Tasmania's Overland Track

I have been on the road the last month or so including a sunny trip to California during Summer. When I returned I hiked the Overland Track near Cradle Mountain with five friends in the middle of Winter. There was 2 days of sunshine, then 2 days of rain, and then 3 days of snow.

It was a mystical 70 km journey into a world that is rarely seen. There was the wombat who burrowed through the snow like a tiny grizzly bear, the wallaby that huddled under the ferns trying to warm its hands by clapping them, and six blokes with large packs taking a walk in the wild. A few of us even climbed Mt Ossa which is the tallest peak in Tasmania at about 1, 700 metres.

Now that I have emerged from the wild and entered the city life I am a bit lost. Everyone seems so busy, so burdened. We carried large packs yet we were so unburdened, so free.

The pictures at the top of this post are an interesting contrast between the first shot which is atthe beginning of the hike and the second which is the end. We are all wealthy men in both pictures. I hope you enjoy the rest of the pictures.

Home in the Sky

"Birds in flight, claims the architect Vincenzo Volentieri, are not between places, they carry their places with them. We never wonder where they live: they are at home in the sky, in flight. Flight is their way of being in the world."

I found the above quote on Pohangina Pete's blog which is listed in the blogs below under Other Worlds.

The quote resonates for me as I have always felt at home gazing at and being a part of the sky. The picture above is a Wedge Tail Eagle in flight which is an endangered bird in Tasmania. If I were lucky enough to come back as another creature after dying, it would be as a Wedge Tail Eagle. My home is in the sky.

Who Will You Be?

Who are you becoming?

It matters not who we are today, but who we are becoming. This is because who we are at this moment is already gone one moment later. Yet who we are ten years from now is of importance. Each moment is a stepping stone towards self realisation. Yet the path is not marked. We must find the path to ourselves through the things we love.

I am striving to be a good dad, a person who is connected to the things I love which includes the Earth and all its creatures. The future Gustav will be more involved in advocating the interests of the planet, more willing to take the time to help his fellow creatures all around the globe, and become more connected to all the art forms that exist.

Life is a journey and who we are is like painting a self portrait. What will your portrait look like in ten years? Who are you becoming?

The Blues and Astral Weeks

What does the Blues mean to you?

Musically the "the Blues" refers to the "the blue devils" which means melancholy and sadness. The term was first used in George Colman's act Blue Devils and the first copyrighted blues musical composition was Hart Wand's "Dallas Blues".

When I went into the local music store to find Van's album Astral Weeks I proceeded to the Rythym and Blues section assuming Van would be there among his brothren such as Sam Cooke, John Lee Hooker and Eric Clapton. Yet Van was no where to be found. Then I reminded myself I was in Australia and perhaps Australian Rythym and Blues did not equate to American Rythym and Blues.

I then asked a young lad who worked at the store if they had any of Van's music. He proceeded to laugh and took me to the Popular Rock and Roll section and there was Van's Astral Weeks sandwiched into a sea of popular rock.

Later listening to Astral Weeks I was dumfounded that anyone would call Astral Weeks or any of Van's works as popular rock. . Van recently released a live remake of the original album titled "Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl".

Here is a quote I embrace in connection with Astral Weeks:

"Astral Weeks is about the power of the human voice — ecstatic agony, agonising ecstacy. Here is an Irish tenor reborn as a White Negro — a Caucasian Soul Man — pleading and beseeching over a bed of dreamy folk-jazz instrumentation: acoustic bass, brushed drums, vibes and acoustic guitar, the odd string quartet — and of course flute."

— Barney Hoskyns - Mojo


In my view Van's music is unclassifiable but if I had to choose a section for him in a music store it would be Rythym and Blues. In Australia they use the term Australian Roots and Blues and include artists such as the Waifs who I recently saw in concert.

The Blues to me is a melancholy feel, a thoughtful sadness, a yearning for spiritual fulfillment. I urge you to listen to both the original and remake of Astral Weeks and let me know how the music makes you feel.

Fly Fishing Poet

On a day not too long ago I had an epiphany while strolling to work. I was awake and everything was vivid. People's faces were like sign posts revealing who I was and where I was going.

There was the man in the monkey suit. He was wearing his Canali jacket, a choking tie and his tightly wound shoelaces mimicked his contorted face. He was in a hurry and had many worries. His investment portfolio had lost another 3%, the cat had scratched his new BMW, and he missed out on a promotion.


Then I noticed the young lady leaning on the wall where she nervously smoked her morning cigarette. Through the haze of smoke she stressed about recent job cuts and wondered how she would pay her mortgage if she lost her job.

A few minutes later there was the horizontal back packer looking skyward mesmerised by the interaction of cloud and sky. I too looked skyward, and felt the presence of the man in the monkey suit and the nervous lady disappear. When I felt the power of the sky and those magical clouds I knew who I was and where I was going.

I decided there and then that I was born to fly fish and walk in rivers for the rest of my days. It may not happen today or tomorrow, but it will happen. And in the mean time I will write poetry and Haikus to reveal the inner joy of doing and being what I love.

A Haiku by Gus the Fly Fishing Poet

Water rainbows dance.

Eddies circle, heartbeat drums.

River, man, are One.



The above photo of me changing flies on a stump in Penstock Lagoon is courtesy of Ben Rae. Please see Ben's photos at http://www.redbubble.com/people/emerger

Pure Being

While watching my daughter at the beach the other day I was entranced by the beauty of the moment. She was just pure being. She played in the sand and sea and chased snails and laughed.

There is a way without words, without billboard signs, without television, its called pure being. Pure being is not complex. Pure being can occur at anytime and no matter what the circumstance. It is a state of existence where you are not thinking of your existence.

Attaining this state of pure being is a form of truth, a synchronicity with the heavens that we all can attain each day in our own way.

I attain a state of pure being each time I go fly fishing in rivers. There is no me really. I am one with the river, the eddies, and the billions and billions of water molecules. It is my own form of heaven and its right here on Earth.


When was the last time you forgot who you were you and flowed purely like a river?

Creativity

Is it possible to view our thoughts and actions each day in a creative way?

Every moment presents a unique opportunity to be creative. Me typing these words on this keyboard is a creative process that I will never repeat. The conversation I have with my daughter, my chooks, my dogs and my fish are all new creations and opportunities to create new ideas and connect in new ways.

There is an opportunity every moment to create and my daughter Maya is my beacon for being creative. At this very moment she is working on creating two new board games from old shoeboxes, a magazine series, a short story, and a televison series that has a family of twenty four children. She has drawn pictures of all the children, given them names and personalities and created an architectural drawing of their two story home that has nearly 50 rooms.

How are you going to be creative today?