Lunch with Michael and Sue's old friends

 

Email to Michael after getting back from Cape Town

Hi there Michael

I've just got back from a wonderful month in South Africa. It was so great to spend quality time with my family. I also got to do lots of hiking with my sister and friend, Russell, including an epic hike in The Cedarberg.

One of the most exciting things for me was getting back into my bird photography in a big way. South Africa has incredible birds. I was yet again bowled over by my new camera and how easy it made it to get wonderful shots of birds in focus. I wanted to share one specific highlight which you can see it here.  It was a priceless experience for me and one that my camera allowed me to capture easily and immortalise. Once again, I'm so thankful to you for making it possible.

It would be lovely to meet up for lunch or coffee sometime if you are free and catch up. I do so enjoy our conversations.

By the way, Antarctica is happening now in March. We're doing it a bit later because we're going on a longer trip including South Georgia and the Falklands to.  A dream.

Talk soon

G

Letter to Michael

Sorry I haven't been in contact like I said I would.  Life has been unbelievably hectic for really wonderful reasons I wanted to share as it involves you directly!

You'll remember Sue went to both the Arctic and Antarctic on her travels and they were the best travel experiences of her life. Her eyes would light up whenever she spoke of her adventures there and her photos were unbelievable.  I got to edit her photos from both places and dreamed of going myself one day.  However, the cost of getting on the ship  is very, very high and I wondered if I would ever get the chance.

Then, out of the blue, an educational company who a good friend works for contacted me and asked me if I'd like to go on an Arctic expedition with them as  their nature photographer and researcher - totally for free!!   If the trip is a success, there will be the chance to go to Antarctica too and several other destinations around the world.  An absolute dream come true!!

The only challenge was that I needed to have the latest, mirrorless camera and my camera and some of my lenses are very out of date.  

So, thanks to your amazing generosity, I was able to go out and get all the photographic equipment I need. Without it, I would really have struggled to afford it. The process of deciding which camera and lenses to get has been unbelievably exciting.

I've had a chance to really get to use the new camera and lenses over the past few weeks and it's blown me away with what it can do. It somehow knows when you are photographing an animal and focuses on the animal's eyes without you having to do anything. It's total magic and takes all the stress out of photographing wildlife.  Photographing polar bears is going to be a cinch with it.

So I just wanted to thank you again for all you've enabled . I appreciate it more than words can say.  I know Sue, wherever she may be, will be absolutely and thoroughly delighted too.  I really have a wonderful sense of that.

I leave for the Arctic tomorrow and will be away 3 weeks or so.  When I get back, I'd love to take you out for lunch and regale you with my adventures and show you some of my photos.

I hope you are doing really well.

G

Thank you letter to Gavin after the Arctic

 Hi there Gavin

I have started blogging about our arctic adventures and it's been a form of ecstasy to start reliving it all again in vivid detail.

Wow, what a time it's been!  Without doubt, one of the greatest experiences of my whole life. And to do it with one of my best friends makes it beyond priceless. 

I just want to say thank you for everything...

...for making the whole thing happen! For impressing Justin with your online lessons, for coming up with the idea and for getting Aurora super-excited about it (which of course, is one of your many superpowers!) ...

... for believing in my photography and choosing me as part of the team. What an absolute privilege it has been. And also for all your support and encouragement with my photography over the years....

... for all the inspiration you bring. You are by far the most inspiring and energising person I've ever known and to spend so much time with you and to see you in full creative flow has been beyond amazing...

... for making the trip so much fun: for all the great laughs, wondrous facts, sightings shared, stories told, connections made, and shared jacuzzi wallowings...

...for all the admin you did to get us there, especially booking all the flights...

...for your support when I was so worried about my meds running out.  Your intervention allowed me to relax and enjoy the rest of the trip....

...for playing such a driving role in getting us out of Longyearbyen by refreshing that page a million times.  You and Tanya also made one hell of a team on Skyscanner - the king and queen of the ultimate real life "escape room" challenge.!!! ...

...for treating us with your Quatar gold passes.  Pure luxury!  That shower ranks as the best I've ever had!  And don't get me started on the passion fruit yoghurt :)

...and most of all, for your priceless friendship. For all the memories, adventures, outings and special meals we've shared. For the inspiration, fun and laughter you bring.  You enrich my life in so many ways .  Friends simply don’t come better.  

Meeting you in the little town of Thredbo feels like the ultimate synchronicity.

G

The crystal

Dear Graeme

I also wanted to share that since we met on Friday I have had the most amazing a-ha moment. You told me that self-love or allowing is being gentle with ourselves... gentle exercise.... etc. Well, I have had an incredible shift with my gym exercise. I have stopped listening to hectic music (pushing myself) and instead I am only doing gentle exercise. I am fully present with my body and its SOOOO amazing, its more beneficial then when I was pushing myself. haha what a magical paradox?! When we are gentle...we are more efficient and more effective... it makes me think of the tortoise and the hare. Anyway, just wanted to share and thank you for your words on Friday. Sometimes, we say exactly what the other person needs to hear.

Dear Aimee

Oh that's absolutely wonderful!  What a profound gift it is to be able to treat the body as a living being worthy of love, touch, spacious attention, nourishment and gentleness. It so craves all those things.  And when we treat it that way, it's so much better able to serve us. It becomes our vehicle for awakening.

You've also been instrumental in a big shift in me recently. I often meditate on my back with my legs up, The other day, I was doing that and feeling a strong, uncomfortable contraction in my solar plexus that was blocked and I couldn't get rid of it. I suddenly found myself reaching for your crystal and put it onto my chest. It was deliciously cold and then warmed up quickly. And as it did, the contraction vanished. There was the most beautiful release and then love. Like magic!  I've been using it like that everyday since. It's been so incredibly powerful.  So thank you.  It's by far the most special gift I've ever been given.

A Facebook message

---

Graeme! Wow, it's been ages. Thanks for being such a kind soul at school. (St. George's std 3-5)

I remember being afraid while keeping watch at a school campfire. Kleinmond if I recall correctly.

You sat with me, calmed me down and let me know I was not alone. That if I got scared again, you'd be nearby.

I have often thought of that time whenever I've found myself in trouble while growing up.

I'm reminded that at that fire, I was taught that all things pass, including fear.

Thanks Graeme

Ikram Abrahams

---

Wow, what a beautiful message. Thank you dear Ikram for sharing your story, your kind words and affirmation. I'm so glad I could be there for you. Sending you love.

---

Home

Hope your time has been wonderful with family,
But I can’t wait to see you back home, darling.
Love from me,
jillyxo

(on returning to Sydney after 7 weeks in Cape Town)

After Jo's visit to Sydney

Hi there Chris and Yogi

Thank you so much for all the friendship and affirmation you gave Jo during her visit.  She absolutely loved you guys !!

Thank you too, for the present you gave her yesterday. So thoughtful and unexpected.  Jo asked that I thank you again from her too.

