At my local harbourside pool for a swim I saw a man commit an act of disrespect to the environment. Innocent, naïve and unaware I am sure he did not even realise his infraction.
As I waited at the reception window to return my locker key he walked past me. He walked purposely but slowly, dressed in grey suit pants, a striped business shirt, coifed in silver streaked hair neatly combed following his swim.
Read MoreToday is RUOK day. If you don’t know what this means then say the letters out loud. It is a simple question not asked often enough. The fact that there is a day dedicated to this reminder says a lot. Our society is in such a state that we forget to ask the simplest of questions “Are you ok?” and mean it. Of course the key message is to not just ask this question on one day but all throughout the year whenever you feel it seems appropriate.
For me it is more about being sincere and authentic when you ask how someone is doing. It is such a common greeting that we often don’t listen for the response. How often do you meet someone and ask without really thinking about the person’s day. It is likely that you share the words as part of a conversation but not the feeling inside of really wanting to know. We have someone where to go, thoughts on our mind, our our own worries and concerns or the task at hand as distraction.
When we ask someone how he/she is doing many secretly don’t want to know. Many of us don’t want to go into a conversation that isn’t upbeat, superficial and trivial. Many of us are too afraid to hold a real conversation and truly listen to another person.
I was sitting in a cafe writing the other day. As I sat there immersed in my work, an older age brother and sister walked in with their elderly mother. Their mother was assisted by a walker and the careful guiding and navigating of her ‘kids’. It took quite a bit of shuffling around to get the seating just right. The elderly mother was hard of hearing, as evidenced by the siblings’ loud, raised voices used when trying to communicate with her. The mother seemed out of it and not too fussed about what was going on.
Then the son took out a hearing aid, placed it in his mother’s ear, and a different woman emerged. It was almost like she came alive. Despite her frailty and not so working order her smile beamed across the cafe. Her laughter caught the ear of everyone around her. As I looked at her I could see the sparkle of life fully brilliant in her eyes. Nothing was stopping her from being herself. She may be in a run down vehicle but what was going on inside certainly had some puff left.
This post is another one that I recorded in audio first. The following is a transcription of my verbal sharing. I wrote this after waking this morning from a restless sleep thinking and feeling for what is happening in the world at the moment. I am sure you are too. So I hope that you can relate to this sharing. You also may wonder why I am writing about such a topic. I do because I am passionate about people being true to self. Being a person who supports people in transition I also believe that as a collective whole we all need to support a lot of people in transition right now.
I write this from my heart and when I say that I really mean that I am feeling what I am saying to you. I have continually listened to and paid attention to the happenings in the world of late. And what strikes me is that almost every day we get touched by a natural disaster or a change in the way the Earth is experiencing living with us humans.
I am not an expert nor anyone who can even comment on the fragile relationship we have as man and Earth. What I can say though is as an observer, as a person who feels deeply, is that we are not paying attention. And the only way that the earth can actually say anything to us seems to be to yell and scream like a child having a tantrum. Only Earth isn't a child. Earth is our mother. Earth is akin to a mother. Earth protects us nurtures us and looks after us. Earth turns a blind eye when we abuse it when we crank up the terrible things we do to hurt it and says no matter what I'm still there just like a mother would do to a child.
© Jenn ShallveyI feel this so strongly because every day I walk around in nature. And as a person who enjoys nature and at the same time also uses things that probably hurt nature, I remember there's a balance. So I'm not saying I'm perfect. I'm not saying that I actually am an example or role model for you. What I am saying though is my conscious awareness is so full on right now about what is happening around us that I can't sit by and do nothing.
Homeless.
Homelessness.
At risk of homelessness.
As readers of this blog you may find it strange for me to mention these words. These words likely do not describe your circumstances. You may not know
someone who fits the above description. You may not even
realize that
there are people in your community who are marginalized, lacking in
resources and homeless. Yet you are more than likely someone who is in a position to actually do something about these words. In fact you are more than likely to be an inspired individual who wants to make a difference where it REALLY matters.
