Australia · challenges · Changes · gratitude · happiness · Mount Warning · spring

Embracing Change

Joanne2 Comments

Sitting at the table on my veranda I notice the first early morning rays of sunlight touching the summit of Mount Warning.

Oh, but I look up again after writing just one paragraph and the light on the mountain has already changed, while the folds in the surrounding hills have been further emphasised by the changing morning light.

Inside the house all is still, but that too will change within the next half hour, as my family begins rushing from room to room, preparing themselves for the last work and school day of the week.

Yesterday I became aware of other changes, positive changes in our nearest town, fifteen minutes drive away from our village.

Many years ago our cars were serviced by one particular mechanic. He knew his job well, so we continued to patronise his business, unquestioningly.

And then he retired. Resisting the change, for reasons I’m sure we had at the time, although I have now forgotten, we located another mechanic nearby. Yes, our new mechanic knew his job, although I always felt he lacked that “something special” of our previous man.

About a week ago my car began to complain that it had been neglected way too long, and it was loud about voicing its displeasure at the recent lack of attention.

Making contact with the new, although now not so new owners, of our previous favourite mechanics shop, I translated the problems as best I could, as told to me by my ailing vehicle.

A surprisingly low quote was given, and my car was feeling much better within an hour or two. Apparently, my car had every right to complain ~ a six cylinder car running on only five is not a happy-chappie!

As I have already mentioned, my car needed some T.L.C. so yesterday the “new” mechanics gave it the complete once-over it had been pleading for.

Driving my blue baby back home again I fully expected at any moment it may break out in song, as it glided along the road, purring as contented as a well fed kitten.

Behind the wheel of my car I also mentally rejoiced at having discovered such wonderful mechanics, who have that “special something” which I had missed for years.

I also chided myself at the memory of resisting the change of ownership in this business. Change can be good, just ask my car! 😉

The weather here is changing as well…another change I resist every year. I so enjoy the cooler months, we have so little cooler weather in this area.

The time has come for me to be more accepting of the many changes taking place around me, rather than resisting them. The weather will show no concern as to preferences of the earth’s inhabitants. It will change as it sees fit.

Two weeks ago I couldn’t have sat in comfort at this hour of the morning on my veranda, enjoying the early morning changes of the mountain. It was too cold.

The mountain is changing constantly as I write…the wonderful mechanics in town changed my car into a purring, gliding kitten and now my house has changed into a hive of activity.

Embrace the changes, savour the magical moments and move with them.

Have a fantastic day, in whatever your day brings!  I know I will. 🙂

challenges · inspiration · vision

Visualising a New Challenge

Joanne2 Comments

“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others”. ~ Jonathan Swift

The theme for the month of September on NaBloPoMo is “Vision”. Although I have taken the challenge before, and succeeded, in writing and posting a new blog post every day for a month, I have not achieved this task during a whole calendar month.

Today I read some of the posts from NaBloPoMo members who had completed the challenge of a new blog post each day for the month of August. It was interesting to note the reactions, ranging from “thank goodness that’s over” right through to the other end of the spectrum, “I achieved the goal, now I’m not sure if I will continue writing each day”.

The latter is closer to my reaction when I had completed the task during June/July. I had developed the habit of daily writing, and it felt quite odd to realise that there was no pressure to continue at this pace.

More recently, after not writing for about a week, (due to work commitments in my “off-line world” along with developing a cold and feeling a tad out of sorts), I felt like a fish out of water ~ I missed writing!

Now I feel inclined to take on the challenge yet again, to write a new post each day, for the month of September.

At first glance, “Vision” appears to be a rather interesting topic to write about. My mind has already developed many ideas, although I can’t promise to come up with a whole thirty posts relating to the topic! We’ll see…

All I can promise at this early stage is that I have the vision to complete the thirty day challenge, with discipline, consistency and confidence again being my key focus words, just as when I began the challenge for the first time in June.

In June, when writing about “Challenging Myself” with this task, I had intended getting into the “web stream” up to my ankles, which I ultimately achieved. The time has now come to plunge in up to my knees.

Okay, maybe plunge is too strong a word…perhaps “taking a larger step into the stream” is a better description.

Regardless of the terminology, I’m up to the challenge, one step at a time. And isn’t that what life’s all about? Moving ahead…one step at a time. How do you climb a mountain…one step at a time. How do you plant a forest? One tree at a time…

Do you have a daunting challenge ahead in your own life? Remember the routine ~”one step at a time”, take small steps towards your ultimate goal, consistently each day.

