It's The Weekend

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Phew!  Saturday sure went fast.  I spent the day on household chores and catching up on my volunteer duties as Registrar for the local swimming club.
Winter Season Wind Up is on Wednesday and I needed to print out certificates and get the Records up-to-date.
I've been part of the swimming club for twelve years, ever since my children were members.  My children are now adults but I volunteer my time to help things run smoothly.
These days most organisations and schools struggle to attract volunteers because parents are so busy.  But who isn't?
I have always done some type of volunteering - beginning at the local playgroup before my children went to school.  I then volunteered at the school - in the classroom and in the canteen.  While my children were in primary school I also volunteered at the local community centre and the historical society.
And then it was the swimming club.
I believe volunteering in the community gives me a sense of achievement and I keep in touch with local people.
It's so easy to leave jobs for others but why not help?  Go against the 'I want' attitude and go for the 'I give'.
I gladly gave up my Saturday this weekend and will enjoy a well-earned break tomorrow.  It's Sunday!  Sleep in!

It's Here!

Well, it's finally here!  Yes, Autumn has arrived.
We even had some rain last night.  It's been a lovely day with cool breezes and sporadic sunshine.
My whinging must have paid off.

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Autumn Musing

Australia is a great country but I'm over the hot weather.  It's supposed to be autumn.  The mornings begin cool enough but then it heats up. And where is the rain we were meant to have? Not in Western Australia that's for sure.  Over east they've had floods!

I've lived in the same area all my life.  I know, that's a little sad, but I have to admit, I love it here.  My home town still has a country feel about it and we are central to the city of Perth in the north and the city of Bunbury in the south.  Not to mention our proximity to both the ocean in the west and the bush (forest) in the east.  We have it all really.

I just wish the weather would do what it's supposed to do.  You know, change.

<Sigh> I guess I'll be whinging about the cold soon enough.  Yes, it can get cold here.

I live opposite a school, and I can still remember seeing the poor Japanese exchange students huddled together one morning a few years ago.  It was freezing!  I bet they thought Australia was warm.  They should visit now.

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Time to Dream

The days are never long enough it seems.  Why is that?  Is it because we are so busy?  Is it because we are getting older and are trying to cram so much into our days before we are too old?

I remember the long days of childhood.  Wondering what to do next.  Being bored.  The hours stretching before us.

Now it’s go, go, go.  Doing this and that.  Filling every waking moment.

It would be nice to slow everything down.  To enjoy the day.  To have no clocks.  No place to be.  To let the days flow.  Unlimited hours. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had more time to dream?

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The Promise by Jeanette Hornby

It was night

She lay dying

Her strength ebbing away

He sat

Holding her in his arms

Praying

But the struggle

was too much to bear

and she slowly slipped away

He cried then

His tears falling on her

soft, white skin

She was so beautiful

with fiery hair in curls

Her features like porcelain

How would he live without her?

“I’ll follow you wherever you go”

he promised

And held her till morning

She watched from another place

and saw his black hair

as it fell in waves

over his collar

She saw him holding her

She heard his promise

Another place

Another time

Their eyes met

and two souls rekindled

But circumstances

were changed

He fought his memories

of hurt and pain

Kept them at a distance

She was confused

She saw the love in his eyes

but he remained aloof

uncaring

hurting

Breaking his promise

And so she moved on

and tried to laugh

Hiding her pain

behind her smile

How could he forget?

The years rolled on

Memories lost

Submerged in façade

Her pain intense

The yearning too great

to ever be dismissed

The promise lay

open and bare

The decay creeping in

Erasing any hope

of renewal

She was lifeless

Her strength slowly

ebbing away

Her heart shattered

like the promise he broke.

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Journey of Many Lifetimes

     I’ve never believed that this ‘is all there is’.   I was raised a Catholic and was taught there was always something more.  That when you died you went to Purgatory, Heaven or Hell. 

     As an adult I am no longer a practicing Catholic.  I don’t believe in organised religion.  This probably has something to do with the ill-treatment I received from the nuns as a child.  I do, however, believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ.  Not once did Jesus judge another but taught love, forgiveness and charity.  That’s my type of man.

     What most people don’t realise is that Jesus was a teacher of metaphysics.  He preached about the ‘something more’ – life after death.

     The tragedy of his existence was that not many were willing to accept a new way of thought.

     Today, things are different, and there are many ‘new-age’ philosophies and teachers.

     This brings me to my experience with reincarnation. 

     In a previous post I mentioned that I can recall some of my past lives.  This is true and came about when I was in a very ‘dark’ place in my life.

     As I struggled to find my way out of the black pit, as I call it, I used many ‘new-age’ techniques.  I became familiar with meditation, reiki, and other forms of healing.  I also participated in inner-child and past-life therapy which sought to get to the root of my problems.  There is no miracle cure for depression and anxiety.  You have to take it step-by-step.

     I was also seeing a psychologist – a conventional therapist, but ironically, it was her treatment – called ‘rapid-eye movement’ therapy that triggered my past-life memories.

     Sure, I had ‘seen’ some of my lives during ‘new-age’ therapy sessions, but nothing as poignant or revealing as those in ‘normal’ therapy.

     After my first ‘rapid-eye movement’ session, I began having ‘dreams’ of other lives.  I always knew it was me in these dreams and surprisingly I knew the ‘others’ in the dreams as well.  People in the present were also in my past.  I could see, quite vividly, the surroundings, the people and the situations.  I could also ‘feel’ the emotions – emotions that were similar to those I was experiencing in the present time.

     Do you ever get a feeling of déjà vu?  Feel you ‘click’ with someone?   Feel as if you’ve known someone forever?  

     I believe nothing’s a coincidence.  What do you think?