That inner smile

 That inner smile

When was the last time you smiled on the inside? I smile on the inside when I -

• Watch and participate in a Mexican Wave. It is amazing what can be achieved with very little verbal communication between strangers whilst watching sport. I think it is testimony to the fact that strangers can create a ‘movement’, even if it is just a movement of hands. Sorry Australian Open, my ability to effectively ‘Mexican Wave’ is certainly lacking.

• Observe people whose bodies are covered in tattoos. People like this are truly living in the moment- they are the definition of mindful, clearly not preoccupied or concerned with the fact that the tattoos all over their nicely sculpted and toned arm may not look so good in 20 years time.

 

• Discover how friends and acquaintances met their partners (boyfriend or girlfriend).  Knowing this satisfies my curiosity with people and what makes them tick. Moreover, I think you can learn a lot about people when you discover the circumstances involved in meeting this special person– are they proactive in pursuing someone when they decide they like someone? Or do they wait for the other person to declare their love/interest/affection/openness to exploring a friends-with-benefits-arrangement to them before they admit any interest? Hearing both sides of the meeting story especially when there are discrepancies between each version of events is even better.

• Hear a friend describe their favourite qualities about their significant other. Sometimes it sounds like they are describing themselves (ie. The person they are with is similar to them, or at least they perceive them to be) and in other instances, it sounds like they are describing their polar opposite (testimony to the fact that opposites attract).

• Witness Boyfriends/Husbands/Man friends who hold their Girlfriends/Wives/ Lady friends’ hand bags in public places. I think it is a strong indication of affection when a man (a) notices that his partner is carrying a bag that may or may not be heavy and (b) is willing to carry it around. Watching an older man carry his partner’s black and white studded bag last week as I walked to work made me double-take.

• Look in the mirror and I do not have any new pimples or, when a pimple that threatened to engulf my chin or forehead unexpectedly disappears. All I can say is, thank goodness for acne medication!

• Am a little more certain about life, a little less questioning, a little less restless, accepting of the fact that whilst some of life is in my control, most of it isn’t.

• Fall asleep in a bed with clean sheets as rain pelts down. Paradise.

• People who do something with their compost pile other than leave it to rot at the back of the garden. I cannot smile at myself at this point – I do not have much of a garden in which to share the compost love around but I have taken active steps to contact my local community garden to see whether they are interested in taking my compost. Unfortunately they are NOT interested (there was an outbreak of vermin at the community garden as a result of collecting compost from people’s gardens) so I am looking to explore other options. My latest idea is to try and pool together the compost belonging to people from my local area…

• Awesome articles like this one that perfectly describe how I feel about certain group of people – http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/flakes-of-the-world-please-get-it-together/ . Thought catalogue is great, check it out!

How does an inner smile compare to a loud and all consuming body laugh? Sometimes laughing loudly is a response to social pressure or expectation – you are with friends, someone says something that is supposed to be funny and there is an expectation that you laugh. So you do, quite convincingly. But there is no inner smile present, or where is exists, it is not lasting.

An inner smile is like inner peace – it is deeply personal, intangible and no one else can really understand or appreciate the meaning it has except you. Regular inner smiles are the essence of contentment, an aspect of happiness. Loud, raucous laughing, on the other-hand generates pleasure but not necessarily ongoing happiness. How would you like to live your life? A life filled with brief but exciting stints of pleasure or lasting, deep-seated inner contentment?

Lessons learnt from one of my loves

About a year ago, I fell in love. The attraction I felt was not instant, nor could I describe it as love at first sight. The feelings I had grew gradually until one day, I realised I had found what had been missing in my life. That love was social enterprise. It was through this love that Goodsites was born.

When a friend of mine falls in love, I want to know all the details. My favourite question is ‘How did you meet?’ And this is usually followed by a series of other questions such as ‘What is the person like – looks and interests? What was the thing that attracted them to this person in the first place? What is their favourite thing about them?’ And so on….

