Heard we might be in for some rain before I get to Moree, so, since the old one was pretty shabby, I redesigned and made a new top for my trolley last night. Woke, packed roughly, on the way to get some more glue (liquid nails) from the hardware store, then finished off my canopy at David & Gae's place. David helped with coffee, tools, materials, and advice. David sent me off with a blessing,
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and I left after noon, bought some pies for lunch, stocked up on muslie bars and tinned stew from Coles, and at 2pm I'm about to cross the first bridge on the way out of town North, with a tummy full of yummy Narrabri pies!
A sunny day, cloud strewn sky, cool breeze.
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Mt Kaputae and National Park on the hirizon. A perfect day for a walk!
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As I walk through Australia, I start thinking of Moses walking through a similarly dry are over near Horeb or Sinai. I started to think about that sentence: "Take off your shoes, for the place where you are walking is holy ground.."
As a member of a fully Western-ized family group, this made no sense to me. But, I visited a friend on my way into Orange on this walk. Shin and his wife Makiko, are from Japan. When I walked into their home, I saw that they took off their shoes. So I did too. Shin motioned for me to be given some special slippers, which I squashed my big feet into and continued to balance my way into the house. That experience taught me something about Eastern Culture. The house is where you take of your work day shoes, your sandals, the outside clobber you have for your feet. Inside you either wear special inside shoes (if it is too cold for your feet otherwise), or you have naked feet. This is the place, not of contract but of covenant. This is a family's nest, a home, the house of a family who is learning to love, practising love. The temple in the Hebrew scriptures was a holy place, a place where God lived. It was called "the House of God", or sometimes in Hebrew culture it was referred to as simply "the House". When I treat a part of the world as holy ground, I wonder if I am equating it with the house of God, a place where God lives. How beautiful. This whole Earth is holy ground, the house of God.
5:21pm; the sun is just about to fall over the horizon, and a car with a smiling man in it stops to see how I'm doing. His name is also Paul, and he works in Narrabri, but is going home to Moree. He double checks that I'm ok. What a thoughtful human being!
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A joy to share the planet with people like Paul. See his demeanor, in the photo, it gives away the effect of his presence.
What lively, colourful, beautifully silhouetted sunsets:
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I passed some signs from above
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And finally stopped at about 6:10pm as Keith arrived to pick me up, at this sign (facing the other way):
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This might have been the best coverage of ground that I've made on this walk so far!
Then it was time to load the trolley, get back to the New Life centre which had the feel of a large family home, have a quick shower (while Margaret and Keith made my bed), and go out to the RSL (again, since David and Gae had started a trend last night). Then home to the New Life Centre again, for a cuppa, play a song on a guitar, write this up, and drop off to sleep earlier tonight than last night. The plan is to be up to leave here at 7:30 tomorrow morning, with the trolley. Thanks for such a generous offer Keith.
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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