Lighten up

 

How have I not seen Jimmy Rees before? I was watching his recent video which was over 5 minutes. This one is shorter. He is so Australian. He is funny. He has a good way of cutting through.  He just makes you laugh. He is good medicine and a good foil for a very wearing world which is stuck in a rut. He is using our humour, our way of looking at things and then adds different dimensions to the thoughts. 

My little part of the world

 

In a world which is wearing and hard to get along with, you have to work on your little part of the world. Work on your health, hobbies, relationships and interests. Keep yourself positive and do what you can to keep your little part of the world happy and inspiring. It is how I cope and how I have always coped. I have developed so many interests because curiosity is the one thing which keeps negativity at bay. No, I am not perfect. My life isn't perfect and there are days, weeks, months and years where it is gruelling.

I heard today we are going to have more right wing protests in Australia on July 1st like the anti vaccine convoys. I can't find any reference to anything like that so maybe it was just talk. We actually need more benign and optimistic ways of living now we have shed the LNP government federally. We can't keep doing negative. Anyone can protest. They can have a protest about what they like but not when it threatens others or makes it difficult to go about daily life.  We need to be able to get on with living safely and our wellbeing is of ultimate importance at the moment. 

It is therefore good to hear our Premier, Peter Malinauskas, is supporting the Vinnies sleep out. It is good to see he has returned the Adelaide 500 to our state for the next 5 years. So many people loved it. It is also great to see we are starting to work positively on energy and renewables. We need some good initiatives to focus on.

In the meantime we need to renew ourselves. Spending time improving your life and your living area is not such a bad thing. Taking the time to explore your local environment helps keep the mind on what you an do rather than all the big issues and concerns which can swamp you daily. It is never about tuning out, as far as I am concerned. There are times when you it is important to put your energy into yourself and then you can better deal with what the world serves up. 

Spinning the wheels

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 Oh yes, we are spinning the wheels and some of the mud is flying. Mostly hitting us! No concerted public health protection. We are just going to pursue the deluded state of infectious diseases are not happening to us mode. We cannot get out of the rut in so many ways! We keep shopping. Worse, we are rude to sales personnel. There are those who are trying every trick in the book to scam in shops, on the phone, via text and email. Let us just let all this mud stick! God forbid we should challenge these people and make them back off! It is the brazenness of it all. Then in 2022 we have such inefficient technology. There is a massive pretense it is all tickedy boo but apps don't function efficiently. We get to download stuff and then it becomes obsolete quickly. We can't access help when we need it and we get harassed to change to 5G when we signed up for NBN which isn't really NBN because somehow we got copper plied with fibre and we don't have enough bandwidth. Something like that. Who cares? We didn't make it happen like that but we sure are to blame for being so difficult. 

We have a new, competent government at the federal level. We have Prime Minister Albanese. At least he was interviewed effectively on 7.30 report tonight and it was a pleasure listening to a Prime Minister who is actually doing his job and has care and concern for all Australians. Mostly main stream media is still putting out daft media personnel at press conferences and is stuck on interviewing and reporting on the same people as we have had featured the last 9 years. The LNP people. They are gone. We have Labor , Greens and Independents. We need to hear from them and let the opposition sort itself out because they are struggling after losing government. Why wouldn't they?

So we need to turn our steering wheel left and right, clear some space, and get our new juggernaut up and running properly. There is a future to be had with vision and environment in it. We have a chance to flex our brains and get the creativity and energy going. Wellbeing ought to be a top priority, don't you think??

Core business

 

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Our core business ought to be public health so that businesses can continue to flourish and we can thrive. Suppressing the  spread of  illness ought to be  a priority. I have said before we do not help ourselves when we bang on about losing our freedom and things like the inconvenience of mask wearing . Health professionals have talked to us about good practice until they are blue in the face and our hospitals and staff have become stressed and distressed.  Some people, no matter their age, are very keen to get the fourth booster. Currently it is restricted to over 65s and those with health conditions which warrant it. Doesn't everyone need it? I know health care people are fed up talking to us and trying to help us when so many would rather abandon something as simple as a mask rather than keep themselves and everyone healthy. I know there have been some irrational and unreasonable protests about health measures to keep the public safe. Keep your distance! How hard is it? Wear a mask! What an imposition. Santitise! I have worked out we have been so unhygienic and grubby. We did need to lift our hygiene practices, especially when it came to cleaning public spaces. Right now the messages don't seem to be supporting the welfare and wellbeing of people. I am concerned how easily covid is spreading, how much gastric illness there is and then how worried people are because it seems we are doomed to live with constantly being sick. 

We need some sort of concerted effort and messaging to get ourselves past this bit. Remember the Life Be In It campaign? Something a bit cheerful and positive to get the core business of public health on a surer footing. When the public knows better than qualified health professionals then I am sure we need to suffer the consequences of ill informed decision making. Trouble is, there are innocents going to the wall as that approach is adopted, and that is wrong. When you have to rely on others for your own wellbeing because that is the nature of infectious diseases, we need some collaboration and co operation. Maybe a bit of lively,  cheerful messaging might work? As it stands we are dragging this public health mess around and it is weighing on us all. 

What are we thinking?

