Thursday, December 30, 2010

RESOLUTIONS

I hope everyone enjoyed the festive season and all it had to offer, and trust we all made a few resolutions for good measure as well. Every year we embark on a new journey into a promising fresh year, armed with optimistic and hopeful resolutions that we pray we might keep. I have in the past, like many before me, taken up the challenge of keeping to new years promises of being 10kgs lighter and 10 times wiser and hoped they would come true. I guess we all know that the only one who can achieve this is the one we call ourselves, and if we are lucky we may get a little help from our friends as well. Only we can achieve goals set out for us and the wisest of all take a modest leap of faith when setting the height of their bar. Of course I am not referring to the bar a few of us lean on or hold up around the scene while drinking our weight in poison of choice liquid gold. One must give oneself the edge by at least making sure that goals to be reached are not out of our league or so far off the map that finding the destination is like someone walking to Kilcoy in one thong and a pink bikini.

I gave myself a break this year and just wished for the best I can achieve in 3 simple steps. 1. Smile and laugh more, worry less 2. Look after myself first, and then share the love 3. Don't take life too seriously, think musicals! Voila! Very achievable! I hope you too chose a kinder approach to this unfortunate ritual of setting ourselves up for feeling like failures in our future. Never set yourself up for heartache, just give yourself the love you deserve and keep it simple. No one wants to get to the end of the year and realize that the 20kgs we promised we would lose, somehow managed to follow the G.P.S back to our rear. That fortune you didn't make does not need to haunt your mind if you decide enough can make you happy. Just learn to be one with yourself and happy to be still here breathing in the good fortune of having the chance to see another year in. So many miss the opportunities life brings by missing out on living in the moment when too much focus is placed in the future. I am vowing to never take more from myself than I give to others, and many lessons were learnt in this regard in the year that has past. I will cherish my virtues and squander none on those who don't deserve them, and if you take heed you may do the same. Whatever your wish, all I wish for you, is that you have a Happy New Year!


Copyright © Robyn Whittaker. 2010.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Balls and Tinsel!

Well it's that time of the year again when we shake off the tree and fill it with balls and tinsel and hope the fat old man in a red suit leaves us something under it for our yearly efforts. This part of the world warms up and the other part cools down and we all think of the good and the bad times past. No amount of shaking the boxes produces that Prada handbag or Jimmy Choos that I have wished for in years gone by and this year I guess will be much the same. I too will enter the land of gastronomical madness and produce a euro styled hot banquet of turkey and baked ham fit for a queen, punctuated with custard drowned pudding. I will no doubt drink my weight in champagne, pausing briefly to rest my stomach before re-emerging to inhale what is left over. Christmas is my favourite time of the year, a period where many of us gather together to celebrate what it is to be human in this consumer obsessed planet we call earth. It's the thought that counts they say, but who of us would scowl at a box of Chanel or a Gucci watch with a diamond or two.

Of course we do encounter the odd scrooge or two on our travels who spit and splatter about how vile it all is and how we should somehow feel guilty for just having a good time. Take no heed to these nay sayers and party poopers who relish any chance to ruin someone’s happiness, they are just there to remind us of how not to act and challenge us to have fun in spite of their efforts. Park your clown car of fun where ever you like this silly season and surround yourself with family and friends and enjoy the month that ends with presence of mind and the presents you find. Drape your life with a sparkle and a smile, never wane from joyful desire. Spare a thought for those less fortunate, the sick and lonely without family and open your heart to those on a limb. Many a Xmas orphan has found their way to my home in years gone by and I delight in sharing the day and all it has to offer with them. Finally when all else fails, the tinsel disintegrates and your tree falls apart and no amount of turkey or ham fills your hole, just think of the gift of the life you've been given and turn all your thoughts into gold. Most of all, may my wish come true, I hope you have a Merry Christmas.

Copyright © Robyn Whittaker. 2010

Friday, November 5, 2010

HISTORY OF THE FUTURE

Is it all in vain to hope that we may some day all skip to a similar beat that sets the rhythm of a race accepting of difference and change? Will our new ordered world understanding fully include those on the fringe into the taken-for-granted so-called norms of our every day? Shall I live to enjoy this future I feel certain is bound to arrive eventually on the doorsteps of a generation beyond our alphabet?

Living on the edge of dark clouds that bring occasional rain is how we are seen by some. Instead of our rainbow, they only see storm clouds gathering, and with bated breath they wait and anticipate where next lightning may strike.

To say that it is right that only one type of person is entitled to certain liberties afforded to many and stolen from some, is surely the hares way to run. And soon, perhaps even sooner than you think, hard-shelled instructors of steady sure pace will one day win the seemingly failed chase. Futures full of children will change the wrongs to rights, not all at once I guess, but time will tell a new tale.