Thank you Chris for shouting us all lunch yesterday.  That was so generous of you!

You guys are priceless friends. I love you both.


Hi Graeme,

It was wonderful meeting Jo.  Thank you for including us in her visit.

You are right - she is spectacular. Beautiful, open, friendly, fun, full of life - & a philosopher (what is is!).  I'd like a sister like her!

You had a great visit - makes all your DIY renos worthwhile.

All for one & one for all.
Cheers Yogi

A wonderful email from Su, my former housemate

Hey, G ... !

We introduce you to the new family member: Annabel Sophie Hirsch. 

we hope you are good and life is blessing you with all you deserve!… we wanted to share the news with you… cuz in our hearts you are still uncle G!  and now you have  another little reason for visiting Switzerland!… 

best wishes from the 4 of us!

Alex, Su, Amie and Annie

Hi Su

Your email brought tears to my eyes, both the beautiful words and the photo of your new little parcel of joy.  She is absolutely gorgeous!   May Annie bring you a lifetime of love, joy and laughter as your beautiful family journeys together through the adventures of life.

I hope you are all well and that life in Switzerland is wonderful. I send my love to all of you.  Give both Amie and Annie a big hug from Uncle G !  And a big hearty hello to dear Alex.

Life on my side is great. I've renovated the house, doing all the work myself, and it's lovely to live in a beautiful place, especially with all the plants everywhere (my new obsession!).  But it will always feel like it's missing a little something.  Namely you guys!

Yes, a trip to Europe is a must someday. It will be so wonderful to see you all.

Sending you all sunshine,

G

After Millie's party

Dear Graeme,

Thank you so much for inviting me to join your special, special blog. I've been so enjoying the little bits I've looked at just now, and will spend more time soon.

You are a dear man, and I enjoy getting to know you, and our friendship. I love your openness, profundity and joy, among so many other beautiful states and traits I observe and feel around you. I find with you an intense brightness and fineness that is rare. So thank you. Thank you for being you.

Life is good!

Sharon


Dear Sharon

Thank you for your beautiful, affirming words.

I've so enjoyed getting to know you too. The access you have to the light of your being and the way it radiates through you as joy, love, serenity, physical grace and healing attention is an enormous source of inspiration to me. Also the way you embrace life with such love and live it so deeply.  You are beautiful in so many ways.  I'm very grateful to Life for bringing you into my life and the lives of my dear, dear Eckhart friends.  I know they feel the same way.

I read a couple of quotes the other day that made me think of you because you personify them ...

I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being.  Hafiz of Shiraz

The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it.  Henri J. M. Nouwen

It isn't by getting out of the world that we become enlightened, but by getting into the world…by getting so tuned in that we can ride the waves of our existence and never get tossed because we become the waves.  Ken Kesey

Words are so wonderful aren't they? The way they point to truth.  And the way they create a platform into the chasm of the soul from where we can leap off into its depths where all words fall away.

Life is indeed good,
G


Dear Graeme,

Thank you, so much, for your deeply touching words, and beautiful quotes.

It is so beautiful to know what you perceive, as I can't really see how this unnameable reality I love and am reflects to others... I just am it, more and more. This is one of the true Graces of another who has the x-ray vision (as Barry sometimes described it) and the ability and will to communicate and reflect it back - helping it go even deeper. Thank you, thank you, thank you...

I am also so very grateful to Life for bringing you into my life, and the other dear Eckhart beings who are each so beautiful. I feel so blessed, and am loving this unfolding of love, wonder and sweetness that is occurring between and within each of us. All so indescribably beautiful! Oh God, this Life is so beautiful! It's sometimes hard to remain conscious within all the beauty... yet I do my best!
How beautifully you describe what occurs as words point to truth and then dissolve as I become that truth.

Yes, Life is so Good!!

Sharing with Sharon

Dear Sharon

Thank you for being a beautiful Space for me last night to express some of what had not yet been expressed. It opened the way to a beautiful session with my therapist today.

Thank you for being the radiant, loving, joyful, healing Presence you are.  It’s such a profound gift to the world.

Dear Graeme,

Thank you for your truly beautiful acknowledgements. I am grateful to be, by Grace, the Presence I am... as I, by Grace, go deeper.

You are a dear man, and it was a joy and an honour to be with you last night. I love to hear how the wonder of life continued to unfold for you today.

Go well, with love of the mystery of it all, Sharon

Dear Graeme,

You are such a beautiful being, and I truly love how given to God, by Grace, thou art. I trust all is continuing to go well. I am with a deep sense of thee these last couple of days. It is a deeply bright and indescribably beautiful place.

We were talking about yoga briefly the other evening. This is the yoga school at Pymble that I mentioned, that my darling Mum, Margaret North, began many years ago. She teaches the Wednesday and Friday morning classes, and encourages people to work slowly, consciously, and with joy and lightness. The other teachers are all wonderful too. I would recommend the style of hatha yoga they all teach, which always includes relaxation or meditation at the end of the class. You'll really notice the effects at every level, find it deeply grounding, and I'm sure you'll love it.

http://www.kuringgaiyoga.com.au/

In love and presence, Sharon


Dear Sharon

Thank you so much for the yoga details. The body, yearning as it does to stretch, so appreciates it :)

It is indeed a profoundly beautiful time for me.  There is a sense that the brain is receiving something profound and there is some writing going on now and then.  Every so often the brain feels compelled to jump in and churn with what is there, but there's a realisation that any mental effort leaves muddy footprints on something that feels pure.  The space of time will tell whether its meant for a wider audience.

There is lots of spaciousness and peace in the body and contraction at times too.  The contraction provides a beautiful invitation to loosen around it by being a space for it.  Something which, I sense deeply, is part of the process of this form becoming the instrument that the Soul within so yearns to be.

All is Well.  What an adventure this experience of Life is!

G


29 Sep 2015

Happy Birthday Dear Graeme,

What a beautiful day it is, and what a beautiful man you are.

I loved being with you and the other dear beings on Sunday... great to see the photos, too!

See you tonight.

Lovingly, Sharon


10 Feb 2016


Hi there Sharon

It was so lovely to speak about the wonder and beauty of nature last night.

I feel inspired to share some of the animal and bird photos I took in the Kruger National Park, including the breathtaking leopard I spoke about.  African wildlife is so close to my heart.

No rush, only if you find some time.

May you have a beautiful week,

G
Attachments area


Hi Graeme

Yes, it was so lovely to speak about the wonder and beauty of nature the other night. What a blessed life on earth this is, with the reflection of my true nature all around me...

Thank you so much for sending me your stunning photos. What beautiful moments you have captured. Your leopard is a wondrous creature, and you have captured his essence so beautifully. All those gorgeous animals, and birds, and the light.... what a clear eye you have, with such natural attention to detail, harmony, balance, shape, form and the formless.

