Welcome to SYDNEY, Australia!

I have just spent three weeks in one of the world's best cities... and here are some of my pictures thus far. (Technically it's been two weeks, since I traveled to the highlands to volunteer on an organic farm for 8 days). There are so many interesting things about this city- from the harbours and beaches and neighbourhoods... and the overwhelming public transit options ranging from light rail to subway trains to buses and ferries. I can honestly say that even on the days when I have 8 hours to explore by myself, I have yet to run out of something new to do/see, and I've met fellow travellers and locals along the way. I managed to get myself lost in a nearby beach town and hitchhiked twice to get back to where I needed to go. Haha! Although I must say that it's freaking expensive here. Yikes. It costs me about a dollar per banana at the grocer, which is how I gauge cost of living while traveling. I'd say most things are at least 2-3x more expensive here than in North America. (Except petrol, which is about the same as in the Toronto area). Let's just say I wish I applied for a working visa, even for the brief time I'll be here. It would've been nice to have subsidised my city stay a bit. Yikes!!

My favourite places so far?

• Royal Botanical Gardens- a huge, free park right beside the Opera House and Harbour Bridge with tons of walking trails and interesting things to see. I like the rose garden and the Government House, although I almost got arrested at the latter. Not even joking- I was with two other travellers I met while walking and we supposedly crossed a "no entry" boundary. Let's just say the officer was not a happy camper.
• The Bondi to Coogee Walk- which is a 5km trail on the rugged cliffs along the ocean from Bondi Beach (one of Sydney's main beaches) south to Coogee Beach. What a beautiful walk... Here is a picture of Bondi Beach from along the pathway:

• Newtown (neighbourhood)- full of interesting and eclectic restaurants, bars, shoppes, and graffiti... this district is super bohemian and forward-thinking (aka anti-capitalist and pretty hippie). Always great festivals and shows here. 

^ Hyde Park

^ Harbour Bridge

 ^ Sydney Fish Market and some Graffiti near Darling Harbour

^ beautiful purple trees everywhere!  ^ Chinese Friendship Garden 

^ Moustache Cafe in Manly  ^ Manly Wharf at sunset

 

^ Aboriginal-style art graffiti in Newtown  ^ more street art in Newtown 

^ graffiti somewhere in the CBD :)  Love this.

^ Bird of Paradise flower at the farm  ^ The other farm volunteers from Europe

^ Volunteering at Peppercorn Creek Farm just south of Sydney

This Week

The ladies of 427

From Emily's wedding on August 2nd... Roomies reunited! :)

Thoughts on true love

I have been reading loads and loads of articles on life, love, heartbreak, wholeness, etc (you get the drift). Here is an excerpt from an article I really enjoyed, and wanted to share:

When you understand and celebrate independence and individuality, but come together as a couple and make the most out of the time you do spend with one another. After all, love is what’s supposed to last forever. So why push everything to move so quickly? It’s understandably exciting, when you find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. But it is starting. Love isn’t lust. It doesn’t happen fast. It comes over time, as days pass and you constantly find reasons why you want to spend the rest of your life with this person. When you find this person...Work for it. Because true love is much more difficult to find than lust. It’s real, and it lasts forever.

I can't believe how fast time goes by. It seems like, on one hand, I feel so young still... and despite the multitudes of life experiences I've been able to have (the good and the bad ones!) I still feel like the potential for what's ahead is HUGE.

At the same time, though, my friends are slowly getting engaged, married, and some of them even have, gasp, babies on the way. Yikes. I know everyone does life at their own pace, but it's still a bit frightening to think that in five years my life could be drastically different.

I have so much to say on the topic of how fleeting life is, but until next time, here's a photo of my mum and I hiking in the Appalachian Mountains. :)

I found this cute little blog and wanted to share this picture. Check out www.chibird.com for more adorable sketches and quotes. :)

50th Anniversary Party

I love my family. This was such a wonderful evening... I am so thankful to have been a part of this celebration of 50 years of marriage, family, and God's provision.

It was also my parents' 28th anniversary that night... so we had a dual celebration.

