You Could End Up Anywhere...

From the age of five years, after my family immigrated from Germany to Australia, I grew up in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne. I enjoyed my childhood in town, completed my education and backpacked through Europe. I never completely felt like a 'city girl', as the country and especially the beach forever beckoned, and I knew I would end up somewhere rural. I just wasn't sure in which scenario this would eventuate, when or where.

Then in 2000 I met my now husband, Anthony. Although he had spent the previous twenty years in Melbourne, he was born in Leongatha and grew up in northern Victoria. He had country and cattle surging through his blood and every free moment granted, he would head for those beautiful, green, rolling hills that accumulated the further south he drove. I too felt more and more at peace and free when I accompanied him.

In 2002 Anthony and I made the significant decision to buy a farm in Middle Tarwin, South Gippsland. His family had owned and farmed the land for three generations and he remembers climbing the big Cyprus trees during school holidays as a young child. If the property was not bought by a family member, it would be sold along with his family's legacy. Anthony did not, under any circumstances, want this to happen and made appropriate arrangements to see to it that we would take over the farm and continue to raise beef cattle, as his family had previously and successfully pursued for so long, regardless of inevitable floods and droughts.

So, I was introduced to beef cattle and I learnt to get down and dirty like never before! We would head south to the farm most weekends, as we still resided and worked in Melbourne during that time, and Anthony attempted to teach me cattle work and all that went with it.

I remember the first time I stepped into the cattle yards. It was a boiling, hot, dusty day and I was surrounded by huge, multicultural bullocks, as well as 1000 little, black bush flies, who were driving me insane, trying to crawl up my nose, in my ears and mouth. The cattle were all staring at me, while many were opening their bowels. It was smelly and overwhelming. They looked enormous and scary, however, there was little time to be fearful. The job of drafting the animals had to get done and it all occurred so quickly, there was no time to think of anything other than the job at hand. I wasn't a natural, but I gave my best.

In 2005 we decided to move to South Gippsland. It was time to bite the bullet and make a good go of the farm. Anthony thrived and blossomed as he built his successful cattle business with his extraordinary business sense. I admire him greatly for all he has achieved.

Apart from the daily farm chores, having managed the building of our house, growing a garden and caring for our beautiful furry family – members big and small, I have been employed in various local part-time positions and still am to this day.

I always knew I would live in a beautiful rural area, just not in which scenario, where or when.........and a most glorious beach is only a ten minute drive away.

 

 

New Year Resolutions...How are they going?

The beginning of the year has come and gone and the new year's resolutions are well into progression...Or are they? What did the start of 2016 mean for you?? New life plans? New goals that you dive into, like a bull at a gate, with every intention to reach the desired destination, which you have endeavoured to reach each new year?

We tell ourselves this time we will make it happen. With motivation and determination we commence our new process of reaching our goals, be they to lose weight, to exercise, to smell the roses more, to create balance in our lives and so on.

And initially we proceed really well, equipped with positive thoughts and serious yearning for our desires....Our intentions are pure and direct …...until our thought world quickly begins to throw in compromises, exceptions and finally excuses. Then we succumb to our old ways, either unintentionally or purposefully, thinking, 'What's the use?'

From there we experience an overwhelming feeling of guilt and failure, and often (what we perceive to be) the problematic behaviour, becomes more intensified than before. We continue to beat ourselves up. We are experts at this!

So then, more often that not, we continue to indulge more deeply into our unwanted behaviour. We now also have a detrimental state of mind, making us think and feel less of ourselves than before. Due to this negative energy we portray, every other relationship in our lives and all tasks we perform is expressed from the seed of our present negative belief, such as we are weak and unworthy. If we have previously attempted to change many times, this feeling of weakness continues to multiply.

 

This process is ridiculously soul harming on so many levels!!

 

Let's face it, life is short. Too short to live in such a negatively tainted way.

Contain your feelings. Yes, you may have not achieved yet what you had intended, but you will try again, and you will succeed when the 'time is right' for you. Avoid sinking into feelings of 'letting people down'. It's not their goal, it's yours. It's your life and your life is a play where you are the main actor. Don't indulge in a feeling of failure, creating a negative aura. Yesterday is gone and today is a new day. You cannot change the past, however you can work towards the future in a positive way with excitement and anticipation, expecting good things to come....and with that energy, I promise you, they will come!