I trust I may go again to Africa some day. It is my intention, and for much longer next time!

Enjoy all that you are doing and being.

Sharon

21 Feb 2016

Hi Graeme,

I'm sure you and Mack are enjoying a beautiful time together again now. He is blessed to be adored by you and Lisa, and I know it is beyond description all that he gives you, in being his beautiful, innocent, dear presence.

Thank you for sending your writing from 2004, expressing such devotion to and love of the Mystery, beauty and truth I (the one I in the universe) am. There are deep levels of Me, aren't there, that are always in love and union with God. It seems to take the surface levels 'time' for it to filter through consciously so that I am more and more in the profundity of the depths of the vertical dimension I am, now. I glow in knowing that you are finding now, all that you long for.

I had a lovely time at the Baha'i Temple. There were about twenty people, and it was so beautiful to walk around the gardens, and then sit within the beautiful, Persian-inspired, white, light-filled, silent temple and be. I was in a deep place, and really had the sense of being within the temple at every level - within my body temple, the temple building, the temple of the earth, of the universe, the temple of my being, all so sacred. Have you been there? The temple is open for anyone to come and partake of. Perhaps you may enjoy coming with me there one day? 

I have added an attachment of a note from Eckhart to the retreat participants in Qld, Nov 2014 (I think written by someone else, as I've seen his writing elsewhere, and it's much more flowing). So true.

Enjoy the beautiful evening, Graeme.

Sharon

To Sharon

Thanks so much, Sharon.

I was going through some old writing and it made me realise how long my soul has longed for this, even way before I had a true sense of it.  We are so blessed, by Grace. 

Footprints

Through the loving ways that people connect;

laughter between friends, a couple holding hands,

the generosity of a stranger, the smile of a child.

Through the gift of knowing I am enough, no matter what.

Through my highest thoughts, my truest words, my kindest deeds.

Through the wonders of sunsets and mountains, ocean waves, dolphins and daffodils.

Through the uplifting beauty of music, art and poetry.

Through the infiniteness of time and space and the intricacies of atoms and less.

Through the mighty power of silence and the peace that stillness brings.

Through these things,

I see the footprints of a benevolent Mystery unfolding

and I look out into the vast night sky

and I smile at the stars and the moon

content in the knowing

that the universe smiles back.

Written: 2004

I hope you had a wonderful day at the Ashram.  I did some writing and work, and just been out for a lovely walk.  Now I'm waiting, with a longing in my heart again, for little Mack to arrive home so we can enjoy a mutual cuddle.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday,

G

Hi Graeme,

It is so truly lovely to hear all that you are experiencing in your great love of God. You are finding what you seek, and what is seeking you is finding you! You are now a finder, as Eckhart would say, Graced with constant unfolding and deepening of all you find! Rumi, Barry, Eckhart, Yogananda, all the other real beings, and Sharon (whatever she is), rejoice with you! 

Thank you for sharing your recent experience, which resonates with me very much. It is lovely to read your clear description, and I am blessed and grateful to know what you mean. Thank you for your helpful reminder to do it more consciously. I am quite often in that place you describe, deeply knowing and living 'I have no head', observing movement on the 'edge' of me, and the stillness-depthlessness behind/within my back and all around me. At times I am as deep, wide and spacious as the universe, and drop or disappear in there ~ never to return one day I trust, by Grace.

It is so beautiful that your love and truth are so freely flowing into your writing currently. Enjoy it, enjoy it, enjoy it. Life is good! It is so right that you go with it and use this special time in every way possible.

Botanica sounds and looks wonderful (I found some photos online - they may need your beautiful eye to improve some of the pics!). It reminds me of various wonderful cafes in Northern NSW I love and know well. How fortunate you are to have it so close.

Enjoy it all, and thank you for being the dear being that you are.

Sharon

Hi Sharon

That is such a wonderful quote.  Thanks so much for sharing it.  It so encapsulates what I am feeling.

I'm feeling so beautifully connected at the moment, with immense feelings of love.  My mind feels so clear and inspiration is flowing through. I've been writing a lot, and it feels peaceful and effortless.  I feel so grateful that at times I feel like my heart will burst with it.

I'd love to share one of the things that has flowed through, inspired by an experience I had recently (also included) and see if it resonates at all with you, if you try it.   I'd love to share mutual practices with you like this.  Deepening presence is such a heart felt intention for me right now.

I hope you don't mind, but I sense a deep will to continue writing tomorrow while I'm in this state.  Next week brings many things I need to do work-wise, so the opportunity will wane.  Unless it doesn't of course.  Life has such a beautiful will.

I'm off to The Botanica now for some renewal.  It's the most spiritual oasis of a cafe you can imagine.  I'd to share a meal with you there sometime.

Wishing you a beautiful day too, and a very special time tomorrow

G

Good morning Graeme,

How lovely it was to be with Jilly, and the lovely group of beings around her, including you, yesterday.  So much love and consciousness within and without.

I thought you'd enjoy the excerpt from BL below.... As this delights and fulfils you, it slowly brings you back to life. 

The BL Foundation send out weekly excerpts from his many books to people registered, if you'd enjoy that.

Have you been able to find my email (on Thursday I think?) re the Baha'i Temple event tomorrow afternoon?

Enjoy the beautiful day, Sharon

Wow, I absolutely love what you said about sensing yourself within the temple at every level from body to Being. That is so utterly beautiful.

We mentioned we both loved the ocean and watching the waves.  Have you heard the exquisite song by Miten/ Deva Premal about the magnificence of of the ocean and waves coming in?  It's exquisite. On my Spotify playlist that I've called "sublime."

Hope to see you tomorrow,

G

to Sharon 

PS Here's the song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYfvTgWDYkY

to me 

Thank you, Graeme, truly.

I love this exquisite song, and didn't know it. I've watched-listened to it a few times today, dissolving, with tears at times, into the beauty and truth of all that is conveyed.

There is so much magnificence... the waves are coming in.... I am part of the Ocean of Love... My love and light dissolve the darkness..... I am so in love with Life, my fear and pain are dying, by Grace. Oh, the absolute wonder and majesty and indescribable reality of it All... 

Sharon

to Sharon 

It so wonderful that you loved the song.  I too have cried many times at the pure beauty of it.  

Music for me is a key that opens up my heart for love to pour through.  Some of my most beautiful spiritual moments of grace have happened during or after listening to music.    

Here are some words from others that sum of what music means to me ...

After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. Aldous Huxley

Music is an outburst of the soul. Frederick Delius

In a world of peace and love, music would be the universal language.  Henry David Thoreau

For heights and depths no words can reach, music is the soul's own speech.

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.  Ludwig van Beethoven

Music is the shorthand of emotion. Leo Tolstoy

to me 

Yes, music allows me to reach heights and depths that no words can... such beautiful places within me. I love music too.    

Thank you for the lovely quotes.