Reflecting on my own answers to these questions, I would have to say that one of the main reasons I fell in love with social enterprise is because of its ability to drive social change through business. It’s practical and simple – using business principles to address and respond to community problems.  As said by Rupert Scofield (November 2011), in a world of dwindling public resources and growing social challenges, mission-driven entrepreneurship is more important than ever before.

Like all love affairs, there were many great moments. Having the opportunity to learn more about and build the capacity of other social enterprises, along with meeting a range of passionate individuals committed to changing the world through business were certainly highlights. Whilst I can laugh about them now, there were plenty of not-so-great moments that forced me to question how committed I was to this ‘love’ – these included the time I accidentally smashed about 20 plates and saucers in front of a client (you could tell I had never worked in hospitality before!), booked 2 clients into the same room at the same time, and hired out an oven to a client that did not actually belong to the business (it had been left in the venue by a caterer!)

You learn a lot about yourself when you fall in love or feel passionately about something or someone.

Pretty quickly, I learnt that the only thing I knew was that I knew nothing.

Despite this, I thought some of my learnings over the past 14 months might be useful for those interested in delving into the world of social enterprise.

1. Passion is only one ingredient. Passion and energy alone is not enough to set up and run an effective social enterprise. Technical skills and business experience are equally important. This does not mean you need an MBA – but in the event that you have more passion and energy than technical business skills and experiences, as was the case for me, you will have to surround yourself with those who complement your skill set. (Thanks Daniel, Paul, Tim, David and Cherie!)
2. Money is important. The question any start-up business (or any business for that matter) needs to ask itself each day is ‘where is the next dollar going to come from?’ If possible, do not get bogged down in writing countless ‘to do lists’ that have no short-term dollar return. Having never really worked in a business environment before, I initially felt strange and somewhat guilty when I quoted clients and sent them an invoice. However, within months I realised that unless I was firm about clients paying for services Goodsites provided, there would be no business! It is not enough to have a sustainable business – it must be profitable. (Thanks Paul!)
3. Pick your battles and be prepared to have the ‘hard’ conversations. Setting up a business involves developing relationships and networks with a range of suppliers and customers. Whilst one should work to ensure these relationships are solid and genuine, do not expect to be friends with everyone you do business with, and where necessary, be confident in addressing issues that are affecting your business’ interests. Importantly, do not stress about everything and take every potential ‘battle’ on board personally. (Thanks Daniel!)
4. Embrace risk. If you don’t, you won’t last long in a social enterprise environment. I had thought that I was not adverse to risk until my involvement in social enterprise. I am (or was?) so adverse to risk! There is never any guarantee, as I have learnt, that your social enterprise idea will be successful or that you will get paid each week. Success in the social enterprise space means not being distracted or overwhelmed by these two realities. (Thanks Cherie and Paul!)
5. Love your financial statements as much as you love what your social enterprise stands for. I borrowed multiple books on accounting and business in an effort to understand profit and loss statements, balance sheets and cash flow documents. How I thought I could be effective in running a social enterprise without understanding these financial statements is beyond me!
6. Balancing act. Balancing Goodsites’ social objectives with the need to be a profitable business was an ongoing battle. We regularly asked  ourselves whether Goodsites could remain a profitable business without compromising its mission and values. Is it okay to compromise a little during the start up phase? My answer would be no. However, if the social enterprise is not profitable, its ability to address social problems will most certainly be limited.
7. Have fun and enjoy the ride. Most days will present a new challenge – embrace them all! I have been so inspired by those who have been involved in building and supporting Goodsites. The experience would not have been as great if it weren’t for those I had the privilege and honour to work with along the way. Special thanks to donkey wheel charitable trust, Life Expedition, Cherie Ong, Daniel Wong, Paul Steele, David Curtis, Tim Goh, Paul Darley, Rachel Reichman, Terry Stevens, Bessi Graham, Rob Hansen, Jessie Richardson, Ellie Khoo, Eugene Wong,  Juan Chacolie, Jean Lim, Doreen Chew, Stuart Ellis, Troy Perera, Jing Wen Yeo, Vanessa Mayne, Samantha Royce,  the teams at Social Traders (especially Jessica Purbrick-Herbst), Kinfolk Cafe (especially Jarrod Briffa), Prahran Mission, Original Foods, CleanForce and Incito Maintenance.

