Some years ago now, as I was getting ready for yet another day, a breakfast television interview caught my attention. Lisa Marie Presley was discussing her relationship with music, her fight with drug addiction and her fondest memories of her father, the music icon Elvis Presley. Since Lisa Marie was born around the same time…
Tag: In the Valley
Changing Seasons
The seasons come and the seasons change. Time keeps rolling on. The journey of life sometimes feels long, but it is not endless. The last days of summer, of early life and youth are behind me now, they are but a distant memory. During my summer days, I felt fearless, spontaneous, dynamic, and self-confident. I…
Interlude
This year I have found myself in circumstances, I wouldn’t wish on anybody. Yet, it’s those situations that have taught me a great deal, given me pause and caused me to stop and think. Earlier in the year I was hospitalised after contracting Covid. There are a couple of ways to look at the same…
Road Closed
On a rainy summer’s day, my mum used to send us children to the attic. As an adult I now understand why. Ours was a small cottage, and we must have added considerably to the indoor noise levels. We climbed the steep narrow staircase, one of us followed by the other, all the way up….
Kintsugi
Kintsugi is a 15th-Century Japanese practise of repairing broken pottery and transforming it into a new work of art with gold. The name of the technique comes from the words “kin” (golden) and “tsugi” (joinery), which translates to “golden repair”, “mended with gold” or “to join with gold”. There is a powerful message behind Kintsugi….
Life Defining Moments
There are certain events that get burned into our memory, so totally, that no matter how much time passes, it feels like it only happened yesterday. It was a Friday evening and mid-winter. Although I had only just finished eating dinner, it was already dark outside. I was alone at home. My husband had taken…
His Eye is on the Sparrow
Early June this year, my husband Peter and I dropped into a corner café in the middle of the city. I took the table inside next to the window, while Peter went to order. I watched the last of the autumn leaves dancing in the wind, while passers by wrapped their scarves around them a…
The Anchor Holds
Have you ever had a season in your life when a wave of adversity hits? It sweeps you into its current with full force and removes all sense of normality. It has no mercy. Rough, threatening waters with violent motion surround you. The ship of your life is tossed around like a toy in rough…
Hope
Have you ever wondered why in the worst moments of human history; you often find the greatest amount of hope? We hear stories of great suffering of all kinds, be it amidst war, natural disasters or other kinds of personal despair and agony. The situations seem totally hopeless, the future seems unpredictable. Australia has appropriately…
Wait a Minute
My earnest desire is to find joy in every single day, but I understand some days are harder than others. Recently, I came across a quote that made me chuckle: “By replacing your morning coffee, by green tea, you can lose 87% of what little joy you still have left in your life.” The more…
Apples of Gold 