Thoughtful Ramblings

Ocean and estuary This encompasses so much for me in my world. It sums up much of what I studied early on at uni for my Science degree with majors in geography and marine science. It is my favourite environment. The salt laden sea air always revives my soul and spirit. I grew up around this environment and so it evokes many happy memories. Life of course has moved on. But my passion for the ocean and the estuary remains. It is my favourite place to walk and pray, to think and meditate. It is in these moments where I sense God most strongly and where I feel most free. I am happy in other places too. I love to travel and explore our world, to meet new people and make new friends. But always I come back to the sea, the salt and the estuary; where a myriad of creatures make their homes amongst the sea grasses, the rocks and rock platforms of the coastal environment, and where for me at least, in the sound of the wind, the waves and water, I find my peace.

Recently I've been listening to an audio book which is a collection of reflections from Bryce Courtenay called The Silver Moon: reflections on life, death and writing. As the title implies this a thoughtful reflection on his varied life, his career in advertising and of course his writing. I thoroughly recommend it. (Bolinda Audio read by Humphrey Bower). He recalls how very early in his life he discovered the idea of "the power of one". This is the power each of us has to make choices in life, to not be dictated to by circumstance, but to use "the power of one" to make important life changes. He gave his first novel the title The Power of One and he has also clearly lived according to this premise. It challenged me to consider this approach to life, to think about this idea in a larger and perhaps more personally reflective way myself. How we each have that ability to make choices; we each have the ability to live in a way that is not dictated by circumsta...

As many of you know, I've been trying to simplify, all our stuff. This has not been easy and I'm probably at a bit of a standstill at the moment. When i get like this, sometimes the urge to purchase new things is strong. You know that old 'feel good after you buy something new' feeling that doesn't actually last long. So I've been challenging myself by telling myself i don't need it. I like the question posed here in this article when the urge to buy is strong: 'but what if i don't?'. This helps me remember that there are far more important things in this world that I can use my money for. Things that will really add value through experiences, sharing with family and friends, helping those in need etc. I'm going to be using this phrase much more. http://www.becomingminimalist.com/what-if-i-dont/

Today I'm incredibly grateful to be home in Australia with my family. I know this is where God has called me to be for now. It is the place of my birth and my country. Many generations of my family before me have lived here and many generations will after me. But something changed when I went to Vietnam for the second time in a year last year. Vietnam has a hold of my heart in a way I cannot really describe.  I knew when we first looked at community work in Vietnam that first year 2012 that I was to be a part of it. I had been to China the previous year for the same reason. I loved China and her people but Vietnam took a hold of me like never before and this year, my 7th trip, something deeper again has happened. I love Vietnam, I love her people and I love her beautiful countryside and crowded cities. This year there has been enormous breakthrough in many areas with the follow up of the Community Development Workshop and also in the people of the village. We ...

It's amazing how quickly time passes. It seems that after the New Year, we are quickly into Easter, ANZAC Day and Mothers Day. Throw in several birthdays and before you know it, it's almost the middle of the year. Where did that time go. As I've contemplated this I've noticed that in many ways my busyness has ended in lots of busy nothing's. That is not to say I haven't achieved anything or that there is no fruit to show for my 'labour'. But it seems that in all of this, sometimes the important things get lost. Lately, through circumstances, getting to the bottom of feelings of anxiety and through reflective contemplation, ts been born in on my consciousness that there is definitely a conflict between how the world and my business associates see success and would like me to see success, and what I actually want. This had lead me to look at what true success really is. Truth be told, it's easy to get caught up in a wrong success paradigm that leads...