Spoon feeding....

I got this in an email today.... I know its religious.... but I think it contains a good point....
...something along the lines that the way we experience the world, and our level of happiness, often comes down to how willing we are to share of ourselves with others...
when we give our love and care to others, rather than lock it up and protect it like a precious jewel in a safe, so we receive in return riches that would overflow and bury that lonely little safe...

Mother Theresa said...
"I have found that the paradox is that if you love til it hurts then there can be no more hurt, only more love"....

I hope you like the story...

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, 'Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.'
The Lord led the holy man to two doors.
He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.
But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
The Lord said, 'You have seen Hell.'
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew.
which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, 'I don't understand.'
It is simple,' said the Lord. 'It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.'

I bet you know this feeling !!

I found this in a random internet traveling today.... it made me laugh so I thought I would share it.... how well I know the frustration of the stumbling across a black hole in the computer universe... I wonder if my black socks are in there???

Abort, Retry, Ignore?
by Anonymous Works

Once upon a midnight dreary, fingers cramped and vision bleary,
System manuals piled high and wasted paper on the floor,
Longing for the warmth of bed sheets, still I sat there doing spreadsheets.
Having reached the bottom line I took a floppy from the drawer,
I then invoked the SAVE command and waited for the disk to store,
Only this and nothing more.

Deep into the monitor peering, long I sat there wond'ring, fearing,
Doubting, while the disk kept churning, turning yet to churn some more.
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token.
"Save!" I said, "You cursed mother! Save my data from before!"
One thing did the phosphors answer, only this and nothing more,
Just, "Abort, Retry, Ignore?"

Was this some occult illusion, some maniacal intrusion?
These were choices undesired, ones I'd never faced before.
Carefully I weighed the choices as the disk made impish noises.
The cursor flashed, insistent, waiting, baiting me to type some more.
Clearly I must press a key, choosing one and nothing more,
From "Abort, Retry, Ignore?"

With fingers pale and trembling, slowly toward the keyboard bending,
Longing for a happy ending, hoping all would be restored,
Praying for some guarantee, timidly, I pressed a key.
But on the screen there still persisted words appearing as before.
Ghastly grim they blinked and taunted, haunted, as my patience wore,
Saying "Abort, Retry, Ignore?"

I tried to catch the chips off guard, and pressed again, but twice as hard.
I pleaded with the cursed machine: I begged and cried and then I swore.
Now in mighty desperation, trying random combinations,
Still there came the incantation, just as senseless as before.
Cursor blinking, angrily winking, blinking nonsense as before.
Reading, "Abort, Retry, Ignore?"

There I sat, distraught, exhausted, by my own machine accosted.
Getting up I turned away and paced across the office floor.
And then I saw a dreadful sight: a lightning bolt cut through the night.
A gasp of horror overtook me, shook me to my very core.
The lightning zapped my previous data, lost and gone forevermore.
Not even, "Abort, Retry, Ignore?"

To this day I do not know the place to which lost data go.
What demonic nether world us wrought where lost data will be stored,
Beyond the reach of mortal souls, beyond the ether, into black holes?
But sure as there's C, Pascal, Lotus, Ashton-Tate and more,
You will be one day be left to wander, lost on some Plutonian shore,
Pleading, "Abort, Retry, Ignore?"

Henna hands

This weekend I satisfied a little personal goal and had my hand henna tattooed..... Its cute... I think I will do it again.

Connecting...

Life has recently been giving me people to learn from....

Tonight I was given this ...

When the shoe fits, the foot is forgotten
When the belt fits, the belly is forgotten
And when the heart is right,
“For” and “against” are forgotten
(Taoist Poem)

Isn't it lovely....?

Ah life....

So has anyone noticed recently that the concept of control in life is an absolute illusion??
I have been anticipating so much uncertainty once I return to Australia... but my path to there seemed finally clear...
Today I received a call to say that my replacement, who was all set to come in 2 weeks, has been admitted to hospital. That is all I know...
Once again my future is in the hands of the irrefutable uncertainty of life...
Let go and let be..... that is all I can do I guess! :-)

Oh my god, Not my god....

