Place:boucla

poison: skinny latte

Favourite things: my notebooks

Today I am struck by mercy. The concept that we would extend mercy to others and the fact that mercy is often extended to us.

We can become so consumed with ourselves in our pursuit of righteousness that we loose sight of the fact that every person deserves mercy and the capacity to fail, fail again and the fail better.

I am so aware of my failings at the moment and so in need of an extension of mercy, however it’s just so difficult to stay I’m the place of humility to accept it.

I so often strive because I want to make things right, but often right is not the goal, it’s the capacity to see others through a rose coloured glass and love despite weakness and brokeness and decay.

In my pursuit of creativity and living a large life, I am my own worse critic but so often that comes out in the way I judge others.

Break me down with mercy I pray.

Help me find beauty in the breakthrough.

Perfectionism is a concept created by man, who wants to believe that in his independece he can be more than he truly is. (man being mankind)

Help me remember that nothing aside from the divine is perfect and there truly is beauty in the breakdown.

Help me find mercy…

A

Place: My Office

Poison: Chewies

Favourite Things: the Oxford Dictionary

My friend Andre sent me a link to this culinary art!

Hilarious

Enjoy…

http://www.funkylunch.com/gallery.htm

Amps

Place: my lounge

Poison: green tea

Favourite things: thinking about how I am going to renovate my first apartment!

A movie is coming out in October in Australia and I couldn’t be more excited.

A mid 30s girl with last name Powell, decides to reinvent her life by writing on a blog and cooking her way through a famous cooking heroines book.

365 days, 2 recipes a day and the blog became a sensation. This story is true.

Roll the years back 30 or so and another woman bored out of her brains attends a cooking school and does what she can to write a book full of recipes that were to inspire a whole generation of would be chefs.

Enter stage left the movie Julie and Julia. The movie parralells and follows both life stories with comedy, love and food.

I wrote a recipe to enter into a competition about the film, the question was what is your life changing recipe?

I wrote…

1 cup of courage, 1 teaspoon of inspiration, 1/2 cup of spirit, 2 cups of encouragement and 3 cups of motivation. Mix all ingrediants together and you have the ability to reinvent your life.

I’m thinking a bit about reinvention right now…

Bring on the 8th of October…

Place: my lounge

Poison: soursop green tea

Favourite things: blue velvet cushions

I’m on a health kick and in the pursual of shedding a few kilos I have gone soup crazy.

Whenever I say I have cooked soup for dinner my flatmate rolls his eyes with that look that implies no not soup, serve me meat woman!

Hilarious. The truth is though, soup has such a bad reputation as it’s seen to be boring and just a starter rather than a whole meal.

I however am on a mission to change that! This week I have made a curry pumpkin and carrot soup, a lamb and vege soup and tonight I just made a thai chicken corn and basil soup.

And from the smell raging my sinus cavities right now the last is most assuradely my finest accomplishment.

What in your life is in need of some reinvention?

Take some creative time and some purposed thought and reinvention is just moments away…

What shall be my next soup?

Morrocan avocado?

Hmmm

A

Place: aeroplane

Poison: magnum icecream

Favourite things: the penguin book renaissance

I spend a lot of plane time dreaming. Therenis something about a plane, especially when the entertainment system is broken and it would be embarressing to get up anymore times to visit the ladies, that brings out my dreaming brain.

I have been so inspired by a book called SUMO by Paul Mc gee in regards to our vision, our dreams and how we communicate with others.

I desperatly want live a life of influence, not to just be famous, but to truly know that I have given life my all!

This quote from his book completely jammed me…

‘Start where you are, with what you have and never loose sight of your dreams…’

So simple but I circled it dramatically in my book and reminded myself that despite the season I find myself in, (one of lamentation and crisis) the dreams and bigger picture of my life, provides so much perspective in the midst of chaos.

Dream Amanda, insert your name here, dream …..( ) life is never over till the fat lady sings.

that’s special!

A

Place: Sydney

Poison: piccolo latte

Favourite things: the shangrali hotel the rocks

Penguin books are experiencing an undeniable Renaissance right now and it is quite spectacular.

Lessons learnt:

Keep it simple
People love recreation of the old
don’t charge the earth, no more than $10
Bright colours attract attention

Love it penguin books, me and Charlotte bronte and looking forward to being reaquainted.

