I’m walking down the street early this afternoon. I’ve just had a successful meeting. Things are going well.

Suddenly, there’s a lemon tree, complete with lemons, vibrant orange-yellow lemons. Completely out of context. How bizarre to see a fruit tree in the middle of the city. I was torn between being delighted and feeling slightly stupid. I’d walked past about 30 minutes earlier – and didn’t notice the lemons. Did someone just put them there? How could I have not noticed them?

Quite simply, there’s no explanation. I guess I was looking at something else, travelling somewhere else in my mind. Not paying attention, at least not to unexpected citrus trees.

Meanwhile, precious, beautiful, life slinks past. Just glides away. Vanishes. Unnoticed. Ignored…

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. — John Lennon

Manifesto
05. Every day is now. The present moment.
17. Every day look through a new lens.
28. Every day you will be tested.

I launch a mini blitz on the office. I like an organised work space. Some times I achieve an organised work space for minutes at a time. I don’t really relate to the culture of stark, sterile work spaces – I appreciate some people are like this, but I think a little bit of clutter lets in space for fragments of creativity to creep in around the edges. Infecting this kind of a culture seems like a good thing. I still try for a more organised space. It’s a work in progress.

Manifesto
04. Every day is an opportunity to cultivate the promise of the future.
16. Every day looking at the order of things gives you power.
22. Every day refine, clarify and simplify.

The south coast.

The sun arcs overhead. Waves rolling out like freshly floured pastry on the shore. The ancient traditions of worshipping on the sea shore. It’s the one place most people can find a space in the corners of their minds for themselves.

Each of us chases the waves in our own way.

Living life out, breathing life in.

It’s a prayer for ourselves, voiced in the infinite voice of angels.

That is the only way we know how to do it.

Manifesto
05. Every day is now. The present moment.
23. Every day retain your personal power. It belongs to you. No one else.
39. Every day trust that there is a bigger picture. You are a part of it even if you may not know what it is.

We are now officially half way through 2011. I’m sitting here wondering where these last six months have gone?

Oh yes, now I remember, it’s been busy. Very, very busy in fact. One day has blurred into the other and somehow I feel cheated as though I wasn’t a participant in what took place – yet, I was. There was the review and re-structure at work, having to apply for a new position, being successful in my application and then having to establish a whole new team, having numerous visitors come to stay from overseas, beginning a new programme of study which required me to travel one weekend a month to Auckland, and then there was the myriad of normal challenges that life likes flinging at us. In the process I became lost to myself.

It became very clear to me that things had to change.

Over the last six months an important process has taken place that has helped me clarify the way forward. It was gradual and I didn’t even realise what was happening. Each decision I made felt right – it was as though a huge pressure had been lifted off me.

Today, as I watched the rain fall and felt the cold of winter bore its way into my being I was surprised as to how energised and excited I felt. I’ve learnt that giving things a go is important. I’ve also learnt that when it isn’t working how you imagined you can pull the plugs and move on. Often we change without even realising it and yet our dreams and passions are stuck with the old us and not where we are here and now.

I appeared to have moved on only I hadn’t consciously registered this fact. I wanted to make the space in my life to be doing what matters to me today.

This has definitely been the season of making decisions and self-discovery. None of this has been easy and without a lot of angst and the odd tear or two, but it has all been worth it. I know what I want and now the challenge is to make it all happen. I’m going to need all the energy I can muster!

As an aside, the fruit in this picture is a quince – a fruit introduced to me by my husband Lynsey. The quince jelly Lynsey makes is unbelievably delicious and the smell of this fruit is quite unique.

Manifesto
22. Every day refine, clarify and simplify.
38. Every day be brave and give things a go. Use fear to trigger you into action.
43. Every day accept you will make mistakes. Learn from them. They are opportunities in disguise.

It seemed a little strange that the case was left on the pavement almost seeming deliberate in its positioning. Yesterday it was exactly that. A young lady ignored the ‘don’t feed the birds signs’ and carefully left the bottom half of her muffin, still in the case, on the ground for the birds.

Today, a concise story of the earth and its place in the universe was laid out before me.

First there was the brick pavement. It was good.

Then I notice the muffin remains in a round case – a planet of potential in the void of the pavement.

First a sign of life. A sparrow flies past. Inspecting. Approving. Landing. Eating. Communicating.

Another sparrow. More…

Eating. Gorging. Chattering. Fighting. Exploiting the limited resources. Fighting harder for the remaining crumbs.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a gawky tall man, with long hair and a straggly gray beard. Old clothing, sandals and socks. He walked towards the birds, oblivious.

At the last moment the birds took flight to safety.

The muffin case was not so lucky. The man’s foot crushed the case. The remains stuck to the underside of his right sandal and he kept walking. In a blink of an eye there was not so much as a crumb left.

The void of the pavement was complete.

