I was walking my dogs at 5.30 am. I saw a homeless man sleeping. He was lying on concrete with his head on his hands in a car park at ground level. I thought it was good that it was summer so he would not get too cold. It caused me to think about surviving...

Noise! And more noise! Traffic noise, people noise. Does silence have a place in society anymore? Some years ago, I participated in a 10-day Vipassana silent retreat where eye contact was also discouraged.I couldn’t believe the noise in my head from all my chatter.I remember thinking to myself “I am here to be in silence...

I was watching our two Standard Poodles play at the park yesterday, they are brother and sister. Our male Oliver (chocolate brown) is obsessed with the ball, (at the moment it is a yellow ball) it doesn’t matter where he is the yellow ball is his focus. Our Ruby (black) loves to watch him although...

In 1981 I was working as a nurse (night duty) at Harold McCracken House (Nursing Home) in Fitzroy, Melbourne. At that time part (ten beds) of the nursing home was dedicated to Palliative Care (Hospice) A two-year pilot program. This was the first palliative care service in Australia, funded by the Kellogg Foundation (USA.) At...

Recently I was driving my partner to her first of 10 sessions of Radiation therapy for cancer. I asked her how she was feeling. She replied “I am scared” A chill went down my spine, and for a moment I caught myself not breathing. I couldn’t even put myself in her shoes to know how she...

I salute the little people we once were: Recently, while waiting for a friend, I had the opportunity to observe a young child and his caregiver. The scene unfolded with the child crawling on the footpath and eventually venturing into a garden bed. The boy's exploration involved picking up large chunks of dirt, which, unsurprisingly,...

This morning I was inspired to go to my local Fruit and Veggie shop Tewantin Market Garden quite early, Sundays they are open at 7 a.m. which is a little unusual for this part of the world. I keep going back there to purchase products because I believe they are very service-oriented. One of the...