Walking Refugees

There is a famous story of a young boy who was hunted and wanted dead because of his fathers religious choice. Through no fault of his own, he found himself living in hiding with extended family just to stay alive. He wasn't always welcomed in his new town but made the most of it and it became his home planet.

Luke Skywalker was, in a sense, a refugee.

Refugees. There aren't many innocent groups that create such a stark dichotomy of opinion. Unfortunately the predominate one is a dark side that presents itself as hatred. This fear usually comes from ignorance arising from misunderstanding and cultural differences.
As refugees arrive to Australia through all different methods, from sinking boats to qantas, everyone will give an opinion as how to stop the influx. "We're full, get out... Just sink the boat... Go back to your own county."

Where is the compassion? If a heartless, greedy, womanising Schindler can individually provide refuge for hundreds of Jews, with the constant threat of death from nazis hanging over his head then why can't Australia? I'm not suggesting a hell for leather influx, only an intake equivalent to our size and wealth. Currently we do not provide this.
More importantly I'm asking for every Australian to have compassion for those not lucky enough to be born in Australia, who are hunted due to forces beyond their control and find themselves here in the best county in the world. What would you say if the refugee living next door was Luke Skywalker?
Welcome to Australia!

This Saturday Australia is saying welcome to all refugees and walking together.
http://www.welcometoaustralia.org.au
Please join us in celebrating the fantastic multicultural country that we are lucky enough to be a part of.

Head over heels

It's wonderful but not sustainable. We've all been there. The start of a new relationship where all of your time and energy is spent being with or thinking about the other person.
The love bubble.
You somehow survive on a few hours sleep, takeaway and caffeine. Your entire exercise regime is thrown out the window, along with mundain tasks such as housework, grocery shopping and feeding pets. Phone calls don't get returned and my mother ends up filing a missing persons report.

The unsustainable worry if they feel the same way, if they'll call, whether to make preemptive plans for the weekend or where you actually stand with each other eventually works itself out.
Nights out on the town change to nights in on the lounge. Minutes away from them feels like hours and everything pales in comparison.

It's thrilling, stressful and fantastically wonderful but sooner or later life gets in the way and we all return to reality, albeit exhausted.
Finally questions like should I be at that Uni lecture, when was the last time I did any laundry and has anyone seen my dog, all accumulate into a big ball of life stress that eventually needs action.

Eventually.
But right now I'm going to turn my phone on silent and stay in this cosy bubble for as long as possible. Sorry mum.

Legalising gay marriage affects you

I don't completely agree with this photo.
Yes, I believe that a marriage between two people is between those people alone. That it is no one else's business and a personal choice. But giving everyone the right to legally commit to another person regardless of their gender is something that everyone should care about.

Why? Because I believe that you fall in love with a person regardless of their gender, age, race, political views, marital status, religious belief, family responsibilities or trade union practices. Basically everything the Australian workplace relations forbids harassment against and more.
You love someone for who they are, And not much else matters.
I would like to be able to marry whoever I choose, whether they be female or a Tony Abbot supporter. It's about freedom of choice. I want the choice to marry who I love and I want everyone else to have the choice too.

So you might be thinking "I'm definitely straight, how does gay marriage affect me?" It will affect you in that it is another choice that you are free to make, that your friends and family are free to make, not the government.
I believe my gay friends should have the right to marry. I believe my gay family members should have the right to marry. I believe if my children are gay that they should have the right to marry. I believe that some guy on the other side of the world I've never met should have the freedom to do whatever he wants to do AND I believe that bad things happen when good people do nothing.
Cheers to Edmund Burke who, ironically, was the forefather of conservatism, (which is apparent in his original quote where he dismisses half of the human race and references religion. I think paraphrasing was needed!)

In closing: Don't suppress other people's civil liberties because you don't care for the choice, support their right to freedom and everyone's right to choose.
I don't use cycleways but I still think they should be available for those who want to use them ... and I hate cyclists!

Internal Robot Thoughts

I love second hand books. The more random the place I buy them from and the cheaper they are, the better they are. A bought a book in Yamba (a surf bum town on the NSW north coast) for 50cents. It was written by a American business/self help guru over 25 years ago (Dr Denis Waitley) and I carried it with me throughout North, South and Central America.

Why? Because it has a concept in it that I love.

Most self help gurus believe that self image is made up of two parts, the conscious level of thinking and the subconscious. The conscious level collects information, makes decisions and moves this information to the subconscious. The subconscious controls body functions, stores memories and controls goal seeking. Denis named the subconscious his "Robot" and even wrote a little poem about him. 

The problem comes when the conscious level of thinking tries to make a decision that doesn’t correspond to the robots programming, (the robots memory bank.) The robot will then override the conscious mind’s decision. Effectively our subconscious is in control. Our robot is in control of our thoughts and actions. 

Biologically it makes sense. I imagine this was developed from cave man days when some beefy, testosterone fuelled Neanderthal was trying to convince himself he could take on a sabre-toothed tiger single handedly to impress some cave chick. The robot subconscious would take control of the situation and the beefcake lived to see another day. Darwin took care of those without the overriding robot.

Bungee jumping is a good example of how this can be used to our advantage. Our conscious mind knows that the rope will catch our fall, however the subconscious knows that heights are dangerous (information gathered from past experience and learnings), that ropes fail (information gathered from news articles) and surmises that generally this isn’t a good idea. However, the subconscious only knows what it’s fed from the conscious mind, past and present. If your conscious thoughts are strong enough to convince your robot that bungee jumping is fun (you may need evidence to convince him, such as watching other people bungy and live to tell the tale,) you may be able to jump. If your conscious mind cannot convince your subconscious mind then the robot is in control. Your past will dictate your future. 

My stubbornness kicks in here and I say: "No, no one tells me what I can and can't do, take this robot!" And I jump off the cliff. My subconscious is always kicking and screaming, sometimes it even has a slight breakdown, but I tend to beat it into submission, or try to. Honestly it is a constant struggle to be able to live your life how you want to, not dependant on past experiences and how people from your past have influenced your thinking. E.g. If you've never had anyone in your life that you can trust, how does your robot trust the next person? If you don't think you deserve happiness, how does your robot embrace happiness? 

So who's in control of your mind, your current thoughts or your Robot? 

I'll leave you with Denis' Robot poem that he wrote the year I was born. "I have a little robot,That goes around with me.I tell him what I’m thinking,I tell him what I see,I tell my little robot,All my hopes and fears.He listens and remembers,All my joys and tears.At first my little robot,Followed my command,But after years of training,He's gotten out of hand.He doesn’t care what’s right or wrong,Or what is false or true.No matter what I try now,He tells me what to do!"