Do you have Eckhart's 'Music to Quiet the Mind' CD? There are some exquisitely beautiful pieces on it. I can bring it for you tomorrow night if you may enjoy to listen to it? He has written a beautiful piece about the truth and wonder of music in the accompanying little booklet.

I saw the beautiful moon as I was walking my dear client out a little while ago.... indescribably mystical, in the vast, vast night.

We live in paradise, don't we? Everything I am and need  is provided in abundance, and shines with Godly light and sound. All I need to do is be present and alive to it now!

Sharon

to Sharon 

My turn to say a big thank you. I didn't know about Eckhart's CD. I did a search on Spotify and found his playlist containing not only the songs on the CD but also about 100 other songs he listens to. What a treasure trove!!  I listened to it before bed, so beautiful, and then slept like a baby.

See you tonight,

G

25 Feb 2016


Hi Sharon

I'm really looking forward to a lovely walk on Sunday.

It looks like life has a cooler day in store, which will be a wonderful relief. Poor Mack has spent the last two days, hogging the fan, panting like a steam train with his tongue hanging out. I have too.  Ha ha!

There are two walks I'd love to do and I'm having trouble deciding between them:

1.  Walk around Waverton and Wollstonecraft including Balls Head and Berry Island with beautiful views of the city. We could pop off at The Botanica for a bite and even drop in on your dad if you want :)

2. Manly Scenic Walk - a 9 km walk from Spit Bridge to Manly with great swim spots along the way. Stop off in Manly for a bite and swim and then get bus back to Spit Bridge. A fantastic walk.

I'll have Mackie on Sunday so he'll enjoy the walk too.  He's done both and loves them equally.  I asked him which one he preferred to do Sunday but his answer was lost in translation.

Shout if you have any preferences. Or if other walks you'd like to do, maybe closer to where you live. Otherwise I'll toss a coin and let life decide.

Hope your week is going beautifully,
G


Hi Graeme,

What a sweet email. I enjoy the way you write, and your sense of humour.

I'd love to walk around Waverton, Wollstonecraft and those other lovely areas, if you and Mack would? Perhaps do the Manly Scenic Walk, which is a fantastic walk, another time? It would be nice to visit Botanica, and we certainly could drop in on Dad, yet perhaps another time too : )
I'm having a beautiful week. I'm perceiving a glowing light within all I see - especially the nature around me - it's very bright and real.

A lovely quote from BL I have on my desk currently: I am forever. I am all things and all things are in me. What is there to question? What is there to fear?

I am forever. So much tension and fear falls away with this knowledge.

How is your writing going this week, Graeme? I trust it's still flowing for you?

Sharon


Hi Sharon

Great stuff! The walking in this area is beautiful and nice and flat!  I'm very happy to drop in on your dad. Dads are a precious commodity to be hugged at any opportunity!

That's wonderful that you're in such a lovely state and perceiving a glowing light in all. So beautiful.  I experienced that so, so strongly a few months ago.  I remember in particular going into Thomas Dux and being absolutely mesmerised by the glowing, shimmering fruit and vegetables that seemed to have had their vibrancy super charged.  There was such an immense sense of aliveness and such a joy in it all.  Such a special experience.

My intense connection of the last couple weeks has subsided, but the awareness is still constantly there. I'm still writing quite a bit, when I get the chance, and Yogi has joined me in a fun venture to write a short book.  We meet almost daily at The Botanica to share ideas and we're also using all the latest internet programs to collaborate.  Such a fun exercise, whether it ever gets read by anyone or not.

I'm really looking forward to Sunday. Any time is good with me. How about 10 am?  It feels like a respectable hour for a Sunday :)

My address is 43B King Street, Waverton.

See you soon,
G


Hi Graeme,

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow too. I'm sure we'll have a lovely day, and it will be so nice to wander around your beautiful area, with Mack, seeing where life takes us. 10am is perfect. I see you're just across from that glorious park - how wonderful for you!

I'm glad you are still writing when you can, and it's so good to hear that you and Yogi are meeting and doing those fun things together, with a very worthy book likely to result. I'll read it! And I'm sure many others.

I'm sure the light and the intense connection will return for you, Graeme, and eventually be a constant and deepening inner and outer knowledge and experience. It's there all the time, as you know, yet does get covered over by the subtle/coarse mental, emotional etc layers of living past.... yet this is the rightness of the 'spiritual life' isn't it, facing all that is not conscious in me, as best I can, by Grace, and being the witness of this transmutation.

A  true and beautiful quote that appeared in front of me today:

"Follow your bliss.
If you do follow your bliss,
you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while waiting for you,
and the life you ought to be living
is the one that you are living.
When you can see that,
you begin to meet people
who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open the doors to you.
I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid,
and doors will open
where you didn't know they were going to be.
If you follow your bliss,
doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else."
--Joseph Campbell
Oh, the wonder of life, which I love so much.

Enjoy the beautiful day, Sharon


Dear Sharon

A beautiful quote!

I love Joseph Campbell.  One of my favourite quotes is one of his ...

People say that what we are all seeking is meaning for life. I think that what we're really seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our  innermost being and reality, so that we can actually feel the rapture of being alive.   Joseph Campbell

Trying to determine one's meaning and purpose in life can become quite mind driven. But the experience of being fully alive.  Ah, thats the domain of the heart and soul !!

See you tomorrow,
G


2 March 2016


Good morning Graeme,

Another glorious day on this beautiful, beautiful earth, loving the great Mystery within and without....

Last night, just after I got out of my car at home, and looked up at the night sky, a huge shooting star flashed right across the sky above me! What a wonder! It was a magical, mystical moment and symbol to me of the wonder of life and the brightness within and around me currently...   I'm indescribably blessed.

Enjoy the day! Sharon


Hi Sharon

Wow, that's so beautiful to see a shooting star flashing across the sky. That's always a sight that fills me with such wonder.  I'm just so totally in love with the night sky at the moment.  I lie on my balcony chair each night before bed with beautiful music on my headphones and just stare out into its wondrous, immense vastness.

Thanks so much for sharing the video. Eckhart is always so wonderfully animated, and especially here.  I just love him so, so much.  I also really enjoyed the passion and humour of "The Dog Whisperer".  Might get one of his books to better understand my beloved Mack.

"Awake" is available to download.  Yay!  So we can watch it any time we want.  I'm very free at the moment time wise so pretty much any time, week evening or weekend - except 9 - 17 March. Oh, and except Tuesday nights :)   I'm happy to come to you. I can always bring my large computer screen in the unlikely case we can't see it on your TV.

May the rest of your week continue to bring you unexpected joys,
G


Hi Graeme,

Yes, shooting stars are a wonder! I haven't seen such a huge one for a long time. I love being in natural places where there are billions of stars, and many shooting stars flashing in the heavens.... all that vast space, and wonder. It's like that up north when I go to the BL video events, with the ocean washing through me as well - heaven.

