Biting the Bullet ...

As news of another corona outbreak in Melbourne rang in my ears, I realised I had to stop procrastinating. It was time to bite the bullet and step up to the readily available Covid-19 vaccine. I knew it was a necessary requirement, but felt dubious and a little fearful of the unknown, long term effects of the young booster. Until now I wasn't prepared to be a trend-setter and had decided to wait, hovering in the background. I'm certain I wasn't on my own.

However, another lockdown? Surely not! I believed we'd moved past these severe restrictions. I thought quarantine issues were finally understood and managed well in Victoria. I was convinced Australia, our vast island, was relatively safe, but no. It was time to put my big girl's pants on and take the jab. How else would this world ever open up again if we are not all immunised?!

On a mission, I immediately rang the medical centre to book an appointment time, assuming I would need to wait a few weeks before being seen. This would give me sufficient time to mentally prepare myself, I thought. However, two days later I found myself warily standing in the waiting room! Eyes peering out from over the top of all too familiar masks, I approached reception struggling to hear the young lady's directions. I accepted the face protection was mandatory and beneficial, but the impersonal aspect overwhelmed me just as it did throughout 2020.

The comfortably warm waiting room portrayed an organised busyness. Medical staff were constantly venturing in, out and through the spacious area calling patients' names. I admired and respected their dedication. A friendly receptionist with comforting, smiling eyes, which I immensely appreciated, handed me a form of extensive health questions to fill out while I waited my turn. I was still feeling a little apprehensive at this stage and as I looked around the room, I wondered how many others resonated with me. It seemed most were there for the same reason I was.

Interrupting my unhelpful train of thoughts, a seemingly efficient nurse suddenly appeared from nowhere and called my name. She then proceeded to voice a second name and it became clear two patients were shown into a consultation room at one time to be given the vaccine consecutively.

As I stood up and headed towards Nurse Nancy, I scanned the room wondering who I was to share this unnerving experience with. Then I noticed a little, old lady emanating a determined air of confidence. She had already reached Nancy and both were waiting for me to front up! I quickly hurried not to keep them and the orderly process waiting.

Faye, my vaccine comrade, sat down and promptly pulled up her sleeve ready for action. I started to unpeel my cardigan as I stumbled over my words, attempting to pick Nancy's brain one last time about the Astrazeneca vaccine, which was about to invade my body. Before I had completely removed my cardigan I had unobtrusively been administered the booster.

It was done.

Faye was next and didn't flinch an eyelid. There was no uncertainty or fear about her. She knew the intervention was necessary to protect her as much as possible from the dreaded virus. She seemingly breezed through the process with unshakable trust in Nurse Nancy and the vaccine. Although I am 180cm tall and towered over Faye, I suddenly felt extremely small!

Faye and I returned to the waiting room together and were required to sit for fifteen minutes in case any undesirable reactions surfaced encouraged by the booster. We chatted as we watched the clock together. Faye, who lives on her farm in Fish Creek, proudly disclosed she was in her nineties and felt fortunate to have suffered minimal health issues during her lengthy lifetime. Her happy, wise and content persona was inspiring and I felt honoured to share her company.

While Faye waited for her lift, I left the medical premises on the fifteen minute stroke and drove home, reassuring myself I'd half completed my duty towards healing the world. I was feeling good. Easy peasy, I thought. With a new appointment time booked, I would return in twelve weeks to complete the immunisation program and hope to once again cross paths with my new, elderly friend.

The following day I awoke feeling a little ordinary with a dull overall ache, which lasted the morning. A headache followed and remained for the afternoon. It wasn't an uncommon reaction I was told. I wondered how Faye pulled up and hoped her astounding, healthy track record continued throughout the post vaccine period.

The world population needs the administration of a Covid-19 vaccine to once again enjoy some sort of universal normality. I believe Corona isn't going anywhere. I feel we're obliged to adjust to life with and around the damaging virus strains, similar to the many illnesses we already endure on a daily basis. Seriously, what choice do we have? Do we wish to sit in our protected homes for the rest of our lives without social integration? I certainly don't! I've now taken the first step toward normalcy. Whether I feel apprehensive or not, it makes no difference. If the vaccine allows us to lead full, rich, purposeful lives, surely it's in our best interests to globally welcome the jab.

Faye being giving the Covid-19 booster by Nurse Nancy

Winter is drawing near in Australia ...

