Why do odd things seem normal?

While overseas, in my native country, the Netherlands, for the first time since moving to Australia on a permanent visa about 10 years earlier, I felt homesick for Australia. This was quite a strange realization as many immigrants seem to feel the other way around. This experience was an important part of me deciding to become an Australian Citizen, so I too had a say in the politics that concerned me and gain the right to vote for the people and parties that did what felt right to me, as well as being able to call Australia truly my home. The other was that on several overseas flights I had experienced inconvenient holdups in Customs due to an issue with the visa in my passport, causing them to have to ring Canberra every time to ask for permission to let me fly back to Australia. This was especially troubling as I was traveling with a group of friends that had to wait for me. Another helpful deciding factor was that I was able to retain my Dutch citizenship, phew!

In hindsight it may have been a deep longing for the freedom I perceived to have gained by my move to Australia. I treasured the fact that you could still drink the water from mountain streams and camp in the bush near a river somewhere, instead of a bustling caravan park. So many untouched areas of wilderness left here, where you can easily escape from the sights and sounds of civilization like traffic, loud music and voices. Go for a skinny dip, catch a fish for dinner, cook on the fire and find yourself back in harmony with nature. A young and free country full of land to explore and escape to, where only natures laws are important…

I had to produce a lot of original and certified documents that had to be translated for the authorities here. The application process took quite some time, which was no issue, just a lot of effort and stress, which I always experience when dealing with any organization and paperwork. Thankfully I was already allowed to continue staying with my permanent visa.

When time came to vote, I looked at my options. I had never really been interested in politics, as much of the talk used to go straight over my head. Well, I found out immediately that most of my friends and family could not answer my questions about the system and it seemed very complex. Not only that, I failed to find any party that resembled anything close to the one I had been faithful to in the Netherlands!
It did not exist! All the other options seemed wrong, for all they could do was talk about the mistakes of the opposing side, instead of the good plans they were going to introduce, but hey, best use my vote and give it to the better of the 2 bad options, right?

Time went on and I kept voting that way, until I had to postpone a return flight home to Australia, dealing with delays and broken promises from agencies and psychiatrists that were involved with my mother’s admission into a nursing home. I missed the local election! I had no idea it was being held during my absence, as they only started talking about it on the media a few weeks beforehand, after I had left the country. The news in the Netherlands does not exactly cover the local council elections in Victoria! I found a fine in the mail after I returned! What the…!.? Why do they fine you for missing an election due to family circumstances? Or hardly any circumstance at all?

To me, who never missed voting in a country where there was only a missed opportunity to have a say as consequence for not voting, that seemed extremely odd, but hey, maybe thats what it takes to motivate those laid back Aussies to participate in politics and contribute to our democracy and freedom?
My friends and family said: “Well, thats just how things are done in this country”.

I asked: “If the majority of the population does not agree with what our chosen politicians do when in power, which I had observed so far never seems to be what little good they promised before election, what can we do to hold them accountable?” Again, none of my friends and family had a clue or decent solution to offer, and I was not sufficiently versed in laws and official lingo, to find out from available sources myself. I let it go, focused on other things I did have power over, and kept trying to support the smallest parties that were the closest to my ideas in what they promised, to hopefully avoid giving my vote inadvertently to the 2 ‘big bad boys’

Why would a government feel that people need punishment as an incentive to vote? If they did a great job and listened to us, would people not naturally turn up in droves to keep supporting them, to keep doing what they are doing so well? Or is there possibly an underlying reason? Like that we do not really get a choice and voice…? Where are the candidates that follow up on their election promises, that we, the people can believe in, that stand up for our interests in our so called democracy, as we have been told they should do? To me it seems very suspicious of not being very democratic and again I asked questions like what does it take to get a government that actually listens to the people? How can we promote a transparent, simpler more logical election process that anyone can understand, including immigrants like me? Looking at the current situation overseas and election issues coming to light there, I wonder… Is this the time it could happen? Is America due for a new political system where the people do get their voices heard? What does that mean for governments around the world that are probably tied up in the suspected wrongdoings?

This morning I thought about this again, when I looked at a thread about another hot topic on Twitter. A doctor claimed that there should be a dialog possible about not forcing people to get vaccinated. Wow, so many closed minded highly emotional responses outweighing the sensible approaches! I believe everyone has the right to their opinion, so why attack others of a different opinion? Why so black and white? If people have reservations about the safety of the vaccinations, it does not make sense to me to slap them straight into the anti-vax corner and call them ugly names! What is wrong with the middle ground and demanding that proper unbiased research and double blind tests by independent scientists be made available for all that want to know and see full safety proven first instead? Why do pro-vaxers worry about people who don’t want to vaccinate? What have they got to worry about if they believe they are protected by the vaccine?