There's a deep nourishment and beauty within the night, isn't there? How lovely that you are with this so often. The vastness is such a deep reflection of being. What a glorious life it is for those of us who love it and do all we can to merge with it, are merging with it by Grace. I am touched that you love the vastness so much - you are a rare man, Graeme.
Yes, darling, darling Eckhart. He is such a sweet heart. And 'The Dog Whisperer' is so passionate and humorous, as you say. I'm sure he can help you with Mack. What delightful beings we have around us.

That's so good that 'Awake' is available to download. I'd love to see it soon! How about tomorrow late afternoon/night or Saturday late afternoon/night? Might it work for me to come to your place? (Tomorrow afternoon I'm going into the city to see my acupuncturist, so it could work well for me to come to your place). I'd love you to come here, I just don't wish to impact on Mum's cosy nights around her TV (you and Mum will love each other, I'm sure, she's a very loving, beautiful, darling woman) so we can be downstairs here in my lovely office-therapy room area, where I don't have a TV.... whatever feels good for you, is good with me.

A beautiful BL quote: Without thought or intention, pour out your being in gratitude, as the bird pours out its being in song.

In Gratitude, Sharon


Hi Sharon 

What a beautiful quote from Barry. So much beauty and truth in his words. As Mooji often says "Intention brings tension."  It's been such a freeing process for me, more and more, to let go of goals and intentions, and to allow life to unfold as it wills.  And if intention arises, to let go of all attachments to it.  I've discovered that Life so often delivers something so much more profound and wonderful than I could ever have envisioned with the mind.

I've been reading some of Barry's songs in the book you brought me and they are sublime.

Talking of shooting starts, three years ago, I lay under a vast night sky in South Africa, out in the country where I could see so many countless stars, it left me in deep awe.  As I lay there, my thoughts turned to someone dear to me who I was concerned about.  I wished them well with all my heart.  As I did so, three  (three!!!)  shooting stars simultaneously shot across the sky. It left me in absolute wonder, and with a realisation that all was well (and so it turned out to be.)  And also a realisation (deep knowing) that had been dawning for a while.  That the benevolence of the universe was not wishful thinking. And far from conceptual.  It was a startling reality.

I've got a very full day of work tomorrow, and want to be fresh for the movie so Saturday would be best for me if it still suits you.  Matt is away and I think Sharmista is too, so lets meet here if you're ok with that.  There's some music I'd love to share with you on Matt's super duper speakers.  Also, if you come latish afternoon, there's a wonderful spot close by for a bit of a picnic looking out onto the city.  However, I'm totally easy if you decide you'd prefer to have it at yours. I can always bring my computer screen and portable speakers!  Ha ha, I'm a bit of a gadget lover I must confess :)

I'm so looking forward to the movie and sharing the experience with you,
G

10 April 2016


Dear Graeme,

Thank you so much for inviting me to join your special, special blog. I've been so enjoying the little bits I've looked at just now, and will spend more time soon.

You are a dear man, and I enjoy getting to know you, and our friendship. I love your openness, profundity and joy, among so many other beautiful states and traits I observe and feel around you. I find with you an intense brightness and fineness that is rare. So thank you. Thank you for being you.

Life is good!

Sharon


Dear Sharon

Thank you for your beautiful, affirming words.

I've so enjoyed getting to know you too. The access you have to the light of your being and the way it radiates through you as joy, love, serenity, physical grace and healing attention is an enormous source of inspiration to me. Also the way you embrace life with such love and live it so deeply.  You are beautiful in so many ways.  I'm very grateful to Life for bringing you into my life and the lives of my dear, dear Eckhart friends.  I know they feel the same way.

I read a couple of quotes the other day that made me think of you because you personify them ...

I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being.  Hafiz of Shiraz

The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it.  Henri J. M. Nouwen

It isn't by getting out of the world that we become enlightened, but by getting into the world…by getting so tuned in that we can ride the waves of our existence and never get tossed because we become the waves.  Ken Kesey

Words are so wonderful aren't they? The way they point to truth.  And the way they create a platform into the chasm of the soul from where we can leap off into its depths where all words fall away.

Life is indeed good,
G


Dear Graeme,

Thank you, so much, for your deeply touching words, and beautiful quotes.

It is so beautiful to know what you perceive, as I can't really see how this unnameable reality I love and am reflects to others... I just am it, more and more. This is one of the true Graces of another who has the x-ray vision (as Barry sometimes described it) and the ability and will to communicate and reflect it back - helping it go even deeper. Thank you, thank you, thank you...

I am also so very grateful to Life for bringing you into my life, and the other dear Eckhart beings who are each so beautiful. I feel so blessed, and am loving this unfolding of love, wonder and sweetness that is occurring between and within each of us. All so indescribably beautiful! Oh God, this Life is so beautiful! It's sometimes hard to remain conscious within all the beauty... yet I do my best!
How beautifully you describe what occurs as words point to truth and then dissolve as I become that truth.

Yes, Life is so Good!!


19 April 2016


Hi Sharon

A belated thank you for a wonderful Sunday - for beautiful company, beautiful teachings, and a yummy lunch.

It was also wonderful to see your amazing home and soak in the beauty and serenity of the garden.

All in all, the perfect way to spend a rainy day - and the perfect diversion from laying floors!!

See you tonight,
G

PS ...  Quote of the day
No word is it. Every word is appearing in it. Scott Kiloby


Hi Graeme,

Thank you. Yes, it was a perfect way to spend a rainy day, and so lovely to be in your wakeful, joyous company.

Quote of the Afternoon:

Words reduce reality to something the human mind can grasp, which isn't very much.  Eckhart Tolle

This really makes me laugh!

Enjoy being, Sharon



29 April 2016


Hi Graeme

I heard the most excruciatingly tragic yet funny statement by Dr. Daniel Amen (US psychiatrist and brain scientist) during the week: 'The average attention span of a human is eight seconds. Of a goldfish: nine seconds'.  ?! God help us.


Hi Sharon

Ha, ha, that's so funny!!  Not sure it's totally true though.  Those goldfish the other night, floating weightlessly, seemed pretty anchored in being :)

Human attentiveness on the other hand!!  The craving for distraction so very intense. The i-phone and computer constantly whispering seductively "look at me!"  And of course, compulsive thought - the greatest seductress of all.
Distraction is the only thing that consoles us for miseries and yet it is itself the greatest of our miseries.  Blaise Pascal

From the point of view of the meditative traditions the entire society is suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Jon Kabat- Zinn


Hi Graeme

Those quotes are so true.

Yes, glorious goldfish in being....our teachers.... those lovely ones we saw the other evening, so one with life...

I've been 'working' this morning (just being really), as I have a spike in clients and am trying to fit them all in!

Life is good!

Sharon


2 May 2016

Happy birthday, beautiful Sharon. Happy everyday!  May your day be as radiant as you. And may your world be full of colour and your crayons never melt.