Who and what will be my next love? I am hoping that a human, rather than a new business will be the focus! Ha. However, in the meantime, I will keep exploring new social enterprise ideas – I just can’t help myself! My latest idea is centred on my dormant compost bin at home. It’s at full capacity (ie. we can’t put any other food scraps or waste in there) and contains 500 healthy worms (thanks for the great Christmas present, Meagan!) but as I have very little garden space, there is no where to put the compost waste. Perhaps I could mobilise other people with a similar problem who may be interested in selling their compost waste to a local garden or hardware store? This would address an environmental problem, have a positive impact on the environment and would possibly provide employment opportunities for those working in horticulture or gardening……….

Here is to another opportunity to drive social change through social enterprise!

All the best to those running a social enterprise. I look forward to hearing your stories.

New approaches to something old…

Eating – one of my favourite things. And no, I wasn’t cooking. It was my birthday!

Over the last year or so, I have embraced some of my old habits. Whilst the idea of returning to ‘old habits’ generally has negative connotations,  in this instance, the return to such habits has made me feel happy and at my most authentic. For example, one of my ‘habits’ when I was much younger (late primary – mid high school), was to bake and try new recipes. Whilst I was never an artist or creative genius in the visual arts/school-art-class kind of way, I viewed my parents’ kitchen with its copious amounts of ingredients and large bench space as my art studio and my baking as a creative and relaxing outlet to express my love for food and ever-changing palette. The outdoors was also something that I lived for – riding my bike, walking my dog, playing team sports– and this is certainly something I love getting into now. In fact, riding my bike, playing netball, going on regular hikes and keeping herbs alive in my little courtyard area are some of my favourite things to do.

The embracing of these old habits and the realisation that they remain things I continue to enjoy highlights something important – that sometimes we need to embrace the old to get excited about the new even if the new is really just the old – repackaged and evolved. My interest in cooking, baking, being outside, playing netball and going hiking are not particularly new interests – they are things I have done on and off since I was younger. However, my approach to them now is probably somewhat different – for example, whilst some of these activities were most probably orchestrated by my parents in an attempt to assist me to create ‘interests’ and ‘hobbies,’ these days I choose to do the above-mentioned items because they take me to a happy place – I feel joy and a sense of peace whilst doing them. I am sure that my experience is not unique. I have no doubt that if people were to do the things they used to enjoy when they were younger – drawing, painting, sport, jewellery making, etc – they would feel reinvigorated and recharged. Whilst they may approach their old habit differently, or their interest may have evolved, I am sure they would feel a real sense of joy in pursuing this interest again just as they did when they were younger.

In the world of consulting, the whole ‘repackaging the old’ and doing things differently is known as innovation. The work I have been involved in over the past 14 months – setting up a social enterprise called Goodsites – has been about reinventing and repackaging the events’ industry so that it can contribute positively to the community. Through Goodsites, we have sought to challenge how the events’ industry does business by setting up a platform through which event organisers can engage with social enterprise suppliers and community venues as part of the organisation of their event. Goodsites seeks to ensure that events organised generate a positive social impact in one or more of the following ways:

• Provides employment and training opportunities for those who have been long-term unemployed as a result of mental illness and/or disability. Goodsites does this by engaging social enterprise event suppliers (such as cleaning, catering and maintenance, etc) applicable to a specific event.
• Champion environmental sustainability. Goodsites seeks to ensure venues have recycling and composting facilities. In addition, Goodsites engages with socially conscious suppliers whose practices demonstrate a commitment to a more environmentally sustainable world.
• Provides a revenue stream for not for profit and community organisations that own or are associated with event facilities and in doing so, generates revenue to fund existing and/or new programs.