‘we believed in the existence of a vast reading public for intelligent books at a low price, and staked everything on it’ Sir Allen Lane, founder of penguin books.

Innovation is not always about the new, it can be a fresh approach to old.

A

Place: aeroplane

Poison: Diet coke

Favourite things: in house entertainment

I am watching the most intriguing movie ‘the soloist’, about a man living on the street Nathanial Aires, who is the most amazing violinist who is homeless.

Mental illness is so devestating and the truth is every person living on the streets has a whole story of circumstances that lead them to a plae where they live today.

I am so heartened towards helping those who find themselves homeless and I truly don’t live in a place of pity. I am respectful of the choices and the stories that has lead them to that place of vulnerability.

A quote from the film ‘You got something special here a way out’, Nathanial is the most amazing musician whose dream is to play beethoven eternally.

So gifted yet he found himself so unable to keep his everyday life and daily circumstances under control. I love the whole message of this movie and also the awareness that every person who is homeless has dreams and gifts, that they once laid awake at night thinking of.

I loved his mother when he was young who said this…’You know what I hear when I hear music, God’.

Every man or woman whose home is made on a sidewalk, has memories and stories that need to be respected and documented.

Every life has value. So put away your judgements, that immediately categorize them into drug addicts and prostitutes and take time to sit and reflect with them of the dreams and desires that once kept them awake at night.

Every person was born with purpose and dignity. Are you a bestower or robber of that right every human being deserves…

Challenged!

A

Place: Shangrali

Poison: green tea

Favourite things: the view

This poem from a book I’m reading cracked me up…

The most unfair thing about life is the way it ends…
I mean, life is tough. It takes up a lot of your time and what do you get at the end of it? Death, I mean, what’s that, a bonus? I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first and get it out the way. Then you move into an old persons home. You get kicked out when your too young, you get a gold watch and then go back to work. You work for forty years and until your young enough to enjoy your retirement. You have fun, party plenty, then get ready for senior school. Then junior school, you become a kid, you play and you have no responsibilities. You become a little baby, you go bck into the womb, spend your last nine months floating…and you finish off as an orgasm.

Cheeky I know…

Love it

A

Place: mid flight

Poison: cheese and crackers

Favourite things: space to reflect

This week Jeff crabtree and I spoke on the tension between structure and innovation and it has reminded me of my deep passion about creativity.

So funny how we can forget the values that are the foundation of our lives, when everyday life tries to take us out.

At the airport today as I prowled the bookstore shelves I brought a phaidon book on a whim and I’m thinking it may be the best purchase I have ever made. That is a pretty big call I know, but it’s true…

The book is called ‘It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be.’ If you are a pursuer of all things creative this book is truly chunky and full of wisdom.

Check it out.

I’m going to be buying it for my creative development team!

apparently it’s the worlds best-selling book by Paul Arden. I’m not sure whether that’s true, but certainly what I’ve seen is pretty inspirational…

Check it!

A

Place: Hotel

Poison: Water

Favourite Things: The view from my window

Out my window as I work here right now, the view is absolutely breathtaking. I am in Sydney for a work confererence that we are working at and I spoke at, but the added bonus, of being in the rocks at Circular Quay in Sydney for a week is one I will never forget.

The creative space to find inspiration is beautiful. The people, the Manly Ferry, the bridge, the opera house and so much more.

For some the landscape of creation and its beauty is that which takes your breath away, but for me the pursuit of human acheivement and beating the odds of urban landscape takes me by surprise.

I love to walk anonomyus in a city that is so much bigger than I ever can be. I love to be lost in something that is so much bigger than me and provides perspective to the largeness and diversity of our world and how truly fragile we all are.

For me I live in a daily circumstance that makes me think that I am significant in the bigger picture of the worlds journey. However when I travel to a city that is full of 4million people of all different shapes, sizes, circumstances, lives and loves I truly get a proper perspective of the beauty of the masses.

I also see the beauty in the breakdown. The people who help another as they place $2 in a street persons styrofoam cup, the old man who holds his wife of 50 years hand as she crosses a busy street. There is beauty in the breakdown of society, you just need to look for it.

Sydneytime, you have allowed me to breathe, reflect and find some perspective in the midst of a lamentation type of season.

A