The Other Foot - my grandfather used to recite the phrase "I used to complain I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet". As a child I would think this silly - of course everyone has feet! It wasn't until I grew up that I learned that not everybody has feet, I realised then that there is always somebody who is worse off than I am. I realise this now as I watch the news and see hundreds of desperate asylum seekers risking their lives as they flee their homelands.
Sure, we all tend to gripe at the apparent follies played out by parliamentary characters who sit perched on government thrones and mess with our existence; yet regardless of their sometimes ridiculous decisions, we enjoy a comparatively peaceful life. Not ideal, but comparatively safe and fruitful.
But what if all that changed overnight with an overthrow of government by military madmen?
What if, suddenly our law enforcement officers began to shoot people just because they were too slow in responding to a demand. What if the government took away our rights to photograph government buildings or to own a camera? How about if women were not allowed to work anymore and were forced to hide themselves from the public? Or the rights of women and children that were so long and desperately fought for are suddenly revoked and had no rights at all?
Australia as we know it would be forever changed. The oppression from militia would force any peace loving family to run for the hills - or the boats - or whatever other means of escape they had.
It is never too late to open our minds, hearts and arms to those of our brothers and sisters escaping to our borders. Let us not greet them with snarls and hatred but rather as the Christian country that we profess to be. Are we not ourselves people from another place? Did our ancestors not come from somewhere else either by force or by whim? As a Bible believing person, nobody was left in Australia after the flood until Noah's ark settled in Turkey and eventual migration led to the land being settled just a few thousand years ago.
Do we not all die and our mortal flesh return to the earth? For a mere few years we journey here then we are but a memory to those who remain. Can we not open our minds to encompass something bigger than ourselves?
From my stand point I see benefits from embracing global cultures. When I was a child the most exotic foods we ate was a hamburger - now we have Mc Donalds, KFC and Pizza Huts not to mention Hungry Jacks, Burger King and Sizzlers to mention a few. Like it or not, we all have a love/hate relationship with these American transnational fast food industries. We never had these when I was growing up, I know anyone younger than 35 will find this hard to believe - a world where fast food was fish and chips wrapped in newspaper.
Today I can walk down through shops in most suburbs and find a smorgasbord of international cuisine. The falafel, tabbouleh, chicken kebab, garlic prawns, Portuguese chicken, chicken skewers, chicken schnitzel, veal schnitzel, chicken or veal cordon bleu, veal marsala, haloumi, moussaka, minestrone, pizza, naan breads, kimchee, herbs and spices never heard of thirty years ago. I have not even begun to mention the Polynesian delectables, thus the list goes on and on.
My point is, I am grateful for all those who came to Australia and brought with them their cultures, music, cuisine, clothing, decor and lives who have brightened up my experience of mortality.
The time I spend here, the knowledge I gain, the experiences I have will make me a better person. All that I witness, taste, feel and touch or that touches me goes with me throughout my eternal journey and I savour each moment.
Thank you Australia for allowing me to live in the world in my own backyard. Once I complained I had no house, until I met a man who had no country.
Over the years I have found myself in awkward positions and if not for the kindness of others, I would have been destitute. Surely we are all beggars, surely we all rely on the kindness of others and the kindness of God, whoever we perceive God to be. One such kindness came from a man who lived by the motto "but for the grace of God, there go I". I had never heard these words before this but have adopted them as my own motto.
Let us be slow to judge and quick to offer the same kindness that Christ offers - remembering these words "But by the grace of God, there go I".
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
It's beginning to look alot like Christmas - again!
Well, just as I was settling into the year it's over! Where did it go??? With so much to do and so little time to do it in I'm amazed I haven't flown off the planet from my spinning life - perhaps it is good that centrifugal force actually works. It's not money that goes around, it's our heads!
So, after a year of painting, drawing, sculpting and writing my thesis on art from 1700 - 1930, (consisting of over 80 pages and 30,000 + words), we launched our exhibition last Wednesday and it appears a number of works did actually sell. Congratulations to all the teaching faculty and a big thank you for your amazing efforts - you got us through and are still smiling - all without medication! Hugs to you all and we'll see you again next year!
As for my fellow students - it has been wonderful to get to know and work with you all. James and Goyha have taught me a new meaning to the word that starts with B and ends with T and has something to do with bovine excrement.
