A little volunteering in aged care

is humbling,

challenging

and an enormous privilege.

Marking the start of Lent with them,

I remind myself and those gathered

that God loves us

as we are.

God has already forgiven us

but we need to forgive ourselves

and others

so that we can move on,

be our best selves.

‘I needed to hear that’

said a beatific 99 year old.

As I distribute ashes

to another elderly woman

she says ‘thank you’

and flashes me a glowing, slightly cheeky grin.

I say

‘No, thank you’.

Still burning, bright.

I am a proud Australian. I love our country – its people and its magnificent diversity of animals and landscapes. I am fortunate to have travelled overseas to many wonderful locations – but am always pleased and relieved to return to Australia. I can trace my heritage back to a couple of convicts who were on the First Fleet in 1788 (the same year the Brandenburg Gate was built in Berlin).

Our national anthem says that we are ‘one and free’ – so with the wonderful cultural diversity in our nation including the oldest living culture in the world, why do we continue to define our nationhood based on the date of European settlement which decimated the First Nation peoples and took away their lands based in the legal fiction of ‘terra nullius’? We were signed into law by Queen Victoria as the Commonwealth of Australia on 1st January 1901. Until that point we were a collection of states. Why isn’t 1st January Australia Day? Because New Years’ Day is already a public holiday?  

There will continue to be tension if this isn’t satisfactorily resolved. And it isn’t just an internal matter. How can Australia have any credibility in international human rights discussions if we treat our First Nations people in this way – if we are ostensibly not ‘one and free’? 

Air still

slightly chill.

Sun streaming.

Blend of blues

in sky and sea.

Water shallow

and crystal clear.

Tiny waves

caress the shore.

Who in their right mind

Needs more?

Grace swirling round

pierced a wall

I didn’t know was there.

I’m so happy

tears fall.

Joy lifts the veil.

Stunned

Shocked

Plus hearing months after the fact.

What do I think and feel?

How do I even make sense of this?

This is so much.

Gone too soon!

We hadn’t had our coffee

For some months.

Yet you emailed

Looking forward to seeing me

After my trip.

As I celebrate another year of my life

With its ups and downs

I cannot know how you felt

And I should be grateful.

All I have are questions

And the finality of your death.

Was it a slow erosion

Or did something snap?

Were you too focussed on others’ burdens

That you didn’t see your own 

until it was too late? 

I also have compassion

For loved ones left behind.

Rest in peace, my friend,

As I try to find some, too.

The sunset stopped me

In my tracks.

I had to pull over

and take a snap.

So everyday,

yet this was so magical,

demanding attention.

With a whisper

God yells

‘I’m here!’

The irony of the timing

as I witness this

on my way to Mass

Is not lost on me.

God is always with us.

Am I open to grace?

Am I awake?

Everyday blue sky

reflected in the blue of the sea,

bathes me in its glow.

Fills my being

makes me smile.

Life is uncomplicated in this flow.

I feel at home,

I feel connected.

Unhurried, eternal now.

It is like I’m ‘awake’

When I didn’t realise 

I had been ‘sleeping’. 

So I radiate the joy,

the simple power 

that it shares with me.

This made my day,

just walking around the block. 

Travel is a great gift:

Visiting wondrous places

honouring triumphs and tragedies

indulging in local cuisine.

Aside from witnessing

and celebrating diversity,

those with whom 

we share our travels

enrich and amplify the experiences

and are a unique grace and blessing.

My best friend and soulmate

brings her compassion and humour,

demonstrating what real connections

look and feel like.

These light up every day together,

a blessing for which I’m deeply grateful.

Connections going back nearly 40 years

brought us to Krakow

with Gui and Daniel.

Aside from great company,

we shared excellent accommodation and food.

Also the powerful experience

that is Auschwitz

and the concert in Berlin,

all of which were blessings

that deepened and strengthened our bond.

Friendship and family were celebrated

with Richard and Werner.

Our conversations,

the hospitality we enjoyed,

the generosity shown,

along with spending time with Erica and Theresa

again filled our cups with blessings.

Our cruise experience 

on Viking ‘Egdir’

was made by relationships.

The staff were wonderful

and looked after us beautifully

such as Bogy and Karl from Slovakia

Nemanja from Serbia

Alvin and Efrem from the Philippines 

and Patrick from Portugal

along with all of the others

whose names I forget!

An unexpected blessing of this time

was our connection with the Gartners:

Dave, Sharon, Stan and Kay.

sharing lively conversations

filled with laughter and faith

amplified an already-rich time on cruise.

Made in the image of our triune God

who is love,

who is relationship,

we’re most whole, most alive

when connected with others.

Making special moments

even more so.

It is a blessing

to have an affinity 

for beauty in nature.

This began with my wonder

at rocks and fossils,

deepened by

my geological studies.

To see Jungfraujoch

in person

brought all of that together

powerfully.

I was moved to tears

several times

at the grandeur

of the snow and ice

we can see

and the glacial processes

we cannot.

To see and experience 

snow and glaciers

in such glory

from the viewing deck

then the snowfields

was wondrous

despite my body

battling the altitude.

As we rested, drinking coffee

next to the cafeteria window

the scene stretched out before us.

As time passed, we watched snowflakes

float past

as the clouds

lowered completely

providing a fitting closure

to our time on the mountaintop. 

Underpinning the entire experience,

deep gratitude.

Coming to a church

built in the mid 9th century

Required of me a radical shift in perspective.

The highs and lows

of such a span

are glimpsed

in the crypt museum

with its documents of regal inauguration;

later the Reformation handover

as well as the disfigured face of a statue,

victim of ‘iconoclastic fury’.

For all that

‘a place is holy because

of those who’ve prayed there’

seems very apt.

This sense of

grace abounding

is reflected in

the windows by Marc Chagall

that are poetic and mesmerising

casting a numinous light

in this place of worship.

First experienced six years ago

I was again touched

by its simple grandeur

that also honours heritage.

My mother influenced 

my sense of the sacred.

Living in a different city

throughout my adult life

I tried to share 

spiritual experiences such as this with her.

So it was salutary

when my love asked me

If I wanted to but any other gifts

that I replied through tears

and quietly

‘Mum’.

Backwards and forwards

we are connected

in spirit

in time.

This was the final of many 

such blessings on this trip.