Manifesto
08. Every day choose to bring about change.
28. Every day you will be tested.
8. Every day there are things you can’t change. You can change the way you think about them and deal with them.

Another Christmas is close at hand.
A time to celebrate
the gift of life.

Celebrating
beginnings and endings
lessons learnt along the way
achievements
pain endured and survived
new dreams
new plans
decisions made
opportunities taken
shedding things and saying good-bye
being grateful for what we have and what has been
and the fun we had along the way.

Celebrating
the people we love;
those that can be with us
those that can’t.

Celebrating
connections
through shared experiences …

I watched her move across the stage
oblivious to anything except
what she was doing.
The moment took over.
Floating
so beautiful
so graceful.
The colours flickered before my eyes.
The music filled the air.
I was transported to
another time
another place
another girl.
Now became before.
My niece became
my daughters
my sisters
me.

Celebrating
the person I am today.
Different
truer to herself
full of love
surrounded by those that love me
seeing and experiencing every day
excited by what has been, what is now and the possibilities of what lies ahead.
Grateful for all I have,
all that I am,
my life.

Manifesto
01. Every day is a fresh new day.
24. Every day is a journey. Not a destination.
39. Every day trust that there is a bigger picture. You are a part of it even if you may not know what it is.

I see a lot of people in that place recently. Clagged up, stuck down, bogged. It’s not that they aren’t trying – the effort is more than being made. It just feels like the fabric of life has been pinched up, and there’s not the smooth surface to work with. Any momentum at all is hard to muster. I can’t figure out whether this bogged down feeling is because of the impending festive season, the ups and downs of the workplace, the economic situation, or just part of the natural cycle of life. A time to reap and a time to sow.

There seem to be a number of approaches to dealing with the low progress stages when there’s work to be done. One group of people apply more energy and attempt to hammer out their frustrations as they make their way through. Some procrastinate, prevaricate, or pick away at the choicer morsels – a kind of jigsaw approach – and gradually bring the task to completion. I have quite a respect for the zombie method – those people who can send their hearts and minds off to somewhere else while they work through a mountain of work, and this is in contrast to the zen method which is the total focus on the now – the task at hand.

I see people every day working through the trials of their work in addition to working through their work – and sometimes it’s difficult to work out which takes the more effort – the work or the trials of work. Hang in there, my friends, I know there are the trials and tribulations, however there will also be the learning moments – and these are the jeweled moments that make at least some of it worthwhile. Hopefully your pay packet, and self respect earned by doing the job well, will round out the rest of the value equation.

Manifesto
06. Every day you make choices.
16. Every day looking at the order of things gives you power.
24. Every day is a journey. Not a destination.

From my roller-coaster life I absolutely salute anyone who can hold down an intense job and home life and photo/write every day – it’s a big ask. If you are that person, can you at least not be slim, beautiful, have a great personality, rich in every respect, and love orphan kittens? If so I may have to remove you from the gene pool.

My mind is not entirely made up about what next for Fresh New Day – I want to explore some stories in greater depth, and I have a couple of other projects I’m considering as well, some ideally a little more collaborative. Meanwhile I’m set in my routine of making at least one photo a day, and ideally, writing in the same flow.

Some days I wonder if anybody is even faintly interested in what I’ve seen in the day, much less read my thoughts. And then when you least expect it, you trip over someone who talks about your work – likes it even – and suddenly you can go another day. Thank you all for your contacts, contributions, encouragement, and support.

Manifesto
01. Every day is a fresh new day.
20. Every day say thank you.
25. Every day your light shines for others to see.

Every time I try to combine colours in some painting or drawing – any kind of colour design work – I come up with colour combinations that are somehow frightening – I think they’re not going to work together. And then I look at some of the amazing colour combinations that show up in the fish and other marine life on coral reefs, birds, butterflies, and flowers. Beautiful, odd combinations that are so vibrant, so elegant.

I just want to swim in their colour ocean.

Manifesto
17. Every day look through a new lens.
22. Every day refine, clarify and simplify.
41. Every day use your mind. It is the greatest technology ever created.

Our friends Gabi and James got married today. Gabi made a big contribution when we got married, and it felt very good to be able to make a contribution to their first steps as a married couple. We both had very small weddings, mostly family and a very few close friends. And we both had excellent catering. Right. That’s the priorities sorted out then.

We had a great time with the combined families – it was such a privilege to be invited (and involved).

I’ve never quite figured out whether Gabi and James are friends or family. I think it’s very, very rare that your true family are the people in your birth family. It’s generally less complicated if you build your own family from selections from the rest of humanity.

Best wishes for a lifetime of love.

Manifesto
02. Every day is an opportunity for a new beginning.
10. Every day connect with somebody.
18. Every day express love. Some people need to hear it. Most people need to see it. Don’t take it for granted.