As I watch the rain pelt down through the living room window, I feel for the cattle huddled together in the far corners of the distant paddocks. The poor, young calves are shaking their little heads in an attempt to escape the pounding raindrops. The chilly wind is brutal as it forcefully blows sideways across the land and between the herds. It makes me shiver as I watch them. The seasons are definitely changing. I can't believe how quickly time continues to fly by. Before we know it, we will refer to the first half of 2021 in past tense as we enter the depths of winter. Winter already! How can that be?

When our coldest season springs to mind, I think of delicious, hot showers, cosy fires, spicy, thick soups, snuggle blankets and entertaining books to curl up with. That's after I've tackled frozen, numb fingers and toes, rosy cheeks, a runny nose, gumboots, mud, rain, frost and peeling off copious amounts of warm layers. The mornings are brisk and dark as I rise, while dusk descends as I return home at the end of each day. The hours of daylight seem to impulsively up their tempo.

However, I enjoy the diverse seasons we are fortunate to experience. Each feels unique in its own right and for me, creates a particular frame of mind. I tend to withdraw a little in winter and look within, contemplating ways to realise the dormant dreams I have yet to fulfill. I plan my wish list during the frosty months, armed and ready to take action as fertile spring emerges and typically showers me with renewed, vibrant energy. It's exciting moving forward with fresh insights learnt from past experiences. I just wish, as I continue to mature, time would slow down a tad.

Nevertheless, it is what it is and all is relatively well. I remind myself to take each day as it comes, for no one is promised tomorrow, and enjoy each hour to the best of my ability. Whether it's pressing work I need to complete or an activity I happily lose myself in, all is to be mindfully embraced, appreciated and deserving of my all.

May we all keep warm and healthy as we enter the cooler months ...

How lucky we are in Australia

How lucky we are in this beautiful country of ours! While much of the globe continues to struggle to tame the rampant Covid-19 health challenge, and some countries still experiencing devastating crisis, we are comparably safe on our vast island.

Initially, through trial and error,  fumbling our way to contain the growth of the unprecedented, unwelcomed antagonist, we have achieved massive results leading up to now. Predominantly we have listened to the voice of authority and heeded the guidance of our country's health specialists. We've done exceptionally well.

However, without sounding ungrateful, for I know how extremely fortunate I am, my thoughts tend to venture to around the late 1700's when over a significant period of time, various parts of our country confined overseas offenders. With an international travel ban in place (and rightly so), I feel a tad imprisoned on our golden soil.

Male prisoners were generally utilised as labourers to construct roads and buildings or put to use on government farms. The more  educated among them were placed in administration work. Convict woman too were useful on farms and were typically instructed to engage in domestic duties. 

I happen to carry out most of these activities on a daily basis, although I haven't broken any laws and do not wear a ball and chain around my ankle! Thanks to the pandemic I am, in a contemporary sense, somewhat feeling a minuscule sensation of our roots.

I miss overseas travel terribly. Finally reaching a stage in life equipped to frequently enjoy exploring different cultures and environments, my dream remains treading water. Hugging loved ones across the seas is but a surreal, distant memory. 

Besides the travel bubble presently in place between Australia and New Zealand (excluding Western Australia), the recommencement of international travel elsewhere is overshadowed by speculation and mystery. Department of Health Secretary Dr Brendan Murphy states, "It depends largely on the status of Australia's nationwide vaccine program. Even if we have a lot of the population vaccinated, we don't know whether that will prevent transmission of the virus." 

Some major airlines like Qantas plan to restart their international flight schedules from October in line with our country's vaccination program. Although travel restrictions and government advice changes frequently, there are conversations of establishing travel bubbles with low risk countries in Asia and the South Pacific, such as Singapore, Fiji, Vanuatu, Japan and South Korea - as long as all travellers have had the jab. However, I'm not holding my breath!

Now is the perfect, and more or less, only opportunity to relish in Australian adventures. Our nation has some of the most incredible, diverse 'must sees', in the world, which never fail to take our breath away. From the frosty, white peaks of Cradle Mountain to the fiery, red earth around Uluru, the pristine sands of the Whitsunday Islands to the untamed beaches and bush of Wilsons Promontory. Every direction of our vast, beautiful land is waiting to be discovered. The stunning landscapes and differing climates are endless whichever destination you choose.

