Floating Lisianthus

Touch of Love

2009-03-15T22:44:00.002+11:00

I never really knew what love was. Still in a sense don't know what it is. Is it really just a touch, or a person, or a smile, or is it something more?

Do we play games with love? Some people do. Should we?

Some people do all sorts of things just to test to see if you Love them. Ask you all sorts of questions to see if you love them. What for?

Can love be found, or is love something that finds you?

99 Ballons

2008-12-24T15:09:00.003+11:00

Like many, The Oprah Winfrey Show offers much needed entertainment at lunch time, or when you feel like wanting to be in tuned with mindless entertainment for an hour - without having to think, and knowing there's got to be something on television that is worth watching.

I always seem to be lucky and fortunate enough to turn on Oprah at the right times. Today was one of them.

There was a story that touched my heart and soul and has filled me with this energy and encouraged me to take my laptop out to the back yard, sitting on the grass and start to write.

Right now in this moment, I'm blessed to be able to feel the wind blowing gently past my skin, to have it through my hair. I'm blessed to be able to hear the birds chirping, to hear children laughing and playing, to hear the faint murmurs of my neighbours, possibly discussing their plans for their Christmas dinner, and a rooster calling. I'm sitting in the shades of a apple tree, pear tree and cherry tree. There are still pears on that tree.

I cried while watching the video, not because I felt sad, but cried because I felt so much love. Elliot was diagnosed with Trisomy 18, a rare genetic disorder that affects one in 3000 births where a third copy of the 18th chromosome is present. Doctors had predicted that Elliot wouldn't make it to birth. The life span ranges from 1 - 15 days. Imagine having only 1 -15 days to live.

For Elliot's parents, everyday was a blessing, everyday was celebrated with love and joy. They loved learning how to help Elliot, how to look after him, how to make him as comfortable as possible. They didn't think of the end, or when the end was coming, his mother lived with a "I'll be sad later" attitude, that is an amazing amount of strength in those words.

After watching the video, and then YouTubing the video, I felt a surge of awareness and love that brought me to the backyard. There are no thoughts in my mind. No thoughts of wanting more, no thoughts of failure, no thoughts of what-should-I-do-next. Just pure calm and peace.

It's very beautiful right now. I have beautiful music playing in the wind. The sun shining down on me. My speakers on my laptop are brilliant! :) I'm glad I bought it.

What troubling me for the last few weeks is future. How am I going to get there? What should I do to help it get there? Where's this magic knight going to come from? I've fought countless battles with my mind, shut up, we'll get there, am I going to do it?, we're definitely there, will I have it?, you deserve it. I think what it is, is seeing results. Looking for it. Looking for the answer, when really the answer is already there.

God literally, never closes a door on you without leaving you an open window. Or in the case of a young American survivor from hurricane Katrina, God broke a window for him, and the spirit of his mother guided him towards a new life through that window and wouldn't allow him to be with her. She wanted his to live the life he deserved to live, not just for himself, but for her.

Take a moment for yourself. Open up your eyes and just view the beauty and love all around you. I know at this moment, the ants love me so much, they can't get off of me!!

Enjoy the video and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a New year!

True Love

2008-12-22T16:19:00.004+11:00

Having tutored year 9/10 English for a number of years, I've read and corrected a number of essays throughout the years, but always come across this one,

"They have no one but themselves to blame for the death of Romeo and Juliet".

And yes, I've read over and over again it was the Friar's fault, the maid's fault, Tybalt's fault, the Capulet and Montague family's fault, Juliet's fault and Romeo's fault. If only the Friar had said something before hand. If only the maid has said something. If only the family would just not fight. If only the two lover's were more open and honest about their love, or better still, just accept what life is and love someone else. But, what is life living as a lonely soul, living as only one part of two?

I think sometimes, was this book chosen for Shakespearean study based on the level of difficulty of the English used, or was it intended to teach young teens something about love. We've all read it. We've all been touched by this very romantic notion of what love and soulmates are. Love at first sight. Strong bonding and love between two star-crossed lovers. Ending in death, because they're love was forbidden.

A lot of people have this idea that the first person they are with, will be the last. That when they are finally with someone, that is the person that they will share their future with. Though, many times, that doesn't happen that way. Only very few people have the opportunity and luck to have met their soulmates and are still together for many years. For the many of us, we look everywhere for that special person. We get so anxious to meet them. We join online dating websites, go to the clubs, go to D&D balls and end up with anyone, even if from the very start you thought that this wasn't exactly what you were looking for.

Though everyone longs to meet that one person that makes our heart flutter when our hands touch; makes our smiles sweeter at the very thought of them; makes our hearts melt when they do those little things for us; makes our reason for taking a breath to keep us alive seem more meaningful.

If only we'd stop just being with just anyone because we're lonely, and really just enjoy ourselves and our lives. Spend time with our friends and family. Spend time to just care for others and ourselves. That maybe we might be able to one day walk past that iridescent fish tank and see our soulmate staring back at us from the other side. Just maybe . . .

Life is a Game

2008-12-21T19:51:00.004+11:00

Have you ever wondered why something had to be there?

I just finished playing this game before. Almost 50 stages of problem solving, getting from one spot to another, having only sticky goo-balls to use. At times I felt like it was easy, build a bridge, get across, finish. When the stage was more difficult, I would try out what I had in mind first, see what happens when I do it; try out any possibilities, even those that would clearly kill me, to just give it go; work out what certain things did. Very rarely would I have to play the stage more than 5 times to be able to crack it.

