Danseuses (Dancers) - 1878

Oscillation

I went for a long walk this morning to clear my head, and discovered a park in an inner suburb near to where I live. How did I not know before now that this park exists? It is absolutely gorgeous, filled with frangipani trees, massive gum trees, palms, and flame trees with their glorious red flowers strewn all over the grass. I could hear the birds talking to one other and watched them gliding back and forth between trees. There was a great big ibis picking away at the grass near a little bridge. Then I saw it...

A swing.

I couldn't resist. And it began... back and forth, back and forth. I closed my eyes and let the pendulation hypnotize me. I escaped. For about ten minutes, I escaped my thoughts and stresses. It struck me how different the sensation of going forwards is to the sensation of going backwards. Have you been on a swing lately? No, I can imagine probably not. But you must do so, and soon. Going forward, up towards the sky, sends your body into some kind of whirling feeling and it's exhilerating. Going backwards on the other hand, is not unpleasant but doesn't feel like much at all. I pondered the very obvious fact that going backwards is the necessary means to go forward. I also considered the fact that there was no need for me to turn around in order to go backwards to go forwards again; on the swing I was still able to face straight ahead. Back and forth, forwards and backwards, again and again.


The very implement I used to escape the inside of my head—that glorious park swing, is the perfect representation of what was going on up there in my little brain. How similar the motion of a swing can be to the inner workings and processings of the mind.
The way thoughts can be like a pendulum swinging back and forth between past and present, uncertainty and objectivity, need and desire...those mutually inclusive concepts that must go hand in hand in order to propel cognitive resolutions.


Hmmm...suddenly my head hurts.

Do you know Isaac Abrams?

"Visiting Friends" Oil on canvas by Isaac Abrams (2007)

Incredibly amusing piece of Japanese artwork (by Kitagawa Utamaro)

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

"He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast."

(The full poem: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/stc/Coleridge/poems/Rime_Ancient_Mariner.html)


I was reminded of my favourite work of poetry today.

While reading up on current events on a news website, an RSPCA awareness advert flashed on the right-hand side of my computer screen. It was a picture of an ill-looking bear, and there was a description of the kind of cruelty bears suffer at the hands of bile-farmers and baiters. Those of you who know me well, know that cruelty to animals is the one thought that I cannot even begin to entertain without weeping. This RSPCA advertisement was heart-wrenching to say the least, and it took me some moments to compose myself and keep from choking on my own tears.

Few people would equate the Rime of the Ancient Mariner with an RSPCA campaign, as I have done. Nevertheless, it is for this very principle that the Rime is so important to me, and today I felt moved to read through it again. Always a wonderful literary experience.

The story of the Ancient Mariner truly possesses my will each and every time I study it, and I cannot help but come away "sadder and wiser" at the truth found within. The way the Mariner sought to "teach, by his own example, love and reverence to all things that God made and loveth", steered my heart further to a very well-known, very comforting verse:

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father knowing..."

This was written by the Greatest Poet of all time.

Still meditating and mulling over the first chapter of Hebrews

"Yes, the prophets were necessary and important; but there is One Who is more infinitely superior to the prophets…"


Hebrews chapter 1:2

…The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In these first two verses of Hebrews, the writer sets the tone for the entire book: the Superiority and Pre-Eminence of Jesus. The author of Hebrews backs up his claims about Jesus with some OT quotes a little further down in the chapter.
Christ dominates the book of Hebrews from start to finish. God has now spoken to us through His very own Son, and He continues to speak to us through His Word, with the understanding that only the Holy Spirit of Christ can give. The New Covenant is so much better than the Old one!
(Parallel verses: “…by Him were all things created that are in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…He is before all things, and by Him all things consist…in all things He has pre-eminence…for it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell…”, see Colossians 1:15-19.)