Life is about using the whole box of crayons.   Ru Paul

Every human is an artist. The dream of your life is to make beautiful art.  Don Miguel Ruiz

In the love of life,
G


Thank you, dear Graeme,

What a beautiful day it is ~ within and without! Another day to be happy and free!

Thank you for bringing life, light and so many vibrant colours and moments to my life.

Enjoy being,

Sharon

Message from Sharon

Dear Graeme

You are such a beautiful being, and I truly love how given to God, by Grace, thou art. I trust all is continuing to go well. I am with a deep sense of thee these last couple of days. It is a deeply bright and indescribably beautiful place.

In love and presence, Sharon

Email to Heather

Thanks so much, Heather.  All is well and the experience was actually a priceless one, one I wouldn't change for anything, except the worry it caused my family and friends.

Basically, I went off on an extraordinary spiritual high - due at least in part, I'm pretty sure, to the stimulent medication I've been taking for several years that masks lower energies in my psyche.   I was in such a state of peace and complete fearlessness that I stopped taking the medication altogether.  I continued to feel peaceful and joyful for several days with extraordinary revelations and experiences and love beyond anything I can describe.

But sometimes what goes up, comes down abruptly - especially when the brain suddenly isn't getting the chemical it has become reliant on.

So I plummeted into a sudden world of illusion and in that state, literally stared face to face at my Ultimate Nightmares.  I lived for about 12 hours of intense suffering and intense fear before I realised that it was just a psychotic episode and I was in the North Sydney High Dependency Ward (Maximum Lock Up!)

I stayed there for about a week, meeting beautiful people and coming off the medication I'm been wanting to come off for years.  Now I'm home and feeling fantastic.

Hope all is going well.

Graeme

Email sent after a week in hospital

Hello beautiful family and friends

I want to express my deepest gratitude for all your amazing support during the last two weeks: all your well wishes, phone calls and visits, prayers and positive vibes, words of encouragement. To Matt for ensuring I came home to such an immaculate room. For listening to my strange ramblings before I went in; especially Liza, Matt & Sharmista, Shushann, Nic and Srini!

In a nutshell, for all the love and caring you all showed in so many ways. It was yet another beautiful reminder to me of how absolutely priceless friendship and human connection is.  I appreciate your love and care and support  more than I can express.

I want to express a particularly deep public thank you to Craig.  Oh my goodness, where do I start, Craig?  I can't tell you how extraordinary your support was.  You were literally my rock during this often uncertain and scary experience.  Thank you for looking out for me when I was showing warning signs, for getting in touch with the hospital, for all your immense wisdom, for the perspective you gave me, the advice you brought, for your numerous visits, for bringing all my stuff to me, for the nuts and priceless letters from home, for taking me out on walks.  And for your constant peace and calmness which was like a soothing balm.

But most of all, thank you for keeping everyone in the loop the way you did. For reassuring my mum and sister who felt so helpless and far away.  For hunting down hard to get info from the doctors and sharing that, for all your emails and all the calls you made.  You were a priceless gift to my family especially.  Without you, they would have been absolutely frantic with worry.

As you all know, I'm home now.  Apart from the worry it's caused all of you, I'm grateful for the experience.  It's given me some priceless insights into a condition I've had since I was a child. It's brought home powerfully the importance of looking after myself: living life slowly, getting lots of sleep, nourishing food, exercise, walks, connection.  It's given me a renewed appreciation of the immense freedom I enjoy in my life and all the little things that I realise aren't little.  It's given me the incentive to do some therapy to sort out some fears I woke up to. Allowed me to get off medication I've been wanting to get off for ages. And brought home the realisation I don't need to feel shame or pretend to be "well" if I'm experiencing emotional difficulties from time to time.  That is such a relief, such a freedom.

I look forward to catching up with all of you. And embracing and sharing the adventure of life that I feel so privileged to share with all of you.  

Sending you love

---

What a beautiful letter which I am sure will mean as much to your friends as it does to me.  I hope you will re read it many times when things get tough and remind yourself of the amazing support you have in Australia and you will ask for help immediately if you ever need it in the future.  I know the next few weeks are going to be very difficult as your body continues to recover and your brain adjusts to being without some of the medication it has become so reliant on.  We love you so much and hate that you have had to go through this experience but hope that the long term result will make it all worthwhile.

Remember we are here for you any time of the day or night.  Be gentle on yourself, take any support that is offered and take it one day at a time.


All my love, Mum

---

Wow G!  That is truly an amazing letter you wrote.  I think your friends will be blown away by the sincerity and raw emotion of it.

Will chat soon

Jo


xxxxx

---

Thanks Graeme - you are very welcome - & you are well loved.

And "in a nutshell" is apposite, coz that's where you were! -  and what a speedy escape - well done - & may it continue, as the L'Oreal girls say, "because you're  worth it".

Cheers mate

Craig

---

Blessings dear Graeme

I’m sorry I wont be there tonight to give you a hug. See you next week. I was thinking of buying Craig a big bag of cashews for all his care. I know how much he loves them.


Shushann xx

---

My dearest Graeme,

I was so surprised to receive that long explanatory email from you, that you were actually in hospital and needing help.

I did wonder why I had heard nothing from you in two weeks, but I prayed for you nevertheless. I'm still in the dark but the main thing is that you're better now. I'm so grateful to all your friends who've supported you and been there for you in your time of need. Just goes to show what wonderful friends you have, and how you receive in return all you give out. 

Please take extremely good care of yourself in every aspect of your life and know that there's nothing more important than you!

With much love and a myriad of blessings,

Heather xxx

---

Thanks so much, Heather.  All is well and the experience was actually a priceless one, one I wouldn't change for anything, except the worry it caused my family and friends.

Basically, I went off on an extraordinary spiritual high - due at least in part, I'm pretty sure, to the stimulent medication I've been taking for several years that masks lower energies in my psyche.   I was in such a state of peace and complete fearlessness that I stopped taking the medication altogether.  I continued to feel peaceful and joyful for several days with extraordinary revelations and experiences and love beyond anything I can describe.

But sometimes what goes up, comes down abruptly - especially when the brain suddenly isn't getting the chemical it has become reliant on. 

So I plummeted into a sudden world of illusion and in that state, literally stared face to face at my Ultimate Nightmares.  I lived for about 12 hours of intense suffering and intense fear before I realised that it was just a psychotic episode and I was in the North Sydney High Dependency Ward (Maximum Lock Up!)

I stayed there for about a week, meeting beautiful people and coming off the medication I'm been wanting to come off for years.  Now I'm home and feeling fantastic.  

Hope all is going well.  

---

Onset of mania

Hi Heather

That's great that you got that downloaded and working. Simplest thing in the world to add pages.  I think they may already be at the foot of the page.

Funny about the energy. For days I've been hugely fatigued with no energy at all, almost certain that would be the case for goodness knows how long while I come off the strong stimulent I've been on for several years.

