Week Thirty One Australia Day’s Grateful List 

Posted on January 26, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful for the amazing people who have been named as Australians of the Year for 2016.

Today I am grateful for the outgoing Australian of the Year Rosie Battie.

Rosie is giving a voice to victims of domestic violence. She has set up the Luke Batty Foundation called Never Alone. She has also just launched Luke’s Champions.

Today I am grateful for Australia’s Local Hero 2016 Dr Catherine Keenan. She is the cofounder and executive director of the Sydney Story Factory. The Sydney Story Factory is an organisation that helps children develop writing skills, cultivate their creativity and find their own voice.

Today I am grateful for the two Young Australians of the Year 2016 Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett. They set up Orange Sky Laundry to help homeless people do their laundry. They have five vans in Brisbane, Melbourne, South East Victoria, Sydney and the Gold Coast. Run by over 270 volunteers, the custom fitted vans with two commercial washing machines and two dryers, service over 36 locations and wash over 350 loads each week. Not only do they provide a wonderful service that helps to restore an individual’s dignity but they are facilitating many hours of conversations per week.

Today I am grateful for The Senior Australian of the Year 2016 Professor Gordian Fulde. He is the Director of Emergency at St Vincent’s Hospital and Sydney Hospital. He is passionately outspoken about the ‘ice’ and alcohol-fuelled violence present in our society and works tireslessly to educate about the dangers of a binge drinking culture.

Today I am grateful for The Australia of the Year 2016 David Morrison AO. He is a former Chief of Army to be recognised internationally for his commitment to gender equality, diversity and inclusion. His video about equality in the army started a cultural shift that has changed Australia’s armed forces forever.

He is a champion of human rights in his new role as the Chair of the Diversity Council Australia.

All these people are improving our conversations. Our conversations about violence against women, our conversations with children, our conversations with those less fortunate than ourselves, our conversations about alcohol and drugs in our community and our conversations about equality and diversity in our communities. I am excited and grateful that these conversations are occuring and I wish all these people all the best for their new roles in 2016.

Most of this information was sourced from http://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Week Thirty One Monday’s Grateful List 

Posted on January 25, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful for meditation and mindfulness.

Today I am grateful that I read and learn about meditation and mindfulness constantly.

Today I am grateful that I use meditation to become more mindful. It has taken me a long time to choose a practice that works for me and I am constantly learning and reading about how to improve on my practice. I do not use meditation to become a better student, a more skilled athlete, a better parent or a better wife. I use meditation to provide spaces in my day to quieten the noise of my busy brain in a world that is very busy. I hope a byproduct of learning to create these spaces in my day is that I become a more compassionate empathetic person who can live more fully in the present moment.

I am grateful in a world that is busy and full of noise that I have found an avenue to take breaks from that noise. Thich Nhat Hanh explains this noise as external noise such as radio, watching television, or interacting online and internal noise such as non stop thinking and ruminating about our thoughts. I did a course a few years ago about meditation at Karuna. It was run by a Buddhist monk and I learnt that meditation is not about relaxing and going to sleep – it is about learning to quiet the  mind and thus allow spaces to truly enjoy the present. By learning to meditate I am learning to truly enjoy the present moment and by doing this I am learning that all things are impermanent and therefore it is possible to have more compassion for all things and in all situations.

For those of you who do not understand the difference between mindfulness and meditation my understanding is:

Mindfulness is living with awareness – for example eating mindfully, walking mindfully, listening mindfully and breathing mindfully.

 

Meditation is the practice of taking a specific time out each day to calm the mind. 

 

Click here to watch a: Video that explains the difference nicely.