Pearls of wisdom for Lee-Laii

One of the young people who I work with has been like a ray of warm sunshine across my path through the dark world of working with kids under a Child Protection Order.
Whenever we're together she has me in fits of laughter to the point where I'm gasping for breath and wiping tears from my eyes. True to her Islander roots, she has even bestowed upon me a new nickname: "Lee-Laii".
One of the many things that impresses me about her is that she is always coming out with clever little sayings and quotes that she has memorized. During my Saturday shift I told her this and asked her if she would be able to write them all down for me?
She was very happy to do so, and busily set about this task as I was making her a toasted sandwich for lunch.
A short time later I was handed a piece of paper torn from her exercise book...

"For you Lee-Laii!" It was headed. And then followed all the little pearls of wisdom she had collected and treasured over the years...

• "Wanted by many. Taken by none. Looking at some. Waiting for ONE."
• "Every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Life is short. Break the rules. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that's made you SMILE. Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here make it one hell of a dance!"
• "Whenever you feel like giving up, just remember why you held on for so long to begin..."
• "Don't tell me the sky's the limit, when there's footprints on the MOON!"
• "WORK like you don't need the money, LOVE like you've never been hurt, and DANCE like no one's watching!"
• "What happens when the one person who could stop you from crying, was the one who made you cry...?"

And then to my amazement the last entry was a verse of Scripture, and she even quoted where it was from:

• "But those who HOPE in the Lord will soar on wings like eagles." Isaiah 40:31

Sometimes the source of much-needed, long-forgotten hope and encouragement is found in the most unlikely of places.

This girl has completely graced my existence not only as a Youth Worker, but also as a living soul.

Cafe at Night - Vincent Van Gogh

Le Café de Nuit

Moments in time, moments in Townsville

THE TOKYO TRIALS
Several weeks ago, an elderly gentleman came into pharmacy in North Ward, Townsville, where I work four days a week. I had the pleasure of serving this man. He was an Australian war veteran with receding gums, giving his mouth an animalistic-type appearance whenever he spoke--a bit like the face a donkey makes when it's thirsty. Despite my fascination with the older man's elongated teeth, I did listen very intently to what he had to say. While I processed his prescription, he began to reminisce with me about his involvement in the second World War and how he had become a "POW".
He was 16 when he joined the army. He had ignored his parents' protests and lied about his age in order to enlist. The man shared with me that he'd been captured by the Japanese and he spent his 18th birthday in Singapore, on a train to Changi.
I gently probed him for more information about his experience as a prisoner of war to the Japanese.
"They were absolute animals," he informed me, shaking his head. "But, my testimony helped to sentence nine of them to be executed. And they were hanged--all nine of them were hanged for what they did."
This very interesting customer of mine then proceeded to tell me that in the latter half of the 1940s, the Australian government had flown him and several other Australian POWs to Tokyo to play a part in the famous Tokyo Trials and give their statements--statements that led to the death sentence for nine Japanese army officials. I think I must have spent about 20 minutes with this old army man...I just let him talk, enjoying his story.
As I was finishing the transaction and the man paid for his medication, I told him that I felt enriched for speaking with him today.
The man seemed to be extremely touched by this remark, and told me I was a "sweetheart", or something to that effect. He thanked me for listening, and went on his way.

An Ethnic Dance
Last week I drove past a schoolyard, as I always do, on my way home from chef class. On this day however, there was a group of male Indigenous students on the basketball court practicing a dance. They were all wearing red loin-cloths and their bare chests, arms and legs were painted in cultural fashion. I was so mesmerized by their deliberate, shuffling movements that I almost hit another car on a roundabout. I wished I had time to stop, to let their dance carry me away to a state of blissful Dreaming...

I just love this gorgeous Picasso

Blue Nude - Pablo Picasso (1902)

The first verse of Hebrews chapter 1

Chapter 1:1

The prophets were important, yes. They had a significant role to play in times past; they were vessels of communication between God and man. The many different times the Lord used the prophets to get His message across are too numerous to list here. However, the Hebrews (to whom this book is addressed) knew all the stories by memory.... Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel…the readers were experts on the Law and Jewish history.

