Making Headway.

I’ve mentioned my writing projects before - though I’m keeping them private for now. They’ve finally started making real headway, which is exciting after working on them, on and off, for quite some time. There were stretches that felt heavy, like a weight I couldn’t quite shift. But I pushed through, and now I’m about where I hoped to be.

I’d planned to reach this point about a year ago, but the project grew - became more expansive than I’d imagined. That’s the nature of creative work, I suppose. It unfolds in its own time.

Soon comes the part I’ve been longing for: the enjoyable stages. They’ll take time, but I know I’ll love every moment.

Unusually for me, I’ve been handwriting these stories. It’s surprising how many people find it difficult to write by hand for any length of time. With computers and screens everywhere, we’re all out of practice. But my handwriting has improved, and so has my stamina. These days, I can fill page after page with little effort or with my hand cramping.

I do get through pens and notebooks, but the tale is really coming together. And you never know — one day, it might even be seen by others.

When the Universe Affirms.

I worked the gate of a small event recently.  For about two and a half hours, a friend and I collected entrance money from cars, and showed them where to park. It was the last part of the day, so it was, for the most part fairly quiet.

As such, we spent much of the time chatting about quite a few things. And some of these were very exact and specific. Not politics, music, books or film. Nothing common or popular. In fact, I could give you several hundred guesses and you would be very unlikely to name these topics.

And yet on three separate occasions during the afternoon, someone leaving or arriving to the event stopped to say hello, and mentioned the very thing we had just finished talking about. I mean within minutes.

We were in a large field, with no one around us except the odd squirrel, but these people were apparently tuned into our conversation. It was completely bizarre, and yet it felt right. It felt like we were receiving confirmation from the universe that the conclusions we were drawing were correct, accurate and appropriate.

I am constantly amazed by these synchronistic moments.  They seem to be happening more and more, and in more and more unlikely ways.

I feel like I am more in tune these days, that I am more aware of these moments, and am possible looking for them.

Or, perhaps, someone or something is stalking me and setting me up. Those pesky squirrels!

The Year of Everything?

It has been a weird year, thus far, so I decided to check the Chinese calendar. It is currently the year of the snake which is supposed to be a year of wisdom, growth and creativity. And yet there seems to be so much turmoil around.

Even close to home, the University which employs me continues to undertake staff cuts and restructures. A lot of people are worried and stressed. Fortunately, my position has been declared safe, thus far, but I have seen long-term colleagues leave, both by choice and through forced redundancy.  I think that most of those who left by choice would not have done so if they hadn’t foreseen the threat of their redundancy on the ever-nearing horizon.

But it has created anxiety, stress, and moments of lower morale. That is, of course, only to be expected.  I’d like to think I’ve handled it reasonably well, but it will always have some effect on us.

I read the Chinese Horoscope a little further, and while it does indeed say that this is a year of wisdom, growth and creativity, it also states that it is a year of transformation, renewal and long-term planning. Hopefully, after that, is the time for the other aspects; reflection, strategy, resilience, intuition, growth and creativity.

Ah, the Chinese sure have all bases covered this year!

Underneath the Radar.

I've just spent two weeks back in Australia. A short trip, just to visit and spend time with family. Only my siblings and my best friend knew in advance.  I truly wanted to surprise my mum and a few other people, and it worked - the plans didn't leak.

It was great spending time with Mum and Dad, sitting with them and chatting to dad - even hearing a few old stories for the first time. I think there was only one day where I didn't go and sit with him, mostly because I had a lingering cough from the dry flight and Mum was a little worried for him.

I caught up with some close friends, getting up to speed on news and having a lot of laughs. I even managed to visit the school where I taught - a few friends left, but after 9 years away so many have moved on. It was great to see the place, and to hear of what they're doing. A good place with a good culture, but it was also good to reaffirm I no longer belong there.

My best friend and I spent a whole day together - again, laughing, telling tales, having lunch and just enjoying each other's company. We fell back into our easy, comfortable conversation - personal, philosophical, and everything in between. Such a wonderful day.

And then suddenly, it was time to return home. A bittersweet trip, of course, but all very positive.

I apologise to others I couldn't visit - there was no real time and I had consciously decided not to run myself ragged. Hopefully next time.

Instant Karma?

In 1970, John Lennon recorded and released the single Instant Karma. John based the song on speculating how we would live if karma was immediate rather than across lifetimes.  In keeping with the concept, John wrote, recorded and released the song within a ten day period.

Karma is generally viewed to occur over several, or even many lifetimes, but from my limited understanding, this is a simplistic view.  Karma simply means 'action', and as we know, actions have consequences, which could be across lifetimes, or maybe more quickly than that.

During the past six months I have seen three different people, in three different situations, all have "karma" return on them. Some might simply call it comeuppance, and some would suggest, if they new their earlier actions, that it was just. In each situation there was an obvious correlation between the types of their behaviour and the situations they later found themselves in.  And in each situation they were visibly upset and complained loudly about what had occurred to them.

I take no delight in this. And I'm not saying that the Hindu or Buddhist concept of karma was at play here. I just hope that living your life in a positive way, with integrity, results in positive karma.

Hopefully instant.

Changes of Season.

Spring has arrived - finally.  It was a long winter - or at least it felt longer than others, but now the mornings are getting lighter, the days are longer, and the gardens are green again.  

Birds are also back in abundance, and their song on the morning is lovely.

While we have seasons in Australia, they are more obvious here. Much more clearly defined, with the change of season being almost visible.

This is something I enjoy here, the seasons with their very different moods.  Of course summer is on its way, and within a couple of months it'll be getting light at 4am and staying that way until almost 10pm.  It can be hard to sleep well when it's like that, and there is always the danger I'll get up grumpy. But as we renovate the house, and update the bedroom, we'll be buying blackout curtains.

I do this for you. You wouldn't like me when I get grumpy.

Vale Mick.

My last post was about absent friends. And three days later another old friend, Mick, joined them.

His lovely wife very kindly sent me a message letting me know he had passed peacefully in his sleep following a battle with cancer.

I first met Mick around 25 years ago. I became a member of the ASV (Astronomical Society of Victoria) through another friend, and started spending weekends out at the dark sky site. One evening, I met Mick. It was a quiet night with only a few of us out there. Mick introduced himself, showed me something through his scope, and offered me a drink. We spent the night observing, chatting and laughing. We got on well - music, humour and the stars, and we became firm friends quickly.

Many evenings were spent stargazing with Mick. We even hung out sometimes away from the dark sky field. Mick built my first telescope for me - a beautiful device nicknamed Woodstock - which I loved and used a lot. 

Sometimes we were the only two on the field, and those evenings were special. We would play some music while we observed, usually acoustic albums, (I introduced him to Neil Young) and just talk about our lives. We often spoke about our inner feelings and emotions, things we never spoke about to others.

Over the years I started drifting away from the ASV for a number of reasons, and Mick and I saw each other less frequently. Mick didn't do social media at all, and so when I moved here to the UK we lost touch, apart from a few second hand messages sent to me via his wife.

Mick means a lot to me. I cannot think of one instance where we argued or had a disagreement. Ever. I only remember talking, laughing and stargazing. Especially the laughing - we did that a lot.

I send much to love to Ree and their sons.

You will be missed Mick, as you walk beyond the stars.