However, there was one stage that I just thought, unbelievable. I had to blow up a lot of bridges to get to the bottom, but on the bottom was a bridge, on the right hand side was a torch lit with fire. I had to somehow get that fire to bridge to blow it up. I just couldn't get it to burn. I didn't understand. How can I do this? I tried to launch the ball diagonally at the flame.. The ball just fell into the water below. I tried launching it from above the flame. Nope. I tried launching multi times at the flame. Still nothing. I tried leaving blocks and goo-balls from above, but as soon as they fell, they were destroyed. What do I do??

Then I looked at the left side of the bridge where there was a single short vine where the goo-balls were stored. I started getting angry. I used force to throw all the goo-balls over to the bridge one by one. As soon as it went over, I would throw them over to the flame, whether it fell in the water or got in the flame, I didn't care. Why wasn't I getting it!!??

I was down to the last goo-ball left on the small vine. Then I thought. There must be a reason why this vine was there. I threw the last ball over, and I watched the vine swing. Then it made sense. Swinging!! I had to swing the thread from the bridge over to the flame using the force left by the ball being thrown back and forth between the two vines. Ahhhhhhhh!!

Life is funny in that way. You get so caught up in the problem you're faced with, or the pain that you see in front, that you never really focus on exactly what is in front of you, and what exactly you have to do to solve the problem. You just assume you understand what you are doing. You just think you know exactly what you have to do, but you never really spent the time just being calm and just looking at the scene without any agendas or emotions. Just calmly observing.

I believe in past lives, and I believe that we came back for a reason. We came back to play the game of 'Human Life' - because it's one of those games that we play for fun, to learn something, solve something, pay something back.

Life is a game. Just play it and enjoy.

How to Effectively Problem Solve

2008-12-20T17:14:00.006+11:00

Like others, procrastination eats at me every second when in doubt of which step to take forward.

Life is full of decisions we need to make everyday, whether it's something like "What should I have for breakfast today", or "Should I take this route to the store", you go through many many possibilities and choices in your mind.

Though, what if today you didn't have anything in the fridge for breakfast, "What should I do now?". What if today, the usual route to the store had an accident and the road was blocked, "What route should I take now?" It's these unusual situations that take us by surprise, disturbs our usual routine, and causes a problem that needs a solution - now.

It seems easy, no food, maybe go down to the nearest McDonald's, or cafe. Road block on this road, take the smaller streets, or go to another store. It's these simple decisions that make the difference of skipping breakfast completely, and not being able to the store to get more food for breakfast. You have a want or a desire, "I want breakfast". You have problems or road blocks, "There's no food. There's an accident near the store". You have a desired outcome, "I am full."

However, what if you're faced with a problem that was a lot more complex than breakfast (although, breakfast I quite important!) Sometime like, "I lost my job, how am I going to make money now?" or "I want job satisfaction, but I don't know how to get there."

Using the following 6 steps, you could be on the road to help yourself solve some of the problems you have. I've used an example as a way to demonstrate the process.

Six Steps to Effectively Problem Solve:

"I want to make money, but don't know what to do?"

Step 1. Identify the problem.

What's making you unhappy, what is on your mind? Be honest with yourself, no one has to read what you write, but just let it all out, even if it hurts.

- I don't like that I don't have a job.
- I don't like that I don't make any money.
- I don't like that I can't buy christmas gifts for people that I love.
- I don't like that I stay up late at night and wake up late in the day.

Step 2. Write down exactly what you want.

- Work from home.
- Flexible hours.
- Work 3 - 4 hours a day and earn $50 - $100 an hour.
- Be able to not have to think about money.
- Go shopping and buy lovely things.

Step 3. Identify your tools/skills.

What do you have to offer? What skills do you have?

- I communicate well - verbally and written.
- I am healthy.
- I am organised.
- I have a driver's license and a car.

Step 4. Research.

Research the sort of qualities you have on any search enging, or books. What is on offer out there? Is this a niche or is there already many people out there and courses available that can help you reach your goal?

- searched [job night shifts]
- searched [job communicate well]
- searched [job $50 - $100 an hour]
- searched [make money shopping]

Step 5. Review and keep an open mind.

Look at the sort of keywords that 'pop' out to you. Are there jobs or possiblities that you would like to look in further? Do you need to do further study? Are there qualifications you need first?

Jobs that I can look into further = stocking supermarkets, security, service station clerks, writer, call centre, life coaches, trading, accountants, buyers, image consultant . . .

Sometimes it works as a mind map, taking you from one thing to another. Only follow what interests you. If it makes you feel uneasy, or you're not interested, hit the "back" button on your toolbar and go back. The more you research, the more you read, the more this world seems like there's lot of opportunities out there and many that are suitable for you.

Do Be Careful! There are many fake sites and scams out there, so please be sure you can trust the site before you proceed and give any personal or financial information.

Step 6. Plan and take ACTION.

What are your actions from now on? Will you go back to school to study? Will you call up companies? Are you going to write that business plan?

From identifying what the problem was, to being honest about what you want and what are the resources or tools that you already have, to researching and allowing yourself to just take in the information and read what is given to you - you have already unlocked many opportunites that you can take and unlocked that powerful energy within you to inspire you to take action.

NOW, all you need to do is plan. Plan your course of action. What are you going to do now? How are you going to do it? Written in any form that you're comfortable with, a plan will help you to understand which steps to take to reach your goal, but most importantly which step to take forward.