Living here has highlighted for me they ways in which, in Australia and other more developed countries, we are relatively sheltered by being able to surround ourselves with people who are relatively cultured, educated, aware.... maybe not as much as we sometimes wish, but....
I am regularly shocked by the way some people here think.... and this letter in the regular "Voice of the People" column in The Fiji Times is an example that I just had to share...

"I wish to agree with Mrs **** that we are indebted to English missionaries who gave their lives in bringing Christianity to Fiji and we are indeed fortunate to witness in our generation the fruits of their labour in the existence of a large, diverse and healthy population in Fiji. Had it not been for the introduction of Christianity in Fiji it would not have been possible to acquire farm labourers from India, and English trading merchants in an environment where humans were eating their own kind.
But in God's divine plan Fiji was to be rescued from the clutches of Satan. As a Christian I can understand this and I hope Mrs **** can also realise her own existence as a gift of God through England whom God greatly utilised to bless other nations where tribal groups practiced cannibalism such as Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and even reported in the Bible in 2 Kings 6:25-30.
So if the migrant race would not have come to Fiji their decendants would have been born, raised and died in some other part of the world and that includes the Mrs *****s."

Hmmmm Now I wonder what the indentured labourers from India, and the indigenous populations of Africa, Australia etc feel about their "blessings" from the English colonialists and missionaries ????

Words of Kindness...

I know its not new… and its not rocket science… but its meaningful to me today….
One thing I have learned, over and over again…both as the giver and as the receiver… is how much difference a few words of kindness can make.
When was the last time you offered random unsolicited kindness to a friend, to someone you care about?
So much of the time we are busy with our lives, our chores, seeking entertainment, distraction… and we of course assume that the people we care about and admire already know how we feel…
It takes so little to say a few words of kindness… to tell someone “hey – I think you are great…” Or to do something for someone that says “hey – I thought of you and you were worth going out of my way for...”
Today a friend sent me an email, just a simple compliment…. But it just so happened that today I was feeling really sad… and her email made me smile for a moment, and that meant so much to me.
Thanks Lisa!

DON'T ASK ME!!

And in other breaking news...
I have extended my contract again - but this time only for two weeks :-) Things are massively hectic here... as usual, but somehow on top of all of my current work I am now charged with the task of getting another two training groups up and running in these "last sand through the hour glass" moments... Squeezing more and more into my days in anticipation of the time, all to soon, when my days will loom long and empty.... well, at least between social engagements... and eating... and working out what I am doing with my life next!

I plan to hit the shores of the old country around the 10th November, with a flying visit through Brisbane and a few days of sleep at Mum and Dad's... mmmm sleep....mmmm

And then its on to the bright lights of Sydney town somewhere around the 14th or so...
So... pencil me in your diaries, pop me in your phone calendars, slot me in your minds... I'm comin home and can't wait to see all my wonderful loyal friends and family... and I will be wanting lots of distraction I imagine...from the yawning chasm where my purpose in life once lay....

Just one favour I ask - Don't Ask Me What I Am Going To Be Doing Now!.... I will be unable to crawl out from under the collapse of all structure in my life enough to find an answer for you... at least not for a while.... :-)

Sending you smiles til I show you the real ones!

the joy of cultural mishmash...

Again I was reminded - Tis truly a multicultural world....
last weekend I joined other Australian and Japanese volunteers to farewell, in sign language, lovely Kate, with an authentic Korean Dinner, in Fiji :-)

I love these surreal moments of cultural juxtapositioning!

Things of Beauty and Love

One of my goals in life is to appreciate the senseless beauty of ordinary moments....

If, between distractions, we open our eyes, breathe... and really see.... beauty is truly all around.....

These kittens were born in the donated clothes under the social worker's desk in my office.... I have watched them learn to drink, to crawl, to see, to jump.... and to love :-)

and this coffee.... truly a thing of beauty :-) All seems right in the world with a coffee like this :-)

May all your days be touched by things of beauty and love... and may you notice them! :-)