I have read, then slowly re-read this thoughtful piece from the poet Pádraig Ó Tuama. In a world busy with doing and being, this is a delicious invitation to simply be happy with being alone, right now — it is perfectly OK.

Yesterday was one of the magical synchronicities of life that, the day after reading this most thoughtful writing, I was blessed that an owl perched on my hand. A beautiful white-faced barn owl, named Ivy, and a superb predator.

This is an amazingly positive message from a young woman who died at the age of 36 from cancer. Her burning desire to make a positive difference was achieved with profound success by the example of her life and her passionate final message.

When I was 16 years old, my first goal to change the world for the better wrote itself into my brain – to help open and respectful conversations about different belief systems. At that time our new school headmistress was leading us to have these conversations weekly. I enjoyed them and wanted to make them happen much more often. I thought that all I had to do to make our world kinder and fairer, especially about beliefs, was to change the way that others talked about it…

A conversation with my grandchildren (aged 10 and 11) this morning alerted me to the reach of the upcoming US elections. I wondered why they were glum, and asked if these elections were worrying them. “Yes!” They were both worried.

The questions we ask shape our path...

In her new book - "Losing is the New Winning" -  Carol Dweck argues that a willingness to court failure can be a precursor to growth.

With Easter approaching, I found these thoughts about "The Age of Atheism" relevant: click here to read the article.

One recent hot weekend in Perth, when the cool indoors called, I made my way through a pile of newspaper articles dating back to 1997. The first article was dated 20th December 1997 and called “Last Anzac fought for family values.” It told of the death of Ted Matthews a few weeks earlier. At 101 he was the last original Anzac. The journalist interviewed his daughter, Irene Phillips, about him.

“The words humus, humble and human have the same root.”

The basis on which all a leader’s resilience rests is self-esteem!

“We can always learn new ways to be more responsible!” This morning I walked in Bold Park, enjoying the early morning sunshine and busy-ness of the birds.

Sitting in a cafe, I was waiting for someone whom I'd arranged to meet here. The tree stood tall outside, its leaves glistening in the sunlight. I loved the way the rustling leaves on our eucalyptus trees catch the light and send it on its sparkling way. Birds called as they flitted among the branches. Each tree supports so much life!