I am NOT anti vaccination, and have in fact had most vaccinations recommended to me in the past, for I did believe it was a good thing to do at that time.

This time however, I am becoming highly suspicious for the lack of research available to see so early in the process of developing the vaccines, while large companies are starting to threaten with possible, some very costly (like self financed hotel quarantines) sanctions for those unwilling to cooperate with a proposed worldwide vaccination program. Whether they are sensitive to the substances or refusing for other good and valid reasons, is not even open for discussion right now!

Why the need to rush these vaccinations, really, when there have been several very successful therapeutics, with proven safety records, so far mostly denied to the public and not spoken about in mainstream media? Why is there no talk about what people can do in regards to lifestyle, diet and supplements like Zinc, vit.C and D, that would dramatically increase survival rates, if not prevent infection, as some very knowledgeable, properly trained and certified doctors have shown. Why is there no talk about ionising air conditioning systems to keep inside air clean and safe to breathe? Did you know that our nose releases nitric oxide as a pathogen exterminator when used for breathing? How many are under stress and feeling anxiety right now, and breathe through their mouths because of this? What about the effects of UV in our powerful Sun and special lights disinfecting our surrounds? Why is a lot of helpful empowering information being censored so heavily on social and mainstream media?

Can we still trust our government and institutions to do what is best for us if their finances also come from sources with vested interests? A lot of things smell badly off here, and because of THAT, I am unwilling to blindly trust the current vaccines at this early stage. Without seeing thourough unbiased and double blind research data, how can I, based on my experiences and observations? What about knowing what the long term side effects will be? Remember some other vaccinations that we were sold in the past few decades, that were more damaging than people expected? Those lawsuits still go on today!

It is becoming blatantly obvious to me, that common sense is out the window and we are heading for a cliff if we stick to this road,

but why does it still seem normal to so many?…

Why do people listen to fear spreading exaggerated messages and let it influence their lives? Don’t they see and understand that fear puts us into a sympathetic mindset, that is great for fight and flight, but also overrides logic and common sense, besides shutting down the effectiveness of our immune system!? Do people not know their own true power any more, and why do they allow others to control that? Do they not understand that the emotion of fear creates the circumstances in the future that will generate more fear? Is that what we collectively want to create, a future to be feared?…

It is time for more transparency and true freedom of information, if they want the people to cooperate, trust their governments and other ruling organizations, and comply with their wishes. How can we trust our institutions, if they are secretive? What are they hiding from us? Why don’t they trust us with the truth and show us some solid research? Lao Tzu wrote among some more tips for governing 3000 years ago:

“If you don’t trust the people, they become untrustworthy.”

Would it not be good to have that framed and hung in every political office, to remind them we are mostly sensible people that will do the right thing when needed, given the right truthful information, without the threats.

Another quote I wish to frame and hang in their offices would be:

“Consider your grandkids in every decision made”.

There wont be any sanctions needed if we are trusted to do the sensible thing, like me feeling a need to fulfil my voting duties in the Netherlands. We can scrap a large part of our societies rules and regulations when motivation comes from clarity, positivity, love, respect, transparency and honesty. Maybe we just need to get back to the basics of the Constitution and 10 Commandments?

We need to work together in our immediate communities and stand up to improve health, wellbeing, prosperity and so much more that can easily be improved when funds are redirected from wasteful spending! With creativity, diversity and a desire to benefit all living beings now, and in our future, we can build a true happy place for everyone! It starts locally with individual choices to uplift and benefit others.

I Have faith that the current times are a fleeting moment of awakening common sense in people and governments, and that our future is going to be one, so amazingly great, we can only just imagine the possibilities now. A future to feel grateful for, glad about, full of beauty, health, abundance for all, community, cooperation, true freedom, peace and happiness!

It starts by educating yourself and not getting swept up in the fear tide. Aim to actively spread awareness, unconditional love, individual empowerment, truth, honesty and transparency! One of the most important things you can learn today is how to be in control of your emotions by applying certain breathing techniques and generate awareness of when you are functioning from the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system. We need to feed the wolf inside ourselves we like the best, if we want it to become stronger than his opposing brother! Education is the path to Freedom! Get to KNOW thyself!

