Shift Yr Narrative : Comment

by Ebb Then Flood

I hope that the pictures in the preceding post ‘Shift Yr Narrative’ tell a story, or perhaps two stories, of one subject ,on their own. But since I am talking about narratives I will add some words as well….

A narrative is the description of a thing or event from a certain perspective. It can be as sweeping  as an entire world view or, in the telling of a tale, merely a different narrator ,tense or location, for example.

So, what does it take to shift the narrative in our own lives?

A momentous event of change;maybe a crisis of some sort ?

Or perhaps changing  the tense of our story, so that we do not live in the past ,or in  a future yet to arrive ,but in the present?

What would our life look like if we fully authored it and not allowed the manuscript to be ghostwritten by others?

And, can multiple narratives of our lives each be true, wholly or in part?

Many questions and no right answers – but if our lives are not unfolding as we think they ought to be ,and that uncomfortable reality cannot otherwise be altered  , maybe changing it around and taking another  perspective will assist us to move on.

Shift yr narrative!

Hiatus (Never Mind The Gap!)

by Ebb Then Flood

20181009_084438 (2).jpg

Yesterday I went to the funeral  I mentioned in my previous post ,and it  got me thinking. Not about death(although that would be the ultimate hiatus!),but about taking a pause in life’s endeavours.It could be voluntary or thrust upon us.

I was speaking to an old friend at the funeral I had not seen for many years and he was in hiatus mode,and waiting for his next work/vocational opportunity.Waiting around can be hard , sometimes even harder than being in the middle of some major work or relationship ,which demands constant action but has the comfort of the known. As we wait, anxiety and boredom may creep in, self-doubt also.Those emotions and behaviours in themselves can give us learnings.

On the positive side,there is the opportunity to refresh and recalibrate.Taking a break from the known gives new perspective on what it is we do,the hows and the whys of those things.Modern life is not particularly geared to reflection,and it not often seen as a virtue.It is non – linear thinking and it is hard to show proof of its utilitarian worth.

And,as nature apprently abhors a vacuum,a hiatus is not nothing. It will fill itself with new inspiration and wonders ;the universe will pour in if we allow it.

My second son took  a hiatus in study last year ,and worked a couple of jobs.He simply wasn’t ready for university study.That used to be called  a’ gap’ year – like something you fall down. Maybe you never climb back out…. I have heard it called a ‘bridge’ year now and  I think I like that better,the idea of travelling over the unknown to the other side,whatever  that is.The universe is preparing us for the whatever next,often without us being conscious of it.

The photo above depicts low cloud hanging almost to ground level on a volcanic plateau.The wind has died away. Still,and just a bit eerie.That cloud actually obscures a spectacular,picturesque  mountain.It’s there,it’s just not visible to you now.After the hiatus,when the winds pick up and disperse the cloud, the mountain ,the next thing ,will hopefully be clear.

 

 

 

Why Do You Stay?

by Ebb Then Flood

20190303_225128.jpg

“Why do you stay in prison, when the door is so wide open?”

                                                                         – Rumi

Last  night I was watching a rerun of the movie ‘The Terminal’, starring Tom Hanks. His character is from a fictional republic in the  former Soviet Union and he  lands at New York ,but because of a revolution at home he is rendered stateless and thus unable to leave the  airport terminal .He has a personal mission  he must achieve in NY ,but when he is “gifted” a small envelope of time by the immigration authorities to walk out to America ,while they turn a blind eye , he hesitates at the doors ,and cannot exit, held back by fears.

The scene Rumi’s words above . All of us have at some time been held captive by fear and doubt, often of   our own making. When the chance  to escape comes, are we courageous enough to do so, or will we languish in our all too familiar cell?