I am grateful to have read a number of books that are very helpful in this area. These books are

  • How to Meditate by Kathleen McDonald
  • Silence The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise by Thich Nhat Hahn
  • The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche

I am grateful to have listened to a number of useful guided meditations. Some examples of the meditations I have used are

  • https://www.headspace.com/
  • http://cauldronsandcupcakes.com and use category meditation

I do not meditate very day but I am trying to make it a daily practice. I also practice eating mindfully, walking mindfully, listening mindfully, breathing mindfully and living mindfully. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to learn about these skills and I encourage anyone reading my blog today to take some time to learn and practice meditation and mindfulness. I believe living gratefully and practicing mindful living is a pathway to a happier and more fulfilled life and one that allows us to show each other more compassion.

Here is a very short exercise to practice while sitting or walking :

Courtesy of Thich Nhat Hahn from the book Silence.

Please feel free to comment with any books or  materials that you have found useful for your meditation and mindful practices.

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Week Thirty Friday’s Grateful List 

Posted on January 22, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful for one thing. I got a photo with CADEL EVANS !!! 

  

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Week Thirty Wednesday’s Grateful List.

Posted on January 20, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful for all things related to the Tour Down Under. ( for those readers who do know what that is – it is a week long bike race in and around Adelaide, Australia – you can read more about it here : Tour Down Under). 

  
I am an avid cyclist and last year David and I came down and did a tour with MB Cycling and it was wonderful. Watching the cycling was sensational and the cycling was sensational. I cycled nearly 600km in the week, managed some big hills and loved it.

Me on top of Checkers Hill in 2015 after riding up it! 

  

David and I decided we would be back in 2016 to do  the same thing. On 10th June however I had my accident. David and I decided to still come down to the Tour – I am a spectator and David is riding. This year we are traveling with Bikestyle Tours. It is really hard for me watching everyone pedaling up the hills and not participating but I am grateful for many things. 

  
Today I am grateful that Bikestyle Tours caters for non cyclists. There is a lovely group of five ladies who are not cycling. 

  We are traveling to various parts of the race in a comfortable van and have a lovely lady called Grace looking after us. The scenery is beautiful and I am enjoying visiting all the little towns in the Adelaide Hills. 

  
  
  
Today I am grateful that we are staying in the Hilton Hotel. The Hilton is race headquarters and many of the riders and commentators  are staying in the same hotel. Every time I get in the lift I see some famous cyclist or some famous commentator. I am still not brave enough to ask to have my photo with any of them. Cadel Evan is here. Phil Legget is here. Many many other cyclists are here. 

Today I am grateful that Adelaide is such a beautiful city with so many wonderful restaurants. Last night we ate at The Playford Restaurant on North Terrace and it was delicious. The first night we ate at The Stag Hotel and it too was fabulous. 

  
Today I am grateful that I have a wonderful view of the TDU village from our room and can also see the Adelaide Hills. 

  
Today I am grateful that this year I can enjoy the food and wine and am not worried about how much sleep I am getting. Last year I was so worried about not being able to do the rides, not keep up etc etc I was extremely careful about what I ate, did not drink any alcohol until we had finished our trip and went to bed early. I do not have any of those worries this year and can enjoy all the delicious food and wine that Adelaide has to offer. 

Even though I am missing riding terribly it is pretty hot down here and I am very grateful that I have a lovely cool air conditioned van to travel in. 

  

Today I am grateful to be able to watch and enjoy so much wonderful cycling and get up close and personal with the riders. 

  
Photograph courtesy of www.cyclingweekly.co.uk

  

  
  
And finally I am grateful that I have so many wonderful bikes to look at and I am starting to think about my new bike. 

Here is one I fell in love with yesterday .

  
And I think I need this tag! ……

  

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Week Thirty Monday’s Grateful List

Posted on January 18, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful for silence.  

  

Today I am grateful for the quiet times when I meditate. 

  
Today I am grateful for the quiet times when I walk. 

  
Today I am grateful for the quiet times in conversation. I am determined this year to take time to listen and not be preparing to add something to the conversation. 

  
Today I am grateful for the quiet time when everyone in the house has gone to bed. 

Today I am grateful for the quiet time to sit and watch the world go by. 