What would you suggest to help improve our future to one we can all feel more grateful about? Please leave a comment.

With Gratitude, PollyEsther

The End of the World as we know it…

About a month ago I was at the Dentist for a checkup and annual clean of my teeth. Since it had been some time since an x-ray was done, I followed the dentist’s advice and allowed her to do one. Unfortunately my financial situation is such that I have to make choices as to what to spend my money on and when, so when she suggested to treat a cavity that showed up on the x-ray sooner rather than later, I decided to do it later. The reason was that I had just started my new business of conducting Wim Hof Method workshops as a newly qualified Instructor and expected to make a little extra money on top of my meagre part time casual Nursery job very soon. I felt on top of the world, for finally, after 5 years of living on the edge of poverty without my husbands income and getting by with insufficient funds from the Government, I saw a ray of Sunshine brightening up our future.

I organised one workshop in February and planned on doing at least 3 through March, making it a regular highlight in the local Sports and Recreation Centre as more people started to find out about it. The signs were hopeful as I saw my second workshop selling a lot faster and to more people than my first, that just broke even or maybe lost a little, with only two people present. I was still happy despite that, for one participant left a lovely review, which showed my capacity and care helping convince future potential participants to give it a go too. I am still waiting to see what the return will be as I am currently still awaiting my reimbursement from the ‘Hoffice’, as we call the Wim Hof Method headquarters in the Netherlands.

Needless to explain, as of last week I had to cancel all future plans for live workshops indefinitely and a feeling of powerlessness started to overshadow my life. The cavity was still on my mind though and as the Government put restrictions in place I decided to take the chance and pay for fixing it from a loan, trusting that eventually things will go back to normal and I will resume my workshops to catch up and pay it back. It took me a few days to make up my mind and weigh up the risks versus the benefits with an uncertain future ahead of us, but the thought of the cavity escalating into a more serious dilemma, made me go ahead and ring the dentist on Wednesday for an appointment. The assistant agreed that I could come in Thursday afternoon after work.

At the end of my working day, to be on the cautious side, I washed my hands and sprayed myself all over with disinfectant before jumping in the car. I did not know whether I had been in contact with the virus, for the long incubation times reported and lack of present symptoms in many that had already transmitted it as this pandemic started to take hold on the world. I certainly did not want to be part of spreading it further to anyone I had to deal with, as well as thinking about my poor husband at home, who already has problems with his lungs and overall health as it is.

The traffic was a lot quieter than usual and the drive home was a smooth one, so l rushed into the nearby shop to grab a few items that I was needing, before going to the dentist. With all the new rules of distancing this is a bit of mission now, waiting for people to move away from the shelf you have your eyes on, before you are able to grab what you are after and it did take longer than usual to get out of the store. I quickly put my shopping in the car and ran to the dentist about 50 meters further down the street.

Thankfully I was not too late and still had to wait for my consultation. I sat down with my hands on my lap, careful not to move or touch anything, especially my face. After a few minutes the assistant came to me with a device to check my temperature, by holding it near my forehead. It felt this warranted during the developments of the last few days, that they check incoming visitors for mild symptoms as a safeguard for their and other patients health. As I felt great and had not socialised with anyone, besides my husband and a small number of colleagues for the past week and a half, this did not worry me, until she said that my temperature was elevated and had to come down, before they would consider treating me! I did point out the fact that menopause was upon me and that I did suffer hot flushes as a side effect on a daily basis, but rules are rules and they were told by the dentist association not to treat anyone with an elevated temperature. Thankfully they were kind enough for me to sit there for some time and check again to see that it was dropping. The dentist agreed to see me, phew!

What was it that I wanted her to do? I refreshed her memory to our agreement about a month ago, to treat that deeper cavity that had shown on the x-rays and she pulled out the files to see. Next she returns to me apologising that she was now unable to help me under the level 2 restrictions, for it required drilling and that this was now prohibited, unless there was severe discomfort for the patient, for the reason that this activity releases small particles into the air and could contribute in spreading the virus! I calmly accepted her explanation and she offered to put me on a waiting list to contact as soon as these restrictions are lifted.

