HAPPY (belated) NEW YEAR!
Click to view slideshow.
A belated Happy New Year everyone. Or as we say in Wiradjuri – Girrgirra Dhalangirr Yiradhu – happy new day. I truly hope that this is your best year yet, and whatever you want for yourself, I want for you too!
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I apologise for the delay, and truth be known, I did start writing this blog on a Morocco Magic tour bus as we headed towards Fez. But I decided not to finish this while traveling because I wanted to be present on the journey and with the beautiful people I was traveling with – my brother Mark, my friends Becky and Sharon, and the new friends I made while away.
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This blog isn’t about the trip as such, rather it is about the revelations, the reflections, the reframing of my life that occurred while away. It was the time to think, the time to really unpack my life when away from home, that was as significant as the sites and sounds, people and landscapes that I experienced.
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I was incredibly fortunate to see in the last hours of 2018 and the first day of 2019 in the sand dunes of the Sahara Desert, where Morocco meets Algeria. The silence among the sand dunes provided the perfect setting for reflection, for planning the coming year, for being grateful for all that life continues to offer me, when I allow myself to see what is in front of me. It also provided a beautiful opportunity for me to experience one of life’s greatest adventures with my baby brother (who stands much taller than me), and to me, that was more significant than any of the medinas, mosques, mountain views, market places or chicken, lemon and olive tagines I enjoyed.
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For me, life is special because I have special people in my life. And travel is so much more meaningful to me when I can share overwhelming moments like sunsets over sand dunes or flying the Aboriginal flag to represent our mob while paying respects to the Berbers, the Amazigh peoples of Morocco.
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I have not set resolutions for 2019, rather I have written a bucket list of experiences I hope to complete; everything from doing a no lights no lycra class to organising a karaoke reunion with friends from the 90s. I’ve also set myself serious fitness challenges including the Hapaulua Half-Marathon, the Gold Coast Half-Marathon and the City2Surf. In terms of personal growth, I’m committed to making a concerted effort at self-improvement including less negative self-talk, honouring my existing qualities, being more kind to myself and others and to putting an end to contemptuous eye-rolling. The eye-rolling pointed out to me by my brother on one of the lengthy bus rides we had in Morocco.
Living the best life I can
Many of you will know that I try to live my life true to the affirmation and hashtag #livingthebestlifeican
Most of you won’t know that I have two beautiful friends who are amazing humans who have been dealing with breast cancer the last year. Watching their courage, humour and dignity have inspired me in ways I cannot even articulate. They remind me daily of the importance of living every day with purpose, with love, with kindness and with gratitude. So, I am dedicating this year to them.
Deadly Bloggers
As the first blog for this year, I’d also like to give a shout out to Leesa Watego and her Deadly Bloggers initiative which I am proud to be part of. I don’t blog because I think the world needs to read my thoughts. Rather, blogging is a way for me to demonstrate a commitment to writing something other than my novels. It’s a way for me to cement some of my goals in writing (once you write and publish it becomes real), and it’s also a way to connect with my readers internationally who can’t attend events but want to be part of writing journey. We all write through a lens. We read though a lens. And while some feel that blogging has passed its due date, I disagree. People read differently. Some people read newspapers and magazines. Some read books. Some read tweets. Others read blogs. My blog is for the latter. All reading matters.
I look forward to sharing a small snippet of my journey in 2019 that will include stories from Wiradjuri country in central New South Wales, India and Hawaii to name just a few settings.
If you too are living the best life you can, please let me know where and how. I find inspiration in others every day.
Yindymarra (respect).
P.S. I have literally hundreds of photos, some I have put in a slide show above, others with all the beautiful colours and landscapes that Morocco offer can be found on my instagram account. I hope you enjoy.
