Extract - The Zimbabwean

An extract from The Zimbabwean, 8-14 July 2005, letter from a reader.....

About five years ago, I heard a strange sound echoing up the roadwhere I lived, accompanied by the furious barking of bored dogs. I looked out to see an ancient black woman trudging along, balancing a heavy load of grass-and-reed brooms on her head, carrying a basket with shorter ones. Her legs were stick thin, her feet poked out of worn shoes, and the clothes hanging on her frail body were threadbare.

It was October heat, 'suicide month'. I hailed her and bought a broom, and gave her some cold drink and a sandwich. As the weeks passed, whenever I heard her cries, I would buy a broom. In bitter winter, she was grateful for hot tea.

Never did she stop at the gate to get my attention - alerted by her cries, I would have to rush to her. Sometimes she gave me a broom as a gift, and I did not insult her by offering money, but some old clothes were accepted with much African dignity and hand-clapping.

She's black, I'm white. She spoke little English and I didn't knowher language, but that made no difference. We were women. We were friends.

I heard today that she is a grandmother who cares for eight grandchildren - their parents died of Aids.

I heard today that she gets up at three every morning to cook food for them, and then somehow gets into Bulawayo, 40km from where she returns each night, to sell the brooms she has made.

And I heard today that the police just took her brooms in this purge.

I feel like crying.
A MOTHER - Harare

Another fabulous day in Africa. :(

Raven's Word - Drama Drama

Another update from the inspirational Tegwyn Fietze.....DRAMA DRAMA

‘To see your drama clearly is to be liberated from it’ Ken Keys Jr – Handbook to Higher Consciousness

Drama means literally – a play or a performance - the playing out of a tragedy or a crisis. How often do we create our own tragedies and dramas? How often do we set up a series of circumstance for ourselves, not always consciously I grant you so that we can enact a role that we think or feel or even want to play. How often do we do this so that we can be seen as the saviour, or the martyr or the hero or the selfless giver, or perhaps the victim? We sometimes enable those around us to play out their dramas too, and we support the drama they are creating, we play along because it serves something in us too.

We see this in our daily serving of soapies (another book I’m going to write is ‘What I’ve learnt from soap opera’s’). I’ll admit it’s an over exaggerated example, but serves a learning purpose. When someone has the choice of being honest and communicating clearly and directly the issue at hand, subterfuge and half-truths are given. We see our soapie stars actively setting up circumstances to trip one another up, manipulate and coerce one another into feelings and actions that will suit the perpetrator of the manipulation and coercion. Over exaggerated in the soap yes, but don’t we do this too?

Obviously this behaviour fulfills a need of some sort in yourself as well as those you get to play along with you. Sometimes this happens on a small scale – starting an argument for instance, even if it is just to get a negative response, it’s better than no response. Knowing what buttons to push in someone else and then actively pushing to get a reaction. That’s an example of a drama on a small scale. Dramas on a large scale involve many people buying into your proposed performance and being willing to play along with you.

‘Just look next time you are having some trip and riding a problem – just watch. Just stand aside and look at the problem. Is it really there or have you created it? Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh – The Tantra Vision vol 1

The trick is to recognise when this is the case. It is knowing or discerning when you or someone else is genuinely hurt, or having a problem of some sort, or genuinely needing help and when you are or someone else is doing something that is self serving in a negative way. Whether you are setting up the drama yourself or whether you are enabling someone else’s drama both are negative intentions, which just perpetuates the whole situation.

‘Life is like a movie you see through your own unique eyes. It makes little difference what’s happening out there. It’s how you take it in that counts’. Dennis Waitley – The winners edge.

Be clear of the ‘why’ you are doing things, even when those things are seemingly good with honest intentions. Mostly question your deepest intuitive feelings about a person or situation and act on those too. If you listen closely to what you know to be true, you will be able to give true and accurate responses that are manipulation free. Do this especially when you find yourself continually setting up the same or similar circumstances that have the same or similar results that do not serve you. Then perhaps it is time to change the role or the perception of the role that you are playing.

