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Monday, December 26, 2022
Sunday, December 25, 2022
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
2023 – Deciding what we want to be
“How
can I protect you in this crazy world” – Lyrics from Aslan.
The
two images you see in this blog post were generated by Artificial Intelligence
ustilising Microsoft Bing Create. Yep – that’s a thing now – check it out.
I
asked AI to create two images. Love in water and hate in water.
I don’t
need to explain to you which is which.
Everything
we do fundamentally is a choice. If we were ever to believe that thoughts are
the creators of good things, why would we choose to think the bad things?
Look
at our world today. What is there? We
can choose to see the wars, the famines, the natural disasters, the diseases
and the poor getting poorer, the so-called middle class just getting by, and the
rich are getting richer.
Look
at our world today? There is a growing consciousness of the above. We see it
but we do not have to accept it. We do not have to choose war. When was the
last time you saw people voting in a referendum to go to war? Yet millions have
marched for peace. And they will again. Peace and love on this planet are the
only cause. Harmony with each other and nature. We call it natural.
“We may think of peace as the absence of war, that if
the great powers would reduce their weapons arsenals, we could have peace. But
if we look deeply into the weapons, we will see our own minds - our own
prejudices, fears, and ignorance.” - Thích Nhất Hạnh
What do
you want to be in 2023? I am not asking what you want to get in the form of
things we can possess. Do you want to be kind? Do you want to be loving? Do you
want to be compassionate? Do you want peace? Do you want these for everyone in
the world and for you?
Do you
want positive change for all? Then you start where you are and be that change.
See the peace. Feel the love. Be Kind. To everyone. Forgive everyone now. Go
inward. Be mindful. Empty the mind and be mindless but not in the mindless way
the word is misused.
The
peacemakers are not only amongst us. They are in you. It is in you to bring
this message to more and more people. Pay it forward. Smile. Let not fear of
fear stop you in your tracks. Let not your mind deceive you that this “little
me” can change the world when it is in fact the only thing that will change the
world.
Start
locally and go globally. Love cannot be killed. Love never dies. Love was never
born. Love always is.
When
you find the space between thoughts linger there a moment. Wisdom lies there.
And your reaction to your thought then becomes your feeling. Your feeling can
then become your action. Your action can then change you and everything around
you.
It has
been said in many ways by many people
Give peace a chance.
What is not love is a cry for love
Love your enemy.
Forgive one another.
There is suffering and there is a way
out of suffering
Love is the greatest force in the universe. It is the heartbeat of the moral cosmos.
Let it be –
there will be an answer.
And so
then, as we look back on what’s called 2022 let us remind ourselves about the
world, we want to live in.
Don’t give
up. Don’t give in. Do let go. Let go of the illusion that we need to kill. The
planet. Our fellow humans. Us.
Make
2023 the year where you discover new ways of thinking and drop the old ways that
do not work for you, your neighbour, your community and the world.
The
world is your community. YOU can make it a better one.
Imagine.
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Monday, December 19, 2022
Sunday, December 18, 2022
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Why mindful leadership?
Why is mindful leadership important?
Mindful leader has the following attributes
·
Selfless
·
Inner peace
·
Calmness
·
Caring
·
Present
·
Attentive
·
Listening
·
Compassion
·
Love
·
Empathy
·
Strength of vison
·
A belief that everything works out every time
because when it doesn’t there is opportunity again and a new approach
·
Connected
·
Recognise emotions as just that and that how we
respond is always up to us
·
Believes that thoughts create things so thinks
the good one
Have any mindful leader in any leadership anywhere in the
world and you will see positive change. Mindful leadership can change the world
for good. A world full of mindful people will care for their fellow citizens
and bring peace to the world.
Sunday, December 11, 2022
Friday, December 9, 2022
Thursday, December 8, 2022
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
Sunday, December 4, 2022
A Voice of Freedom
Imagine the scenario of invading a continent with many countries,
wiping out most of their population, hoisting their flag, saying they
discovered the “country”. Imagine classifying these people as Fauna, putting some
of them in Zoos, stealing their children to bring them up differently and then
celebrate the invasion day as a holiday. Imagine some in the new country still
having racist feelings towards these people both overtly and covertly and governments
introducing policy that does not truly address the generational trauma of these
people.
Imagine this new country today deciding to give these first
nations people “A voice” In parliament. Imagine some major political parties disagreeing
with this.
“A Voice will be a representative body made up of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people from across the country. It sits outside the Parliament
and provides advice to the Parliament and Government on issues that have a
particular impact on Indigenous people.
A Voice will be a representative body made up of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people from across the country. It sits outside the Parliament
and provides advice to the Parliament and Government on issues that have a
particular impact on Indigenous people.”
