Healing WordArt

A Re- Leaf The secret of human happiness is not in self seeking but in self forgetting" - Theodor Reik  A Walk in the Suburbs. A grey overcast sky with the promise of rain wafting on the gentle breeze. A wide, even footpath winding its way merrily through the colourful suburban landscape leads me to the local nature reserve.  With spring only a week away in Australia, the birds are filling the airways with courtship songs and the bright flower buds are bursting at the seams with anticipation. My footsteps slow as I briefly enter 'the zone' where I zone out. Some of the worlds greatest thinkers refer to it as the "flow state".    I think of it as a state where I feel completely at one with whatever I am doing.  I am no longer self-absorbed and inward looking but absorbed into my surrounds and outward looking. I am completely focused on the NOW and the sensory splendour of the moment. Spending time in nature is like having a holiday from myself....

Nature Porn - while artists can create wonderful and imaginative pieces there is nothing that compares with the awesome originality of mother nature.  On a recent holiday I went hiking with my family in the mountains. The day was overcast and the mountains were covered in mist.  A morning shower, often referred to as 'morning glory' by the old timers, had left the forest floor sprinkled with sparkling rain drops and the leaves on the trees looking  green and refreshed.  Of course this made climbing fairly hazzardes as the terrain was steep and rocky under foot. But being intrepid adventurers we persevered and made it to the top where we shared a light lunch after appreciating the amazing 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside. I collected an assortment of leaves and berries and flowers on the descent.  As you can see there were all the different shapes, colours and textures that you could imagine on offer. A veritable smorgasbord on offer to th...

“When grief and trauma are not attended to with awareness and compassion in one generation, the deleterious effects of that trauma and grief cascade through the family tree, creating a domino effect of dysfunction. ”                                                                                                                 -   Karthleen Curzie Gajdos   On Monday evening, this week, I had the privilege of attending a NAIDOC week dinner with a group of indigenous students and their parents. NAIDOC is the acronym for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee . Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920′s which sought to increase awareness in...