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Forever grateful

9/26/2016

6 Comments

 
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Gratitude has the power to change my day, my relationships, and even my life.
 
It's a choice we make every day, the choice not to focus on what we don’t have but to embrace and appreciate what we do have. It’s the choice to live with a mindset of abundance rather than scarcity.  
 
That truth came home to me forcibly one day when I met Samuel. He was seven years old and had never walked; polio had robbed him of that privilege. I’d travelled by motorbike with a physiotherapy assistant, way beyond roads and even dirt tracks, to a small mud brick house in the bush in Burkina Faso.

Samuel crawled to the front door to meet us, obviously pleased to see us even though he knew that the next hour would mean a lot of pain. Slowly and carefully his leg muscles were massage and stretched … deeper and deeper into the tissue until eventually he was able to stand with calipers in a walking frame.
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As I sat in the dust and dirt surrounded by scrawny chickens pecking for that elusive bit of grain, I saw that moment of joy and excitement as Samuel took a few steps on his not-yet-ready-to walk-alone legs. But he was upright, he was moving and he was beaming with hope. Hope that one day he would be able to live with dignity … not crawling on all fours, but walking with his head high … running and playing like other children … able to be a useful member of the family and no longer a-hidden-away-embarrassment.


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I don’t think I have ever felt so humbled. My tears were tears of joy for him, but also because of a deep-down-wide-awake awareness of how much I take for granted every day and every moment of the day. I felt overwhelmed … it was one of those moments for which I will forever be grateful … a reality check of just how ‘rich’ I really was.

I asked the physio how long before Samuel would be able to walk on his own, “about twelve months”, he said. Twelve months of painful exercise but administered with great compassion and love. Twelve months of joyful anticipation of a life changed forever.
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Gratitude can be life changing. It changes your mood and lightens your spirit.  There is growing scientific evidence that gratitude activates the hypothalamus, which is responsible for such bodily functions such as hunger, sleep, metabolism and stress levels. Gratitude helps the hypothalamus do its job more efficiently so grateful people often sleep better and recover quicker from stressful situations. They are more positive and suffer less depression. Science is also finding that gratitude has a powerful impact on our immune and cardiovascular health.
 
And gratitude can be contagious … don’t you love being around a truly grateful person! Have you ever noticed the visible lift of the shoulders and look of surprise or delight when you take a moment to thank a stranger who has been kind in some way.  What an example for our children … parents who live with a grateful heart model gratitude to their children, helping them develop into grateful adults.

In a world where we are bombarded daily with man’s inhumanity to man, it’s good to be reminded that two of the most powerful forces in the universe, love and gratitude, are free and ours to choose to enjoy and to give away to make a difference in our corner of the world.
 
I've been keeping a gratitude journal before I go to bed each night ... just three things I've been grateful for that day... it's often the small things, a cool breeze after a long hot day, a hug from a friend, sunrise, sunset, a phone call from someone who cares, a warm bed, raindrops on thirsty soil, an opportunity to help a friend .... it's nice to go to sleep with a grateful heart. 
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What are you most grateful for?  Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.



 
 
 
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6 Comments

A Cinderella Story

9/19/2016

3 Comments

 
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The view from our fifth story apartment looked out over the rooftops of Rome. The location was perfect, two minutes walk from The Pantheon. Unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for the view outside the front door when we stepped out the next morning … a laneway lined with graffiti-covered roller doors.

We hurried passed the litter-strewn ugliness, eager to make the most of our early start. The Trevi fountain, the Spanish Steps, magnificent gardens and awe-inspiring architecture dovetailed into a long leisurely morning.
Returning to our apartment for a late lunch, we thought we’d lost our way. The roller doors had given way to row upon row of outdoor cafes, quintessential Italian bakeries and delicatessens. The cafes were alive with chatter and laughter and the aroma filling the laneway was both heady and tantalising. How could we resist?

As we sat waiting for our order, I noticed this fruit barrow in the doorway. Its every detail seemed to reflect the beauty all around us … the atmosphere, the vibrancy of the food and wine, the light heartedness of the people.  It was one of those moments you remember forever.
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As we wandered home through the laneway that evening, candles had been lit, fairy lights danced in the still night air and the laneway took on a romantic and magical air. Waiters decked out in black and white … voices now hushed and soft, and dress more formal. Plates were shared and wine sipped. We enjoyed the most amazing cannelloni I have ever tasted. It truly was a Cinderella experience.

