Today is my lovely Dad’s birthday. Here is a picture of him, drawn on one of those etch-a-sketch things by my fabulous niece Lauren (I think she was five at the time).
Dad / Dadoo / Dooey. Or you can call him Pat.
There’s a quote from the book that I wrote about yesterday that has stuck with me since I read it and it reminds me very much of my Dad and my Mom. And so, for the day that’s in it, I’ve included it here. Because they really doknow that this stuff matters. What’s even better, they really do live like this stuff matters. And to me, that’s pretty amazing.
[from We Are Called To Rise, by Laura McBride]And here’s a photo of little Pat, with his brother Jim. Pat is the curly haired larrikin on the right. And although he hasn’t worn a tie much since this picture was taken, he still has a unique sense of style. Happy happy birthday to my amazing Dad!
Hi there. It’s been a while since I last posted. I’m not really sure why that is – time has been filled with stuff and things and to be honest, I haven’t really felt like writing. In the face of happenings in the real world, the silliness of finding and sharing everyday sparks sometimes seems so ridiculous. I mean, people are suffering and getting sick and breaking up and shutting down and doing mean things. Then again, people are also being born, getting healthy, having fun, making things, doing good, starting again, having adventures and laughing. Right?
I also know that whatever is going on, I am still noticing those everyday sparks – whether they’re funny, silly, weird, nice, scary or quirky. And now I feel like getting back into sharing them here. In case we like some of the same sorts of things and I’ve seen stuff that you haven’t. Because we could all use some sparks to make us smile or grimace or snort or make that tsk tsk sound from time to time, I reckon. While we’re dealing with all of those happenings in the real world.
To get back into the swing of things, here are some pics of the baby chimp born at our Taronga Zoo here in Sydney over the weekend. Some classic shots for the family album.
Shiba and her baby boy. [photo by Lisa Ridley]The Fam. [photo by Lisa Ridley, from the Taronga Zoo Facebook page]And my favourite. [image by Lisa Ridley, from the Taronga Zoo Facebook page]You’re welcome!
I was out with my lovely friend Jen last week and we were talking about our lives over a nice bottle of pinot gris. I was talking about how I’m at a bit of a crossroads and not sure what to do next and Jen told me about a course that someone at her work had told the HR peeps about. It’s a free online course that they’re trialling at Harvard University – Unlocking the Immunity to Change.
A lot of time and effort and psychological brain power has gone into the development of this course (and the Immunity to Change process that sits behind it), which seems – in a nutshell – to support the proposition that you can teach an old dog new tricks. So, when people say, “I’m too old to learn X”, or, “I’ve always been like this – too late to change now”, or, “There is no way that I can stop/start doing Y”, it may well be a load of nonsense.
Apparently, this process gives you easy steps to help focus on a self development type of goal – maybe one that you’ve struggled with for a while, but have never been able to achieve. Through the online course (which has a very user-friendly interface and lots of support – I’ve just checked out the introductory info for Week 1), you’ll be guided through the process and invited to participate in activities. There’s no pressure – you don’t have to comment on forums or submit assignments, but the obvious suggestion is that if you’re really interested in achieving your goal, you might as well have a crack at the activities that the experts provide.
Anyways, if you’re interested in this course too, you can sign up for it here and the first week of readings/activities etc starts from Tuesday.
I’m a bit of a geek and have always wanted to study at Harvard, so the online course commitment was an easy decision for this old dog. And whether you are hoping to give up smoking or join the circus or lose weight or run a marathon or fold a fitted sheet, you might like to join me.
Yesterday, I went shopping for a new pair of shoes. Not just ordinary shoes, but a pair of soccer boots. For me. Because I AM GOING TO PLAY SOCCER. Yes, really. I’m excited and nervous and not sure what I am doing (literally, as I have never ever played soccer before). And those are pretty much the reasons that I said yes when my friend Janet asked me if I wanted to join her in a new team for mature (cough, cough) ladies.
There’s a quote that I’ve seen somewhere that asks When was the last time you did something for the first time? Particularly after my Camino experience last year, it has really sunk in that the older we get, the less we try new things. Not necessarily because we’ve done them all already, but often because we feel like the time has passed to give something new a go. Maybe we just don’t see new opportunities, or we quickly say no (I couldn’t possibly do that!) because we’re scared, or it could just be the irresistible lure of that ol’ comfort zone. Boo.
My friend Jo started singing lessons in her late 30s because it was something she’d always wanted to try. It quickly became one of her favourite things. My folks learned how to use an ipad and iphone in their 70s. Aside from the occasional emergency calls for tech support (WHY HAS MY WORDS WITH FRIENDS GONE BLANK?), it’s opened up a whole new interesting world of technology for them. My sister-in-law started piano lessons in her 40s and can now play the theme song from Titanic (ok, so that’s possibly not a highlight). My virtual friend Jo (from This Sydney Life) finally satisfied a long-standing curiosity and took up crochet, attending a local class, with some hilarious results.
And so I went into 2014 with a focus on saying yes to more things – especially new things – or, at least, not immediately saying no. Which is where my new boots come in – they’re pinker than pink, with a fluoro green lining and I found it a little intimidating just prancing around the shop in them.
Uh huh.
I’m going to my first training session on Thursday night (it runs for two – count them, TWO – hours) and hopefully the people will be nice (and patient!) and my shoes will give me super powers and it will be fun. Whatever happens from here, just saying yes can be pretty exciting!
Last week, in an effort to broaden my horizons and learn new things, I joined in the Start the new YOU now ULTIMATE WEBINAR (their emphasis) from self-help guru and publishing house giant, Louise Hay. Louise herself is enough to have piqued my curiosity – still very active and involved in her business, in good health and seemingly of sound mind, at the age of 87. In the videos that I saw, she looked to be rockin’ some forward fashion and a pixie ‘do, with the front of her hair dip-dyed bright red.
There were a lot of experts sharing their ideas in this ULTIMATE WEBINAR – some very interesting possibilities and helpful tips for living a healthier and happier life. But it was something in the nutrition seminar that really caught my attention and impressed me enough to share it.
They were talking about good nutrition and how a big part of that is successful elimination of waste from our bodies. You know, pooping. And they spoke about how important it is that you get rid of stuff that your body doesn’t need. Then Louise spoke about the link between that and the rest of your life – and that was the zingy bit that stayed with me.
Louise spoke about how some people live their lives as if they have eliminated the bad / unwanted stuff, flushed and then reached down in the toilet to retrieve the poop back from the pipes to study it. Gross. But the analogy works. Instead of letting go of things that are gone / in the past, we bring them back up to analyse and re-analyse and then analyse some more. What if I did this? What if I said that? I wonder what that really meant? All generally very unhelpful as the situation has passed.
When Louise finds herself doing this – rehashing something that has passed and needs to be let go – she reminds herself of the poop analogy by saying, “FLUSH, LOUISE. FLUSH.” If you substitute your name for Louise’s, I think it’s a pretty nifty reminder when you’re tempted to dwell on the past. Especially if it’s poop from the past, if you know what I mean. Instead, FLUSH!
![[from We Are Called To Rise, by Laura McBride]](https://everydaysparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/quote.jpg)
![Shiba and her baby boy. [photo by Lisa Ridley]](https://everydaysparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/shibababy.jpg?w=840)
![The Fam. [photo by Lisa Ridley, from the Taronga Zoo Facebook page]](https://everydaysparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/chimpfam.jpg?w=840)
![And my favourite. [image by Lisa Ridley, from the Taronga Zoo Facebook page]](https://everydaysparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/chimpschillaxing.jpg?w=840)
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