So please, be kind to yourself. Keep trying your best to make the changes you are wanting, but with a little less pressure.... It's ok,...... really : )

 

 

Life Is Full Of Blessings (whether you notice them all or not)...

I've come to a realisation this week! I always feel extremely grateful for my life, as wonderful experiences come my way constantly. Sure, challenges have their place too, and while initially they can create angst, they always pass without too much damage.

I am reading another spiritual book presently (very slowly - when I allow myself the time), which offers tasks to undertake in each chapter, proving there is an invisible force or field of infinite possibilities and it's ours for the taking. Yes, everyone! Apparently I (we) can access this force at any time, simply by paying attention.

I have heard this spoken of before and I agree that yes, we do create our life experiences either consciously or subconsciously. I believe we attract what we fear or what we spend time thinking about, hence bringing these experiences to life, into the physical form. So if we focus on what we want, as opposed to what we don't want, we can attract these desires. BUT, I question this spiritual truth sometimes, as I certainly did not manifest my beautiful feline contracting FIV, and ultimately having to be euthanised due to secondary symptoms of Cat Aids. I had never heard of FIV, so how could I have manifested this, when I had never thought about it!? 

So, the first chapter of the book asked me to give this invisible force a particular time frame (I decided 48 hours) in which to send me a gift/blessing in some way, shape or form. I'm talking, asking without feeling selfish or guilty, which I admit can be an issue for me. I decided to humor myself and went ahead and asked anyway.

Reminding myself often to be mindful of blessings arriving during the next two days, I realised how fortunate I am because blessings or gifts came constantly and made me even more aware of how wonderful my life is! Each time a 'blessing' arrived, I asked myself, 'Is this the gift?'

During the two days, I was surprised by a visit from a young, beautiful woman, whom I had never met before, who is the daughter of a cousin of mine overseas. I knew she was working/travelling in Australia, however I didn't know when she would arrive in our little town. There she suddenly was and it was truly a gift for my husband and I. Was she the gift I had asked for?

I have recently been diligently working to bring assistance to our lovely, local wildlife carers/rescuers through various channels, and during those two days an article I had written to support them was published in three local papers, reaching two shires. I was so thankful, to say the least. Was this the gift? 

The above events that happened blew me away, however there were other blessings I was granted during that specific time. My beautiful brother gave me a gorgeous animal-rescue calendar he had bought especially for me, knowing how much I adore animals of any kind. Was that the gift? My horse's eye ulcer had healed through medication I had been adminstering daily. Was that the gift? My husband took me out for dinner, which time doesn't allow for very often. Was that the gift?

I had already received so many wonderful blessings and that's just in two days! However one more special gift was granted and I just 'knew' this was the intended gift from Spirit. My gut feeling told me so. I was casually scrolling through Face Book when I came across a beautiful, spiritual reading a friend had shared, of which the words spoke straight to my heart.

The piece was about how we are never alone, not to be sad when a loved one passes, as their essence is still present, and how continuously loved we all are. Those messages always warm my heart and confirm my beliefs.

So, it was brought to my attention that every day there are a number of special gifts that arrive. Some are more subtle than others, however all are significant in their own way.

Why don't you try this exercise too? Ask this invisible force to grant you a gift within a particular time span. Don't specify the gift. Let yourself be surprised, for you will know when it arrives. Ask, let go.....and see what eventuates. I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised :)

Dear Friend....

Dear Friend,

You are strong, knowledgeable, patient and kind.

Your inner strength shines through your persona,

your integrity is inspiring and your loyalty is unquestionable.

Stand tall, hold your head high and walk forward fearlessly,

knowing you are an honorable, decent person. You can trust in life because

karma will reward you, even though troubling personal lessons are

thrown your way to remind you of what you do not want within your existence.

Rise above 'now insignificant' past issues and manifest wonderful

opportunities into your life through a positive attitude.

Do not allow yourself to dwell on the past.

The past is gone forever...

It is now your time to shine. Listen to and follow your heart,

then everything you endeavour to pursue will create happiness.

You deserve all this and more, for you have given unconditionally

so much and for so long. It's time to place 'you' in the limelight.

Follow your dreams, one step at a time, with love and trust in

your heart that all is well at each moment....and it will be.

You are such a beautiful person.

Don't ever doubt yourself, your worth.

This year is your year!

It's ok to allow your heart to sing

Go and make your personal mark in this world....       :)