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With mother’s day being this weekend in Australia (and in some other parts of the world), I write to celebrate mothers worldwide. This photo represents a part of my own experience of motherhood. There is also my role as a mother myself now, to my beautiful young daughter, Elena. But this photo represents the generations who have taught me since my own birth about motherhood and the power of the…

None of us are immune from witnessing change in our own lives or in the lives of others. Change is constant. We make it easiest on ourselves by accepting that fact. Our ability in letting go of the need for control, giving up the insistence that things have to be a certain way, is a courageous gift of freedom. It is also a gift of love and gratitude. By surrendering…

Every one experiences challenges. Every one experiences opportunities for growth. Every one faces fears. And every one can receive rewards for the courage of facing those fears. But, not every one is ready or open to receive those rewards. Just as there can be a limit on how much suffering you can tolerate, there can also be limits on how much happiness and flow you can tolerate. Instead of hitting…

When I think back to who I was, from who I am now, I am sometimes amazed that I could actually exist carrying so much emotional pain. I also existed in that state for a very long time, until it became too much to bear. There are many good things I have carried forward from those decades of learning though, like a special suitcase of magical insights. My rheumatologist, one of…

It was a regular peaceful night when, a couple of weeks ago, things changed unexpectedly. A rumbling began that sounded like a truck driving very close to the house. Mirrors shook and birds screeched in the night. After about fifteen seconds it stopped, only to be followed very soon after by another rumbling. This time there was no mistaking it as a truck. It was our living planet, Mother Earth,…

Sitting in a darkened room, with no awareness of anything outside of my body, my mind let go into somewhere new within itself. This is one of the wonders of meditation – when we let go completely, the mind reveals yet another layer of itself, a place of incredible beauty, free from busyness and thinking. Finding my way to a path of meditation has been one of the greatest blessings…

Some years back, I was serving at a meditation centre in the mountains that I used to frequent a lot. (I still would, if time and balance were as free in my life now as in those years). The place is run by volunteers – all giving their time with the volition that as someone else made it possible for them to benefit from sitting a course on this meditation…

The creek overflows once again, as the runoff from two days of heavy rains flows into the catchment. The bridge out is almost covered too, so I am stuck at home. (I love this fact.) There is a part of the creek where it splits into a few smaller streams, then comes together again. Watching it reminds me of life and the decisions we are faced with, the journey being…

A few weeks ago, a friend’s dog gave me a great reminder about persistence. My friend and I were hanging out her washing, as we chatted and caught up on each other’s lives. All the while, her kelpie dog called Kevin (yes, Kevin the Kelpie), dropped a stick at my feet. So I’d throw it and off he’d run to collect it. Within a flash he was back to do…

What is compassion to you? Is it something you ever give thought to? Are you aware of a time you have received compassion? And if so, how did it leave you feeling? Are you able to think of a time when you had compassion for someone else and acted in a kinder way as a result? Or is it something not terribly prominent in your thinking or behaviour? It may…