Today I've taken very little and should feel even tireder than usual.  But I suddenly feel more alive than I have in my whole life.  I have thoughts flowing through me that to the mind seem extraordinarily profound. None of them repetitive, all from the deepest place.  I've spent the day in reverie allowing the ideas to flow, enjoying them, not pre-occupied as I usually am with capturing, but capturing a lot when it feels peaceful to. It feels like the most extraordinarily creative experience of my whole life.

I don't know where it's going or whether ideas will ever see light of day, and don't even feel to attached to that right now.  Who knows how I'll feel tomorrow?  Whether energy will still be here (the body, to all accounts needs plenty of rest having been neglected for a long time.  My state doesn't feel manic in the slightest (had lots of experience of that in past 3 years.)

Who knows where it's going?  I have a strong sense the mind has no control over any of it. Ever. At any time.  Just enjoy the ride and experience of it and don't try to control it.

Not that the mind has any control over whether it can let go of control?  Am I sounding insane?  Surely insanity can't feel this good?  If so, I choose it!  Not even going to edit this.  How totally unlike me :)

Graeme

Email for Chrisel to do her cooking demonstration

Special friends

It's such a gift to have a little group of people in my life with who I can relax into myself, who accept me as I am.  People who provide me with the space and freedom to be me.  It's so special to be able to offer that same beautiful, calm, loving space to Chrisel tomorrow.

Chrisel has been such an inspiration to me. Despite some immense challenges in her life, she embraces life with love and courage and a sense of excitement.  She feels such a strong longing to do something worthwhile with her life, something that taps into what she loves, something that will fulfil herself and inspire others.

That was the catalyst last year to giving up her job as a pharmacist and having a year in South Africa  to explore what that might be.  She did a wildlife guiding course and a yoga teaching course.

She also immersed herself in experimenting with cooking and healthy alternative recipes.  It is in this field that she now feels her strongest calling may lie and she plans to do a nutrition course. In the meantime, she's discovered a cooking tool that makes it really easy to create healthy meals and has become really passionate about, in beautiful Chrisel style, and is experimenting with the idea of using this for now as a "door opener" to share her passion with others for healthy food.

This is all very new for her.  She's doing her first ever session with a small group today.  Tomorrow she'll do it with us.  Just to see how it feels and if this is something to maybe pursue.

She can sometimes feel a little nervous and self conscious in front of others with something new like this, so it's wonderful to be able to offer her with such a calm presence of beings to put her at ease and allow her to explore.  Thank you.

Graeme

Letter to Chrisel on her return to Sydney

Howdi intrepid traveller

Welcome back to Jbg.  I loved the photos you sent through.  The lion cubs were gorgeous and seeing Mount Kilimanjaro like that just made me want to climb it.  So majestic.  I can't wait to see the rest of your photos.

Can't believe your year is coming to an end.  Enjoy your remaining time with your wonderful family.  Sydney is waiting for you with open arms.  Hopefully it will have warmed up a bit by then. It's been the coldest its been in well over a decade!! So cold that Mack regularly refuses to go for walks. Pulls back against the lead and returns up the stairs with his nose in the air. I can't hold it against him though.  He makes a very handy hot water bottle!

Otherwise, everything is great this side. I went to my first photographic meet up today and LOVED it. I nearly didn't go as the outing was a simple walk across the Harbour Bridge and then along the Cahill Expressway, doing street photography, but so glad I did.  So inspiring to be with so many kindred spirits sharing the same passion.  And amazing how much beauty there is in the city when you pay attention, especially in the little details.  I really felt it.

Talking of photos, I've added all the photos from our South Africa trip to the blog now.  Lots of your masterpieces there too as you'll see.  I did it very gradually and it was lovely to go back through it all and relive so many amazing experiences.  To check it out, goto  http://graemex.blogspot.com/search/label/Chrisèl   When you get to the bottom of the page, click "older posts."

I saw such an inspiring 4 minute video the other day that instantly made me think of you.  It could so easily have been about you and your adventurous year in SA.  Check it out if you get a moment, you'll absolutely love it.  https://vimeo.com/channels/staffpicks/120206922

I saw the movie Amy last night about Amy Winehouse. I don't think I've ever been so emotionally effected by a movie in my life. Such a brilliant documentary, a work of art in itself. I didn't really know much of her music before - what an extraordinary artist she was. If you don't watch it at the cinema, I can download it for you when its available.

Off to bed to rug up with my hot water bottle :)

Chow,
G

Email Sharon

Happy Birthday Dear Graeme,

What a beautiful day it is, and what a beautiful man you are.

I loved being with you and the other dear beings on Sunday... great to see the photos, too!

See you tonight.

Lovingly, Sharon

Facebook with Sara

Sara: I think I am growing up! I am not sure about it yet but I think more these days and it is a sign of growing up, isn't it?

Me:  I want to be a little boy when I grow up.

Sara:  I want to stay the little girl too, then I can always enjoy the little things.
Yes, it is good to grow up while you are still a little child. I have to find the balance

Graeme:  Yes, exactly! A sense of wonder and curiosity. A sense of play. A sense of fairness. Honesty (though sometimes not tact!!) Enthusiasm and creativity in spades. A feeling anything is possible. It’s such a pity we tend to lose so much of that as we grow up. I reckon we'll find more happiness growing down than up :)

Emails with Matt

Dear Graeme

I hope all is well in Australia. Me and a close friend, Josh, made up our own version of table tennis. It is the same version but you play without a shirt. Every time you get a point(opponent fouls)you get to smack the ball as hard as you like at your opponents back(it's FLIPPIN sore, and scary just waiting to get whacked by the ping pong ball) I guess I just wanted to say hello so here goes-hello . Mary Christmas and a happy New Year.

By the way-it's me in the above photo

Love your nephew

Matthew



Hi Matt

Ha ha, that looks like a really fun (and painful!!) game.  No too sure if I want to give it a try it in April.  Well maybe :)  It's a pretty good incentive to play well and not foul!!

Not sure if you saw my message to you on Instagram. It was just to congratulate you on all your certificates and medals at school. You must be so proud of yourself!!  I was especially impressed with your English prize.  To be so good at BOTH Maths and English as you are is really unusual and special. Such great stuff.

I'm so looking forward to seeing you again at end of March next year. So much fun to look forward to.  Especially the Tsitsikama hike.  I did it 20 years ago and LOVED it.  Can't wait to do it again with you guys.

Thanks for your Xmas wishes. I've got an amazing month to look forward to.  A 60 km hike in the Snowy Mountains just after Xmas. Then 10 days in Tasmania in early January with a really lovely group of people (mostly pretty women!), also hiking.  I'm pretty addicted to hiking at the moment, as you can probably tell!

Hope you guys have a wonderful Xmas too.  Then I hear from mum you've got a family holiday to Dubai to look forward to.  And maybe a road trip in America next year.  And most of all, your uncle's visit!!  Life is so good.

