Category: Inspiration

Of all the African tribes still alive today, the Himba tribe is one of the few that counts the birth date of the children not from the day they are born nor conceived but the day the mother decides to have the child.
When a Himba woman decides to have a child, she goes off and sits under a tree, by herself, and she listens until she can hear the song of the child who wants to come. And after she’s heard the song of this child, she comes back to the man who will be the child’s father, and teaches him the song. When they make love to physically conceive the child, they sing the song of the child as a way of inviting the child.
When she becomes pregnant, the mother teaches that child’s song to the midwives and the old women of the village, so that when the child is born, the old women and the people gather around him/her and sing the child’s song to welcome him/her. As the child grows up, the other villagers are taught the child’s song. If the child falls, or gets hurt, someone picks him/her up and sings to him/her his/her song. Or maybe when the child does something wonderful, or goes through the rites of puberty, then as a way of honoring this person, the people of the village sing his or her song.
In the Himba tribe there is one other occasion when the “child song” is sang to the Himba tribesperson. If a Himba tribesman or tribeswoman commits a crime or something that is against the Himba social norms, the villagers call him or her into the center of the village and the community forms a circle around him/her. Then they sing his/her birth song to him/her.
The Himba views correction not as a punishment, but as love and remembrance of identity. For when you recognise your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another.
In marriage, the songs are sung, together. And finally, when the Himba tribesman/tribeswoman is lying in his/her bed, ready to die, all the villagers that know his or her song come and sing – for the last time that person’s song.

Every politician should have the feet held to the fire of accountability on this one! Fracking, mining farmlands for coal, allowing depleted uranium munitions to be used during war games, clear cut fellling of old growth forests and littering our upper atmosphere with satellite junk are all crimes against the environment and treason to the people.

How indeed?

1. Never shake a man’s hand sitting down.
2. Don’t enter a pool by the stairs.
3. The man at the BBQ Grill is the closest thing to a king.
4. In a negotiation, never make the first offer.
5. Request the late check-out.
6. When entrusted with a secret, keep it.
7. Hold your heroes to a higher standard.
8. Return a borrowed car with a full tank of gas.
9. Play with passion or not at all…
10. When shaking hands, grip firmly and look them in the eye.
11. Don’t let a wishbone grow where a backbone should be.
12. If you need music on the beach, you’re missing the point.
13. Carry two handkerchiefs. The one in your back pocket is for you. The one in your breast pocket is for her.
14. You marry the girl, you marry her family.
15. Be like a duck. Remain calm on the surface and paddle like crazy underneath.
16. Experience the serenity of traveling alone.
17. Never be afraid to ask out the best looking girl in the room.
18. Never turn down a breath mint.
19. A sport coat is worth 1000 words.
20. Try writing your own eulogy. Never stop revising.
21. Thank a veteran. Then make it up to him.
22. Eat lunch with the new kid.
23. After writing an angry email, read it carefully. Then delete it.
24. Ask your mom to play. She won’t let you win.
25. Manners maketh the man.
26. Give credit. Take the blame.
27. Stand up to Bullies. Protect those bullied.
28. Write down your dreams.
29. Always protect your siblings (and teammates).
30. Be confident and humble at the same time.
31. Call and visit your parents often. They miss you.

An educator writes: For the last 30 years surveys have been handed out at the beginning of all my seminars. So, I have a good idea what issues parents have been struggling with. One of these is Disrespect for Parents.
https://jokereederarticles.wordpress.com/2018/03/01/disrespect/

When the Carmina Burana baritone soloist collapses, Patrick steps up to save the day with a great performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T2Qc0cn9-c

The common denominator of tyranny and authoritarianism is a demand to agree with authority. Accompanying that is an insistence that you do not look and observe for yourself. The reason for this is that if you looked for yourself you might see the truth rather than the authoritarian line you are being force fed.
Unfortunately these days the education system is the ne plus ultra of authoritarianism in demanding that you not only do not inspect for yourself but that you are forced to learn what is dictated in the fashion dictated, regardless of whether or not that is your best learning style.
This is the opposite of freedom and is a very unfriendly was to lead people. And as an Australian there are two things on which I am keen, freedom and friendliness!
Many’s the stellar sales person I have met who could not easily assimilate the written word but who could listen and recall better than those who could read well.
I went to a workshop last night where the speaker encouraged us to take three areas of our lives (health, relationships and work) and asked us to look closely at what was actually there, not what we were hoping or wished was there or thought we wanted others to know was there or, or or… …but what was ACTUALLY there!
He then asked us to really duplicate that, understand it, and answer the question, “What would happen if you did nothing about that?” asking us to extrapolate into the future the natural consequences of inaction.
And then, “What would you need to do to improve that scenario?”
So, my message to you this week is to, just for a week, take note of your life. Really stop and look at each area of your life, personal health, hobbies and interests, family, friends, social groups, work, the area you live in and see what is really there.
Ask yourself, “If I do nothing to alter this scene, will it head where I want it to go?”
If the answer is, “No”, then ask, “What would I need to do to alter it?”
Remember those who fail to plan are planning to fail.

