the summer day by mary oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

by Mary Oliver

travelling europe

Elsa's backpacking around Europe.

She's been gone three weeks and we spoke to her on the phone tonight. She's just arrived in Florence and so far it's her favourite city of all. Funny, it was mine too.

I say she's backpacking but technically she's not. Her pack went missing on a flight from Edinburgh to Marseille over a week ago so she's travelling pretty light...in fact she has no backpack at all.

'We're having the best time,' she told me, 'and it's great mum, so much easier to travel without any stuff!'.

Interesting isn't it? We gather so many possessions - most we could manage without. It's often not until we've lost them that we even notice how easy it is to travel lightly in life.

you can change the world

i've got a new desk!

I've been waiting over a year for my new desk. We have the best cabinet maker in the world, Darren, who did our kitchen some years ago. He's always really busy so when I asked him to build my desk, we agreed that it could wait until whenever he had some time free.

And finally, a week ago he called and said 'it's this week Kate'. It was well worth the wait. I now have bookcases and cupboard space and filing drawers that really work...and a pinboard which I'm so excited about!! Finally a place to gather all of the bits and pieces that inspire me.

(If you're in Melbourne and you need some cabinet work done, drop me a line and I'll give you Darren's number. He is truly fantastic!).

about our clients

I've finally taken the time to think about what links the people I work with.

Most of them are creative in some way. This doesn't mean they are artists or musicians necessarily but they are people who think outside the square (or want to learn how to).

They might fit into mainstream culture but feel that there's something missing. They like genuine conversations and don't enjoy small talk. Some (but not all) are interested in meditation; a few would call themselves spiritual; most like to travel and learn about different cultures and all are interested in becoming more self aware.


Here are some of the other traits they share. They are people who:

• want to live more than just an 'ok' life
• feel a connection with the word ‘creativity’ even if they don’t actively pursue a traditional creative interest
• feel disillusioned by the corporate world
• work in their own creative or wellbeing business (or would love to be able to)
• would like the opportunity to give back to society at some point
• have an interest in social justice and care about the environment
• sometimes feel more sensitive or more questioning than others. They may think more deeply, feel more empathy or see beauty in places that others don’t
• don’t value the accumulation of material possessions as the most important thing in life
• sometimes feel 'different' and want to understand themselves better
• value authenticity and genuineness
• want to live a life that has purpose and meaning

I spend my days having inspiring conversations with these wonderful people. Is it any wonder that I love my work?

celebration

It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago, Meg turns 18 on Sunday and Elsa leaves for a 5 week trip to Europe on Monday. So we're all in celebration mode.

It's funny when you make a mindset shift. Chris and I are so often content to be homebodies but once we get out of the house and discover how much Melbourne has to offer, it becomes a bit seductive.

As well as a few lunches, dinners and drinks with family and friends, we decided to take the girls to Wicked this week for a treat. One of my lovely clients, Lizzy (who's a great photographer if you need a portrait pic or you know anyone getting married soon) told me how much she'd loved it so I booked tickets.

It was fabulous. The set and costume design were incredible and the girls who played the lead roles were sensational. It was funny and light and yes, had all of the schmaltzy stuff that goes with a musical but was the perfect way to spend a wintery Melbourne evening.

delayed gratification

Joachim de Posada's TED interview offers insight into how difficult children find it to delay gratification.

Only a handful of kids left alone with a marshmallow (and instructions that they'd get another one if they didn't eat it straight away) were able to resist. According to research, those who did had higher SAT scores years later and they were apparently happier and more successful in all aspects of life.

Apparently, delayed gratification is a significant predictor of life success.

What would you do?

For the record: If I was a five year old, I think I'd have eaten it. At 45, when I order seafood linguine (one of my favourite dishes) I always leave a prawn for last so I guess that means that these days I delay gratification!

girls' weekend

Chris thinks I'm aiming to make my life one long holiday. After wagging the conference in Sydney, I asked if he'd mind if I took off by myself to visit mum on the Sunshine Coast for the weekend. Dad is in Canada visiting his sisters so this was my birthday treat. And it was absolute bliss!

The beach, which stretches for miles, is right across the road from their apartment and the weather was absolutely perfect for two of the three days I was there.

We had lunch at Bistro C on Friday for a friend Rob's birthday, walked along the beach, went out for coffees, cooked thai chicken salad one night and a duck salad the next, turned the television on only once to watch a dvd, read, did sudoku and just a little bit of shopping and...as only a mother and daughter can do...solved all of the problems of the world.

I'm getting the travel bug now. Bali's coming up and it looks like we might have the numbers to make it happen. And Chris may have a film which means regular work for a few months so we could have a real holiday later this year. An overseas one! I am trying not to get excited yet but I'm itching to start planning. Fingers crossed.