I've started a new diet - we'll see how this one goes. At least I'm not starving myself - though technically it would take at least a year to use up my food storage! People think they are being nice offering me chocolates and large servings and for a while I was reluctant to hurt their feelings, but then I realised that they weren't eating as much as they were giving me. Hmm, I wonder if I was the goose for the Christmas table???? Or maybe the fatted calf for when that prodigal son returns???? But I learnt to say NO. No thank you, I don't want potato. No thank you, I don't want soft drink. No thank you, I don't want that extra serve of anything and NO THANK YOU, I don't eat wheat in any form so I don't want that cake you bought especially for me!
I know people are wanting to be kind - why do people think that just because you are large you eat huge portions? Don't they realise that we are closet eaters?? We eat when we are depressed and tired and that only ever happens when we are alone.
Recently a specialist doctor told me off for my weight. I didn't even go to see him about my weight. I went to see him for my hand problems - I have developed carpel tunnel syndrome, or C.T.S. for those who like acronyms! For over half an hour he ranted and raved about how irresponsible I was and what a useless human being I was. How he had "written papers" about fat people having C.T.S. and that it was my fault and I had to buy the C.S.I.R.O. diet book and make sure I read it and did it! He even wrote it down for me because I am too stupid and fat to remember the name then he highlighted to make his point clearer - what a kind man! He then put it all in writing and sent it to my GP, who was so disgusted in what he read that he told me to disregard his opinion and has referred me to another specialist.
Should his assertions be correct, that weight, gender, and age do prove to be causal factors of C.T.S. then I suspect that a large portion of his clientèle are, in fact, overweight, female, and middle aged. If this group of middle aged, fat women form the highest percentile of sufferers and these three factors are the damning reasons for their condition, then how is it that skinny, young men, like my milkman, also present with the very same symptoms??? One might ask that if he treats each patient who enters his office with the same contempt that he did with me, how is it that he has a business? Or did he save his finest hour for me??? Or, maybe, weighty people who see him are so used to being abused that they absorb it like something they deserve???
If I could respond in like to that specialist I would tell him firstly that I am a human being with feelings, something he obviously does not realise. Then I would explain that sometimes people are fat because of some pretty serious issues they are struggling to deal with. Again, something he would fail to understand. To assert my position and close my argument, I would then tell him that not only has failed to attend to my complaint, that of C.T.S., but he has disclosed his inability to function as a professional and therefore, fails to meet my expectations of a prospective surgeon. Hence, I would never place my trust in him nor in his ability to provide adequate or objective treatment for myself and I suspect, any other person in my position.
Perhaps one could write a paper and have it published on how birth is a causal factor of death - in fact, there is empirical evidence that not only does it cause death but it is the very reason for it. Without birth, one would never die! The only exceptions being pre-birth deaths for which it could be argued that should they have gone full term, then death would have resulted anyway.
I guess what I am saying is that no matter how one hypothesises, statistics and facts can be manipulated to prove or disprove anything and present it to the right audience, get enough to believe or at least not be able to disprove it and voilà! Instant success! Isn't that what the government just did with this carbon tax and global warming??? Point made!
New subject - I invite you to check out my website for my art - it is really cool! Please check it out and let me know what you think. You can do this via the contacts link - that way I get to know how to improve and what is working well. Here is the link: - http://www.wix.com/icur2ys4me/frans-art#!
This is one of my favourites, it is cubist style, as if you couldn't guess, and painted in harlequin colours because I wanted to annoy me teacher, no, I just love the brighter colours. It is for sale if anyone is interested as is nearly all my artworks and photos. Unless of course they sell at the exhibition!
With Christmas around the corner and summer here near the beaches I'm set! Christmas party tonight, tomorrow night and next week - wow! I know, didn't I say I was starting a diet? Well, yes, and I've planned it carefully so I can eat as well.
So now I am off to get ready. The pork has crackled nicely and smells great! So with a Ho Ho Ho it's off to the party I go!
Have a happy and safe Christmas season and a great New Year!!! 2012 - isn't that when we all die???? Hmm... can we be taxed for that too???
So, after a year of painting, drawing, sculpting and writing my thesis on art from 1700 - 1930, (consisting of over 80 pages and 30,000 + words), we launched our exhibition last Wednesday and it appears a number of works did actually sell. Congratulations to all the teaching faculty and a big thank you for your amazing efforts - you got us through and are still smiling - all without medication! Hugs to you all and we'll see you again next year!