Australia’s national environment laws are a laughing stock. They don’t work. Nature is in decline and the Australian Government seems to have little interest in fixing the problem.
Over the past month, The Guardian has published a damning series of important articles revealing the complete breakdown of Australia’s environment laws and a total lack of care by the Turnbull Government.1 Old growth forests are being logged, hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest and woodlands are being cleared, and action to protect endangered and threatened species is either not happening or is woefully inadequate.
Case in point is the farcical draft National Strategy for Nature which experts have called a “global embarrassment”.
The government quietly released the strategy before Christmas. The new plan scraps targets for protecting the environment. It doesn’t even mention new nature laws or the need for an independent watchdog.
It is time to get angry, to get vocal and to get active.
The draft National Strategy for Nature is open for public submissions for another three weeks. Your voice matters—so make sure it’s heard.
Click here to send a quick email to the government telling it that Australia needs a real plan for nature. https://www.wilderness.org.au/campaigns/tell-malcolm-australias-nature-needs-real-plan
We’ve got until 16 March to send a powerful and clear message: this national strategy doesn’t cut it, and the government needs to go back to the drawing board.
National environment laws shouldn’t be about ticking off big developments, like they are now. They should be about making wildlife safe from extinction, and protecting nature from the chainsaws and the bulldozers.
This is what I qwrote:
The lack of a master plan for protecting our natural habitat is contributing to a colossal failure to create a desirable future for our children.
Criminals are irresponsible, short-sighted and cannot conceive consequences.
One could argue that irresponsible, short sighted actions that do not contribute to an improved environment are criminally negligent.
Don’t be criminally negligent with our children’s future!
https://www.wilderness.org.au/campaigns/tell-malcolm-australias-nature-needs-real-plan

I received this email from Greenpeace:
Hi Tom,
It started as a low haze on the horizon. As strong winds pushed the wall of dust over Port Augusta, we realised our problems with the defunct coal-fired power plant were far from over.
We were facing choking dust and an unbelievable stench, and it felt like the power company and the Environmental Protection Authority didn’t care about the aftermath of the power plant’s closure.
With our throats burning and our eyes stinging from the fine coal dust swirling around us, we knew we had to take this into our own hands.
That’s why we’re taking this message to the next Premier of South Australia: clean up the defunct coal power plant site, for the health of our town.
Help us get our video out to thousands of people in the lead-up to the election. https://give.greenpeace.org.au/justice-for-port-augusta
Dr Amanda Bethell, GP of the Year and Port Augusta resident with a message for the next Premier.
Port Augusta’s a great place to live. I brought my kids up here, and I run the local cinema. I hate seeing my community’s health at risk. I’ve been fighting to get the old power plant site cleaned up since it was shut down in 2016. I don’t think what we’re doing here is heroic – we just care about our community’s right to breathe clean air.
With the help of thousands of people like you, Tom, we got an independent air monitor installed last year so we can keep the power company and the EPA accountable.
But our plea to be able to breathe clean air is going unheard. That’s why in the lead up to South Australia’s state election, we’re asking the next Premier of South Australia to commit to cleaning up the defunct coal power plant site.
We want a proper remediation of the site. That means research into best practice for coal power plant closures. We want an independent investigation into the health effects from the dust events that left us coughing and struggling to breathe. And we want the restoration of the polluted Bird Lake to a scenic attraction, rather than a stinking mess.
We know our state’s politicians are sensitive to public pressure during elections – any bad press could wreck their chance at becoming SA’s Premier. We want them to feel the pressure of knowing that their voters care about Port Augusta, and that we’re all watching their next move. Let’s show them this isn’t an issue they can just sweep under the rug.
?$20 will get this video out to 1000 South Australians on Facebook
$50 will get this video out to 2500 South Australians on Facebook
$250 will get this video out to 12,500 South Australians on Facebook
With $2500 we can run a half-page ad in local newspapers for a day
With $6000 we can run a half-page ad in the Adelaide Advertiser for a day
We’ve got even bigger ideas brewing: help us make them a reality!
CHIP IN NOW
Our community is taking our power back, with the help of all of you. We’re not going to be the last community to face this problem, which is why it’s so important that our leaders start taking us seriously and take action to clean up after coal.
We’re ready. Are you?
Michelle, Port Augusta resident
PS. We’re so proud of our local doctor Amanda, who was voted Australian GP of the Year for 2017! She’s on board with our campaign, for the health of our community, past and present. Watch Amanda’s video message here. https://give.greenpeace.org.au/justice-for-port-augusta
https://give.greenpeace.org.au/justice-for-port-augusta