16 Dec Life in Melbourne and Truth

I appear to still be moving. I am not sure when my travelling will be over. I have returned to Australia but will move between friends until I get an income.

I stayed with my dear friend Eliza who is a very interesting and wise woman. She and I had some great discussions about the world of work. I have worked in around 400 companies and I have seen it all. I have seen incompetence, competence and people very stressed trying to keep up with life and work. She is working for a church and finding the head pastor keeps things in his head but doesn’t seem to know how to organise and then panics at the last minute. Have to laugh, I can imagine that would be a difficult way to work. He loves networking but management is not his bag so he needs competent people around him to keep the organisation functional. My friend said there are two pastors at this place, an incoming one and the existing one. The two pastors are opposites, he is disorganised but a people person and she is organised and doesn’t have time for people. In fact my friend was saying the female pastor was judging people. I had to laugh as the though ‘thou shall not judge’ came to my mind. Although maybe I can add ‘thou shall laugh at our humanness’. People are often inconsistent, it is very funny. So now she is thinking maybe the countryside looks better than the city. She finds the city quite toxic.

I told her I am leaving for Queensland to study at what I believe to be the top environmental university in the country, Griffith University, so I am quite excited. I will learn a great deal about nature and contemplate what is our true nature in harmony with the system in which we live and depend. So very exciting.

In the meantime I am at another friend’s place and will stay here a few days then move to see another friend. Which will be lovely to catch up on the last 6 months and discuss my world trip. Still processing this amazing journey.

I have also contacted a friend at a Council she actually said she was just thinking of having me present on my trip. So I have a slot at a intercultural event on Monday. I will turn up as a clown and give them a brief overview and some activities to jolly them up for Christmas. So that will be fun.

Had a chat with my mum today, we discussed what strength is. Both of us are people that say what we think and she said she doesn’t get down much but really is learning to move on with things. I told her truth is central to our lives and as I mentioned to my other friend it is like a pure water that you drink. You feel so great when you live a life of truthfulness. Mum left a message later stating that Aung Sun Suu Kyi had been quoted as saying The Truth Will Set you Free. This is a quote I often say and actually wrote a poetry book on this subject called The Truth Will Set You Free. I was thrilled to hear she was released and I believe in government now. I have followed her for years and was very concerned about her house arrest for more than 18 years. My first thought when I heard the news was that Obama arranged it, that is my feeling. He is a great man, I am sure they had a hand in it. The Generals controlling Burma would have had no desire to hand over power. It is complex politics over in Asia as they were accepted as part of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Australia is a part of this and I was amazed when Burma was accepted with its human rights record.

I remember when I was on the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Program in Bangkok visiting Northern Thailand and meeting teachers that were going into the forest to teach the Karen history so that children did not forget their culture. The concern was cultural genocide as well as physical genocide. We met backpacking doctors who risked their lives to help the people constantly on the move from the Burmese Military who were hunting them in the forests. Some got protection from the Karen Liberation Army (KLA) to make sure they were not attacked. Very frightening, I remember thinking how brave these doctors and teachers were. So many people do risk their lives to help others. So I felt relief to hear about Aung Sun Suu Kyi, now the people of Myanmar (Burma) may actually experience democracy and political freedom. There will be a lot of scars as people were used as slave labour in Burma and many will have suffered enormously. So let’s hope she can heal the country.

So my thought for the day and in recognition of Our True Nature, ‘The Truth Will Set You Free’. Why not practice speaking the truth but not in a harmful way, in a way that heals and brings light or illuminates others. Truth should always be gentle and kind.

Have a great day.

A peacefull clown.