Will Everyone Please Stand .
You might stand up on the bus for old folk – but do you seek the amazing stories they tell? This sweetie is famous for being …… 110 years old! She’s the 58th oldest person on the planet! What keeps her going? She writes a monthly article for the nursing home newsletter by hand (despite her patchy education) … counts each 24 hours as a blessing … has an appreciation for the small marvels such as a pair of automatic doors that swing open to let her through … takes a day at a time … her memory of the arrival of cars is “The horses were terrified. They drove up the road like giant grasshoppers.” Want to know the secret to living to a ripe old age? According to a study by researcher Robyn Richards, personality traits like low neuroticism, anger and hostility; low impulsivity; high conscientiousness; and low depression could hold the key.
Found her in the Weekend Australian Magazine May 1-2.2010
Maybe I’m destined to be a flightless bird .
Footnote: Indian Brave represents the acceptance of what we can and can’t do – and the liberation that comes from admitting defeat (although some would have us believe it’s failure).
Beyond a message of acceptance, Indian Brave is also about the Super Hero within the girl. Just like BOys, girls aspire to having Super Hero powers too – in their dreams. It’s important to note this because the Army of Ink troops can be very hard to live up to. So I keep the inks close as my constant source of strength, my Super Heroes that come to my rescue time and time again – whilst reminding myself that I have skin not feathers – and I don’t have to always be so brave and strong and capable.
Now in my day …… oh but it’s true, my B girl (note not plural – it was acceptable to just have one back then), had ski suits and full length ball gowns. Now they’re wearing black guy traps and I’m not sure if that’s fake tan or an attempt to be politically correct? If you’re a Ken then check out this one on male body image … and these articles written by ABC’s Geraldine Mellet … one on sexualising little girls … another about women’s magazines setting every woman up to fail when they look in the mirror. Who holds the mirror is another related to this topic … OR click on the Body and Self Image in the TOPIC list on the right to view all articles on this topic.
Did you know Helena Bonham Carter’s Mum is a Psychotherapist? And shares her Mother’s sympathetic view of bullies saying … “Everybody has a heart and some people’s hearts have just been really damaged and they’ve forgotten how to love or feel lovable. Anybody that tiny inside needs to make themselves feel bigger, so they put people down.”
Quote from Weekend Australian Newspaper Review 27-28 March.
Wonder x 8 .
Sit in awe and wonder of Sir Spider as he creates an extraordinary lace, at a flying pace, with an endless thread and no instruction book in hand x 8. No education. No hand-me-down skills x 8. No voice to ask for directions.
Wonder….how does he know where to begin? How does he create such perfect symmetry with no tools of measure? How does he know when to snip the last thread to complete his masterpiece? And does he have any real idea why he does what he does? Does he feel a zone of frustration in a tiny vein, knowing tomorrow he’ll have to start all over again?
Or is he blissfully happy in his delightfully thoughtless spin? Makes you wonder ….
(Find in ‘Clunk & Jam’ book.)
Skip To Me .
When I was a little girl I wore black pantyhose on my head. Flicked back ponytail legs. Wobbled on stiletto sticks. Tripped and tumbled. And all fell down. Plaits now fall on shoulders of mine. Following and pretending packed away. I skip along paths dodging footprint holes and dress up boxes. Never again to cover my tracks. I skip like a stone forever on a path of my own.
Footnote: This ink came to me about from feeling a sense of being grown up. Not in the conventional sense. Just feeling ‘integrated’ with the little girl. Found this quote, “Happy ever afters are stories not finished yet” . A line Angelique Jollie dishes up to Brad in the movie Mr and Mrs Smith. And yes, I did wear pantyhose on my head as a kid – and painted false finger nails made out of sticky tape.
Find her in Rock The Boat book.