Source
fromtheheart.com
While I personally support the voice, simply because the
alternative “No” answer is too horrific to even contemplate I believe it simply
does not go far enough.
But here we are, in a continent of nations asking one made up
nation and its majority whose population is now mainly white to vote on
something that should have been enshrined in different ways many years ago.
We are offering the “Voice” while we still celebrate the day this
continent was invaded. Our national flag still has the union Jack i.e. the
invaders flag on it and we sing a national anthem in English and were so "kind" in changing one word in it as some so-called great token to our first nations
people. From “Young and free” to “one and free”. What a big deal.
Tokenism.
We have a National Sorry Day. But are we truly sorry? Maybe it’s
just a National make us feel better day for all the terrible injustices and
problems we have brought to this continent.
I used to ignorantly celebrate Australia Day until I completed a
cultural awareness two day training course.
Most Australians grew up not knowing the true history. History is
oft written by the victorious.
As an Irishman I can experience firsthand what invasion means even
today. I think and write and speak in English. Speaking Irish was once
forbidden in Ireland by the invaders. The native language was practically wiped
up except for some western areas of the island. Over a million starved to death
and another million left the country to survive during the famine genocide in
Ireland. Ireland, abundant with food that was only to be used by the invaders
and shipped offshore. But they allowed the Irish the potato. And when blight
eradicated the potato it eradicated a million lives. Some had to “take the soup”
and change their religion to eat. Yea, look that one up!
Ireland, wrongly is still divided into North and South. But that
will change soon.
What changes for our First Nations people here on this continent?
We will give them a sorry day and “a Voice” but it will sit “outside of
parliament”
A step, but a step not far enough.
The question in the referendum will be
DO YOU SUPPORT AN ALTERATION TO THE CONSTITUTION THAT ESTABLISHES AN
ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER VOICE?
Yes of course but…
Whose constitution? Ours?
“Racial
discrimination became illegal in Australia in 1976, but that hasn’t protected
Indigenous people from still being much worse off, including in terms of
health, education and unemployment. Many end up trapped by poverty and crime.
Today, Australia’s Indigenous kids are 24 times more likely to be locked up
than their non-Indigenous classmates.
New generations have inherited
their relatives’ deep trauma and anger from losing their lands, cultures and
families. To make things worse, the Australian Government has trotted out
policies that effectively take away Indigenous Peoples’ basic rights – such as
the Northern
Territory Intervention – and forced Indigenous people to abandon their homes and communities.”
Source
Amnesty International
Having a voice without having a treaty is very problematic in my
mind.
“This is a major concern for many First Nations people. But why? In short, the lack of treaty in Australia goes to the very heart of the wound in our nation. The absence of a treaty suggests an ongoing denial of the existence, prior occupation and dispossession of First Nations Peoples in Australia and highlights a lack of engagement and relationship between First Nations people and non-Indigenous Australians.
What's a treaty?
"Calls for a treaty in Australia refer to a formal agreement
between the government and First Nations Peoples that would have legal
outcomes. A treaty could recognise First Nations Peoples’ histories and prior
occupation of this land, as well as the injustices many people have endured. It
could also offer a platform for addressing those injustices and help to
establish a path forward based upon mutual goals, rather than ones imposed upon First
Nations people.
Treaties are accepted around the world as a way of reaching a
settlement between First Nations Peoples and people who have colonised their
lands. New Zealand, for example, has the Treaty of Waitangi, an agreement
signed in 1840 between the British Crown and over 500 Maori chiefs; while
Canada and the United States have hundreds of treaties dating back as far as
the 1600s."
Source
Australianstogether.org
Sometimes systemic issues require radical change. I would propose that a First Nations party be
elected by First Nations people and be given 51% of seats in every future
parliament. It gives independence and sovereignty back to the First nation’s
people.
But what type of democracy is this you scream? What type of
democratic nation invades another? What type of democratic nation fight wars
and spend billions on Nuclear Subs and weapons of mass destruction when
millions are starving all over the globe. What type of democracy takes part in
war without the consent of its people?
We are living on First Nations lands. It’s time to sign a treaty
and give them back their land. It was stolen. We truly say sorry when we give
back what was stolen.
The First Nations people have always had connection to and cared
for their land. With the rightful owners in their rightful place we can see a
new continent develop, one with a bright future, a clean future, a peaceful
future and a continent that is truly neutral. With it comes a new constitution
for all that respects the dignity of all.
90% of you may think this idea is outrageous.
“The creative act, the defeat of habit by
originality, overcomes everything. And I really believe that. And what I try to
teach young people, or anybody in any creative field, is that every idea should
seemingly be outrageous.” – George Lois
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