Early next morning we stepped out into the laneway to Cinderella’s tattered rags and a lonely pumpkin discarded against the graffiti-covered roller door.

3 Comments

A Dying Art

9/11/2016

1 Comment

 
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I have a friend who has learnt the art of listening. Not just to my words, but to the cry of my heart and the longing of my soul. The questions he asks lets me know he’s heard me, that’s he’s not thinking about the next think he wants to say or the other things on his to do list. I have his undivided attention.

It’s a gift. Something I don’t experience very often. It seems as if listening has become a dying art. In the busyness of life it’s easy to be distracted with our own thoughts, plans and decisions, and conversations somehow become part of the to-do list.
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In The Road to Daybreak, Henri Nouwen said, "To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, welcome, to accept”.

Listening is one of the greatest of human attributes. Love and true intimacy depend on being heard. We only really get to know someone when we take time to listen, not just to their words but to their heart. Listening opens the door to understanding and in the process something amazing happens … the person feels heard and the door is opened wider.
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But listening requires a sacrifice of my time and a giving up of myself for another. Whether that is to hear the still small voice of God or the cry of my friend, neighbour or child is it an investment I am willing to make?

Do you have a friend who listens well or are you that friend? Is that a gift you are giving your child? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
1 Comment

All about chocolate

9/4/2016

2 Comments

 
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I have to confess I’m a serious chocoholic … dark, rich, smooth and high quality and I’m in chocolate heaven. Death by chocolate may well be on my tombstone. So when I heard that the new world-class glasshouse in the Royal Botanic Gardens had a botanical adventure through chocolate, I was curious.

The exhibition, entitled Sweet Addiction, takes visitors through the making of chocolate from the pollination of the cacao seeds by mosquitoes to the invention of the first chocolate bar in 1799. And at the end there is a chance to win a year’s worth of chocolate by guessing the number of Lindt balls displayed on a gigantic framed chocolate artwork! That’s a prize I definitely want to win.

The Calyx is a $17 million steel and glass cathedral for plants … a miniature Amazonian rainforest. Cacao trees, vanilla orchids, anthuriums, heucheras, palms and ferns thrive in the tropical humidity. The glasshouse features a living wall 51 metres long and six metres high, the largest in the southern hemisphere. Eighteen thousand individually potted plants are brilliantly orchestrated to create a kaleidoscope of colour and design, including a very contented looking cow … and chocolate mint.


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Pod of the Cacao tree
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Bromeliad
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Anthurium - larges genus of the Arum family
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Daisy the cow
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Living wall containing 18,000 potted plants
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The glasshouse is a living gallery and a theatrical and educational arena all ​enveloped in one inspirational space for ever-changing exhibitions. 
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An enchanting, inspiring and delightful place to spend an hour or two. Oh and it's cheaper if you book online.
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And look what I found later wandering through the Botanic Gardens … stunning Hippeastrum
2 Comments

A Cinderella story

9/1/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
The view from our fifth story apartment looked out over the rooftops of Rome. The location was perfect, two minutes walk from The Pantheon. Unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for the view outside the front door when we stepped out the next morning … a laneway lined with graffiti-covered roller doors.
​
We hurried passed the litter-strewn ugliness, eager to make the most of our early start. The Trevi fountain, the Spanish Steps, magnificent gardens and awe-inspiring architecture dovetailed into a long leisurely morning.



Returning to our apartment for a late lunch, we thought we’d lost our way. The roller doors had given way to row upon row of outdoor cafes, quintessential Italian bakeries and delicatessens. The cafes were alive with chatter and laughter and the aroma filling the laneway was both heady and tantalising. How could we resist?
As we sat waiting for our order, I noticed this fruit barrow in the doorway. Its every detail seemed to reflect the beauty all around us … the atmosphere, the vibrancy of the food and wine, the light heartedness of the people. It was one of those moments you remember forever.
Picture
Picture
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As we wandered home through the laneway that evening, candles had been lit, fairy lights danced in the still night air and the laneway took on a romantic and magical air. Waiters decked out in black and white … voices now hushed and soft, and dress more formal. Plates were shared and wine sipped. We enjoyed the most amazing cannelloni I have ever tasted. It truly was a Cinderella experience.

Early next morning we stepped out into the laneway to Cinderella’s tattered rags and a lonely pumpkin discarded against the graffiti-covered roller door.
0 Comments

    Author

    Glenyss Barnham
    ​I'm a mother and grandmother who loves  discovering beauty in unexpected places.

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