Decided last night (with the help of Paul Downes) to go through Gunnedah then up Fossickers Way, since there's likely to be considerably less truck traffic, & I thought there were areas with not much shoulder to the road on bits from Narrabri to Goondiwindi.
Glen (an amazing Manager) whom I met, and shared a meal with last night) offered to drop me out to the spot where Paul had dropped me last night. I really appreciated (going out there in the car) hearing (not yet his views on life, but at least) his troubles with looking at religion as a whole, and also seeing where people have used it as a cover for the normal power mongering of humanity. All the divergent claims, counterclaims, and violence, is confusing and seems to put it into the too hard basket.
Interesting observations from someone who is used to looking at things from a big-picture kind of view. I can already feel myself being drawn back to consider these things more during the day's walk. Thanks for your candid thoughts, Glen.
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(forgot to get a pic of Glen, rats!) Thanks Glen. So, by 8:20am I was back on the Highway walking into Coona. Hope to drop into the Info Centre for a local area map, especially the road to Gunnedah, in case I lose phone connection or power.
A phone call with a neighbour fr9m back at home. A visit to the info centre where Brandon gave me a Cappucino
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and I saw some bones of Australian Megafauna, Dipodo… from only, was it 20,000 yrs ago, right here!
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Some amazing aboriginal myths regarding night sky landscapes… & there ancestors or "uncles", or spiritual forces looking down on them from the heavens as stars (link).
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Did some shopping for clothing I left behind (in Orange? mistakenly), and trail mix, etc.
At a second hand shop run by the SDA's (ADRA), I bought some golfing shorts for $3, that should dry quickly after being washed in the shower at nights. Met a lady there who served me named Barbara ..
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then I remembered that there was an SDA man who had prayed for me as I left Flinders Street Station in Melbourne on Saturday or Sunday night 2nd April. So I asked if she was a praying woman. She said she was. I asked her to pray for me on this walk.
I missed my pie etc. Time was running out. Nearly lunch time (11am) and I'm still in town. I'd better get back to where I stayed last night, where my trolley was. On the way Paul (my host) rang, and suggested I stay for another night, and he was now in a position to take me out to the fork in the Newel Highway where the Oxley diverged to the right, then drive me 20km up either fork, to get a feel for what the choice might mean. I said I often didn't get that option, so sure. That would be a lovely gift. So when I got back we had a cuppa, and off we went.
We stopped to have a pie for lunch at Coona's diwn town bakery. Good friends spotted me and said "G'day!". They were going home after a few days of holiday, with their kids. How lovely to be recognized and known in an uncommon place. Thanks Henry & Jo for that lovely gift. We talked for three minutes, coffees were served, and we all went our ways. May they and their family be such a gift to many others!
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The serendipities of life with creative love!
Paul & I went for that drive up each Highway. Even harder to decide now. I've asked for wisdom in this decision. I'll just have to use it now, as I find out how to.
A couple of solid phone calls. Paul Downes with an old mate. Me with my lovely lady.
Paul & I pursued some pet hobbies that we happen to share, of carefully looking for meaning in ancient documents written in ancient languages for other ancient audiences (scriptures passed on in a cultural lineage) and trusting creative love to lead us somehow. Lots of fun.
I was reminded of a dichotomous key. With a branch at the distinction between
a focus on mechanism & technology, or
a focus on time spent in mentoring relationships.
Then I set out to at least walk the 3.5km to the fork in the Highways, which would give me a feel for the Newel Highway, and its traffic; and maybe help me in learning to use wisdom in decision making.
So I did. And Paul who often was booked with work at this time of day, for an hour or two, but happens not to be today, said he could pick me up - again.
Getting close:
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Here I am.
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I wandered up the Oxley while Paul came to get me… and wandered up the Oxley Highway to this point:
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.and looking back towards Coona:
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.when we get back to Paul & Lyn's house:
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Thanks Pau Downes!
Pictures to pursue, from that 10 min of talking with Glen this morning:
The difficulty of getting responsible research done in the situation of looking for a needle in a hay-stack.. e.g.Making sense of, or tweaking Internet searches for various topics: e.g.
Benefits to humanity of sport playing, or of say swimming.
Data for making a choice as to whether to join in competitively, or just socially, in Swimming, Tennis, Soccer, AFL, or Rugby.
Problems coming from the Western Mindset of focussing on the power of the word; - using and running with, or a priori not using, or running with, our inherited, or pre-made categories, or titles, or clumpings made with words.
e.g.
OLD TO NEW WORLD VIEW
Despite that science tells us "This world is
not what it seems on outside, to the feel,
with layers upon layers forming things",
I still believe that our ol' world is real.
Our scientific story tells us that
despite what we all see here (think we "know"),
there's layers of "community" which mat
together, and which interleave.. (quite so):《1》
Inside, within each body, making up
the living ones, are individu'l "cells",
or living creatures that can be corrupt-
ed, or combined to make a host where dwells
the multicelled "community" we see
that's planted right before us "on" (or "in")
our ground of being. Even you and me.
And these can be disrupted or can win!
The ways that these communities would seize
things 'round about to aid their tiny parts,
to work together: shelter, feed, and ease
their life, to bring a thriving from their starts,
are called in this Our world "to feed", & "clothe
and shelter", self or fam'ly, other lives.
The old words from Our world that covered both
are "love", & then there's "peace"- which meant "life thrives".
But smaller yet, each body that exists,
of rocks, or gasses, animals or plants;
(and irrespective of "life" tagged to its
existence as an entity, per chance..)
is made of smaller atoms, molecules,
or other things that kind of are like "seas".
But smaller yet (these aren't just words of fools)
are forces "circling", balancing with ease.
Where either particles or waves "impart"
existence to those higher levels too.
But here we haven't even made a start
on bigger things, like Galaxies and U-
ni-verse, or other categ'ries rehearsed,
like Supernova, Nebulae, and Giants,
Dwarves, and other stars that shoot and burst,
to cook up compounds, elements and ions
from which all of the rest can start to "be".
Invisible dimensions in this way
we start to understand, and maybe "see"
within our "mind's eye" - as they used to say.
But still our story makes more sense, or less
of all dimensions we've encountered here,
since we were born - to order and to mess,
with this ol' world. - And this is where I cheer
myself as I move on, and others too.
The world we "started" in, that let us learn
about dimensions and these worlds that you
have just now been reminded of, don't spearn!
The story that's apparent: God made this
whole world with more dimensions than you'd poke
at with a stick, does not seem so remiss
and starts to look less like it was a joke!
"The best is yet to come", as AA found
in fact, through living in this re-al world.
And there's a higher power hanging round
to see if we would reach out and be curled
within the love of biggest Dad, or Mum,
and let the Great Creator's fam-il-y
look after us and grow us, and then some..
towards more of a nature that is free
to love back, as we have ourselves been loved.
And that's why most religions in this world
admire, and think good-life was surely gloved
within the life, that we have mostly hurled
our insults at, and blamed him for our faults
and misdemeanours, laziness, and such.
It's him I would commend to you. Us dolts,
we killed the model human God loved much -
the second Adarm (and would kill his Eve,
that God brings from him while he's "not around").
In jealousy and ignorance, we'd weave
a net to catch them yet, like beasts been found
and named. So if you ask me to I'll tell
the story of the glory of God "THERE",
who loves his kids, and wants them to do well,
take on creative love, and learn to share.
《1》 physically enact this by interleaving the fingers from each hand with those of the other
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