reggae for recovery: many rivers to cross

This took me back, its so long since I went to a reggae festival...probably not since we lived in Brixton over 21 years ago...and it was such good fun! After a frentic day the day before, it was so relaxing to just sit and listen to music for 2 or 7 hours!! The weather was perfect: no sun, not much rain, just clouds keeping the temperature moderate and the skin unburnt.

Highlights were Maxi Priest (Wild World) and Jimmy Cliff (Many Rivers to Cross, I Can See Clearly Now, By the Rivers of Babylon - there's a theme there given it was a flood benefit!), but I must admit I also enjoyed the Bob Marley covers, and there were many - Redemption Song, One Love, Buffalo Soldiers (but sadly not Is this Love, my favourite) - sung by his son Ky-Mani and the Original Wailers (two separate acts). Here is a review.

Ky-Mani Marley at Riverstage (his back is to the audience)

There may need to be many more recovery events for Queensland - at the time of writing, Tropical Cyclone Yasi is looking like an extremely destructive 'weather event' about to happen in the North, with huge storm surges and about a metre of rain predicted, not to mention winds of about 240kph. This puts the Brisbane floods into perspective, as they mainly affected some unlucky people with houses in low-lying areas of the city, but this cyclone could damage much more property, kill more people and generally cause more devastation.

I'm no good 2

I did this about 10 days ago at the AT and ACT workshop I facilitated . The point is to take a common unhelpful thought and to mess around with the words, as a way of 'defusing' its potency. I did this by using soft pastel pinks and blues, bubble writing and vegetation. Someone pointed out that you can change the meaning by just changing the word order, so it becomes 'no, I'm good' but this is missing the point. The point is to notice the thought and let it go. I often have a similar thought - maybe in relation to not doing something I was planning to - like going to the gym when I am too tired - (and really, in the scheme of things, I still do go to the gym pretty often, I can afford to have a break when I am tired!) however unjustified, I still have these unhelpful thoughts - we all do- and its important to practice ignoring them (like we do planned ignoring of naughty children - I like that metaphor, thoughts as naughty children!) as much as possible.

eye of the storm

I did this watercolour drawing/painting a year or so ago. Its looking a bit like a cyclone so I decided to include it. Its actually about trying to put all the strands of my life into some sort of coherent order - I ended up with a cyclone!

This satelite image shows the huge size of cyclone Yasi - bigger than Queensland...

Now we have to wait and see what happens. I am thinking of everyone in North Queensland.

More later.