Marriage between anyone for whom it pleases will seem oh so very "normal" by then, so much so that a yawn is the only protest you may get. Will you marry for Love, maybe money or pleasure? Why not combine the three? After all, some have had centuries to work this out and look what is happening to that. Gender and sexuality will be something of which we blend and bend, shaping them to our heart and souls desire. No human fear will be leading a charge against what is finally realised as nature’s way. And the earth will still revolve around its sun, inevitably gaining heat on every new go round. And occasionally the future will take a look back as they do today, and with a beat in their hearts and relief on their brow they might say, "Wow! What a weird lot".


Copyright (c) Robyn Whittaker. 2010.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Book Thrower!

What makes us who we are? What joins us together to complete a sentence handed down from the book thrower that says this is your lot so stick with it. No escape from tunnels dug deep into the sediments of toiled soil long past turned to rock that's never going to avail itself to become rubble we wish was behind us. Keep digging and searching for the fools gold in pans filled with the joy that sends feet skyward and a body in fast pursuit.

If only riches were fast pertainable and many to be had by those that wish for less work for best returns and a place in history that the royalties only ancestors gain. Love me now for who I am and who you wish me to be and think not of who I sometimes appear to be. If the joy I bring is a fleeting gift, let the jester in me be the one you cherish for all mans time, and let that time last for exactly the length of the strings in the history of theory.

Copyright (c) Robyn Whittaker. 2010

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

"Stuffed" with Choice!

Life is full of choices: what to wear, who to love, where to live and how to live and so on as the wheel of life spins us in and out of control. Sometimes those choices take you far whilst others seem to stop you in your tracks and leave you wondering how to reverse what appears unchangeable. Superficial changes to one's appearance and lifestyle are easy to make when financial grease flows freely to the axle of your wheels and life glides along like a dream with beautiful scenery at every vantage point. Our clothing, the home we live in and the car we drive all say a lot to those passing through our scope of being and "new" is where it is at for the ones who desire the appearance of "most".

We are what we believe and thoughts become things, it has been said, and with every passing moment we are potentially the creators of what we soon will see. The world and its human inhabitants, good and bad, spin silently in space pondering the meaning of it all and wishing this power we have been told we possess, was one that automatically was ours to control. What if we were able to blend our minds in unison to positively bring about world change of any magnitude to prevent our own genocidal annihilation via the environment? Would we do it? Are we too far gone with our collective pursuits of selfish gratification to ever make the change?, or will we get to the brink of no return to face the ultimate result of over consumption on a cancerous scale.

These are the thoughts that make us conscious beings of positive and negative change, and these thoughts create the actions that have the potential to save our human ship or sink it under the waters without a trace. We live in a throw away society trained to give away what has lost style and use product designs that are cheaper to replace than fix. Stuffed with choices in a sea of obsolescence, we try to convince ourselves that the old world order of protecting values and reliability in goods is somehow going to be fully achievable again. I like to think that we can effect a new direction for us all, but after witnessing the things we discard on our footpaths and a futile phone call to an appliance repair store to fix an unfixable blender, I can only wonder.

Copyright (c) Robyn Whittaker 2010

Monday, May 10, 2010

SPITTING RIGHTEOUS VENOM

Gay marriage is a contentious issue for many "religious" members of our wider human community. With God on their side, the Righteous Crusades continue. Many American church leaders, for example, are actively opposing and trying to overturn judicial rulings and legislative activity that has extended marriage rights to everyone, gay or straight. For example, the highest court in the state of Iowa just, over a year ago, ruled that equal rights are just that, and that they extend marriage rights to all. As fundamental rights are extended incrementally, and from place to place, to a traditionally marginalized minority, some pious folks' bile is being hatefully displayed, a distinct difference from the love and humility that one might expect based on the teachings of their various sacred texts.
Marriage has traditionally been a preserve of the straight. Religious leaders and secular lawmakers have arrogantly held the moral and legal keys to this domain. In much of the world, unfortunately, they still do and nothing has changed in this regard. Pandering politicians and dogmatic piety stand, locked arm in arm, in fear of change, in fear of the pink nuptial.
State-recognized gay marriage is a contentious issue for many devout persons because they confuse state "sanction" with religious "sanctity." According to many of their various "sacred" rulebooks, male and female unions are the only couplings their God approves of, and therefore secular authorities need to adhere to those rules, too. And that's just the way it's always been. However, in modern, progressive societies, we don't legislate, or give state sanction, based on these sacred texts. In tolerant and open countries, we can't. Whose book would we choose? Whose interpretation? Instead, we distinguish between the secular and the sacred, and try to avoid the one encroaching on the other. Proponents of gay marriage are not demanding the right to be married in your church. Instead, we are demanding the right that your church not interfere with our rights to marry in our government courthouses, our public parks, our homes and gardens, and yes, even in those churches that do open their aisles to all God's children.
Where human progress and change confronts the comfort zone of long-established beliefs, you will find conflict as some try to romanticize the past, mythologize the status quo, and marginalize any calls for change. But, equality is about treating all humans with dignity and respect, providing equal rights for all regardless of sexuality or gender. It is not about mankind's ongoing "what's next" fear. As for your spirituality, believe what you want to believe and find happiness in what you will, but do not denigrate and oppress others as we all seek to live our best lives in our short time in this world.

