but nothing more and now the city lays bathed in silence. What a year 2008 was - I will always remember it as the year I finally found out what was wrong with me.....as the year I almost died. A good deal of it has slipped by in a haze, a series of days filled with little more than just "existing". I wish to thank each & every supporter of my little Blog, for in desperate times the virtual thread that binds me to you all was the only connection I had with life.