Where Sugar Comes From

by Ebb Then Flood

20190207_110750

Shot of the iconic Chelsea Sugar factory, home of sugar in New Zealand,on the edge of the Waitemata Harbour. Lots of history and sweetness…actually the refinery process gives off a slightly acrid aroma. The nearby company wharf is a dedicated port of entry into the country, as the raw sugar comes in from the tropics and straight to the factory. I was particularly taken with  the roof angles ,the tower, the slightly arched windows and the tan/pink walls of the refinery buildings,as they caught the sun.

The photo version below is in homage to the pink and white colour scheme of the maker’s familiar sugar bags.

20190210_201906
Chelsea Sugar Factory, Birkenhead, NZ, February 2019.

Tekoteko

by Ebb Then Flood

20190228_204312.jpg Pictured is the tekoteko , carved figurines, representing ancestors of the Ngati Whatua,the iwi( tribe)  whose main marae is where I was working today,at Orakei ,Auckland.

Fascinating and fearsome in black! The bird of prey at the bottom is different to many such meeting houses – I need to look into the story behind it,and all three figurines,will get back if I find out more….

Growth

by Ebb Then Flood
20180825_231038 (2).jpg
“You don’t need to have a plan”

“Once we say yes to life, yes to our wholeness and true wisdom, then the intelligence of  life will always provide all the  growth you need. Growth is a potent serum of  life. Life is always trying to always grow and expand us. You don’t need to have a plan.We need to work with whatever comes our way,moment by  moment to grow and expand  our  sense of self.”

–Louise Marra,2017.

The person who wrote this is an acquaintance of mine and has taught me a bit about mindfulness as a way to approach life. She is very definite here,”…say yes to life….”.

We Kiwis have a colloquial expression .”yeah, nah”(sometimes nah, yeah”).To be uttered when asked a direct question and when unsure or equivocal. People do it without thinking (and it is good for a laugh!).But much as the cynic in me wants to reach for my proverbial gun upon hearing such unequivocally positive words, the kernel of the matter is reaching true acceptance of life, its circumstances and ourselves.

Only that, no inspirational quote or well thought out strategy ,will allow the personal growth Louise mentions. Life is pretty random and can be unkind too, but those unplanned and often unwanted moments are often key growth initiators.

Peace, Andy.

My Bowling Happy Place

by Ebb Then Flood

20190206_101708.jpgWe all should have at least one physical place that makes us joyful, a spot where you can just be. I have a few as it happens and thought I would round off the series of lawn bowls posts with a shot of my own club and its green in Auckland.Sometimes noisy with the sounds of bowlers playing,at other times it is just me there in the parklike grounds,with the sounds of birds and cattle,the wind in the poplars and pines.Bliss…

On The Green

by Ebb Then Flood

20181201_121315 (2).jpg

Brightly coloured lawn bowls on a bowling green

I took up the sport of lawn bowls (played throughout the British Commonwealth in the main) some thirteen years ago ,and it is something I just adored from the get go. I play it competitively as well as socially. It’s like chess on steroids –  a great amalgam of eye/hand skills, individual technique, strategy, rules and etiquette ,combined with an immense variability of people (team mates and  opponents)and  playing conditions. Complex at times  but a simple game at heart.

Those blue bowls with the bat motif are mine by the way. Every set of  bowls is unique in size, weight and trajectory as well as decoration  and are very personal to the bowler. Playing with bowls other than my own is like walking on the moon, sorta feels unnatural.

You learn a lot from playing a sport, not the least of which is not to take yourself, your mistakes ,and losses, so seriously. Mistakes and losses happen and you are what you are. And, in the end, if  the game is not fun, maybe  you are taking it way too seriously!

Beach And Bleached

by Ebb Then Flood

There is something alluring and reassuring about walking along a beach. Time stands almost still amidst the motion of waves and wind and the heat of the sun and sand. And, in this case, there are ancient , bleached rock formations that have been sculpted by the elements and will continue so, long after the walkers have departed and the holidaymakers returned home.

20190113_205954.jpg
Mangawhai Heads,NZ. January 2019.