So if you're due for holidays or simply feel an urgency to nurture your mental health - and your circumstances allow - now is perhaps the ideal time to acquaint yourself with parts of our wondrous continent you haven't yet embraced. Take a road trip and spend your tourist dollars supporting struggling communities along the way or make the most of affordable interstate flights. Continue to practice good hygiene and sensibly social distance wherever possible. Simply be mindful of your environment as you rejuvenate your soul ... and look forward to one day traveling across the oceans again as I do.

One of the stunning sunrises looking across to Wilsons Promontory in Victoria.

The Roller Coaster of Life

 It is written we typically progress through seven stages of our lives. These are noted as infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood and later adulthood.

As I re-read the above words, I am somehow annoyed by their simple, uncompromising and blunt nature. To think of the many, colourful, chaotic shifts we endure or commemorate throughout our lives, these labels seem mere empty, cold words.

Life is one gruelling, dizzying, thrilling roller coaster of emotions. Gut-wrenching trials and tribulations, which can force us to our knees, have the power to change life in an instant. These occur either spontaneously flooring us from left field, or we take the initiatives ourselves to act on difficult, significant, life-changing decisions knowing in our hearts they are ultimately for the greater good.

Then there are the many triumphs, milestones and all the endless events in between, which offer joy, inspiration and cause to wholeheartedly celebrate. All is to be honoured on some level, even the despairing developments. Growth and transformation undeniably arise from the ashes of each experience.

According to Erikson's model of human development (one of many theories), infancy is recognised as the first couple of years after birth when a child is dependent, transitions into an active, inquisitive toddler and learns to speak. This stage, which promotes the most overall growth, is also where a sense of trust is formed.

During early childhood relationships and friendships are established. Healthy, functional connections depend greatly on the development of trust in infancy. Key aspects are independence verses dependence. Children learn to assert themselves, asking for their needs and wants to be met.

Middle childhood revolves around commencing school. Children learn to compare themselves with peers. Feelings of accomplishment or inferiority surface, hence self-esteem, or lack of, continues to form.

The adolescent stage is about developing a sense of self. This is also often referred to as the "identity crisis" period. It is a unique stretch of rapid physical and deep emotional changes. A confusing, uncomfortable, but also exciting time.

Early adulthood refers to our twenties where people begin to solidify their bonds and enter relationships or marriages. Studies or careers have begun and people move away from the nest.

Middle adulthood revolves around life's priorities one has chosen and established, such as raising a family and/or pursuing careers, often paying off a mortgage. Life is typically busy and time flies by. Before you know it, the fifties have arrived!

"Apparently" we have mastered life as we enter our fifties. Having been around half a century, we worry less about others opinions of us, while our self-acceptance, equanimity and contentment increases. Coming into our own and perhaps now freer of family obligations, our fifties allow us pockets of time and space to re-evaluate our existence. We've experienced a kaleidoscope of life's challenges and lessons and we are wiser. We know the drill, or do we?!

The time clock ticks louder. Our hearts break as we bury loved ones way before their time. By now marriages may have broken down, sometimes more than once, and life has changed directions. Numerous, pertinent questions arise, such as:

• What am I really about?

• Am I living the life I desire?

• Have I achieved that which I intended?

• What is it I am here to accomplish anyway?

• Am I making a meaningful contribution to the world?

• Am I fulfilled and happy?

The fifties can be confusing. Our bodies change, menopause may leave women with compromising residues and we perhaps feel a sense of urgency to assess our lives and create monumental changes, possibly well overdue. If we choose to listen, our hearts easily and promptly decipher the answers to our questions. It's our heads that predominantly get in the way of our personal truth.

However, after many interesting conversations with older folk, it seems once we enter our sixth decade confusion is typically replaced with a sweet sense of calm, confidence and clarity. While ageing may lead to various, undesirable physical issues, we tend to feel happier, content and generally more balanced than in previous years. We've sifted through our priorities, goals and dreams and confidently know how we wish to tackle our remaining senior years. Relinquishing old, limited identities we expand, become increasingly empowered and closer to our true selves. We learn not to sweat the small stuff.

At the end of the day, age is but a number. Whichever life stage you find yourself, choose wisely and embrace your selected path. Relish in the triumphs and realise the interwoven messiness, challenges and upheavals of life ultimately reward you with emotional strength, insight and personal growth. Have faith in yourself, always do your best, live life with integrity and act on your gut feelings. Do not allow fear to stand in your way. Remember, life is but a blink of an eye ...