Despite the passion I have for this project, I decided to resign a few weeks ago and take up a role as Consultant/Tender Writer at Success-Works, a consultancy that works with government departments and not for profit organisations to nurture systemic improvements in social justice and human rights. This new job will be a chance to learn new skills, meet new people and learn more about issues of human rights and social justice as they relate to Australians.

The birthplace of Goodsites. I am going to miss this place - both the day-to-day of the business and the gorgeous building.

Organisations, companies and individuals engage consultants to assist them to think differently about how they approach new projects and/or programs, undertake strategy work and undergo evaluation of current work. Consultants may not suggest anything new or groundbreaking – they may simply be repackaging or reinvesting the current way of doing things, that is, innovating and in doing so, assisting an organisation to evolve. I imagine that much of my work in my new role will involve this.

Sometimes there are more parallels in our professional and personal life than we realise. It appears that for now, my habits in my personal life have been repackaged and have evolved and that in my professional life, my day-to-day focus will be about thinking about how best to execute current programs and policies  in new ways. Should be interesting!

Back in the game?

I’m back!

 Above: hanging out on a chair-deprived bus in Egypt earlier this year. What the??

It has been a year since I last blogged. Why? Have I not had time? Have I felt like I had nothing to write about? Whilst I am sure my lack of blogging can be attributed to a number of factors, it is fair to say that at times over the past 12 months, I have often been so crippled with anxiety and uncertainty about the future (my own and that of the world), that I have not had the head space to write or share my thoughts. However, over the past 5 months or so, I have felt a renewed sense of optimism and hope for the future, and some clarity around what my contribution to the world may look like. It’s been quite the ride…and it’s certainly given me perspective on what matters in life!

ENOUGH INTENSITY FOR ONE BLOG POST ALREADY!

Like most years, it has had its highs and lows, challenges, opportunities and frustrations. Most of my challenges and frustrations have been ‘first world’ problems – not being able to save as much money as I would like (but still having savings!), my career/vocation moving in unexpected yet exciting ways, unrequited love interests, along with the return of acne (in my mid 25s?!!) to what was once a fairly clear face. I have continued to do some of the things I love – asking people how they met their partners (I LOVE love stories!), travelling (I went to US, Canada, Egypt, Jordan and Israel mid-year), exploring new areas (I moved into a new house with great housemates a few months ago), making a mess in the kitchen (I love trying new recipes), supporting Australia’s migrant community (I was tutoring a Sudanese-Australian for about 6 months) , understanding more about health and wellbeing (I plan on being a meditation teacher someday!) learning more about the intersection between business human rights,  along with issues pertaining to corporate social responsibility and leadership for social impact (I have just started a postgraduate course in Social Impact studies at Melbourne University’s Business School).

One of the most exciting things I have been involved over the past year has been the establishment of Goodsites, a social enterprise providing venue and event management services. As a social enterprise, Goodsites is creating a movement in the events’ industry towards the use of community venues and ethical and socially conscious suppliers. Passionate about delivering and managing events that provide high quality service, foster social inclusion and champion environmental sustainability, Goodsites partners with ‘Good’ community venues and ‘Good’ social enterprise services and suppliers that contribute to the community and facilitate positive social impact. The Third Sector magazine recently profiled Goodsites – check it out here.

  

Setting up Goodsites has certainly been a steep learning curve and it is fair to say that at times I have struggled with the transition to the business world after working and volunteering in the community and not for profit space for 7 years. This struggle has been part of the fun though, and it has been great to test out my strong belief that business, when used correctly, can be utilised as a platform to address social needs and drive positive change in the community.

Despite the personal and professional challenges of the past year, I feel as if I am exactly where I should be.

Looking forward to the next chapter!

A sense of community

Living somewhere or being involved in something doesn’t necessarily mean we are yet to foster a sense of community.