Copyright (c) Robyn Whittaker. 2010

THE PUZZLE OF LIFE

LIFE IN TIMES OF HARDSHIP CAN SOMETIMES FEEL LIKE A SHATTERED PUZZLE, WITH THE PIECES OF YOUR SELF SCATTERED ALL OVER LIFE'S FLOOR. WHEN TIME COMES TO PICK UP AND RE ASSEMBLE, THE LIFE PICTURE IS NO LONGER WHAT YOU SAW BEFORE.

THE PUZZLE, THE PICTURE AND PIECES THAT WE ARE MADE UP OF, LOOK ONE WAY BEFORE NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE EVENTS HAPPEN AND ANOTHER WAY SOON AFTER.
THE YEARS PASS AND CONFRONTING LESSONS GOOD AND BAD, CHANGE US IN A WAY THAT IS SOMETIMES ONLY EVIDENT WHEN WE PLACE MOST OF THE PIECES BACK TOGETHER, AND WE WITNESS A VERY DIFFERENT SCENE.
LIFE AND ITS EVENTS EITHER BREAK US APART, OR BRING US TOGETHER TO FIND A NEW RESOLVE AND WE EXPERIENCE AND VIEW A DIFFERENT SCENE. WHETHER IT IS PLEASANT AND POSITIVE OR NUMBING AND NEGATIVE IS THE CHOICE THAT IS OURS TO MAKE.
YOU START WITH THE EIFFEL TOWER AND WHEN MOST OF THE PIECES ARE COMING TOGETHER YOU REALIZE IT'S NOW THE LONDON BRIDGE.
BOTH STRONG, YET ENCOMPASSING TWO DIFFERENT IDEALS.
ONE A SYMBOL OF STRENGTH AND BEAUTY, THE OTHER A STRONG MEANS OF GETTING OVER AND ACROSS DEEP WATERS. WATERS THAT RUN DEEP LIKE BLOOD RUNNING IN VAIN.
A BRIDGE THAT IN TIME YOU KNOW IN YOUR HEART YOU WILL HAVE TO CROSS, IN ORDER TO REACH A LAND THAT YOUR SOUL WILLS THE FLESH TO TRAVERSE. LIFE'S JOURNEY AND THE COMPLEXITIES WE ARE FORCED TO ACCEPT, LOSS AND ALL THE CHANGES WE EXPERIENCE WITH THE PASSING OF TIME.
A COMING OF AGE FORCED UPON US FOR DARING TO CONTINUE WITH THE BELIEF THAT OUR LIFE AGAINST ALL THE ODDS SHOULD END UP THE ONE THAT IS MEASURED, PREDICTABLE AND SAFE. DRAWN TO UNDERSTANDING THE FUTILITY OF FIGHTING LIFE'S REALITIES WITH WHAT WE WOULD PREFER, TEACHES US THAT AT TIMES WE APPEAR TO BE LIKE ACTORS THAT AT BEST CAN GUIDE THE SCRIPT WITH POSITIVITY AND ULTIMATELY CHANGE OUR FATE. WE ARE, I BELIEVE, SENT AND DRAW TO OURSELVES THE EXPERIENCES WE NEED TO LEARN TO BE THE BEST WE CAN BE. YOU ARE WHAT YOU BELIEVE AND WHAT YOU GIVE OUT YOU RECEIVE.
SOME EXPERIENCES ARE A GIVEN, DEATH, AND LOSING THE ONES WE LOVE. WITH EVERY PASSING BREATH WE ARE IN THE FLUX OF CHANGE, AND FROM SECOND TO SECOND THE PERSON WE WERE PASSES AWAY. FOCUS ON THE GOOD IN YOURSELF AND OTHERS AND YOU WILL GET THROUGH, WHATEVER IS IN STORE FOR YOU.
EVEN THOUGH BACK THEN IN THE PAST IS SOMETIMES LONGED FOR WITH NOSTALGIA, OR DREADED WITH REMORSE AND HEARTACHE, FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE WE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME. THIS IS MY VIEW, YOURS MAY NOT BE THE SAME. ONE THING THAT I AM SURE OF, THE PUZZLE OF LIFE COMES WITH A GUARANTEE OF CHANGE.

(c) Robyn Whittaker

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Weight A While


Weight a while, think,
Plants in the mind keeping you here.

Places we stay, locked faithless embrace,
Hooks that catch, working against yourself.

Positive mindset, loving reflection releases the trap.
Absorbed self acceptance is key, to what we finally see.

Core set of values, constrict or release,
Freedom is body image at ease.


Copyright (c) Robyn Whittaker 2009.