Memories in Time

I was in the library checking out books and the girls came down all dressed up for a dance party, and well, how could I not get in on all that goodness? 

Another night. Elissa's boyfriend Tristan came over and we watched a short film he created on racism that won awards at many film festivals all over Australia. 

Me, Summer, and Elissa were having a picnic outside and I turned around to a blue tongued lizard right under my thigh. I freaked out for a moment cuz I thought it was a snake. It was a harmless little dude. Elissa picked it up and examined it. They've had all sorts of wildlife come to them when they are sick. This one didn't look injured at all but he was uncommonly chilled out. A few days later we found him dead by the house. Later that night as I was cutting up vegetables for dinner, Silvanna was playing my all time favorite song on the piano, Clair de Lune, while Summer and Elissa buried him on the hill above the tramp. 

Right as I shut the bathroom door I heard a swarm of birds land on a nearby tree. I looked outside the window to see a family of tropical lorikeets munching on some leaves. 

We  stopped at the train station to pickup another helper from Chicago and on the way back swooped up some more baby chickies. Silvanna was stoked. Actually, everyone was. The helper ended up leaving the next morning to spend her last days in Straya' on the beach in Byron Bay.

Sunday morning. Last session of yoga at the home. The focus for today was awareness of the whole body through mindful stretching. The last part consisted of giving and receiving love via a massage. I partnered up with a guy I didn't know at all. Afterwards, we enjoyed a huge picnic on the lawn complete with a whole turkey and homemmade cranberry sauce (no connection with Thanksgiving just a coincidence). This is my kind of spiritual sunday. Loose clothing. Yoga directed by Summer. Being actively engaged with other people. Massages. Sunshine. And a picnic out in nature. Doesn't get much better than that. 

It was the last session of meditation in Brisbane. I took a few capsules of tonic herbs that have been used for thousands of years to enhance meditation & mindfulness before we left. After arriving and meeting everyone we all did some stretches and relaxed into thrity minutes of non reactive meditation where you simply focus on the sensations of the breath and don't move at all. Ten or fifteen minutes pass and my legs start to get tingly because I haven't mastered my sitting position, but I just breathe. Thoughts come and go. I just breathe. A mosquito lands on my neck. I just breathe. The wind brushes up against my skin. I just breathe. Soon my focus is intense. Inhale. Exhale. Chest rising. Chest falling. After the thirty minutes was over and Summer began the guided meditation of imagining gooey liquid light spill down into the body from the top of the head, I felt a profound feeling of peace enter deep into my bones. Into my cells. The rest of the night I felt blissfully serene.

Me  and Summer were enjoying a picnic outside when a bird swooped in to eat some of that delicious purple banana flower nectar.

On different walks I've seen a variety of wildlife, such as a wild pig hustling across the road, a few wallaby's (looks like a small kangaroo) that hop around like energizer bunnies on steroids, and a huge variety of lizards and birds. Australia is a nature lovers paradise.

Jumping on the tramp one day and still being used to a larger surface area to work with I was trying to do some combination backflips while Summer & Elissa were watching. Mid flip I knew I was going off, and ended up slamming my back and legs into the deck. Thankfully I didn't break any bones. Just had some nasty bruises.