Before long, you will have climbed that mountain.

(photo credit http://www.tripadvisor.com/)


Australia · challenges · Changes · freedom · gratitude · happiness · inspiration

A Leap of Faith ~ Immigrating to a New Country

Joanne2 Comments
My sister Annette (centre) at Balgownie migrant hostel, N.S.W. Australia, 1951.

“What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” ~ Napoleon Hill.

After World War II had finally ended in the mid 1940’s, England spent a number of years in recovery. Ration tickets to acquire certain food items were still being handed out, air raid shelters remained in residential back gardens and ex-soldiers struggled to find their place in society, during the post war years.

A virtual life line was extended to many of the walking wounded and their families, with promises of beginning a new and wonderful life in a land of sunshine.

Paying just ten pounds per adult and with children travelling for free, these English migrants were offered a ticket to board a ship, bound for Australia.

Those who accepted the offer became affectionately known as the “Ten Pound Poms”.

Even in this day and age, packing up your belongings and family, lock, stock and barrel, boarding an aeroplane and moving from one side of the world to the other would take a huge amount of courage.

Can you imagine the risks of making such a move some forty to sixty years ago, with little knowledge of what to expect, taking a voyage on a ship which would see you arriving at an unfamiliar destination around six to seven weeks after leaving England?

I’d call it nothing short of a leap of faith, and certainly not a move for the faint hearted.

And yet tens of thousands of so called “Ten Pound Poms” took up the offer, on nothing more than just a promise of a wonderful new life, which included work prospects, comfortable accommodation and a freer and more relaxed lifestyle in a warmer climate.

Upon arrival in Australia, many immigrants were to discover that the only guarantee they actually had was the warmer climate. Steady employment wasn’t as easy to acquire as they had been led to believe and the accommodation offered was in the form of a small hut, in what was known as a Migrant Hostel.

And yet most of the “Ten Pound Poms” rejoiced at the opportunity offered to them, a chance to start a brand new life in “The Lucky Country”.

Gone were the days of fear, struggle and uncertainty. In the eyes of these people, they had the world at their feet; anything was possible, opportunities abounded ~ they felt privileged and proud to call Australia “Home”.

In this day and age, I see the move these people made as a giant leap of faith; in those days, they saw it as a gilt-edged opportunity to begin a new life in a new country, away from the heartache they had experienced during the war years.

Numerous stories could be told of the families who risked everything, in search of a more prosperous life to share with those they loved, stories of the heartache and joy experienced during those early days of their new lives, in a new country, on the other side of the world.

One day I will tell my story. Am I a “Ten Pound Pom”? No, but my whole family were. My parents and three sisters made that giant leap of faith in 1951, many years before I was ever thought of.

There’s is a story of hope, inspiration, commitment, struggles, happiness, gratitude and simplicity, but most of all faith…faith in themselves and faith in the promises held in an unknown land. And when I share their story, it will be told with all of the pride and admiration I feel towards my courageous and unassuming family.

If you have the means to honour the actions of someone you know, who also took a leap of faith at some stage in their lives, why not share the story and give them the recognition they so well deserve? Why not write your own article of inspiration?

It will offer reassurance to anyone who reads your story that whatever they set their mind to doing, it can be achieved…because it can.

There’s no such word as “can’t”. 🙂

Photo credit : http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au

Australia · freedom · gardening · mangoes

Batty About Bats!

Joanne5 Comments

“Birds and fruit bats prefer native fruit. If they have native fruit they’ll leave yours alone” ~ Jackie French

I’ve had bats on my brain for the last day, fruit bats (or flying foxes) to be precise.

I place the blame on Kathy, over at “Lake Superior Spirit”, who wrote a most interesting and entertaining blog post yesterday, “Bat Event Today”.

Here in Australia bats are a common sight, especially so during the summer months. We regularly spot them gliding through the air at night fall. No doubt they have just woken from a day of slumber, being nocturnal mammals, and are preparing to raid the juiciest fruit available from the trees of suburbia.

Many years ago, whilst living in Sydney, we grew a lovely big pawpaw tree just outside of our back door. Each night after dark, the local fruit bats would make a feast out of our beautifully ripening fruit. Not wishing to be greedy, we would occasionally remove a pawpaw from the tree during the day for our own use. There was plenty to share!

One night I managed to take a photo of our cute little batty friends, although you will have to look carefully to spot the little fellow, right in the centre of the photo, who just happened to look straight at me as I photographed him.