Thanks so much for your lovely email. It's always so wonderful to hear from.

Love,
G

Friendship with Sue

Dear Sue

Here are some of my favourite memories from our five years of wonderful friendship...

• Meeting at The Balmoral Burn.  What a blessed day that was!  (May 09)
• Giving you some lessons on Lightroom and editing your East Africa photos. (Jul 2009)
• Going on a wonderful camera club weekend to Port Stephens where we really bonded.  (Mar 10)
• A fun photography outing to Callum Park.  (Jun 2011)
• Creating a blog for you to show off your amazing photos and being caught up in your enthusiasm.  (Oct 2011)
• Creating a slideshow portfolio of your East Africa photos for the Camera Club. (2012)
• A photography outing to Penrith Whitewater and stopping off at the Spur for a meal on the way home.  (Feb 12)
• Taking me and my folk on a wonderful Palm Beach tour.  (Feb 2012)
• A fantastic outing to Thirlmere on a steam train.  (May 2012)
• A lovely camera club outing to Hunter Valley where you, Guy and I really bonded to become The Three Amigos.  (Apr 2012)
• A photography outing to Newtown to photograph graffiti and interesting characters.  (May 2012)
• Treating me to a wonderful harbour cruise on old sailing ship. (May 2012)
• A super day exploring the Hawkesbury area (Windsor Junk Yard,  Ebenezar Church and Richmond), followed by tea at that amazing farm.  (June 2013)
• Delicious Turkey dinners at your place with ratatouille and crumble (yum!!).
• Yummy peanut biscuits!!
• Watching live together on TV as Julia Gillard got replaced with Kevin Rudd. Sensational stuff!  (Jun, 2013)
• Seeing the World Press exhibit together and being moved to tears.  (Jul 2013)
• Being wowed by the photos at The Antarctica Exhibition with Pamela  (Aug 2013)
• Being wowed by the photos at the Wildlife Photographer of The Year 2013 and 2014.
• Cooking up a stirfry storm at your place with Guy  (Aug 2013)
• Creating your Russia Collage for the camera club. (Oct 2013)
• Photographing Zombies on the Zombie walk  (Nov 2013)
• Our annual outing to Sculptures by The Sea (2013,   2014)
• Our annual Vivid Festival outing (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)
• Having our faces projected in lights as part of the 2014 Vivid Festival show!
• Celebrating my birthdays at The Oaks and Ripples.
• Seeing David Doubilet's amazing underwater photos at The Opera House.  (Jul 2014)
• Your wonderful support after my break ups with Ally and Dani.
• You inspiring me to buy a Kindle (one of my best ever purchases!)
• Feeling chuffed whenever you win a credit or merit at The Camera Club and adding them to your amazing Awards Board.
• Learning to use an Apple Computer together - not always easy!!
• Being excited to see and edit your photos whenever you come back from a trip.
• Going to The Camera Club together on many occasions, especially the end of year Topshot.
• Seeing some wonderful movies together at The Cremorne Orpheum (including 12 Years A Slave, All is Lost, A Long Walk to Freedom, Philomena, The Book Thief,  Tracks, Finding Vivian Maier) and some not so great (The Great Beauty, Winter Sleep.)
• Introducing me to Shaun the Sheep (so funny!)
• Hearing all your news when we catch up.
• Sending me links to some heart warming videos and amazing photos.
• Your 70th birthday meal at Ripples (Dec 2014)

22 Dec 2014

Dear Sue

Happy birthday!  Thanks you so much for your wonderful friendship over the past 5 years.  Meeting you at The Balmoral Burn was a very blessed moment for me. Since then you have become my Australian  family. I cherish your friendship and all the fantastic photography outings, meals shared, and movies watched more than you'll ever know.  Thank you for being the gorgeous, warm, kind hearted cheerful, thoughtful person you are. You and your zest for life are a continual source of inspiration for me.

Love G


20 Dec 2012

 Hi there Sue

Happy birthday, birthday girl.  I hope you have a wonderful, fun filled day.

Thanks you very much for your friendship this past year, as always.  It's something I really cherish.  I miss my family in Cape Town greatly, but having family like you in Sydney helps greatly.

Here are some of the things I greatly admire about you and some of the memories from our friendship that I'm really grateful for:

• Your general zest and energy and passion for life - very, very inspiring indeed.
• How positive you always are, even during really tough times like your big operation a little while ago.
• How young at heart you are.
• How you love to laugh.
• Your great love of travel and exploring new places - I can so relate!
• Your passion for photography and taking great shots, we're kindred spirits there too of course.
• What a great friend you are to all your friends - how you constantly keep in touch and nurture your friendship.  Something I've learned from and aspire to.
• Your wonderful, wonderful photography - it's always such a pleasure working on your photos, there are always such gems there.  
• All those merits and credits you've got - it's been a privilege to help select and sometimes work on some of those photos
• Your great encouragement with my own photography - you are always so good for my confidence which is something I struggle with a bit at times as you know.
• Fantastic outings we've been on together - like Hunter Valley, Newtown, Penrith Whitewater, Balmoral, Vivid Festival and more.
• The three musketeers - you, me and wonderful Guy
• Taking my family on that great tour of Palm Beach - they so enjoyed it.
• Taking me out on The Sailing ship in the harbour, a lot of  fun.
• Your love of a good movie, something I enjoy too.
• Treating me to some lovely meals out.
• Your love of Africa and wildlife - and those incredible Safari photos you've taken.
• The fact you cherish your memories so much and savour them, something I've learned from too.
• Your delight in the blog we created together - it was such a fun and fulfilling project , and still is, and it's been great to share in so many of your memories from your life and travels.
• Those delicious meals you've cooked me - how I do appreciate a delicious home cooked meal!
• Your willingness to always learn new things, and how well you've done with your new Apple computer despite it's many frustrations and being so different from your last computer.
• Your love of Mango Groove - what great taste in music!!
• Knowing you're there for a chat if I'm feeling a little down - you never cease to cheer me up!
• Being able to be real with you - I don't have to put on any pretences.
• Your general awesomeness.

All in all, thanks so much for being you!  I look forward to many more years of great friendship.

Have a wonderful birthday and Xmas!

Hugs, G


Photo memories

Your 70th birthday (2014)

Sculptures by The Sea  (Nov 2014)

Sculptures by The Sea (Nov 2014)

Sculptures by The Sea (Nov 2014)

Opera House presentation (2014)

Windsor Junk Yard (June 2013) xxx

Scultures by The Sea (Nov 2013)

Vivid Festival 2012

Harbour Cruise (May 2012)

Harbour Cruise (May 2012)

Palm Beach tour (Feb 2012)

Palm Beach Tour (Feb 2012)

Palm Beach Tour (Feb 2012)

Port Stephens (May 2010)

Delicious Turkey dinner