As for my fellow students - it has been wonderful to get to know and work with you all. James and Goyha have taught me a new meaning to the word that starts with B and ends with T and has something to do with bovine excrement.
I've started a new diet - we'll see how this one goes. At least I'm not starving myself - though technically it would take at least a year to use up my food storage! People think they are being nice offering me chocolates and large servings and for a while I was reluctant to hurt their feelings, but then I realised that they weren't eating as much as they were giving me. Hmm, I wonder if I was the goose for the Christmas table???? Or maybe the fatted calf for when that prodigal son returns???? But I learnt to say NO. No thank you, I don't want potato. No thank you, I don't want soft drink. No thank you, I don't want that extra serve of anything and NO THANK YOU, I don't eat wheat in any form so I don't want that cake you bought especially for me!
I know people are wanting to be kind - why do people think that just because you are large you eat huge portions? Don't they realise that we are closet eaters?? We eat when we are depressed and tired and that only ever happens when we are alone.
Recently a specialist doctor told me off for my weight. I didn't even go to see him about my weight. I went to see him for my hand problems - I have developed carpel tunnel syndrome, or C.T.S. for those who like acronyms! For over half an hour he ranted and raved about how irresponsible I was and what a useless human being I was. How he had "written papers" about fat people having C.T.S. and that it was my fault and I had to buy the C.S.I.R.O. diet book and make sure I read it and did it! He even wrote it down for me because I am too stupid and fat to remember the name then he highlighted to make his point clearer - what a kind man! He then put it all in writing and sent it to my GP, who was so disgusted in what he read that he told me to disregard his opinion and has referred me to another specialist.
Should his assertions be correct, that weight, gender, and age do prove to be causal factors of C.T.S. then I suspect that a large portion of his clientèle are, in fact, overweight, female, and middle aged. If this group of middle aged, fat women form the highest percentile of sufferers and these three factors are the damning reasons for their condition, then how is it that skinny, young men, like my milkman, also present with the very same symptoms??? One might ask that if he treats each patient who enters his office with the same contempt that he did with me, how is it that he has a business? Or did he save his finest hour for me??? Or, maybe, weighty people who see him are so used to being abused that they absorb it like something they deserve???
If I could respond in like to that specialist I would tell him firstly that I am a human being with feelings, something he obviously does not realise. Then I would explain that sometimes people are fat because of some pretty serious issues they are struggling to deal with. Again, something he would fail to understand. To assert my position and close my argument, I would then tell him that not only has failed to attend to my complaint, that of C.T.S., but he has disclosed his inability to function as a professional and therefore, fails to meet my expectations of a prospective surgeon. Hence, I would never place my trust in him nor in his ability to provide adequate or objective treatment for myself and I suspect, any other person in my position.
Perhaps one could write a paper and have it published on how birth is a causal factor of death - in fact, there is empirical evidence that not only does it cause death but it is the very reason for it. Without birth, one would never die! The only exceptions being pre-birth deaths for which it could be argued that should they have gone full term, then death would have resulted anyway.
I guess what I am saying is that no matter how one hypothesises, statistics and facts can be manipulated to prove or disprove anything and present it to the right audience, get enough to believe or at least not be able to disprove it and voilà! Instant success! Isn't that what the government just did with this carbon tax and global warming??? Point made!
New subject - I invite you to check out my website for my art - it is really cool! Please check it out and let me know what you think. You can do this via the contacts link - that way I get to know how to improve and what is working well. Here is the link: - http://www.wix.com/icur2ys4me/frans-art#!
This is one of my favourites, it is cubist style, as if you couldn't guess, and painted in harlequin colours because I wanted to annoy me teacher, no, I just love the brighter colours. It is for sale if anyone is interested as is nearly all my artworks and photos. Unless of course they sell at the exhibition!
With Christmas around the corner and summer here near the beaches I'm set! Christmas party tonight, tomorrow night and next week - wow! I know, didn't I say I was starting a diet? Well, yes, and I've planned it carefully so I can eat as well.
So now I am off to get ready. The pork has crackled nicely and smells great! So with a Ho Ho Ho it's off to the party I go!
Have a happy and safe Christmas season and a great New Year!!! 2012 - isn't that when we all die???? Hmm... can we be taxed for that too???
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