B That as it Mae…. Each season of life provides us with opportunity. Opportunity to carefully select the seeds we want to sow. Opportunity to nurture those seeds, trusting as we tend to them regularly that even though we may not yet be able to see the promise of future harvest, that with regular watering and fertilising, and keeping weeds at bay, we will be rewarded with a rich harvest. Opportunity to reap what we have sown and so diligently grown, a bountiful harvest to sustain not just ourselves, but those in our village and beyond. Opportunity to reinvest some of the seeds of this harvest, ensuring we don’t consume all that is in front of us, for we are never guaranteed of such a fruitful season next year. Many of us leave the harvest of life up to the Gods. We allow the winds of change to lay seeds at our feet, and we half heartedly accept this as our destiny. With this attitude of helplessness and submission to the gods, we are not fully invested in seeing this crop flourish yet we are surprised when, at harvest time, our neighbours appear to be doing better than us. This season, we can take personal responsibility for our own harvests. We cannot change the winds, the rains, the number of sunny days that smile upon us and our crops. But we can change ourselves and our actions. We each have 24 hours in our days. The difference between those with full and enriching lives and all the rest? How we choose to use them. 
Month: April 2015
Rainy days and Mondays
70’s band The Carpenters sang “rainy days and Mondays always get me down”
B that is at mae… if you’ve woken up today, in good health if not good spirits, then you’re on the right side of the grass and have another 24 hours to be amazing, do amazing things and make your time on this planet mean something.
Happy Rainy day Monday!
Three Blogs that will Change your Life
With a million blogs floating around in cyberspace, not to mention the plethora of digital content at our daily disposal via social media, email, online magazines and news sites, one of the best ways to sort the wheat from the chaff is word of mouth.
Here are three blogs that have literally changed my life, bringing compassion, connectedness, perspective and a new way of thinking and behaving to how I move through my precious 24/7s.
(btw these are listed alphabetically as I could not possibly attempt to rank them based on any other criteria)
The Minimalists
I read Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus’ book “Everything that Remains” on a retreat in Bali in 2014. Fast forward twelve months and I have discarded literally tonnes of excess stuff from my life, eradicated my credit card debt and found peace in my life I never thought possible. Perfect for anyone seeking bite-size blog posts that are as beautifully written as they are steeped in common sense.
The Sista Code
Borne out of a life changing trip to Nepal in early 2014, Novocastrian Melissa Histon hasn’t just started a blog, she’s inspired a global movement. With followers in the tens of thousands all over the world, the blog features writers from all walks of life, doing amazing things to make the world a better place, not just for women but for all of us. Ideal for those seeking a daily breath of fresh air, real life stories (the good, the bad and the totally inspirational) and an opportunity to be part of something making a difference at a grass roots level.
Zen Habits
An old friend recommended this several years ago and I was an instant fan. It’s one of the world’s most popular blogs, yet author Leo Babauta’s writing remains unaffected, intensely real and entirely relatable. This is for you if you’re looking to reshape some basic, fundamental habits in your life such as procrastination, daily meditation or a healthier relationship with your body.
Live a life of curiosity on the road less travelled
Live a life of curiosity on the road less travelled
I write monthly for regional newspaper The Newcastle Herald’s business edition.
Super proud of this month’s piece incorporating the concept of A Road Less Travelled as author M Scott Peck envisioned it, the newer and equally cool concept of first followers from Leadership Lessons from a Dancing Guy and one of my favourite words: anthemic
THE 1978 best-selling author/psychiatrist M Scott Peck coined the popular phrase the road less travelled, via his anthemic tome of the same name that described the attributes of a fulfilled human being.
Love him, loathe him, or never heard of him, by longevity alone his work provides us as individuals, business leaders and community members with an attractive proposition – living a life of curiosity, challenging the status quo and seeking to take the moral and spiritual high ground at those compelling “sliding doors” moments in our lives.
If you are familiar with the viral youtube clip by Derek Sivers, “leadership lessons from a dancing guy”, I am preaching to the converted. To the initiated or the virginal among you, please read on…
Sivers says “a leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous”… sound familiar? Had a great idea that most people around you said would never work? “Guitar groups are on the way out”.. said a record company executive to the Beatles in 1962; “No civil war picture ever made a nickel”… said a movie mogul to Louis B Mayer when he was trying to sell Gone with the Wind… similar stories for Alexander Graham Bell (and the telephone) and Steve Jobs (the iphone).
In this vein, we can look at leadership and where the fork in the road ultimately tests who is mediocre and who is exceptional. Imagine for a moment we are on the road less travelled with a group of most amazing individuals. Often not the most recognised or celebrated in their industry, and certainly not the most highly paid or visible, these incredible people make grand visions a reality, transform ideas into followings and are a very rare and special collective we can refer to as First Followers.
Our friend, M Scott Peck also said “The whole course of human history may depend on a change of heart in one solitary and even humble individual – for it is in the solitary mind and soul of the individual that the battle between good and evil is waged and ultimately won or lost”
Click on the link below to read the full article
It’s a small world after all
Mother Earth, once considered a wide, wide world is now a global village. No longer vast and mysterious, now it’s a small world after all, tightly connected and easily discoverable.
The world is still our oyster, but now sits in the palm of our hand, tantalisingly close from behind the keys of our phones, tablets and PCs.
B that as it Mae, each of our experiences traversing this amazing planet remain individual. No one can experience your travels in the same way you do, even when you share your photos, reviews and stories on social media, blogs, Trip Advisor and old fashioned family slide nights.
What is truly wonderful is the gift of sharing those experiences so they may inspire, motivate, educate and inform those who share your wanderlust, and through this shared experience we connect with our fellow humans and take a little piece of them with us as we travel in their footsteps.
This manifesto captures all I loved about Peru when I travelled there in 2000, and whilst Machu Picchu was certainly the highlight, this Andean country made a long lasting impression on me, with its stunning landscapes, warm and beautiful people and hearty, delicious cuisine.
Here are my top 3 ideas for bringing a little piece of Peru into your world today.
1. Learn some spanish. Just saying “hi, how are you?” to someone sounds more romantic and interesting in this beautiful, latin based language.
2. Make empanadas and pisco sours for dinner. Or head to Chan Chan in Newcastle West if dining out is more your thing.
3. Find yourself some Alpaca. Blankets, beanies, jumpers and scarves are all readily available online and at some regional markets. Soft to touch and sensuously warm, if this is the closest you ever get to Peru it will be worth it.
B That As It Mae 