I walked out of there with a heavy heart and serious concern for our future lives and freedom. This is when it sank in, that no matter how well we get through all this, the world has changed overnight and will never be what it was… https://youtu.be/wa43FNUdpU8

How far is this going to affect the way we are able to access health services, future gatherings, international flights and so much more! This is only the start! I am sure that we will have to adapt to many more restrictions and so called necessary compulsory regulations in the near and far future ahead of us, where discrimination will morph from external differences to more subtle internal ones, opening up the possibilities of a worldwide regime, controlling our every move for the sake of humanities safety!…. A new world where we are forced to have preventative treatments from organisations that hugely benefit from the returns without much true consideration for our opinions and long term health. If we refuse, based on our own opinions and convictions, we will be considered guilty of wrongdoing and putting the rest of the population at risk, with the result being huge discord and separation in society between groups with different viewpoints. Basically forcing everyone to be on the same page in their thinking and opinions! We will highly likely be restricted and refused basic services such as air travel, joining group activities and a choice in healthcare, unless we conform to the ideas of a fear filled manipulated society!

Sorry, this sounds extremely depressing and at this stage I have no idea how far this will be allowed to go and how far our freedom will be restricted from this moment in time, once the immediate danger subsides. All I know and see is that the World will never go back to what it looked like only several weeks ago.

On the flip side, this has also allowed me to contemplate a brighter future for social relationships and bonding through adversity. It pleases me to see total strangers taking action and helping the ones in society that need it most. People finding the courage to open up and share their deepest feelings with others, something they would have not felt at ease with several months ago. We come together through technology and socialise in a new way, apart, yet together to rise above this and produce a positive spark, a little optimism and humour to lift others spirits. Today, more than ever we realise that we are all connected and cannot get through this on our own. I must admit I have shed a few positive emotional tears of hope over the selflessness and actions of many individuals in the past week and can see that there is still hope for humanity to turn this experience into something we rise up from with true selflessness and a better future in mind.

Even in these dark times I can still find gratitude, actually more so than before, as the realisation sinks in that we cannot take anything for granted. We are so blessed with our access to the internet to stay connected and informed. How good does it feel now, to find a few last packets of toilet paper on a supermarket shelf? Or score that last can of baked beans, a thing we could not have imagined only 1 month ago!

Serendipity is still active too as I think how several things in my life have worked out for the better, like for example me not pre-booking that airline ticket as mums health is declining and could take a turn for the worse any day. I decided to leave it till the last minute, so I would not have to pay extra to change the dates, should I be required to go suddenly. Even though my heart hurts badly for the restrictions prohibiting me from my duties to take care of her and return the love she has given to me all my life, I trust she is in the best place with the best care possible right now, and that it will all work out somehow in due time.

For now hold tight, focus on, Be Glad about whatever positive things you can find around you and keep dreaming and focusing on a better future with more personal freedom and a return to harmony with our Mother Earth.

We have so much more power if we keep our focus away from the doom and gloom and use it to construct the World we would love to build for our children. I do feel it is important to be informed of all that is going on and not stick our heads in the sand, but now is the time and the last turnaround point where we have to be strong enough to balance that knowledge with constructive focus, if we want that future for our children to be one where we are in harmony with Mother Earth, the flora, fauna and fellow humans…. or… create a society where creativity and individuality are forced out of us by social, political and technological control.

Choose wisely!

With Thanks and Gratitude,

PollyEsther

Free e-book for 2 days only

Dear Friends, Fellow Bloggers and Followers,

First I would like to thank everyone that helped me out, downloaded the $0.99 preview version of my very first e-book “Looking @ Life” and wrote a review for me today!

The official release is now starting with it being available for FREE for TWO DAYS only, after which the price will go up!

I want all my friends, fellow bloggers and followers to take advantage of this, so grab a copy now if you have not yet!

http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0184CLSOW?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

I would really appreciate it if you would leave a review on Amazon after reading.

With Gratitude,

Pollyesther

I entered a Dutch writing competition…

It was the end of 1995 when I stopped writing Dutch after immigrating to Australia. The only time I did, was an occasional letter to mum, but we preferred talking on the phone. Recently I met another Dutch writer on Word Press (https://peterbouchier.wordpress.com/) and stumbled via his links on the Dutch on-line writing scene. It felt good to think back and reminisce about my old homeland even though I’d become convinced that living in Australia was the preferred choice for me.

There was one competition that stood out for me among a long list of fiction story ones. The story had to be between 750 to 1000 words and be relevant to the theme “What keeps me awake at night”. http://www.schrijverspunt.nl/overzicht-schrijfactiviteiten/waar-ik-wakker-van-lig I decided to have a go at it and enter to see how my style of writing would be received there.

