Artistic Images of Life

As a visual artist I appreciate anybody who can take an artistic photograph and create an expression that hits your emotions. Occasionally my fabulously wonderful children delight me with their antics. While they are having fun they can also produce some very interesting imagery that reminds me of how beautifully artistic photographs can be. Check these out?

I love this image. It is my youngest child having fun with her friend who took this photograph with her phone camera. Very artistic image. I can see the playfulness in her eyes yet it has a sense of disturbance about it all at the same time.

This is the dinner that my son cooked and served up for me one night. Made me laugh I have to say....lol

  

   'Learning to fly' Life imitating ART. (Image of Cockatoo by Patricia House). 

How wonderful is this. My son the majestic bird. When I first saw this image of the cockatoo photographed by Patricia House, I instantly connected this to my sons antics on his bike. How amazing the similarities.

Art is a fascinating journey of life and it never ceases to amaze me how the relationship between art and life lives a parallel existence. 

Enjoy!

Life is good! 

Destruction of Aboriginal Heritage Sites

Recently I was updating on issues surrounding aboriginal heritage in Western Australia, in particular the destruction of aboriginal heritage sites by FMG. A close friend of mine passed on through my email network some information that distressed me. 

It appears that FMG have destroyed aboriginal heritage sites, either deliberately or not, during the clearing of land for the construction of the Solomon Mine. 

I spent the day at work on Thursday pondering the consequences of what FMG had done and why? I also spent a lot of time trying to get over my anger. Why is it that we denigrate aboriginal history so easily and not think about the consequences? Why is it that aboriginal ethnography is considered to be unimportant because it is oral and not written lore. I found that the destruction of aboriginal heritage sites made me feel sick in the stomach. And even though it is not my particular country that the sites are in I feel as though I have been moved aside because I am unimportant. The reason I feel this way is because aboriginal sites are about our lore, our culture, our lifestyle, our law and our survival. It is the one thing that teaches us how to live and survive. It is who we are. 

Interestingly one of my colleagues who is also aboriginal, asked me how I felt about the destruction caused by FMG's lack of care and lack of due diligence. At the time I felt miserable. My response to the question my colleague had asked was 'I feel distressed'. It distresses me that money is more important than culture and heritage. It distresses me even more that FMG are trying to get out of being prosecuted by laying the blame at the feet of the archaeologist who conducted the research. I am distressed that our Minister for Indigenous Affairs signed the section 18 consent in direct violation of the recommendations of the ACMC. It distresses me that the heritage that has been destroyed is not retrievable. It distresses me that we continually allow mining magnates to dictate the rules of engagement and that those rules change when ever it suits them not us. It distresses me.

Why do we have an aboriginal heritage act if it is allowed to be misused? Why does our government pretend to care when this particular chain of events has shown that this government does not care at all. I am distressed by this and I am in pain. I have lost my faith in government, again.

In previous blogs I have tried to share the feeling and importance of being one with country and how that connection is within ourselves as a people. Aboriginal australians no matter where they live are born with this genetic inheritance of connection to country, nature and life itself. We are one. I cannot describe the pain that the destruction of heritage sites has caused me. I fail to understand the stupidity of this act that violates the Yindjibarndi people. Words are failing me in my distress.

I have attached some links for you all to check out. Please make the effort to check out the links. Changing the world requires us to sometimes raise our voice in protest even if that goes against our usual way of doing things. For if we do not raise our voices this senseless destruction of aboriginal heritage sites will not stop here. Eventually it will come to your town and it won't be aboriginal, it will be a heritage site that is of importance to non-indigenous people and government will dismiss it as unimportant because the drive to make money will over ride the desire to preserve the important things in life.

Don't wait until its on your doorstep. Raise you voice in concern for the lack of decision making by our government that affects all our lives.

Links to check out:

http://yindjibarndi.org.au/yindjibarndi/

http://www.examiner.com.au/story/323674/no-legal-action-for-fmg-over-sacred-site-desecration/?cs=12

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-12/fmg-admits-indigenous-sites-were-damaged/4256466/?site=indigenous

Today life is not so good! 

Less is More

I have opened this page a couple of times this week and sat staring at a blank page. I am struggling to write. Not sure why. I have so many writing tasks to do yet the page remains blank, stares back at me and my mind is empty. I cannot seem to find a single word to write. I have closed this page several times, then opened it hoping that the magic will happen and words will spill forth from my thoughts splashing onto the page filling the void with thoughts of worth and value. I can not seem to be coherent yet my mind is filled with the personal little things of the mundane. I cannot seem to get out of the daily routine of thoughts of triviality yet I function to meet the responsibilities of my day. As I write this I wonder what it is that has sent me to this place of routine. A rote list of daily tasks that need attending to. Its interesting how the little things manage to become the most time consuming chores when you are feeling as though you are moving around in a fog. Thats probably not a good description but basically it's just that I am having difficulty sitting down long enough at my desk to write and when I do I think of other things that I could be doing or I get side tracked and start researching other interests and not attending to the matter at hand and that is getting on with my thesis. Its not that I haven't written it, I have. The problem is I have to edit it and I am procrastinating.

I searched the internet to inspire me to get on with it, but alas I sit here sharing my inability to string a coherent thought together. It is a little frustrating yet I also find it interesting that I am in this position. Normally I would have just sat down and got on with it. Lately I have not been able to focus. What is on my mind you ask? Good question. Everything from work, to my children to my life in general. The only thing not on my mind is my thesis.

So having said that maybe I need to take a break from it and I shall come back to it with fresh eyes and new enthusiasm in a few weeks time. Who knows. What I do know is that I have taken deliberate steps to go to Uni on the weekend and spend hours working on it. I am hoping that the atmosphere of the University will create the thought processes that I need to get out of this slump of thoughtlessness that I currently exist in. 