Fruit bat in the pawpaw tree

This really isn’t the best of photos. But not to worry…I searched the web and have come up with some real beauties, taken by those with both better cameras and better photography skills than my own.

This photo of a bat in flight I found at  http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au

Bat in flight

These beautiful bats were at http://www.candobetter.org. I can resist their cute little faces!

Beautiful Bats

This is a great photo, especially for my non Australian friends. It shows bats hanging from a Hills hoist, or clothes line. (I will write a post on our Aussie clothes lines; it’s quite an interesting story!)

Photo credit ~ theblurb.com.au

We have a large mango tree growing just outside our bedroom window and during last summer all of the local mango trees produced fruit in huge quantities, the likes of which we had never seen before. I wrote about my “Delightful Mangoes” and also added a recipe for “Green Mango Chutney” during last summer. I made so much chutney we are still enjoying it, and it is delicious!

Over a period of around two to three weeks last summer, every night at around midnight, we were awoken by the unmistakable squeaky sounds of multiple fruit bats, feasting away on the ripening mangoes just outside our window. These little guys really must have felt they had hit the jackpot, as they continued to party, night after night, constantly returning until the last ripe mango was devoured.

Each night, when their tummies were suitably filled they would all fly off together, with a massive whoosh of their wings. The following morning I would check with my husband to see if he had been awake to hear the flying elephants taking off! I’m yet to learn how such tiny creatures can create such a massive wing sound!

According to Australian author Jackie French, if the trees you plant in your garden produce fruit which is more appealing to the local wildlife, such as native fruit trees, they will leave the human-preferred varieties alone.

I’m sure Jackie French’s theory would apply in all countries. Simply find out what the local wildlife wish to munch on and supply it to them. They’ll leave your treasures alone!

Whilst searching through photo albums for my fruit bat photo, I discovered another old photo, again taken in Sydney, of a couple of regular visitors to our window sill. These birds are called Rainbow Lorikeets, and are simply beautiful, not only in their colours but also their friendly personalities.

Lorikeets in Sydney

Don’t forget to drop by Kathy’s site, “Lake Superior Spirit”. You’re sure to enjoy her bat story, just as I did. 🙂

gratitude · Mum · spiritual

Mother’s Love Makes the World Go On.

Joanne5 Comments

Walking outside and into my garden this morning, I was greeted by the usual early morning sights and sounds; the sun shining brightly in the sky and birds chirping happily in the trees.

The distant sound of a chainsaw, possibly a neighbour pruning trees, preparing  their garden for the upcoming hot summer months.

Cutie Cat rubbed her dainty little body against my legs. Today, I imagine she is reminding me that it’s her birthday. She turns three today. As she rolls around on the grass, her eyes squinted against the bright sun light, I feel her blissful happiness and her enjoyment of the recent warmer weather.

The world goes on; the birds keep singing, the trees, grass and flowers keep on growing. The universe shows no regard for what happened, seventeen years ago today.

The sun shone in the sky on the morning of that day also, just as it is today. Memories of that day are embedded in my mind, to remain forever.

The weather had recently become warmer, as it does every year at the end of August. I thought the world might end that day, seventeen long years ago. But it didn’t. Life continued; the world kept on spinning.

And I continued to breathe.

I knew she was still breathing too, as I left her hospital room. A strong pulse moved in her neck. She was still with me, as I said goodbye, for the last time. Her fine, shining white hair curled gently around her face. Her strong, gentle, healing hands rested motionless on the bed. Her eyes remained closed. And the pulse in her neck kept beating.

Every particle of her hair, her hands and her face had to be savoured, to be held in my memory for as long as time.

Out in the hospital car park, I started up the car, the sounds of the radio instantly coming through the speakers. “All by myself, don’t wanna be, all by myself anymore”. It was Eric Carmen’s voice, singing one of her favourite songs. Funny, I hadn’t heard that song in years.

Upon arriving home, a sudden urgency hit me. The chores had to be done; the clothes washed, the beds made, the breakfast dishes washed. It all had to be finished, immediately.

And then I was told she had gone.

A nurse had watched me leave the room; she had watched me leave, before entering the room herself, only to find the pulse had stopped.

Instinct, which I had wanted to ignore, had already told me the news that I hadn’t wanted to hear in words. The song on the car radio…

Her physical body left the earth that day, seventeen years ago today. But I know in my heart that she never did leave. A golden thread keeps us close to each other at all times. We can never be separated, not even by “death”.

She remains with me every day, guiding me, protecting me, watching my children grow.

Because that’s what mother’s do.

And that’s why the world goes on.