My Road Less Travelled (54)

I am an Elder and I believe we Elders need to stand up and share the wisdom we’ve learned in our lives in a society which focuses on youth and tries to ignore the fact that we age and eventually cross the Rainbow Bridge.
I took a long time getting here,
much of it wasted on wrong turns,
back roads riddled by ruts.
I had adventures
I never would have known
if I proceeded as the crow flies.
Super highways are so sure
of where they are going:
they arrive too soon. A straight line isn’t always
the shortest distance
between two people.
Sometimes I act as though
I’m heading somewhere else
while, imperceptibly,
I narrow the gap between you and me.
I’m not sure I’ll ever
know the right way, but I don’t mind
getting lost now and then.
Maps don’t know everything.
much of it wasted on wrong turns,
back roads riddled by ruts.
I had adventures
I never would have known
if I proceeded as the crow flies.
Super highways are so sure
of where they are going:
they arrive too soon. A straight line isn’t always
the shortest distance
between two people.
Sometimes I act as though
I’m heading somewhere else
while, imperceptibly,
I narrow the gap between you and me.
I’m not sure I’ll ever
know the right way, but I don’t mind
getting lost now and then.
Maps don’t know everything.
~ Ruth Feldman ~
(The Ambitions of Ghosts)
Here’s where life has taken me:
* University where I studied French and German interpreting & translation
* Secretarial work in London for a German paper company
* Worked on a kibbutz for 3 months
* Travelled to Australia and worked as a secretary for the first two years
* Worked as a union organiser for the Australian Union of Students
* Studied Indonesian at the WA Institute of Technology
* Secretary in a children’s theatre group. Had conflict with boss.
* Administrative Assistant in a mining company. Had conflict with one of the bosses (who really was as nutty as a fruitcake!). The other boss was livid when I quit because of him.
* Operated a bookshop (which closed due to increased rent)
* Secretary in a union office. Had conflict with boss. Invalided out of the workforce with repetitive strain injury.
* Started studying alternative health therapies including Reiki, Reflexology, Metamorphosis and Kinesiology.
* Member of and organiser for the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) until I quit due to being too eccentric, independent, idealistic, too freedom-loving (hated all the backroom wheeling and dealing), and because I was developing into a spiritual seeker which overrode everything else.
*Continued to be a bleeding heart liberal, leftie, liberal, progressive, committed to social justice, women’s liberation, opposed to racism, sexism, religious prejudice, homophobia and bigotry
* Realised I could not work under anyone else and developed my own line of work.
* Tarot reader
* Crystal worker
* Mandala artist
* Teacher of crystal healing, mandala art and living one’s dreams
* Kyboshed by fibromyalgia due to pushing myself too hard and burning out
* Disability pensioner
* Acrylic artist working with natural earth elements
* Teaching mandala art, Reiki, crystal healing, Tarot.
* Photographer of nature
* Digital Artist
(The conflict I’ve had with bosses over my various job incarnations was due, I realised when I undertook inner work, to my fractious relationship with my bullying, alcoholic father. I don’t take orders from others).
I realised that a dream I had recently, where I took a winding, unexplored road and ended up in a small cove on the Pacific Ocean and feeling enormously happy, was really a metaphor for the peace and happiness I’ve found since I’ve been living here in North Cyprus. I am happy to work at digital art as and when I’m able as I can release all the images buzzing around in my mind, heart and spirit. I still support social justice in whichever way I can given that I have mobility challenges now.
I am also content to rest when necessary and to enjoy sitting quietly with a dog’s head resting quietly on my lap, depending on which of our four dogs has muscled onto the sofa to sit with me. I love being near the sea. I love being near the Besparmak Mountains. I love being close to nature. I love being with my husband, partner, friend and lover of 38 years.
I have come to realise that life doesn’t need to be spent in the fast lane, that the lure of wealth can be a dead-end street, and most importantly, being kind, being a humanitarian, having love in my life and caring about others, the environment and being creative is what makes my world go round.
Absent due to Illness
I was all set to start reporting when I came down with a rather diabolical kidney infection, plus my computer was in for repairs. I am recovering slowly but surely, still having to rest and take things easy, so ask for your patience until I’m fully back on board health-wise.