 

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Bit hard to know what we are thinking. Here we have been shopping non stop since Covid hit. It has been relentless for supermarkets and other shops. We seem to need all this food. There has not been a quiet period since 2020 and maybe it will never happen. What is the matter with us? We are also quite divided as to our approaches to Covid. Some are happy to be maskless, have  no problem being sick or allowing others to be sick. The level of illness is a health crisis no one is taking seriously. Just in my own sphere there are gastric illnesses, heart ailments, strokes, respiratory illnesses, vertigo and dizziness, anemia, fatigue, flu, Covid. I have never seen or heard of so many people sick. We really need to sort this out. We are no longer sure if a fourth booster will help because there is information saying BA5 is not helped by our vaccine and that is on the way. We are being pulled down and messed around. Workplace absenteeism is normal. I should like to know how much absenteeism is affecting schools. Certainly affecting kindergartens. Whole families are sick. Social clubs are affected by illness and workplaces are under strain. Not wearing a mask is silly. It helps. Sanitising helps, social distancing helps. Shopping seems to soothe?! We need a plan to get out of this because we are only a month into winter. We need to stop concerning ourselves with pretending it is all underlying conditions and start things about what it actually is we need to do to improve our health and welfare. For us, a change of state and federal government has been beneficial. It takes some getting used to , though We have been emotionally bashed and brow beaten for nearly 10 years and so people are worn out. They will rally. Maybe it will be slow and sure. We need a plan!

Rebooting Australia

 

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We are just over a week into our newly elected parliament and government . In some ways it has been like watching paint dry because there has had to be a lot of counting postal postal, phone, pre polls and then election day votes. AEC has had a big, complex job on its hands and has managed it all with good grace,  patience and tolerance. We live in an instant gratification world so it is hard for some to grasp this notion of waiting until all the boxes have been ticked and all the processes have been duly completed. 

We have run into similar problems with a 24/7 365 news cycle. Social media and internet access mean we want news and good news now. Right now. It should not mean, though, photographers are out getting photos of our newly elected PM in his pyjamas at home  getting his newspaper. That is disrespectful, a gross invasion of privacy, ill mannered, creepy as anything and totally intolerable. Treating others like that so you an feed a rabid news cycle needs to be resisted at all costs. 

Our government has not yet been sworn in so some things cannot yet be done. Our parliament has a number of climate change active independents, a few more greens senators, a Labor majority and a decimated Liberal party. The Nationals have an inordinate number of seats givens how many votes they have. Whether we wish to do something about that remains to be seen. 

Mr. Dutton is now leader of the Liberal party and Mr. Littleproud is now leader of the National party. Mr. Morrison does not , as yet, appear to have moved out of Kirribilly House where he was living with the two mothers, two daughters and his wife. Mr. Albanese and Ms. Wong have been making strong connections and conversations with overseas leaders and communities. It has also been established just how important the first nations people will be now in the same way Mr. Malinauskas in SA  put that front and centre as soon as he was elected. There is also relief in sight for the Murugappan family who have been treated horrendously . They will hopefully get home to Biloela really soon and will able to become permanent residents. The cost financially, emtionally and healthwise has far exceeded any attempt to put refugees and asylum seekers off. We have been deeply hurt by this and the cost has been exorbitant. It has proven nothing. That family has shown us a lot about strength, courage and a capacity to endure. 

Soon everything will be in place and we can get on with our agenda : human rights, healthcare, respect, a bright future, climate change . I'd like to think ,as we progress, we become less sick and have the capacity to overcome the barriers to keeping us well. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

 

As of 21st May 2022 we have a new , Labor Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. We should be shouting from the roof tops. We should be singing and chortling. We voted in a number of the so called teal independents ,who support climate change initiatives, and we endorsed more Greens candidates. We want the nastiness and the greed of the LNP gone and we want a positive country with vison, hope, growth and fairness. We want to look at climate change, human rights, standard of living and just being able to know our country will forge ahead as a strong unit again. 

Much of the media is still focussed on the old names and parties. They cannot tear themselves away from looking to rubbish news about less than inspiring people. It is not news ministers are moving out of their offices or losing their position in government. Labor was nearly broken last election with the cruelty of the result which we still haven't faced up to honestly and truthfully. There's a narrative. Is it the truth? They just had to move out and carry on.

We had a hard won election and a price has been paid. We have lost Kristina Keneally and Rex Patrick and that hurts. There are other good people we have lost and we need to consider that carefully. Too easy to come up with the glib and poorly thought out explanations. That'll do. That reads and sounds okay. Is it the truth , though? In time the truth will be out. We have drawn a line in the sand and we don't want rubbish reporting about rubbish people doing rubbish things. We are so sick we cannot even notice how sick we are . We cannot wake up and respond to the number of deaths we have from covid and how much we have spread it. 

It will change. Sooner or later we shall work out we have a good government with a good parliament. We have Dr. Monique Ryan who exploded onto the scene with her deft capacity to problem solve and get everyone a vote. We have a chance to work on climate so the bushfire and flood affected people can be helped. We shall stop fretting and being in denial and we shall take strides to improve ourselves and our lives. 

Meanwhile , media need to be aware we are on a new agenda. We are no longer negative and destructive. The Quad meeting has been a big success for Australia. Our new Prime Minister and Foreign  Affairs Minister have put us in a good light and we have been well received. It has been heartening to see the number of overseas leaders who have contacted us in a warm way to congratulate our new prime minister. 

We are hoping the Toto account ,which was on Twitter, might be taken up and endorsed by the PM and PMO. Anthony Albanese's dog was such a strong part of his campaign. It almost seems right for us to have an official  account for Toto which is run by the PM and his office. It is healing. Animals are healing and we do need to heal ourselves and get past all this illness.