Thursday - Monday, March 1 - 5 2012 (diary)

Especially at this stage of my life, when I frequently reflect on the past, I feel immensely grateful (and lucky !) for the varied and wonderful life I have had (and still have).
But grateful to whom or to what ? As I do not believe in a God this becomes a somewhat difficult question.

Am I grateful for the Big Bang ?   to the laws of the universe that allowed matter, stars and planets to form ?   or to the unique environment on planet earth which enabled the creation of organic life ?   or to the evolution of the human species ?

Yes, in a broader sense I am grateful for all of that which happened. But for me personally there are two people specifically to whom I feel enormous gratitude with all my heart : my parents, Else and Jan.

It were those two that deliberately brought me into the world, started me onto the path of life, then nurtured me physically, mentally, emotionally and materially throughout the first 25 years or so of it. (Which, as I come to think of it, is a full one third of my entire life up to now !)
It is the anniversary of my mother's birthday today (Sunday March 4), so most appropriate that I write the above.

In a broader sense I am also grateful to my ancestors, for it is from their combined DNAs that the basis of my being in all its aspects was created, and on the whole I am quite happy as to who I am and have become.

In these modern times more women have jobs and follow careers and there are more options with respect to having a child or not. So coming into this world, at least into the developed part of it, has become more difficult. And perhaps that is a good thing, planet earth is increasingly becoming overcrowded.
All the same I am glad that Antien and I too brought two new human beings into this world to share and participate in this greatest of all adventures : life !

Tuesday - Saturday, March 6 - 10 2012 (diary)

Rick and Renee, my neighbours in their caravan, having well and truly retired from work, now decided to go back to England where most of their families live. So they sold their caravan and car, packed up and left this week. It is sad to see them go and it will be a little quieter on the farm here.
I wish them well, but could not imagine me doing that under any circumstance. I just love it here : the climate, the nature environment, the people and the enormous sense of freedom one gets here.

This "wet season" in particular has been wonderful, and I can now understand that most of the locals much prefer the wet over the dry season, although the tourist always come during the dry.
Living up here now on a permanent basis I feel much more settled and, through my bridge activities, especially teaching, have made closer friendships with several. Something I did not do at all while living on the Sunshine Coast for 10 years during the 90s.
The people who live here are not pretentious at all, wear no masks, and are more down to earth and connected with nature. This resonates strongly with me, as I grew up in the country in Holland in a small wood, surrounded by small farms and villages, my best friends were farm boys.