February 1st, 2011
FATHER PETE’S LESSON IN TIME
Stopped off to see Father Peter Murray, the Paraplegic reverand we gave one of our laptops to. It was so good seeing how much a small act of giving has brightened up someone else’s life and expanded their access to the world.
Father Murray used to run little ministries in the most remote places in Australia. A comment he made about the Aborigines he encountered stuck with me.
“ All their troubles started when the people of the dream time met the people of the clock.”
I thought WOW am I a person of the clock? It’s so true.
I have recently taken to forcing myself to remain present until the sensation of ‘time bound’ stress or worry has gone. Literally stopping in the middle of the street when I feel that kind of panic and not moving until I get that my presence and patience is vastly more important than my punctuality :- ) Thanks for that Father P
DOUBLE OR NOTHING
I hate gambling – I would rather give my money away. But for a laugh we split the $15 I earnt begging/busking into 3.
We decided to pray on one note , bet the second intuitively and leave the third to chance.
Silly idea I know, but it was fun and we doubled our money. Seems chance was as profitable as prayer and my intuition sucked haha. Quality science prevails 
Anyway we later gave it to a scruffy looking old lady who looked like she was straight out of a movie. Shopping trolley full of rubbish n all. I think she was a little suspicious why someone would give her $40
SINGLE FATHER HELP
Bessie is going away tomorrow for a WEEK!!!! I am going to have my work cut out for me getting up to Canberra with BlueBelle in tow. Anyway I thought it was a good experiment to see how it felt to be a single Dad.
However my blogs might get a little scruffier depending on how much sleep I’m getting haha
RED TAPE & Charity Snobbery
Although most of the time we have met with ‘Can do’ people on this trip we have still run across quite a few that make helping impossible.
We had hoped to help out at some homeless shelters and even arrange for a few thousand dollars to make a difference in the life of a homeless family in Melbourne. However we have met with a frustrating amount of red tape from the homeless charities involved and even some of the people on the ground preventing this from happening.
Charity Snobbery is something I have come across before. Some charities won’t accept donations less than $10,000 if you put on a function to raise money for them…… This is why i think its so important to get out and meet the real people who need the help. We will still be helping. Just NOT through those official channels
TODAY
Been invited to dinner at a refugee’s house. They came over under horrendous conditions with nothing and now spend all their time working for charities.
3 Comments on "16-03 Father Pete, Time Tip & The Double up"
Looking forward to your upcoming blogs while Bessie is away. Sending some sleeping dust your way so hopefully Bluebelle sleeps right through the night for you
Big hugs Shell xxxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooooooo
I think you guys are doing a fabulous job. It does make me very sad tho that you try to do something nice for someone and you are met with suspicion. What ever happened to the days of just helping someone out “because I can”!!!!!!!!!!!!! and what ever happened to the little fish!!!!!!! It begins with “One Step”, “One Smile”, “One Act Of Kindness” Some of these charities are more worried about the “Big Bickies” and I think are loosing sight of where it all began………………………
Good luck on being a single dad for a wek. I am sure you will do fine, you will however have your eyes opened wide to the little things you use to get done while BB was with Besse. You will miss those few minutes of “alone” time. Just rememberif it doesn’t get done today, It doesn’t matter, there is always tomorrow. Just remember to give BB a Kiss and a hug every night at bed time. She won’t care that her clothes might be a little dirty or the winnie is a little messier this week, she will know she isloved and that is ALL THAT MATTERS…..
I follow your experiment and wish you all the best of luck for whatever the future beings you.
Mel B
Father Pete is right of course. We should all take a leaf out of his book and note the wisdom of a lot of the native Australian ways. I do not know about walkabout though – that can really upset productivity taken at the wrong time. Going walk-about when things get just too much is probably good for clearing the head and giving some renewed energy to the tasks at hand. Anyway the idea of taking the good things from the native culture is a thing we all could try and see how much better life becomes.
“SLOW DOWN YOU MOVE TOO FAST – GOTTA MAKE THE MORNING LAST???????”
Good for you Father Pete. Thanks for the insight. littlesparrow65(tks for the picture Jess and Geoff.)
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