Natural Health Therapist Denmark
Sanctuary a space created to provide repose, to rest the soul and guard against external interference. Following are images of my home, mia casa, my sanctuary and spaces that nurture my soul. This blog is a photographic celebration of the spaces we manifest to let us find refuge and recover our energy after our daily toil.
Oh haven of slumber keeper of dreams where my weary bones find solace and mind stillness.
The Bilby surpassed the Easter rabbit a few years ago now the Numbat is on the scene. Easter or Istar is a celebration of new life, resurrection, fertility. The date of when we celebrate Easter is in flux, it changes even within the Christian Creeds. It adds to the mystery but as Nikki Gemmell discussed this could become uniform. Do I need this predictability?
Climbing, climbing, climbing to reach my goals can be lonely and daunting. My voice gets tight and quivery when fatigue hits. Recently I took time out to sing with a friend in a Gospel singing workshop. Joy! one voice combined with many to bring back harmony on so many levels.
International Women’s Day: 8th March 2016
Wow how far we have come and continue evolving.
OM on the footpath.
Highlighted in yellow underlined for emphasis.
Zero metres – a beginning point, enticer to move.
no one
The First ones
Living by lore
no one chained and shackled
convict of conditions / crime
no one speaking in their tongue
old land behind – new one here
no one young and resilient
child of a morrows dreams
no one “the sheila – the better half”
women of the ages
No one – with an identity
ancient, borrowed, bold
To be ONE
Shared threads found in these “no ones”
Love, Faith, Hope
Threads come together in a tapestry of tales
of spirit, of survival, of …
Land of no one
In Latin mapmakers stamped our island
no one?
not one?
Sweet 2016 shiny new and 365 days to live, love and labour with new opportunities. Turning 16 there were significant milestones to accomplish with goals stretching beyond puberty blues.
I learnt to drive on the dry salt lake in Dad’s ute with his patient instruction. We survived! Dad did loose a bit of hair that summer. Learning to drive is not restricted to that period though confidence may blind us. The Boot call was devised by a family who lost kin to a car accident created by a driver txting while driving. I have found a mobile phone out of reach and sight stops me from habitually responding. Sadly the lesson of not to drink alcohol then drive takes too many lives – please consider others.
Learning is a life long quest as our passions and curiosity drive us to seek answers and create new knowledge. At 16 I learnt that failing your drivers licence is not the end – you will get there with persistence. This lesson has been repeated numerous times. What does not permit me to learn is my fears and procrastination.
Ahh travel this did not occur when I turned 16 but at 25 years of age. The navy blue booklet with its gold insignia filled with stamps is a revered ticket to accessing the world as afforded. Travel opened my eyes to how fortunate and privileged I am in Australia. Absorbing unique cultures and lifestyles beyond my island opened me to think beyond what I knew and how blessed I am. With privilege comes opportunities that can be shared for example volunteering overseas using your skills or supporting refugees in their transition to Australia.
My parents would gladly consent to my marriage, no matter what the dowry. I continue to socialise to meet the man willing – without danger money to share my adventures. The idealism and innocence of sweet 16 is a little jaded but youthful optimism remains. In some countries young women are married off at much younger ages to much older men this changes their health, education and livelihood. Australia’s laws prevent child brides but kidnapping to another country does occur.
At 16 we have the capacity to live for today not thinking of ours or anyone else’s tomorrows. Now it is possible to give someone another day through donating blood. 16 is the age of transition, transformation a bridge from the protected shelter of childhood to leap into adulthood responsibilities.
Our dreams of how we wish to live were developing at 16 years. Like fine wines / cheeses we mature with age, guarding our attitudes to prevent ourselves from becoming rancid or sour. Positive conversations with our elders at 16 on our anticipated future guided us to this point. In 2016 seek those positive people to support you. Moran and Tschannen – Moran (2010) describe the 5 D Cycle that help us evolve beyond our 16 year old self as:
As you define your new year remember your achievements, to dream and design your sweet 2016 destiny.
Moran and Tschannen – Moran (2010) Coaching Psychology, Wellcoaches U.S.A.
FOMO fear of missing out! Ahhh the race to the sales, gathering of produce, attending parties and working to get it all done in time. Fear of missing out has existed for a long time, though it was defined in the 2013 Oxford dictionary. FOMO is defined as anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere .
Did Mary and Joseph encounter FOMO when racing to Bethlhem? Was the stable a downgrade on the resort accomadation? Did they have the latest trend and compete with the Jones?
What the Holy family did not encounter was our modern technology capacity to tap into others lives with the push of an app. Stuart Luman suggests these measures to bring balance:
Joy the word we see, hear and sing at this time of year. Joy of missing out is the antidote to FOMO as we let go of the need to know what others are doing and unplug. JOMO is letting myself enjoy the here and now and being grateful for this. Its not that I don’t care about others live. Its the joy of being in the now, not rushing to see the next big thing.
Recently I challenged myself to turning the mobile to silent when meeting people. I previously worked on call. The mobile and responding to it was equivalent to a umbilical cord connecting me to the external that I attended to 24 /7. This while a necessity for my work stopped me from being 100% present to family and friends. The week of a silent phone revealed to me the habit of hooking in. I wish to continue the challenge of connecting uninterrupted by this tone that pulls my head space out of the context I am in.
Christina Cook a Canadian mother documented her month without internet to pen the book: The Joy of Missing Out Finding Balance in a Wired World. The 3 gifts she found were presentness, intentionality and limited connections.
Here is the TEDX Talk she presented in Toronto.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q3rhVna7yo
At this time of year there are those that remember a White Christmas cold with snow and hot food to warm the soul. Australia has more of Red Christmas particularly if you live in the bush were the dirt is red and the sun makes you red. My darkside Grinch Green Christmas is when I compare myself, don’t see what abundance I have and become jealous.
Tucked away from the raucous celebrations sit those in a Blue Christmas where loved ones lost are missed, circumstances are stressful and the colour of life is drained. At our Christmas table there will be two settings where the remembered grace us with their invisible presence. A smile, a hello is appreciated when you are in a Blue Christmas as this is when connection is craved but sometimes shunned.
Advertising on internet, television, radio and print bombard us at this time of year with promises and pressure to buy, buy, maintain the debt, look beautiful and be there.
Tuning out of the retail hype and coming home to what you value is like taking off the pressure valve sinking into your reality.
Find your reason for this season:
Is it a time to reboot?
Is it family time?
An opportunity to go bush and ride a horse?
Is it a celebration of the present or the past?
Is it Jesus Birthday or Hanukkah or Paneha Ganapali?
Thank you Gwelup Flower shop for this sign
www.gwelupflowershop.com.au
References
Stuart Luman found at www.niraandfar.com/2015/01/fomo.html