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Week Twenty Nine Sunday’s Grateful List

Posted on January 17, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful that I have not done my New Years Resolution ( or as I call it My New Years Inpiration List). A friend asked yesterday whether I had done my list yet – I always do one and I generally have achieved many of the things on my lists by the end of each year. 

  
I am grateful this year that I have a different attitude about my inspiration list. I am a very firm believer in hopes and dreams and I love having a goal to work towards but since the accident my the expectations about myself have had to change. I am determined this year to take things as they come, be gentle on myself and enjoy the journey of what each day brings. 

  
I would love to finish my Post Graduate Diploma by the end of the year but with all our travel and my inability to concentrate for long periods of time I have no idea whether this will happen. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to study and I will enjoy whatever learning I manage to fit in this year. 

I always have a fitness goal but this year those goal posts are seriously different. I plan to build up my core by doing regular Pilates ( which I have never done), do some weights and gradually build up my cardio fitness. Again I have no idea whether this will be walking, wind training or swimming or a combination of all three. Again I will be governed by my energy levels and enjoyment rather than a specific goal. 

I always have the goal to love my family and husband and I am determined to do this. I will not have any training goals or events to take up my time this year and so I know I will be able to spend lots of time with David and the children. 

I also always have the goal to eat healthily and lose weight. I am always my lightest for the year on the first weekend of November which is the weekend of the Noosa tri. This year my aim is just to eat mindfully and really really enjoy the food I am eating. Hopefully if I eat mindfully I will stay healthy and maintain a healthy weight and not put on too much.

   One thing I will be doing is participating in Febfast to have at least one month in the year to have no alcohol. It is a great cause as it raises money for youth effected by drugs and alcohol, is a great example for my  children and the benefits of realizing what it is like to it drink no alcohol for a specific time is very beneficial. I have signed up as Team Tucker and if you would like to join me for a month of no alcohol I encourage you to join my team – Team Tucker.

I am grateful to be able to take each day as it comes.

  
……………..oh and I might get another tattoo sometime this year! 

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Week Twenty Nine Saturday’s Grateful List 

Posted on January 16, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful for my amazing life.

  
  
Today I am grateful for spending two weeks in Japan with my family and the lovely Suchting family. Although I didn’t ski this year because of my accident I enjoyed great company, beautiful food, amazing scenery and wonderful friendship.

  
  
 
  
Today I am grateful that we are all home safely from our trip. I am thrilled that as a result of my accident I now have no fear of flying. I used to be so terrified and tried taking sleeping tablets, drinking too much alcohol and finally and most effectively meditation. Since the accident I do not feel nervous. I keep waiting for the panic to return but so far it hasn’t. Even though I am not terribly nervous about flying at present I am still grateful when we land. I know there is still a possibility ( like everything in life) that something may happen to the plane while flying, taking off or landing. 

Today I am grateful that I was able to convince the children to unpack when we got home and I managed to do all the washing and folding  and put away most of it ( the reason for this was the  pressure of a combination of traveling to Adelaide today and having Mum and Dad coming over today and staying to look after the kids). 

  
Today I am grateful that I caught up with my friend Phillipa. She has been following my recovery from afar and has had some family challenges herself. It was so nice to here about her family and her life in Hanoi. I love that we can see each other every few years but still have so much to talk about and that we care about each other so much. I was thrilled that she took the time to drop in and see me.

  
  
Today I am grateful to be traveling to Adelaide to do a Bike Style Tours trip in conjuction with the Tour Down Under. Once again I will be a spectator of a sport I love. I will be with my amazing husband and I know I will once again enjoy great food, company and scenery. I hopefully will watch and meet some amazing cyclists and if anyone could arrange a meeting with Cadel Evans I would be very grateful. 

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Week Twenty Nine Wednesday’s Grateful List 

Posted on January 13, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful for conversations. 

