. The Power of Lockdown I have been one of the fortunate ones. My region has only been in lockdown for a bit over 3 weeks, compared to the months and months of lockdown experienced in some cities. At first, lockdown felt like a holiday. My body relaxed, I had nowhere else to be but at home, and I enjoyed the quietness. But a couple of weeks into it, I noticed myself becoming agitated. I felt trapped, imprisoned in my beautiful home. The birds were still singing, the possums and koalas were still letting me know they were around, the trees and flowers were still waving in the breeze. I was still going out a few times a week to plant...
In our current world of snap lockdowns and isolation, many people are struggling. Being in a confined space without the distractions of everyday life can bring many demons to the surface, and it can be deeply uncomfortable.Back in 2010, Sylvain Tesson found a radical solution to his need for freedom - one as ancient as the experiences of the hermits of old Russia. He decided to lock himself in a cabin on the shores of Baikal (Siberia) for six months. From February to July 2010, he lived in silence, solitude, and cold. His cabin, built by Soviet geologists in the Brezhnev years, was a cube of logs three meters by three meters. It was heated by a cast iron skillet,...
Our world is in the midst of a powerful upheaval. Life as we knew it has been turned on its head, impacting each of us in many and varied ways. It’s natural to feel fear and uncertainty as we look upon the unknown, and wonder what lies ahead. Like being on a boat crossing from one island to another, we’ve let go of the sight of land in both directions, and need to trust our instincts as we traverse this passage, remaining alert and responsive to situations as they unfold around us. There is one thing that remains completely within our control through this period of chaos, and that’s our state of “mindfulness”. How will we approach this day? How...
As we reflect back on our life, we come to recognise those significant moments – the times when we reached a fork in the road, the times when we were offered the red pill or the blue pill. Our decisions in those moments shape the rest of our life. I married my first husband when I was 24. He was twice my age, and an eccentric (by that time many years sober) alcoholic. Together, we lived a philosophy of “anything goes, so long as we do it together”. Those were my wild years, where I plunged into spirituality, self-exploration, sexuality, and….well….anything and everything. Dancing through life in such an uninhibited way has given me the incredible gift of being able...
On Sunday, a python was run over about 10 minutes from where I live, and was oozing pink fluid from its tail. Snake tails don’t usually ooze unless they are infected, but close to the tail is the “cloaca” through which they pass faeces and urates. If pink fluid is oozing from this, it’s not a good sign for the snake, and suggests internal injuries. Although I headed straight to the scene, I wasn’t able to find the snake. It may have taken refuge in one of the storm water drains on either side of the road, or been protected from view under thick grasses. In the process of looking for clues that might help me narrow down my search...
