Retired PR hack / public servant, dog walker, nature lover, dharma student, community builder. I live in a small village in a small country on the edge of a big ocean.
I think our little intersection corner of Pukerua Bay must be the most religious in town. By 10am our neighbour had gone off to the spiritualist church her family goes to; the Methodist church immediately next door on the other side had the full Tongan congregation there (beautiful singing as always); and I was upstairs here doing some Buddhist prayers.
This is how religions should accommodate each other. Not every religion will work for everybody; when we find one that touches our hearts, we should be able to explore it.
Lying in bed thinking of some of the things I can be grateful for:
I have a wonderful wife who loves me and looks after me 💕💚
Old friends and family visited yesterday for afternoon tea and a fish and chip dinner 💕
Children stayed for a wide ranging discussion that included ‘How long could you survive by yourself on a desert island?’, to son talking about IT qualifications he’s doing for his post-construction job
More old friends coming to a 1970s themed dinner tonight — salmon mousse and cheese fondue
New line of cancer treatment might be showing signs of positive response (early days but fingers crossed 🤞😷
Dedicated Dharma teachers who guide me on a spiritual path that is meaningful to me🙏🕉️
Inspiring people on social media and in real life communities who are trying to make the world a better place — it doesn’t always feel like it, but there are a lot of us
Knowing that most people are essentially good and want the best for everyone
When my haematologist told me in November last year that, after 13 years of treatment, they had run out of publicly-funded options for treating my myeloma and I had, as a worst-case scenario, a few weeks left to live, it was a bit of a shock. “You could be dead by Christmas,” were his exact words. And yet, here we are, officially in the second half of the new year, and I’m still hanging around—a bit slower and shorter than before—but above ground!
