Category Archives: Philosophy

Beyond Trump

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I stumbled upon this video and want to share it with you.  Thanksgiving is an American tradition but most of us are aware of some of the traditions that go along with it.  There is much more to it than turkey – it is about giving thanks, being grateful for what we have.  Perhaps we could all do with a little more gratitude in our lives and we would be less seduced by the rhetoric being peddled in the examples shown in the video.

 

After watching this several times and many of the associated negative comments, the thing that struck me is that the 3 politicians featured are from first world countries where the population was predominately Caucasian.

People who don’t believe the statistics quoted are only looking at the world from their own perspective and not accepting or embracing the fact that there may actually be a bit more equality in the world in terms of life expectancy, democracies and education.  We have a long way to go but this gives me heart.

What are you grateful for?  Can gratitude engender resilience?

Small Bites

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I am still taking small but consistent bites of what needs to be done.  I have decided that I am simply not going to hurtle madly towards the end of the year and get mixed up in the pre-Christmas rush.  I have no need to so I simply won’t.

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That is not to say that I am avoiding Christmas.  I will do what suits me and my family in a manner and time frame of my own choosing.  There are 5 full weekends before Christmas.  We have social engagements to attend on the next 3 weekends – 2 are family birthdays and the other is a casual Christmas gathering for the residents of our street.

I have planned (and in some cases bought) Christmas gifts for our daughters and granddaughters and have ideas in place for other family members.  I have begun planning our menu for Christmas Day.  I need to write a Christmas letter to send to friends and relatives.  Most of these are emailed so only a few cards to be bought.

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We have a Christmas tree which we will put up in mid-December.  I do not have a particular theme – the Christmas decorating is low-key and the same each year.

Christmas is an opportunity to spend time with those closest to us not an excuse to buy more stuff, create more debt, eat too much and generally stress ourselves unnecessarily.

The Time It Takes

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Well, it has been a while since I wrote a proper blog post.  I have been busy in the real world as things seem to speed up towards the end of the year.  At least some of it was of our own making as we chose to go to Adelaide for 3 nights about a week ago.

I managed to have the housework pretty well up do date before we left last Saturday but I have not had any free time since arriving home on Tuesday evening to an almost empty refrigerator and the prospect of long days at work for the remaining 3 days of the working week.

It would have been easy to say that I had no time but it really was a matter of making time.  Have you ever considered how little time it actually takes to do some of your regular household tasks?  It only takes me about 6 minutes to hang out a load of washing and about 2 – 3 minutes to get a load of washing off the line.

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So, during the past 5 days I have managed to unpack a suitcase, do a couple of loads of washing, including hanging, bringing it in and folding, plan and prepare meals as well as getting myself to work each day.

Things I do to create time where there does not appear to be any include preparing at least part of the evening meal for the following night while dinner is cooking, putting a load of washing on before I go to work, wiping over the mirror and vanity when I get out of the shower.

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Housework does does not need to be an enormous undertaking.  By doing a little bit often you can keep things humming along with very little time.  Other jobs that take a couple of minutes are unloading the dishwasher, wiping down the sink, cleaning a single shelf in the refrigerator, dusting a polishing a table and so on.  Every small task that you can slip into your routine is one that does not build into an overwhelming project.

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Did you notice the one thing I have not mentioned?  Ironing!  I need at least an hour of clear time to get stuck into a pile of ironing and make it worthwhile.

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How do you arrange your housework into the time available?

Mr President

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There is only one topic tonight – the election of Donald Trump as 45th president of the United States.  Like many others, I am draped in a cloak of disbelief.  How could this happen?

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I am not a great fan of Hilary Clinton but even a shred of decency should have been enough to drive people away from Trump in droves.

However, the decision has been made and unfortunately we are all going to have to live with it.  The ramifications of a Trump presidency have the potential to be far-reaching and affect people far beyond the boundaries of the United States.

So, what does this mean for Australia?  According to early media speculation, an increasingly isolationist America would almost certainly impact on trade, defence and foreign policy.  Strategic alliances with Indonesia, our populous Muslim neighbour, relations with China and the problems in the South China Sea and of course trade agreements are all at risk.

Closer to home, this election victory has given Mr Trump’s Australian surrogates such as Liberal senator Cory Bernardi, One Nation senator Pauline Hanson and the LNP’s George Christensen, the opportunity to claim an endorsement of their own views on topics as diverse as immigration, refugees and climate change.

