Remember back in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic was announced? When the Australian government locked its citizens out of the country and locked us up in hotels if we did manage to get home? And remember when they charged us $3,000 for quarantine – a public health measure – that
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I have been thinking a lot about apologies lately. Particularly how powerful they are to aid healing and restore relationships, and how an apology that is half-baked or underdone or passive-agressive is worse than no apology. I mean, an apology that doesn’t include the words “I’m so sorry for [insert
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I came across this essay in my reading last week and liked the form and wanted to try it. Coincidentally, I ran into an old spark a week or so ago and wanted write about that encounter. This essay kills two birds with one stone. *** As it happened, I
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In 2011, I wrote a post that put forward a number of things that I knew for sure. These were observations and experiences over almost 50 years. I read through that post recently (I’m updating my blog, in case you’re wondering) and thought it was due for an update. Actually,
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UPDATE: Submissions have now been published. Here’s mine – #659. Everything is there, except they have redacted the phrase where I said I had (undiagnosed) PTSD. I guess they are only publishing verifiable information. On 21 September, 2023 (my 60th birthday) Prime Minister Albanese announced that there would be an
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1. Firstly: some context Many years ago — more than 10 — I wrote a new-agey post about soul contracts, although back then I called it a life theme. In case you don’t want to read it (it’s quite short), here is the guts of it: Before we take human
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Mandatory hotel quarantine was introduced by the Australian government in March 2020 as a public health measure in response to COVID-19. It was free for everyone returning from overseas or interstate until July 2020, at which time the government began charging $3000 per person. Listen to my podcast if you’d
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This is new. Well, new as in I haven’t felt this happy and hopeful for a long time. From memory, the middle of 2018 was the last time. In 2018, I was living in Hanoi and my rose coloured glasses were still camouflaging the realities of living in a developing
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My best friend, soul-mate and constant companion for the last 15 years died on Friday, 26 August at 7.15 PM. I had to make the difficult decision to put Bella to sleep because her kidneys had failed. It happened very quickly. To say I am heartbroken is an understatement. I
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1. I’m still somewhat out of sorts. It’s got nothing to do with depression because I’m not depressed; I have no trouble getting out of bed, and there is no black cloud hanging over me. It’s got nothing to do with motivation either: I’m committed to being able to run
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My darling daughter, On Mother’s Day, every year, I like to remember when you were born. You came into the world at 2:07 am on March 24, 1993. It was the happiest, most joyous, wonderful day of my life. When you were born, I held you in my arms—after a
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When it’s cold in Hanoi – the air weirdly humid and the moisture from the air collects on my face, which I blot with a serviette that leaves traces of delicate, white paper on my forehead and cheeks like freckles – the weather is perfect for soup. Actually, in Vietnam,
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