During last weekend’s Victorian state election, I joined the growing number of people handing out How to Vote cards for The Greens. I found myself at a voting booth dominated by people grabbing Liberal How to Vote cards – I suspect that this had little to do with the fact that the guy handing them out had a fantastic Irish accent and more to do with the fact that they were genuine Liberal supporters. While I was not surprised that the Greens received limited love from the constituents visiting this polling booth (I was in an outer-suburban area), I was struck by the sense of camaraderie and community between myself and the other volunteers handing out How to Vote cards for other local candidates. In the four hours we stood there together, I was privileged to learn many interesting details about my fellow volunteers’ lives. I found out how people met their significant others – how the sassy and fluorescent orange-nail polish wearing Catherine who was handing out How to Vote Cards for an Independent met her husband (when she was gardening and he was walking past!) –about the children of the smiley and friendly Sean who was handing out How to Vote cards for the Labor Party–about the arriving in Australia adventures of the chatty and charismatic Irishman David who was handing out How to Vote cards for the Liberal Party. We bonded over our common frustration with the Australian Electoral Commission representative who wouldn’t let us come within about 100 metres of the voting area (the rule is that you must be at least 3 metres away from the voting area) and by our unspoken yet underlying belief that being part of something bigger than ourselves is important in order to feel connected in this world.

 

Contrast the sense of community I felt on ‘voting day’ in Victoria with Haiti’s national election in late November. This election was particularly important for Haiti after the nation was shattered by an earthquake in January 2010 that killed 250,000 people. Whilst the vote was considered ‘successful,’ many Haitian nationals have said otherwise, one newspaper article I read stating that ‘Fears that fraud could mar the elections were realized even before polls closed at 2100 GMT — with 12 out of 18 presidential contenders denouncing a “conspiracy” between Preval’s government and the electoral commission. Several thousand demonstrators took to the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince to protest the alleged vote-rigging.’

The sense of community amongst those of South Sudanese background living in Australia is certainly strong at this very moment. In mid January 2011, South Sudan will hold a referendum to decide whether it wants to remain in unity with Khartoum (the capital of the Sudan) or become independent. The people in South Sudan, the Southern Sudanese in the north and the South Sudanese in diaspora communities are expected to participate. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is responsible for conducting the Out-of-Country-Registration and Voting (OCRV) to enable Southern Sudanese people who live outside Sudan to register and vote in the Referendum. This Referendum is a VERY BIG DEAL – for the first time since the peace agreement of 2005, the people of South Sudan will be able to give voice to their future. I first heard about this in October this year when the President of the Lost Boys Association was brainstorming with myself and my colleagues at the Brotherhood of St Laurence how he could ensure that all South Sudanese living in Australia registered to vote. With an estimated 25,000 South Sudanese people living in Australia, their votes could have a significant impact on the overall referendum result. 

In my day to day working life, my belief in community has also been strengthened. For the past two weeks I have been working at the Donkey Wheel House in a role that combines market research, business development, community engagement and marketing. In particular, we are developing a business plan for how the basement of the Donkey Wheel House could become both (i) an ethical and sustainable location for events and (ii) a place that engages a range of community groups, especially new and emerging communities.  It is certainly a place of community – the place is abuzz with innovative ideas and creative projects that do not only encourage people to dream big, but make the world a better place.

Arnott’s commit to ethical chocolate!

It was only about a year or two ago that I attempted to do some research on the ethics behind Arnott’s cocoa. There was not much on their website so I dug a little deeper, emailing and later phoning their hotline. I was reassured that Arnott’s was a ‘good company.’ While I agreed that they were a good company insofar as they produced very tasty products, I was not convinced of the ethics of their supply chain.

Just this week, I received some great news.   

