On Anzac Day

When I was at university back in the ’80s it became de rigueur to mock celebratory days like Anzac Day.

People spoke in slogans to voice their disdain -

Don’t glorify war

War Is Not Pro-Life

War is futile

To me all the naysayers seemed to be missing the point. Anzac Day and days like it are not a publicity opportunity for the war machine, they are all about the remembering. They are all about honouring the ordinary people just like you and me who were placed in extraordinary situations. Situations which were frightening, challenging; situations that were all to do with living and dying.

What must it have been like to be 18 years old and landing in a foreign country, sick of the endless days of being in the trenches, devastated to see your brothers falling at your feet? I cannot imagine the fear and despair.

Yet despite the bloodiness of campaigns like Gallipoli, in spite of the huge numbers of lives lost on both sides; people still speak of the camaraderie that existed between Australian and New Zealand troops, of the brotherhood that was borne on that day. People still speak of the never-giving-up, of the courage.

That’s why we recognise this day.

That’s why we march.

That’s why we remember.

I would like to say to the ANZACS today – THANK YOU.

For everything.

I won’t ever forget you.

There’s Only One Like Her

On this Earth Day I was thinking about why I love Mother Earth so much.

It’s because of the way she presents herself.

Grandly.

Prettily.

Serenely.

Fuzzily.

Majestically.

Mother Earth. She is unique and she is the only one we have.

Let’s all look after her the way she deserves.

HAPPY EARTH DAY.

Forest For The Trees

My husband is setting up a new business at the moment. And closing down an old one. He is refurbishing a site, dealing with investors and filling in mountains of paperwork. I have been helping him. In a situation like this you genuinely feel there aren’t enough hours in the day and that you can’t see the forest for the trees. It is also interesting how many people create unnecessary obstacles to work being completed because they are pushing their own agenda.

It is good to have business partners but it is also bad to have business partners. The old adage: Too Many Cooks Spoil The Broth keeps ringing in my head and I hope it isn’t some kind of prophecy. Some men are actually much bitchier than women. I found that out this week. It has opened my eyes very, very wide. And had made me reduce my level of involvement in the new venture.

I can’t handle drama anymore. I’m weary of it. Maybe I’m getting too old for it or maybe I have come to realise that carrying on like a pork chop doesn’t get the job done any faster or any more efficiently. So I’m staying out of it and concentrating on my own projects.

There’s nothing like having the time to hear leaves crunching underfoot. To see that pale yellow light that only comes in late afternoon sliding along and between branches. I run like a child playing a game of hide and seek straight into the midst of it, smelling the earthy underbrush, touching stones still warm from the day; to the place where I can sit and feel and breathe. Just me, here and now. My special, quiet little spot. Such a gift. The place where I am able to see the forest and the trees.