We went out to dinner last night with a lovely group of people. There were lots of extremely interesting conversations. We talked about our lives. We talked about epigenetics. We talked about the political system. We talked about cycling. We talked about how to make things better in our world. I found the conversations interesting, stimulating, and challenging. 

  
According to Wikepedia Epigenetics is 

the study, in the field of genetics, of cellular and physiological phenotypic trait variations that are caused by external or environmental factors that switch genes on and off and affect how cells read genes instead of being caused by changes in the DNA sequence.

I find this subject so interesting. The possibility that we can turn certain information on our genetic material on and off opens a whole new world of management of health and illness. For example the possibility that obesity can be manipulated will also influence the susceptibility to other diseases such as diabetes.  “Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and a host of other problems, but we know little about the mechanisms by which obesity increases such risk. Genes only explain part of the story”, says study leader Professor Nilesh Samani, British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiology at the University of Leicester, UK. Epigenetic changes caused by variation in DNA or environmental factors such as diet, stress, and exposure to chemicals can affect the way genes work (are turned on and off) and may also influence disease susceptibility.”*

  
  
One of the other conversations was about the state of our country. One of our friends gave the example of Singapore managing their economy extremely well. I googled this subject and found an extremely good article explaining why Singapore is so successful. One of the quotes I really like from this article is ” Singapore’s success is due to Meritocracy, Pragmatism and Honesty”. I have always thought that we could improve the strength of our community by building connections, improving the fabric of families and working on ourselves. The conversation last night gave me other things to think about. Maybe economics also has a huge part to play in improving the strength of our community. Maybe if we improve our economic system and put more value on work rather than welfare, rewarding excellence rather than mediocrity and had zero tolerance for  dishonesty things   like domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse and suicide rates would become less. 

  
  
In between these intense subjects we talked about our families and how to help our children lead happy successful lives. We also talked about our love of cycling. 

It was a wonderful night of friendship , fine food and wine and stimulating conversation. I am very grateful to be privileged enough to be able to have these amazing experiences. 

  

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Week Twenty Nine. I think it is Monday’s Grateful List . 

Posted on January 11, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful to be able to buy a one way ticket on the gondola in Hirafu. I am sitting up in a cafe overlooking the slopes. I am loving listening to the chatter in the cafe. I have two tough chicks sitting next to me who are talking about their tattoos, their travels, their awesome skiing adventures all while drinking huge beers! ( It is 11 am in the morning). 

  
Today I am grateful that I am really enjoying cooking on our Japanese holiday. We have been coming to Niseko for about 7 years and I get better at negotiating the ingredients from the supermarket and putting them together in a decent meal. Last night we had a very yummy beef ramen. Tonight we are going to have soba noodle salad, a beef salad, a pork stir fry and rice. Yum! 

Today I am grateful that we are also having some nights that we are going to beautiful restaurants and that I don’t have to cook. We went to Bistro Cote Jardin two nights ago and it was delicious. 

  

Today I am grateful for comfortable shoes and warm clothes. One thing I am not missing is putting my ski boots on every morning. 

  
Today I am grateful that I love Japanese food. I love the sashimi. I love the ramen . I love the izkaya. I love the salads. It is all so fresh and delicious. 

  

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Week Twenty Eight Saturday’s Grateful list

Posted on January 9, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful that I am in Niseko with the Suchting family. We are having such a lovely time.

  
  
 Today I am grateful for the beautiful book Belinda White from Ski Japan gave me. It is a book of beautiful photographs of the area we are in.

  

    

 I am grateful to be able to share the stories and laughter when all the family come off the ski field in the afternoon.

  

I am grateful for all the amazing food we are enjoying in Niseko. Last night we went to Bistro Sakaba in Kutchan. It was absolutely delicious. The food was fantastic and Peter chose a beautiful bottle of Riesling which complemented the food perfectly.

  

Photograph courtesy of winedineniseko.com

Today I am grateful to be able to spend the day reading and blogging. I am grateful that I enjoy my own company.

  
 

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