I am fearful of what this means for our future but I am also hopeful that commonsense and decency will prevail.

Just Another Day

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Well, today has hardly been the stuff that makes for riveting blog posts.

I worked from home on an overcast day with some morning drizzle and a brief thunderstorm this afternoon.  I made the bed, did a load of washing and created dinner from things in the freezer as per the meal plan.

A large percentage of the country indulged in the craziness that is the Melbourne Cup, a horse race that is known as the race that stops a nation.

I don’t think the billboard is new this year but is apt for today and timely to think about, particularly as the government have recently indicated even more stringent measures against refugees.  Have we forgotten how to care?

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Forever Grateful

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Today I was stopped in my tracks when I was reading online about the health challenges of one family.  I do not know them personally but it made me think about all of the people I am aware of who face enormous health challenges every single day.  I am reminded of how blessed we and our extended family are to enjoy good health and be able to participate in pretty well whatever activity we choose.

A lovely quote from one of my favourite authors.

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And finally, something to consider.

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Changes

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It is one thing to instigate changes yourself but the ones that are forced upon you (for a wide variety of reasons) can be another thing entirely.

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But hang in there because the end result may be beautiful.

This morning we headed off to catch the train as we do each weekday morning.  It seemed that the train was a few minutes late but we did not give it too much thought until several stations down the line.  It became apparent that this train was going to stop at several stations that are normally bypassed by this express service.

Then it dawned on us that today was the first day of the new timetable due to the opening of a new branch line.  I then studied the timetable online and discovered several changes which will have a slight but noticeable impact on our morning and evening travel routine.

It is easy to slip into a routine that works for you but invariably there are outside forces at work to almost constantly disrupt things.

Both GMan and I are in the process of moving at work.  GMan’s entire office is moving a couple of kilometres away to an entirely new building while my department is simply moving to a different floor in our building.  All of this brings challenges and one of them can be the reaction of those around you.  Negativity and anxiousness can easily be transmitted within a group.

I try hard to be as flexible as possible and make a conscious effort not to be upset by things which are beyond control.

How about you?  Hope do you stay afloat when you seem to be surrounded by changes?

 

 

My Own Advice

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Today I am swallowing some of my own advice.

In my last blog post I talked about not trying to meet prescriptive minimalist goals.  I eschewed the extreme attitude of Bea Johnson at Zero Waste Home as being not for me quite early in my minimalism journey.  There are numerous other extreme ideas such as wearing the same dress every day for a year.  I applaud the people that choose to push the boundaries and carry out these ideas but it is not for me.

However, I have been somewhat seduced by things such as Project 333 and Plastic-Free July.  I have discovered that the life I live does not necessarily meet the lofty ideals of these and similar sites.

I think that part of my ‘problem’ which is not really a problem at all is the fact that I am a well-rounded person (not necessarily in the physical sense).  I dabble in range of strategies to live simply, reduce consumption as well as saving money and resources and have done for quite some time.

It is those ideas and strategies that I try to share with you here on the blog.  The little day to day things that may not look like much but add up over time.

There are many others out there who are doing the same stuff every single day and I want to encourage you to do the same.

There are no numbers that you have to achieve, it is not a race but simply an invitation to live the best life you can.

That is enough talk from me – from tomorrow I will be back to sharing some of the practical things that are part of my routine.

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Enough for Me

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In amongst all of the rubbish floating around on the internet there are some absolute gems.

I found this one the other day.

“It was relaxing and reassuring to know what I had was okay. What you are is already good enough.”

Stop and really think about it.

Here is the article.  It is a guest post by Sarah Peck on the Becoming Minimalist blog.

It really all comes down to the fact that life is not a competition.  I think that trying to meet prescriptive minimalist goals is as bad for you as ‘keeping up with the Jones’.  Be yourself, know that what you are and what you have is enough and live an authentic life.  This is the best recipe for happiness as far as I am concerned.

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What do you think?

Something to Share

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Tonight I want to share a Facebook post that popped up on my newsfeed.

“As someone with Aspergers, as well as someone who knows several other people on the Autistic Spectrum, I find it unfathomable as to how the anti-vaccination movement can find a mind like mine so appalling that they feel justified in risking their child being crippled or killed by preventable diseases like Polio and Whooping Cough…..

Not to mention the suggestion that vaccines and Autistic Spectrum Disorders are linked is unfounded rubbish.”

The intelligent young man who penned these words happens to have Asperger’s Syndrome and is my nephew.