Our Generation

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men where free.

Ronald Reagan

40th President of the United States

I never really thought much of Ronald Reagan as a President, but I think the quote above is something that is fitting for my fellow Aboriginal Australians living in the Northern Territory. There is a new film out titled 'One Generation'. The film tells the story of the Yolngu people living in the Northern Territory under the intervention. It is sad to know that a blanket legislation is allowed to be implemented in the 'lucky' country.

I acknowledge that Aboriginal Australia does have social issues that need to be addressed, however one size fits all is not the solution and insulting every aboriginal man in the N.T. by making the assumption that they are all guilty until proven innocent is extremely unjust. I know many many functioning beautiful Aboriginal men who would never dream of hurting a child or their partners and I feel as though this legislation is typical of the Australian government in it's attitude to resolving Aboriginal social dysfunction. As I said above, yes we do have alcohol abuse, drug abuse, domestic violence and child abuse within our communities, but so does white Australia and we do not treat white Australians this way. The intervention is not a long term solution, it is a band aide. A cover up to assimilate Aboriginal people into mainstream Australia. It is deprivation of basic human rights and it is a miscarriage of justice.

We as Aboriginal people have a right to choose the way in which we live, and yes we need to take responsibility for our own social dysfunctions, but we have a right to be free to do this, free to make choices, free to practice our culture. Say no to assimilation.

Please join us and raise your voice in protest, have the conversation that is difficult to have and share the trailer to this Documentary.

On behalf of my fellow Aboriginal Australians I thank you for listening and sharing.

Life is Good

Seeing as we are creatures of habit I figured you all would be checking my blog and seeing as I haven't had time to write in it I thought I would put pen to paper, or in this case fingers to the keyboard....lol

So because I am so busy and have exhausted my brain matter, this is all I've got for now and I reckon this will make you come back for more......lol

Have a great day, night, week etc.

Life is good!

Creatures of Habit

Don't you find it interesting how newspapers are a habit rather than something that you really want to read. I mean I purchased the Weekend Australian and I still haven't read it. That tells me maybe I don't really want to read it and I just brought it because I do that every weekend. I buy the Weekend Australian every Saturday morning without fail.

Human beings are creatures of habit. I have been thinking about this a lot. I used to jog everyday and I would run out of my front door and turn left instantly. I jogged the same route everyday in exactly the same direction. It was a habit. One day I decided to go right when I ran out the front door, and oh my god did I feel weird, because for months I had been running in the other direction. The worst part was I had no idea where I was jogging. When I turned right it felt so uncomfortable. I mean I was very confused. It was a strange feeling.

Now being creatures of habit has made me realise that the best way to live your life so that you don't get too bored with the daily routines is to do the little things in different ways every time you do them. Make the changes so that your brain has to think about what it is you are doing. I swear you won't regret it.

For your first experiment try this one, I did this once and it drove my ex husband crazy....lol Way too funny I tell you. Go to bed before your partner, turn the lights off, then lay with your head at the foot of the bed and your feet at the head of the bed and lay on their side not yours or even better lay across the bed, if you can fit. Honestly it is the strangest feeling to actually take the routine out of going to bed. It really does throw your thoughts into chaos but fight the urge to return to the normal routine and keep doing it until you stop feeling weird then change your pattern again. When I did this little experiment it made me laugh so much it actually made going to bed a pleasure.....lol

Especially when the comments started coming from my ex. Things like 'where are you?' quietly said from the doorway as he entered the room in the dark....lol I still laugh just thinking about it....way too funny. Life should be enjoyable and laughter should be a daily routine, if it's not find something to laugh about and if you can't find something to laugh about create something.

On that note, enjoy and happy bellowing.....lol

Life is good.

Poetry

I was reading some poetry and found this one from William Shakespeare. It is interesting that it was written originally in 1599 . This is verse XII of a larger poem titled 'The Passionate Pilgrim'. The part that interests me is the inference that getting older and the reference to the energy of youth in comparison to slowing down as we grow older (we do things at a slower pace as we get older), is somewhat the same in today's world. The world has changed over the past 411 years yet it appears that human biology and the characteristics of human nature remains the same. How very cool.