Arnott’s have announced that they will source ethical cocoa by 2012! Arnott’s have signed an agreement to source their cocoa through Fairtrade’s independent certification scheme. I won’t feel so guilty about eating Tim Tams now!

looking into a mirror and not seeing anything

It is true to say that you can never rule something out until you have given it a proper go yourself. If a psychic had of told me that in 9 months time I would be working alongside Middle Eastern Muslim communities in the City of Hume in Melbourne’s northern suburbs or developing programs for recently arrived Afghan women in the City of Greater Dandenong, I would have looked at the psychic in disbelief. The last few months have certainly challenged my perception of where I see myself working geographically speaking – whilst I am not ruling out working overseas at some stage, I have certainly come to realise that working to address some of the challenges faced by new migrants and refugees in Australia is something that gets me out of bed in the morning.

This week I had the opportunity to hear Waleed Aly speak at a business breakfast in the City of Hume. The focus of his presentation was of relevance to some of my work with young Australian-Muslims and investigations into the factors that contribute to their social and economic exclusion.  Despite the fact that many of these young people are highly educated, a disproportionate number are unemployed – the City of Hume has a staggering youth unemployment rate of 54%. In an effort to address this, the City of Hume’s Employment and Learning Committee are setting up a shop front/stall at the local train station between 25 October – 7 December where young people living in the area are encouraged to enquire about possible job prospect at the stall. The purpose is to put 47 young people into local jobs (as trainees, apprentices). A call to action at the breakfast was for business owners to consider hiring apprentices/traineeships. During the business breakfast, 27 business owners had expressed interest in providing traineeship and apprenticeship opportunities to young people in the area.

I recently heard another academic, Riaz Hussan speak about the social exclusion of Muslim Australians. He has been involved in conversations with the Australian Government about suicide bombings and Islamic radicalisation and stressed the importance of understanding the factors that contribute to social and economic exclusion before drawing conclusions about the motivations of those who engage in political radicalisation. The feeling is that social cohesion and the maximising of participation in society is possible when the factors that contribute to social and economic exclusion are addressed. 

Last week my colleagues and I facilitated a roundtable discussion on the social exclusion of Afghan women, financial literacy, training and employment pathways in the City of Greater Dandenong, a municipality in Melbourne’s outer South-East with one of the highest humanitarian entrants. Factors such as limited English literacy, lack of access to public transport and services/programs that cater to Afghan women, along with differing cultural expectations and preferences (staying at home, ‘managing’ the family, primary role as mum/carer/wife) were cited as barriers to the social inclusion of Afghan women. We hope to meet with Afghan community leaders to gauge their views on how best to address the isolation experienced by many of these women.

 What is it we’re aiming for when addressing social and economic exclusion? As Waleed pointed out, trying to create a more homogenous society doesn’t necessarily equate to social cohesion – it can cause problems because diversity and difference is not respected or respected. Despite the fact that we have entered an age of co-existence, diversity is not necessarily embraced and the emphasis appears to be on being the same and adopting western values. Despite my Anglo-Saxon background and looks, a lot of what Waleed discussed resonated with me – I particularly enjoyed one of his comments where he said ‘when someone looks at public culture and doesn’t see themselves reflected, trouble brews and exclusion follows: it is like looking into a mirror and not seeing anything.’

Official policy towards migrants and multiculturalism has evolved and continues to do so. Prior to the adoption of the policy of multiculturalism, the message to migrants to Australia fluctuated between ‘assimilation’ – implying giving up or losing something – and ‘integration’ – blend in with mainstream, Anglo-White Australia. The concept of Australian multiculturalism emerged in the Whitlam/Fraser/Hawke years whereby the government’s aim was to build on our success as a culturally diverse, accepting and open society, united through a shared future and a commitment to our nation, its democratic institutions and values, and the rule of law.

This vision is reflected in the four principles that underpin multicultural policy:

• Responsibilities of all – all Australians have a civic duty to support those basic structures and principles of Australian society which guarantee us our freedom and equality and enable diversity in our society to flourish
• Respect for each person – subject to the law, all Australians have the right to express their own culture and beliefs and have a reciprocal obligation to respect the right of others to do the same
• Fairness for each person – all Australians are entitled to equality of treatment and opportunity. Social equity allows us all to contribute to the social, political and economic life of Australia
• Benefits for all – all Australians benefit from the significant cultural, social and economic dividends arising from the diversity of our population. Diversity works for all Australians.