After writing so many English blog posts it took quite a bit of effort to find the right words to convey my thoughts, but with a little proofreading help from some family and friends back “home”, I am happy with the end result.

Please do me a favor and check it out if you happen to be able to read Dutch (this was one of the prerequisites) or pass this link to someone you know that can. http://www.schrijverspunt.nl/overzicht-schrijfactiviteiten/waar-ik-wakker-van-lig/4875-duisternis-en-stress

If you enjoyed it, leave a rating please ;).

With Thanks and Gratitude,

Pollyesther

P.S. Feel free to leave some feedback in the comments below, thanks again!

Controlling fear

view from flight MH 148

“Our plane got cancelled due to a mechanical defect and now we have been waiting here for another flight since this morning.” a couple of young Australian travellers told me, when I ran into them waiting for my connecting flight to Europe at the airport in Kuala Lumpur on March the 8th., earlier this year. I was travelling by myself to visit my family and friends, so to make the wait a little more entertaining I normally like talking to fellow travellers.

The next thing they told me was even more worrying: “Glad they cancelled, because they lost another plane today.” I am sure my eyes widened as far as they could from the shock of this news as I uttered something like OMG! This was NOT something I wanted to hear in my position of having another 13 hour+ flight ahead of me. Immediately I realized how lucky I was, having arrived here in one piece on Flight MH 148, while at the same time Flight 370 went missing. I was struggling to keep my mind from picturing what those people went through or what happened, knowing that this would not help them or me at all. I managed to direct my thoughts to silently hoping they would be found somewhere safe and well. I also thought what are the odds of it happening twice in a day with the same airline? This gave me a little more peace of mind as I queued up for my next flight.

The line had built up massively since the last half hour and was moving only inches at a time. I supposed they immediately had tightened security after the earlier incident, so I waited patiently shuffling along with the crowd for about 20 to 30 minutes before entering the packed Boeing 777.

I thought I had secured a seat on the window side, next to the path, when I booked my flights. I liked to be able to see out and get up whenever I felt the need to stretch my legs, without having to disturb others that might like to sleep. I started feeling very disappointed and confused when the staff directed me to a seat in the middle isle wedged between two strangers. Thoughts of “why is this happening to me?” started creeping in. Then it dawned on me, that the lady at the travel agent had said something about not being able to book seats on some of my flights as I tried to make sense of it all (Later I found out that it was possible, but only 12 hours prior). I decided that this was not going to ruin my trip and to look forward to whatever pleasant surprise this could unfold into.

I put my hand luggage in the designated compartment and sat down. I observed the man already seated next to me. He appeared to be a businessman going by his choice of clothing. From the way he was clutching his laptop bag, I could tell he was nervous. What was he nervous about? Flying? Someone stealing his laptop? I never found out, because he immediately gave me the vibe he did not want to talk and sleep the whole way.

Next, my other neighbour arrived. She seemed the opposite to the man next to me with a friendly face and a short bob haircut. She told me she did not mind getting up for me if I needed a stretch and to let her know whenever I felt like it. We started chatting and found an amazing amount of common ground to talk about. She felt very scared, every time we encountered turbulence and the plane would drop a bit. She grabbed my arm in fear so I offered to hold her hand and told her about my (unusual and very personal) way of dealing with that fear, which is (in my mind) asking my deceased uncle to guide the pilot safely to our destination. My uncle had been doing this in his profession throughout his life as the technician looking after all the instruments in similar planes and had safely retired, long before passing away only a few years ago. It seemed to give her a little comfort too, seeing we were stuck on the same plane.

We exchanged some interesting ideas to look into after the trip and it was only after many hours we realized that we should try and get some sleep to not arrive completely exhausted. I am sure she was very pleased to have spend the journey next to me and I felt the same about her. She told me how surprised she was at the fact that we talked for hours, because she travels a lot on her own and normally this does not happen to her. If I have to sit next to a stranger for 13 hours again, I hope to have another experience like this one!

I know now that if it had not been for me taking control of my feelings and thoughts, steering them into the direction of wonder and anticipating a positive experience, it would not have been such an exciting journey. I am glad I arrived safely and added another pleasant memory to my life. Have you ever had experiences like this? Please share in the comments below.

Happy Pollyesther

Much more than spinning yarns, blogging about the amazing power of gratitude while seeing life from my current perspective

controlling fear