The Passionate Pilgrim

Verse XII

Crabbed age and youth cannot live together:

Youth is full of pleasance, age is full of care;

Youth like summer morn, age like winter weather;

Youth like summer brave, age like winter bare.

Youth is full of sport, age's breath is short;

Youth is nimble, age is lame;

Youth is hot and bold, age is weak and cold;

Youth is wild, and age is tame.

Age, I do abhor thee; youth, I do adore thee;

O, my love, my love is young!

Age, I do defy thee: O, sweet shepherd, hie thee,

For methinks, thou stay'st too long.

[William Shakespeare]

1599

Interesting Times

Hey there fellow bloggers. I just returned from a National conference that has inspired me and reinvigorated my enthusiasm. Isn't it wonderful when you meet like minded people? The coming together of similarity between minds who are constantly thinking of ways to 'change the world'. Inspirational it is! How I wish everybody could think like that. Changing the world can be difficult not to mention totally draining on the emotional and cognitive home front and at times it can be soul destroying. The good thing about this conference is that everybody there is seeking the same outcome only in different ways. Everybody at the conference is searching for enlightenment in the continuity of art and culture for future generations, telling history and making pathways for a sustainable future. And it had a global focus.

It felt good to know that I am not alone. It felt good to get a bigger picture of what is happening in my industry within and outside of Australia. Art and culture is not just about Indigenous people it is about all societies in which we live. It is the history of our lives and of those who came before us. Art and culture belongs to all people and it is about where we came from, who we are and where we are heading.

I loved listening to all of the different cultural stories being preserved around the globe and interesting stories they were, but the most exciting thing is the acknowledgement that we need to open the doors for contemporary art and culture so that we have a future pathway for the preservation of our history; a history in the making. I loved that.

My friend who is an Archaeologist once said to me that we need to bury something sustainable in the ground in our back yards so that future archaeologists will have objects to dig up because our present society is a throw away disposable society. I think that this comment also relates to culture and the arts as well because we are now in a position where we need to consider our future and what that future entails for our young people. We need to consider the viability of sustainable ways to preserve our history and I think we need to adjust our thinking because there are so many new resources available to us that are not disposable and that are sustainable, but they can sometimes feel foreign to us because we are used to doing things in the same way. Change is always difficult and a lot of people resist change, it takes us out of our comfort zone. Change does not mean wrong! It just means different.

It is important for young people to express themselves in their own way using the resources that are available to them. At the conference I just attended a young Aboriginal man said:

'...them old people paint and that is their way but we want to do things our way, painting is old stuff....'

He was referring to film and photography which are his chosen media in expressing his art and culture. Interesting isn't it? And this made me realise that the youth of today have a whole range of technology available to them for expressions of the self. Who are we to say that it is not long lasting and why should we tell them it is not the right way to do things. When I think about it, their world is so different to mine? I remember when we got our first black and white television. My children remember when we got our first mobile phone which they laughingly call 'the brick'. Technology is only going to get bigger, faster and better, and whether we like it or not it is already connecting people and dragging them out of remoteness and isolation to join in with modern humanity. The internet is connecting professionals from around the globe who are participating in interactive discussions regarding their chosen fields and who are learning from each other. And here we are blogging our hearts and souls away in an attempt to encourage people to 'change the world' purely by challenging their thinking processes.

Me I love the challenge of 'changing the world', it is interesting, fun and hard work but it is also inspirational when you come across like minded people who remind you that you are not alone and that the world is worth saving. It is inspirational because it reminds me that the youth of today have the same needs as the youth of yesteryear. The only difference is the media in which they choose to tell their stories, preserving art and culture for generations to come. And you know what, it's okay? I look forward to watching and sometimes guiding, this new generation of young people who will be making use of the resources available to them to 'change the world'.

Oh hail to conferencing, I always learn something new.

On that note I'm signing off to go paint, like them old people do.....lol

Life is good!