In this first verse, the writer mentions the many different ways God communicated with the prophets. Dreams, visions, direct contact, an audible voice--these were just a handful of the methods used. The Lord does what He wants, how He wants and when He wants! And He will use who He wants to use as well. Reflecting back on the incident recorded in Numbers 12. Miriam and Aaron were jealous of Moses and his spiritual authority. They spoke against him to the people of Israel, saying that he wasn’t the only one who had words from the Lord. “God has spoken by US as well!” They riled. This made the Lord angry; He came down in a pillar of cloud and spoke to Miriam and Aaron at the door of the tabernacle.
“Listen to Me,” God told them. “If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known to him in a vision and will speak to him in a dream.” He went on to say that it was different with Moses, however, because of Moses’ faithfulness. With Moses, God would speak mouth to mouth—even face to face. To Moses, He would speak directly, plainly, and not in dark sayings or riddles. I love the differentiation the Father makes here; the different ways that He wants to do things. We are in no position to dictate or conjure up prophecies from God when we want, or to take credit or expect glory for any messages He may choose to impart through us. Yes, the prophets were necessary and important; but there is One Who is more infinitely superior to the prophets…

A very intimate study of the book of Hebrews

I've just begun a personal study on my favourite book of the Bible...Hebrews. Will post up some of my notes as I go for discussion, but was really wondering if anyone wanted to take on the challenge with me of memorizing the first chapter? So far I can recite the first 3 verses! Be fantastic to have a bit of a group doing it together.

Thoughts, anyone?

Waterlilies (Nymphéas)...Probably my all-time favourite Monet

Townsville...the Entity

With each day that I spend in Townsville, new experiences and things of beauty are etched into my memory. It's as if the city has a voice, a story to tell. It speaks in a relaxed, sagacious tone, communicating with anyone who will but stop and listen. So I listen to the culture and charisma of Paradise...gradually learning its secrets and sharing in its everyday treasures. We are forming a close friendship, Townsville and I--more like a love affair really.

Ah the warmth...the balmy nights and scorching days of the tropics. The heat is not a malicious heat, but an expression of fervent love.

When the sun hits the solid surface of Castle Hill it is set on fire, burning passionately. The Hill draws you, it pulls you towards Itself like a firm, all-engulfing embrace. Yield yourself to the embrace and you will hear the very heartbeat of Townsville.

Tropical rain falls often like whispers of devotion or like a heavy torrent of emotion. I walk in the rain, and taste it on my lips. A neighbour pulls her car up alongside me and kindly offers me a lift to wherever I need to go. I thank her and explain that this is not necessary. I'm doing exercise, I tell her...but really, I am basking in the rain purely for the enjoyment of its touch and being energized by its coolness.

The pigeons and seagulls. Oh how I love these gorgeous, menacing birds! The pigeons flock to tables with leftover food and coffee cups outside Juliette's cafe on the Strand. They hover with the seagulls near couples who are eating fish and chips by the sea. They peck away at crumbs on the pavement in Flinders Street Mall, unperturbed by shoppers and passers-by stepping inches near their little bodies. The seagulls too appear undisturbed by human influence, casually descending onto Flinders Street at 1:00am on a Saturday night, dodging taxis, maxi-cabs and rowdy night-clubbers. They are so at home in the city, it's as if we are the intruders on their property.

I walk past the public payphone on my way into work. A backpacker, wearing an armful of cheap bangles from several different countries, is conversing loudly in a foreign language--possibly Romanian. Townsville attracts people from all over the world. Some form a bond with the city and are unable to leave, trapped blissfully under its spell for many years...possibly for the remainder of their lives.

There is a young male busker with a long, dark ponytail who sits outside the shopping complex where I work. There he plays his guitar once or twice a week, and sings as if his heart would break. If he hasn't graced us with his music for over a week or two, workers within the complex start to miss him, wonder where he is. He has struck a cord within all of us, I think.

There are many priceless moments that I share with Townsville...my new home, my new love. My heart soaks it all up like a sponge. I wonder what I will experience tomorrow, and I cannot wait to find out.