© Copyright 2005 Tegwyn Fietze. All rights reserved.

The content of this post may not be published without permission from the author. Please note that under no circumstances should this motivational be posted onto any bulletin boards or intranet sites without the express permission of the author.

Sandton Convention Centre Expo

Well, looking forward to the music industry expo happening at the Sandton Convention Centre. It runs from 20 July through 22 July and should be full of loads of exciting things for anyone who has even the slightest interest in the entertainment industry.

There will be stands for musicians, agents, co-ordinators, venues......mmmm, gonna have me a load of fun there me thinks.

So if you're in the area, pull in, come say 'hi', and update yourself on some of the latest information that will be on show. Find me at the Fluid Media stand.

I'll post an update next week,
Ally

PS : to the nice person who responded to the paragliding post....hehehehe, thanks man! I'll take that as a compliment.

Paragliding - a tandem flight with an amputee

"Why fly?
For once you have tested flight
You will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward;
For there you have been,
And there you long to return"

Lovingly plagerised from the Fly SA Site, 'coz now it really means something to me!

Last weekend I took a trip with a friend of mine who is a paraglider. Went to a fabulous mountainous spot almost on the border of Swaziland. My idea was to sit on a mountain (while all the other nutters leapt off) and just take in the views and veg out.

Well, the instructor had other plans for me. He decided, in his infinite wisdom, that Ally had to fly. There was one tandem pilot there (from another club), who had come for one solo flight, and the intrepid instructor talked him into taking me for a tandem.

Problem (so I thought) was getting this one-legged gal off the edge of the mountain - yes MOUNTAIN, not a big hill! And no-one on the top of the mountain that day had flown with a disabled person before. But they were eager to see how and if, they could get it right. Didn't do much to make me feel safe!!

It was windy, and most of the baby pilots were being dragged around over the rocks when they tried to take off. So there was a lot of running toward the edge of the mountain, and falling down to a well-placed ledge (thank you God) before they actually got into the air.

They put a flight suit on me, gloves, helmet, harness and said 'get ready'. This all took about 1 minute - there were 3 men dressing me. I was terrified.

And then the wind was right. The tandem pilot was strapped behind me, I had two other pilots on either side of me - and then we were off - heading straight to the edge of the mountain. They were running - carrying me. I just closed my eyes and prayed 'Lord, please let the chute open first time and let the wind take us UP'.

I peeked out of one eye and all I saw was the earth dropping from underneath us - and then we were flying. So quiet, amazing. And we had the longest flight out of all the people there that weekend (about an hour), and we went so very high, about 400m from the take off point. Could even see the beginnings of Swaziland over the mountains. Eish, what a memory I gathered that day.

And I believe the one guy who picked me up and ran with me got a memory of his own too. They were running so fast, that he couldn't stop when we took off. He ran straight off the mountain! And I am told there was blood. Trevor, I owe you!

The landing was a tad rough, got dragged around a bit on the ground, but it was ok. No broken bones. And more importantly, no broken nails!

Must say though, it was a lot more scary than skydiving, and we jumped from 10,000 feet then.

But SHOO - what an experience. I have photo's on my phone. Now, just have to figure out how to get them downloaded.....rocket scientist that I am.

I must add, this sport could definitely become addictive, I can see how my friend has chosen this as her insane hobby-of-choice. What a tremendous group of people. Very social, friendly, and with nothing to prove other than ensuring (or should that be 'insisting' - gotta love that larger than life instructor Carlos, yip you do!) that everyone has an enormously good time. And safety is number one with this bunch - they won't let you hurt yourself, unless of course, you drink too much beer around the fire at night and fall over a stick....

Now I have heard that one of the highest bungees is somewhere near Knysna...mmmm...

Ally

Check out the site for nice nutters at http://www.flysa.co.za and just GO FOR IT!