Category: Wellbeing

Love and Light House

by Lee Green, Perth, Australia

A few days ago I was fortunate to stay with friends in Byron Bay. Their lovely home is perched beneath the lighthouse, which that afternoon was standing tall and white against the grey mist that often falls across the sky that time of day.

But the real magic began much later when, as I settled for bed, I observed the sweeping movement of the bright light from the bedroom. I was luckier still because I could lie in bed and watch the show until it was time to close my eyes and rest deeply. Continue reading “Love and Light House” →

Perfectly Imperfect

 by Joel L, Australia

I was reading the blog by Otto Bathurst (I’m just an Ordinary Man) and was blown away by the recognition that at some level I still want the world to see how great the esoteric is and how much better life can be with it. This desire for others ‘to get it’ leads to painting a sometimes overly ‘perfect picture’ of the esoteric.

Truth is, the esoteric is perfect – it’s just everything else that can suck. Continue reading “Perfectly Imperfect” →

An inspiring meal with two inspiring young women

by Anna Karam, Goonellabah, Australia

I was recently inspired by two young women who came to my home for dinner. What inspired me so much was that when I was their age, I was so lost and unsure of myself, and had already changed so much in order to be liked and accepted, that I had become a product of what I thought the world wanted or needed me to be.

When my guests arrived I couldn’t help but see and feel how natural these young women were in my home, so playful and loving; there was no big noting of themselves, no competition, no gossip or drama (as I remember it myself at that age), but rather I could feel them so content in themselves; it was so freeing for me to feel this. Continue reading “An inspiring meal with two inspiring young women” →

My job and me: getting honest and making changes

by R.B, NSW

I loved my job… or I thought I did. I had done the same job for 14 months, working five days a week in a very physically demanding position, as a waitress in a busy cafe where I was literally running most of the time.

I thought I loved it because it was exciting and it was social.

But what I thought was excitement was actually just my nervous system being stressed out because of the demands of work. I noticed that my nervous system was stressed out because I would wake often at night needing to pee, find it hard to relax, and always needed to do things, even on my days off or on my breaks, which are all signs of an over-active nervous system. It was as if my body was in constant ‘fight or flight’ mode. After taking some time off work and creating a slower pace to live in, I can really feel the difference between how I am now and how I was then. Continue reading “My job and me: getting honest and making changes” →

The illusion that getting ‘smashed’ is fun

by Kim Schultz, NSW

With my work Christmas party coming up I tried to wiggle my way out of it, saying that I was too tired to go and that there was no dairy free/gluten free menu, thinking that they would put me in the ‘too hard’ basket. WRONG!… the boss solved the problem in five minutes, speaking with the chefs to cater for my food request and offering to have someone drive me to the event.

At the time I thought ‘Bugger!’ as all my attempts to avoid it had failed. To be honest, I was concerned with how I was going to communicate and what I was going to say to people who were drunk… ‘What are we going to talk about?’ ‘How am I going to connect?’ I was also anxious that I would be seen as a ‘party-pooper’. Still, I did feel the pull to go – and how awesome it was to revisit my past, as it turned out. Continue reading “The illusion that getting ‘smashed’ is fun” →

What Christmas means to me?

by Sally Scott, Manager, Perth WA

Christmas is a tradition for many. On the Google search engine it says that some 2 billion people celebrate Christmas worldwide. So I asked myself, what is it that people believe they are celebrating? We have public holidays for it, concerts, huge shopping sales around this time of year, businesses shut down to give their employees time off, families plan holidays and get-togethers, there is usually large amounts of food prepared and eaten, alcohol is consumed, houses are decorated with coloured lights and ornaments, some make and decorate gingerbread houses, and for some it is the time of the year (the only time of the year) they visit a church or participate in religious services or ceremonies. Continue reading “What Christmas means to me?” →

Writing a blog: the fear of rejection

by Mr Anonymous, Australia

I haven’t been able to write a blog.

When I re-read my attempts at writing a blog they feel grey and either a bit boastful or a bit negative on myself.

I found out it has to do with rejection. If I talk with a person, or even a group of people, I can make sure that I won’t get rejected, or that the chance is very slight. Public speaking holds few terrors for me – my worst, but bearable, experience was a public speech on the morning of Melbourne Cup Day. The audience suffered from anticipatory drunkenness even though it was 8 in the morning. Continue reading “Writing a blog: the fear of rejection” →

Whose ‘Dead’ – line is it?

by Sandra Williamson, Hairdresser, Brisbane

A friend was feeling a lot of pressure the other day to complete some very big things on time. So the question was asked, “Are you feeling the pressure of a deadline”? – with the response being “Yes”. My next question was, “Whose deadline is it”?

The next moment we both came to the awareness that by the way she was feeling, it could well be her ‘DEAD – line’.

A little exaggeration, but also true.

We could both sense what she was putting herself through to accomplish all that was needed; and if she just pushed through, well when it was done, she could then come back to caring for herself properly. Continue reading “Whose ‘Dead’ – line is it?” →

Rush, Rush, Rush

by Suzanne Anderssen, Brisbane, Australia

I have spent most of my life rushing. In primary school I would fit swimming, netball, guitar lessons, homework, TV, playing with friends, etc. around school time. I observed how my mother never stopped for 5 minutes, busy with work, kids, housekeeping. When in high school, I actually got a speeding fine and subsequently lost my licence for seeing how fast I could get to the shops to buy a cake mix (!). On school days I would wake up exactly 15 minutes before the bus was scheduled, fitting in a shower, breakfast, dressing and packing my school bag before running out the door to make the bus (my hair was always left wet). This ‘routine’ set me up for adult life: for years I set my alarm to wake up with the bare minimum of time needed to make it to work. I would drive the most direct route, without traffic lights, eat breakfast and do my hair in the car, put on lipstick in the rear vision mirror, and swan into work with seconds to spare (if even that). I felt my stomach tense up as I sped through life.  Continue reading “Rush, Rush, Rush” →

A woman’s strength is ‘KNOW’ and ‘NO’

by Rebecca Poole, Brisbane, Australia

My strength doesn’t come from my ability to bench press a weight. It certainly doesn’t come from my ability to fight. My strength isn’t in the size of my biceps or the width of my shoulders.

When I was young I thought I had to be physically muscular, athletic, rough and tough to be strong. My experience was that soft girls got walked over, teased, abused, and experienced inappropriate sexual behaviour from men. Understandably, this I didn’t want, so I chose toughness because I thought it was strength.

In my 20’s I began to ask myself “has this toughness really helped me in any way?” Continue reading “A woman’s strength is ‘KNOW’ and ‘NO’” →