Short & Sweet - week beginning June 11 (happy returns)

This year's Order of Australia accolades went to 'Those who serve without a crowd', according to The Australian's front page, with honours going to the more cerebral, creative and caring, as apposed to those whose achievements take place on the sporting field, all very timely given the fracas swimming around two young sporting champs of the pool together with the social media's love of a self-promotional update.

The essence is that these are times for toning down, working hard and keeping your nose clean. Business leader Tony Shepherd, president of the Business Council of Australia, who graced The Australian for his Queen's birthday honors list inclusion, disclosed his love of sport, particularly cricket and football, as well as reading, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and his grandchildren, painting a picture of a man of many interests.

"Life is very busy, but fulfilling," he said. His mentor, Italian construction patriarch Franco Belgiorno-Nettis taught him that, "you need to build your relationship on a personal basis first". Meanwhile, last week at a conference held by Christian business industry group CMA titled 'Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times', micro-finance pioneer and Order of Australia recipient David Bassau told the audience how "the small things were the training ground for the bigger things".

Filmmaker Annika Salisbury with a young companion in Cambodia. Annika and her dad Trevor accompanied us on the whirlwind trip.

Let's catch up: The entanglement of emotions and information and experience procured on my trip to Cambodia, via Thailand, is stuffed in my satchel awaiting gentle extrapolation given the sensitivities around the reason why I was there and the nature of the work of NGOs in culturally sensitive situations; this has been an education in itself.

On arrival on Australian shores – at which point of time I was to attend a funeral under the burden of a thankfully brief bout of flu – I was relieved but longing to be back in Cambodia all at once; we do make life so confusing in the West, do we not?

And yet I tentatively relish the opportunity to get stuck back into the progression of life on the home front; we can't very well put off the bills and decisions for all time while wandering about in far off places now, can we? That is, unless we felt absolutely called to do so. I don't think I am at this point in time. So back to the grind...

This week's agenda: Untangling the journal entries and photos and thoughts to produce something comprehensible for you to read! It was a relief to be without social media responsibilities (thank you, Sophie and Brooke!) and yet I felt a longing to write, write, write as I was seeing, doing and being... this was a learning experience, too: should one stem the flow of creativity when the spirit takes us by surprise and opens up our eyes? I think perhaps not. A thought for further thinking...
The Word for the Week: 'You may brag about yourself, but the only approval that counts is the Lord's approval.' (2 Corinthians 10:18)
Quote for the Week: "There was no stress involved because I wasn't singing my own songs...You have to be as sustainable as you can – in everything." Neil Young, The Australian
Dictionary.com word of the week: divulse \dahy-VUHLS\, verb: To tear away or apart.
"To divulse oneself from everyday cares and responsibilities in the quest for worthier pursuits in far-off places is a romantic notion but may in some ways be denying the necessity of finding contentment with self in any circumstance or situation, but on the other hand forces us to do exactly that."

A big thank you to Sophie, Brooke and Liz for taking care of things around here in my leave of absence... It was a trip in itself to be looking at GWAS from a reader perspective. Feedback welcome.

Girl With a Satchel