My great teacher – the wise old soul that is my still young daughter – recently helped set me right, yet again. I’ve recently become embroiled in a situation that seems unfair. It seems that I will be denied something that I feel I deserve and have a right to receive and I was railing about this great injustice, singing the ‘woe is me’ song loudly.
She let me vent for a moment, then she punctured my self-pity with this gem: (more…)
Tatum O’Neal was on Oprah yesterday (here in Australia) and I just had to write about it. She was telling of her recent headline-making arrest for possession of cocaine. Some months ago she said on a previous Oprah show that she was attending a twelve step program to help her beat her addictions and this latest arrest broke a ten month period of abstinence.
My heart goes out to her. She spoke of the deep-seated unworthiness she feels, even going so far as to admit that she has trouble feeling she has a right to be here. It was shocking to hear that regardless of what I could see as her physical beauty, her remarkable talents and gifts, and her three beautiful children, she still cannot muster the love of self we all need to hold our own space in the world. (more…)
How do you feel when you hear blokes urge their mates and colleagues on by calling them “a big girl’ when they fail to achieve a certain – usually physical – target. Or when someone who expresses their true feelings or opinions and it is met with a joshing ”you’re so gay!”
We have all said something like this. We know no malice is intended. As my friend said, he says things like this because it is a sort of shorthand. We all know what is meant, without having to say more. (more…)
There is a new song on the radio about the desire to be rich and famous. The song is about becoming famous enough to be on the Oprah show, and the general craving for acknowledgment and recognition. The final line of the chorus is “I want to be a billionaire, real frickin’ bad” suggesting that all our dreams turn on enormous amounts of money.
Robert Ohotto, a world famous astrologer and author, points to the increasing number of young people who genuinely believe that it’s in their stars to be a star. In fact, he argues, this desire does not arise from a genuine love of acting or singing, but rather a deep-seated desire to be ‘recognised’ on a grand scale. (more…)
I am finally back in my home town. After twelve weeks in the land of the free and the brave I have now been thrust unceremoniously into the land of the cold, the wet and the grey. Undeterred by the low temperatures however, I walked my daughter into the city yesterday, a bright and cheerful mecca for this city of incorrigible coffee drinkers.
On my way home I came upon a small cluster of abortion protestors. This surprised me; it is something one expects more from where I just came, than where I come from. (more…)