However, the concept of ‘multiculturalism’ was effectively rejected during the era of the Howard Government and has not been used since. As a proponent of multiculturalism pointed out recently, it would appear that as Australia has become more multicultural in population, there has been a decrease in support for the policy of multiculturalism by the Australian Government. At the same time, the Australian Government’s Social Inclusion agenda does not give priority to migrants and refugees. What does this mean for the future of one of Australia’s most vulnerable groups of people?

Change – the only constant?

 

Change is the only constant. This short sentence helps to explain why many of us are so easily caught in a ‘rut’ when things at work or in our personal lives become repetitive or ‘settled.’ What can also be constant, as I have come to appreciate recently, is happiness, mindfulness, a sense of inner calm and purpose in life provided we train our minds accordingly.

What does this ‘mind training’ look like? Last week, a friend and I embarked on what we describe as a ‘Meditation’ challenge. We have been interested (and obsessed!) with meditation and Buddhism for the last few years and have been therefore being tossing about the idea of starting meditation for quite some time. Hurry up and meditate already…we told ourselves…and we did! When we started looking into what meditation classes were available, we discovered two things: that there were many types of meditation and that there are many free or close to free ‘drop in’ classes offered by meditation centres. Perfect! Visions of cult-like meditation involving people with shaved heads and robes who didn’t really understand the pressures and lifestyle associated with the ‘normal, mainstream’ way of life didn’t really appeal to us – we wanted practical tips and strategies for how to feel good about life that were not reliant upon achieving ‘perfection’ in our external environment – a good job, a good relationship, stable friendships, etc. If the first meditation class at the Melbourne Meditation Centre in Brunswick is everything to go by, I suspect that the next 6 months are going to be an interesting and entertaining journey.

Having read a fair bit about Buddhism the last few years, I have come to appreciate that there is a real difference between knowing something intellectually and understanding it from the heart. The Buddha’s 4 Noble Truths– (1) that the underlying state of our minds is dissatisfaction (that is, happiness is only of a passing nature) (2) that the causes of our dissatisfaction are attachment, ignorance and aversion and the false believe that certain things outside us have the ability to make up happy or unhappy (3) that it is possible to reduce dissatisfaction, more and more, until we remove it completely  (4) there are ways in which we can work at removing dissatisfaction completely – are constantly on repeat in my mind and for good reason – they really do provide a sense of perspective and enable us to manage our expectations of how we should feel about our day to day life. Once one accepts that change (positive or negative) is the only constant in life, that happiness is only ever of a passing nature and understands the factors that contribute to dissatisfaction, the path to leading a more fulfilling life can be realised (Blood hell, I’m beginning to sound like a wanna-be self-help guru, obsessed with analysing her mind…).

All this talk about meditation reminds me of the importance of cultivating perspective. I am reminded of this on a daily basis because the people I support have generally fled wars, torture, and/or persecution and have found themselves in Australia as a refugee, a humanitarian entrant under Australia’s migration program. Despite their tragic past and the continuing trauma many of them endure, they are incredibly resilient individuals, determined to succeed in their new home.

The changing makeup of the humanitarian stream of Australia’s migration program is again indicative of the fact that change is the only constant. These changes are reflected in the makeup of Australia’s migration scheme and in turn, contribute to the multicultural Australia we see on our streets day-to-day. There are two projects that we are currently focusing on highlight this change –

