Hanno and I will be at the Maleny Real Food Festival this Sunday. I'll be having a conversation on stage with the lovely Morag Gamble at 1.45 pm in the Eat My Words Hall. If you come along, please introduce yourself. I would like to meet you.
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Spending so much time in the backyard these past couple of weeks has allowed me to rethink my place here at home. I'm guessing I did all that thinking because we now have a table, chairs and umbrella right in the middle of the vegetable garden, and I've never sat there before. Of course, I've walked around the garden for endless hours and I've worked there, planting, weeding and watering, but sitting there doing nothing gets me thinking about the scheme of things and where I fit in. You know, the big questions, they're always there floating around at the back of my mind.
The main thing that's hitting me right now is how much I love being here; with each passing year that feeling grows stronger. I suppose I could say I'm savouring every moment: feeling the breeze on my face, smelling the orange blossoms, being comfortable in my own skin and knowing that I'm happy here. But it's much more than breathing in the fresh air and knowing we're living well, it's more about appreciating every day for what it gives us and not wanting what I don't have.
Contentment isn't about money, jobs, status or assets, it comes from an attitude of acceptance and gratitude, a feeling of self acceptance, being aware of what enough is and knowing that we have it. A quick glance at the TV news shows us that money and prestige don't bring happiness. I think potential for contentment and happiness is within us all but we only feel it growing when we unload all the excesses of life. I know a lot of you have done that. I have too but being here at home never fails to remind me that this kind of deep fulfilment is home grown.
