The Joy of the Unexpected.

We all wanted the experience to be perfect.

This is a day that the nation stops and pays reverence to the Australian men and women who suffered and fought during so many wars.

We attended the mornining service, but the crowd was so thick that the actual servicemen couldn’t get through to pay their respects.

Something has been lost.

The Silence of a crowd of thousands is something to experience, one mind, one heart, one soul...a respect for those men and women that never stopped to reason why? Single-minded people, determined to protect our shores and way of life.

This is what ANZAC DAY is all about: showing our respect for those that suffered and died for an IDEAL.

For me, however, today seemed different.

An old friend, who served in Cambodia, a Navel man, saw the carnage of war. Hundreds of bodies floating in the waters below and, because of the orders from the First captain, they were to leave them, the dead women and children, some alive and alone.

Then he heard a cry for help in the distance.

Through his binoculours, he saw a little girl striving to remain alive on top of a dead women’s body...no more than two years old.

As the Second in Charge, the Captain of the crew, the order to stop was obeyed in an instant.

(He knew his career was on the line.)

“To our left, only a few k’s away, is a child in distress. Turn 380’ south and we will bring her on board.”

Despite the rantings of the Admiral, the crew turned the destroyer around, under gun fire, and brought the little girl on the ship...half starved and terrified.

Whether the ‘luck’ of human’s or the grace of God, not one of the crew had been hurt, and the ship moved steadily into calm waters.

She was a baby no more than two, cold and distressed.

James, (the second in command) my best mate at the time, loved the baby from the start, and raised her with his lovely wife.

ANZAC DAY has come around once again. The problem is the young crowd, who have never experienced war, treat the day as a holiday, and today, for me, a man who served, was not REALLY recognized, another oldman with a few medals, trying to buy a beer at the RSL. But the young fools would not let me in as it was, for them, just another party.

Little Sue, (pictured above.) who was saved by the pure courage and humanity of the Second Captain, now lives in a suburb of Melbourne with two beautiful children that have, after so many years, grown up, have been educated, and are now contributing to the good of the world.

This was unexpected but a pure joy to know and remember...

Sadness and Joy...Live in the Moment.

Life is and can be a wonderous experience if one takes time to be in the moment.

This may sound stupid to some and curious to most, though existing in the now, leaving the past alone, the future a hopeful dream; seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting in the exact moment of the time is, without doubt, a beautiful experience.

I remember an early morning walk with a past lover, the air was crisp, she seemed happy, then we saw the sunrise, slowly peeping over the horizon, with its deep reds and oranges and blues.

"Beautiful", I said.

And stopped all thought and actions, felt calm, just to feel the world and its majesty...I was in the moment.

All I could do was kiss her with all my energy because she and the world, at that precise moment, felt to be real Beauty and Love...so happy...and it was.


What I’ve discovered is living in the moment is what we are meant to do.

We are meant to be "of" the world not"in" the world.

We cannot change the past nor alter our future, (though we try) because life is so short that to be stuck with our transgressions in the past or future dreams is a waste of this precious time we have on this planet.

The moment, here, right now, look, touch, feel and suddenly the world becomes a beautiful place to be.

The image above reminds me of a moment when I sketched my son while he was a sleep. (This was many years ago.)

Living in the moment, feeling the joy of innocents and his little cat sleeping beside him almost brought me to tears.

Live in the moment and experience the miracle of life.

Love Slowly Lost

As most of us really know, Love can be fleeting, but sometimes so intense, all thoughts and actions are focused on only the beloved. This can be too much, too much of a responsibility; in the end it only matters at that precise moment you are there...with them, right in the moment.

It is only when one becomes part of the world and not “of” it, that Love becomes too much, too complicated (it's all too hard) and the time has come for her wings to spread and fly. She hesitates because she wants him around because he is creative, funny, and different in bed but...still "my time as a slave is now gone forever."

She will never ever fall into slave mode again and serve those she despises, apart from her children, and she sees in her new Lover, some kind of dependency, a need to be cared for and loved...like a child? Is this a true perception or a habit of mind after years of slavery?

These questions have nothing to do with Love: And nothing to do with us.

When one heart aches and one’s gut hurts because you havn’t kissed them for months and the image of her face is the last one at night before sleep and a wonderment in the morning, that, perhaps, you might see them, at least...one more time. But as the day progresses, it does not happen, she is far away, (in soul and heart) never to return.

The Love slowly burns away, less bright until there's not an ember of light at all, only a cold darkness. Though as said, life is surely fleeting, the years falling away...

The sun falls behind the hills and it is night.

As always, you sit in your most comfortable chair, reading a beautiful book, the years have passed all too quickly, and her beautiful image returns, along with those heartfelt feelings of Pain and Love.

"Where is she?" he wonders.

"Is my Love happy or sad?"

"Does she still remember me?"

Love slowly Lost, never to return, though in memory,

She remains forever.

Watch the Trees.

Today was special.

When summer turns to fall, that precise moment when the trees change their colour, and the cold becomes a little biting, knowing it is time to wear a coat, a scarf and one's nose, once in the warmth of home, stings, as you enter a heated room, you know autumn has truly arrived.

It may be the temperture of the morning, the crisp air against your face as you walk briskly in the golden light of sunrise, though the day turns hot once again, you know Fall hasn't quite happend , but very close.

We know when the season's change because it is the trees that tell us so.

It is not noticable unless you pay attention, because once the leaves change from green to yellow, orange, violet or red, it is only a matter of time when they fall, and if you are not there in the moment, you will miss it.

There have been some years where the leaves changed their colour, and caught up in the day to day routine, have missed their mystical falling.

Waking up one morning, finally calm, awake and aware, 'my' tree next to the balcony had lost all its leaves; and because of my self-centredness, not being in the moment, mindful, missed this important transformation.

She was bare...and winter certainly was near.

Today was special because we were in the moment, the leaves beginning to turn and mindful that their beauty was only minutes, hours or days away.

Summer to fall is a beautiful time as the earth moves around and ever so slightly, tilts away from the sun.

The cold will move in soon; the trees dropping their last leaf; the snow falling and the pure joy of an open fire as you cuddle with your loved one under the covers, knowing that spring is near.

Watch the trees...