                    Dandenong: For the past few weeks, I have been conducting consultations in the City of Greater Dandenong, a municipality in Melbourne’s South-East characterised by the high number of people born overseas. These consultations have explored how best we can support isolated Afghan women living in the City of Greater Dandenong to increase their financial literacy and employment and training pathways so that they can more fully contribute and be involved in the economic and social life of Australia. This project is so important because many refugee women face significant barriers to engaging with the Australian community – lack of English, cultural differences and particular expectations of women’s role in society as derived from religious and traditional beliefs impact women’s ability to feel empowered during the settlement process. Often left at home whilst their husband and children are at work and school respectively, they become isolated and disconnected and often have limited opportunities to learn English because of their familial responsibilities, only serving to exacerbate the loneliness associated with settling in an unfamiliar country. For women who come to Australia with their husbands and children but have no extended family here, ill health, depression and marital difficulties are not uncommon. A consultation by the Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) highlighted that in addition to the challenges of limited English, being unable to drive and lack of understanding of the public transport system, women experienced stress associated with supporting other family members. These responsibilities reduced their ability to study English and their economic participation. It was found that ‘some women spend several years isolated from the broader community at home engaged in the full-time care of their families and that finding employment after this can be an overwhelming experience’

                Melbourne’s North: Since I began in my current role, we have been exploring the possibility of a designing an innovative project that address the social and economic exclusion of young Australians of Muslim background living in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. Despite the fact that many these young people are not ‘newly arrived,’ (therefore differing significantly from many of the Afghan women in Dandenong), there remain significant barriers to their social and economic inclusion in Australia. For many, their ability to engage with Australian society is restricted by their limited understanding of Australian systems and processes, entrenched racism, mistrust and confusion about the role of service providers and agencies, little education or training, high unemployment and differing cultural expectations. For the target population, this may manifest itself in low educational attainment levels, high rates of unemployment, high crime rates, low attendance at the local mosque and possibly little to no contact with service providers in the area.

Between meditation and migration, one’s mind and backyard is always changing!

political games and teeth

I thought twice about eating tonight for two reasons.

1. I had my teeth cleaned at the dentist this afternoon. Within 30 seconds of my consultation, my dentist Joe commented on the chip I have on one of my front teeth AND managed to provide me with the suite of options available to fix it. I declined each option (there is a story behind every bodily imperfection including one’s teeth)…but my teeth have never felt so clean!

2. I felt sick at the thought that the coalition has a chance of winning the election this weekend. By Sunday 22 August, if Tony Abbott is our PM, he will have taken steps to ‘stop the boats.’ In the world of government policy this will mean that Abbott will have contacted the government of Nauru about their involvement in the processing of offshore asylum seekers heading for Australia. He will also reintroduce temporary protection visas. Both are draconian policies that should remain buried forever as a dark period of Australia’s history. As was the case when these policies were first introduced, their re-introduction will be unsuccessful in deterring asylum seekers to Australia.

Are you passionate or ambitious?

Dunno the answer to the question! I was travelling on a local bus in Tamil Nadu, India’s southern-most state and was chatting with Madravan, our Indian translator and chaperone. A deep thinker who has studied hospitality, Ghandian philosophy and a few interesting things, we had been chatting about a place in India called Varanasi – a place where life and death come together. Apparently people go there to find themselves…and often love it so much there that they burn their passport, leaving them no choice but to remain there.  Others go there to die…according to Madravan, it is not unusual to see floating bodies. What a place. I was so interested to know more about this place that I flirted very briefly with the possibility of rescheduling my flights just to drop in. Unfortunately that did not come to fruition but this discussion about this crazy place did lead to another conversation about people who are passionate and people who are ambitious.

Are ambitious people necessarily passionate, living lives of authenticity and integrity? Not necessarily. There are plenty of world or national leaders who are clearly ambitious about achieving certain things but who would not be considered overly passionate individuals.  Likewise, can you be passionate and aspire to do great things without being necessarily ambitious? Ideally, passionate people cannot achieve their vision if they are not ambitious enough. Would love to explore the potential tension and relationship between these 2 words but really don’t have the ambition to do so right now – my passion for making chocolate muffins (package mix style, only require me to add milk, an egg and oil!) is taking over!

final thought – What about people who are both passionate and ambitious? Impossible combination? Possibly, but a necessary one.  

Another reason why India is so fascinating – it leads me to think about some interesting thoughts with very few conclusions. Ha. Story of my life!