I shall not complain for my life is running smoothly and I love my job. I am grateful for what I have, but I ask for universal intervention when I say 'please send me coherent, clear thoughts that meet the requirements of my thesis' in order for me to 'get on with it....sigh!

Less stress, life is good!

Olympic Highlights

Like everyone else I have been tuning in when convenient to watch the highlights of the Olympic Games. Generally I prefer to participate in sport rather than sit on the couch and watch it and the Olympic Games are no exception to my disinterest in watching sport. However this Olympics I actually got excited.

As usual with the Olympics I flick through the Swimming events and every now and then I flick the TV on to see when it will be over. Then I spied the Track and Field events which I love. My anxiety levels rose with the mens 100m heats because I came to the realisation that in between writing my thesis moving into my house and sorting out my life I was subconsciously keeping a close eye on the exploits of Usain Bolt. In fact the last time I watched someone run with such beauty was Carl Lewis (showing my age now) and Michael Johnson. Its not often that you get an athlete as outstanding as these guys and I love watching them run. So in my disinterest I watched the heats and then I watched the finals and I have to say it met my expectations. What a run. Totally awesome.

Thinking that I had experienced the great event of this years Olympics I turned the TV off. Today when I switched it on there was a replay of Sally Pearson's 100 metre hurdle run. The girl ran like a gazelle, so graceful and beautiful and perfectly executed. It was a pleasure to watch. 

I have to say I am not fully engaged in the Olympic mania, but I have had the pleasure of witnessing two memorable events that I probably won't forget in a hurry.

On that note I am going to run (probably not so gracefully) out the door and onto my treadmill to work off some unwanted middle age spread and dream of Olympic glory.

Life is good!

Unsettled

Recently we moved into our brand new house. Yes it is beautiful and fresh and smells like a newly laid wooden floor mixed with a bit of dog because the teenage son seems to not quite understand the term 'outside dog'. I have given up trying to teach the boy new tricks and I have to say the dog is a faster learner. However, my son loves his dog and the dog is in love with him. It's pretty sickening to be honest, but the whole affair is very cute and who am I to get between a man and his dog. When they use the term 'a dog is mans best friend' I would have to agree going on the empirical evidence witnessed in my home. The good news is that we are finally beginning to settle down.

I can't believe that I have a home. I have lived all over Western Australia throughout my adult life and I have not regretted any of it. All of the places that I have experienced with my children holds a special place in my heart and my memories are nothing but happy ones. However to finally settle down in one place and in such a beautiful home is a bit daunting for this little black chic from the bush.

When I first moved into this house I felt guilty. Yes folks I felt guilty. I felt guilty because I thought of all of my friends and family who are living a less successful life and maybe not living in such beauty as I am lucky to be experiencing today. It has taken me a while to get over this feeling and to allow myself to come to love my home. In fact it has been a bit of a learning experience. I feel proud, happy and overawed all at the same time. I am humbled that I have achieved such beauty. I had no idea that owning a home could be so rewarding emotionally not just for me but for my children. I love the fact that I can relax and do what I like in my home whenever I want. There is freedom in debt. Of course there is another downside to owning a home apart from the financial constraints and that is the work required to make it aesthetically appealing.

Obviously being a new house there is much work to be done. The first thing to settling down is to unpack your boxes of 'stuff'. Slowly I have sifted through my boxes of stored goodies that have not seen the light of day over the past 4 years and have come to the realisation that I don't need any of it. In fact I have thrown most of it away. I have kept a couple of items that carry sentimental value however the rest has gone. This purging of material objects with little meaning has become quite insightful and it has me thinking about the way in which we as human beings seem to think we need to acquire 'things'. We don't need the majority of 'things' that we collect and today I went through the last box that needed purging because brotherboy was doing a tip run and I did not want to miss the trailer. I have to say it felt good. In fact I feel extremely happy. My happiness is not because I purged the box of 'stuff' but because in this last box I unearthed a long lost treasure.

About 8 years ago I purchased a book of poetry and short stories titled 'The Business of Fancy Dancing' written by Sherman Alexie. I thought I had lost this book that I love and I was contemplating ordering another copy when it did not appear in any of the book boxes that I had previously unpacked. I purchased this book online because I could not get a copy here in Australia. Alexie is an American Indian and writes the funniest stories about life on the reservation. Alexie also highlights what it is that he views as important in life. I love his work and it always makes me smile when I read it. Unearthing this book and releasing 'The Business of Fancy Dancing' into my home has given me joy. I know its weird but I have been reading poetry from this book all day today and it is resounding off the walls of this house and into the ears of my children despite the fact that they are not in the same room as me as I recite. It feels good to let this go, to feel such emotion from words that express the journey of life. Words that remind me of what life is really about. This is important to me because living in this beautiful home means that I could easily forget the real things in life and get caught up in material gain.

'The Business of Fancy Dancing' made me realise that I don't need a whole lot of 'stuff'. What I do need is nourishment for the soul and I hope that I will not forget this as I experience the pride and joy of owning a home.

So in this beautiful house which by the way is limited in the furniture department because I have so much space in here that I do not want to fill it up and lose the space that we have, I am being reminded to remain humble and accept the gifts of the universe with gratitude. 

In saying that I would like to share with you one of my favourite Alexie poems:

Indian Boy Love Song (#1)

Everyone I have lost

in the closing of a door

the click of the lock

is not forgotten, they

do not die but remain

within the soft edges

of the earth, the ash

of house fires and cancer

in sin and forgiveness

huddled under old blankets

dreaming their way into my hands, my heart

closing tight like fists

By: Sherman Alexie

Life is good!