Being Love

As several of you might know, my life is in a transition stage right now. I'm not adventuring in this stage as much as I want to be... Rather, I am recovering, regrouping, and relearning things--things such as self-love, confidence, inner peace and its role in loving oneself and other people.

I have set my intention for this phase and, although I'm dealing with the frustrations of not being a globe-trotter at the moment, I am enjoying the journey. More about that later, I guess.

Right now I really want to recommend an audiobook called Being Love by Thich Nhat Hanh. It's narrated by Thich himself and is very calming to listen to. If you need a copy, lemme know. It'll change your life.

"Our capacity to love another person depends on our capacity of loving ourselves. If we do not have peace [or] joy within ourselves, we have nothing to share." -Thich Nhat Hanh

Taking the practice GRE is oh-so-painful. Argh!

Moving forward in peace:
It's the scariest thing to keep moving forward, yet it's essential to growth.
When life moves quickly, how does one find peace in the chaos?
Just wondering, because maybe I'm abnormal and can't handle change properly.
x

Some Quotes from Paulo Coelho

"The moment we begin to seek love, love begins to seek us. And to save us."

"But now we needed each other in order to see the true brilliance of things."

"It's better to lose some of the battles in the struggle for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you're fighting for."

"There are many ways to serve our Lord. If you feel [this choice] is your destiny, go in search of it. Only a man who is happy can create happiness in others."

"The dream had the flavour of the world, of romance, and of new adventures. I had tried to resist; now I knew how easily love could set fire to the heart."

 ~ All of these quotes are from Coelho's novel By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept. Although The Alchemist is still my favourite, I do recommend giving this book a read.

Despite the risks and the difficulties, in loving yourself you accomplish more by helping others know how to love you. If we attend to the natural part of ourselves that continuously seeks fulfillment, recognition, wholeness, and sufficiency, others are loosened from the responsibility of deciding if who I am is enough.

"Once everything falls into place..." then life would be perfect, right? Then I'd find peace. Nope. Peace comes first. This quote by Marianne Williamson really spoken to me today, especially since peace and coming to terms with yourself is essential to mental and emotional wellbeing.

In a similar sense, I think we can only find peace if we give control of our lives over to our creator. The one who loves us so much that we can't even comprehend it. He is the one who never gives up on us, whose love NEVER runs dry... Not even when we think ourselves so undeserving of love. Not even when we've made mistakes that have led to hurt. Pain and brokenness can be healed. And thank God for that, because there is no possible way I could ever heal on my own. Because, in all honesty, I've done quite a shit job at trying to heal myself. 

On a related note, I've gotten to speak to some wonderful persons over the last few days. Thank you for breathing scripture, wisdom, and encouragement into my life. For sharing your experiences, struggles, and hopes with me. It means the world to me, and I'm very thankful for you.

x

Can I just say that I love Brené Brown? Her teachings on vulnerability and courage have been wonderfully inspiring. Since I follow her on Facebook, I'd like to share one of her recent updates.

I swim for many reasons but none more important than the constant reminder to "stay in my own lane." Nothing ruins my swim or my creative process more than comparison and competing. Sometimes I literally have to repeat: focus and be grateful for what's happening here.

I think being thankful is extremely important to mental and emotional stability, especially during the hard times. As a person who very easily compares herself to others (and gets super jealous!) it's a great reminder to 'stay in my own lane'... to live the life that is set out for me, not for someone else.

Another inspiration from Brené is the note she has displayed in her workspace-- a reminder for the hard times. It's refreshing to know that the people we look up to sometimes have self-doubt... but they power through it.

-wholeness-

This year has been one of the hardest years of my life. Hand down.
Today has been a step in the right direction, and I am praying for wisdom and courage as I walk down this road of healing.
Mindfully. Truthfully. Knowing that my heart is at stake, and if I don't fight for wholeness for myself, nobody will. Only I can change my situation, and it's gonna be one hell of a fight, but it's a fight I want to make. Need to make.

x

The Appalachian Mountains

Happy Labour Day...

Sights