The Newly Emerged Monarch
06 October 2009
Quogue Wildlife Refuge, Quogue, NY

I have been doing a lot of reading and thinking lately about family violence, partly because we’re hosting a domestic violence conference, Challenging the Silence, through my work in March – partially because I’ve worked with the issue most of my career, and partially because being new to Australia, I am still working to see the lay of the land here; but mostly because I’ve been there myself. It really is amazing that after living and working as a clinical therapist and social worker in four different countries the most remarkable feature of domestic violence is, where ever I go, there it is.

The next trend I consistently notice across these countries is that very few men are speaking publicly about domestic violence, and this fact always strikes me. After all, men have mothers, sisters, girl friends, wives, daughters – of course, they must care… mustn’t they?

Just when you wonder if they really do, who enters into the domestic violence debate (not recently, but steadfastly across time) but Patrick Stewart, of Star Trek fame. Not only has he written compellingly in a Guardian article, of his own experiences as a child, watching his father regularly beat his mother – he is a spokesperson for Amnesty International [Video: Patrick Stewart talks about domestic violence] and a patron of [Video:Refuge] a national domestic violence charity. He has undertaken a number of public service adverts, including this one,[Video:  The Audition], with Joanna Lumley.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for people who will take an active stand against injustice, especially when doing so may be viewed negatively. Thank you Patrick Stewart, for being a man who is willing to speak so powerfully and openly against domestic violence. I’m sure your mother would be very, very proud of you.

**This little post is dedicated to my dear friend Chris, another of the ‘good ones’.

]]> http://wearingawire.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/its-so-good-to-have-you-back/ Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:32:07 +0000 wearingawire http://wearingawire.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/its-so-good-to-have-you-back/

Underneath your shadow,

I find my refuge.

Proverbs 20

²⁷ The lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of a man;
it searches out his inmost being.

²⁸ Love and faithfulness keep a king safe;
through love his throne is made secure.

Love is the strongest emotion we can feel. This world is capable of so much. My generation will be that change.

You see the depths of my heart

and you love me the same.

You are amazing God.

Dear God,

I was recently reading something you might be somewhat familiar with, the book of Proverbs. It’s part of this book that happens to be a New York Times best seller or something. Maybe you’ve come across it. Anyways, I was hoping you could assist me in the following,

Proverbs 22

⁶ Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.

I would really appreciate that a lot. I know I can never do it alone.

Regards,

PS. You have some sense of humour. How else did my laptop just HAPPEN to fall off my bed after I wrote this?

Proverbs 22

³ A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge,
but the simple keep going and suffer for it.

I watched the proverbial sunrise coming up over the Pacific and you might think I’m losing my mind, but I will shy away from the specifics, because I don’t want you to know where I am, because then you’ll see my heart in the saddest state it’s ever been. This is no place to try and live my life. Stop right there. That’s exactly where I lost it. See that line. Well, I never should have crossed it. Stop right there. Well, I never should have said. That it’s the very moment that I wish that I could take back. I’m sorry for the person I became. I’m sorry that it took so long for me to change. I’m ready to be sure I never become that way again, because who I am hates who I’ve been. I talk to absolutely no one, couldn’t keep to myself enough, and the things bottled inside have finally begun to create so much pressure that I’ll soon blow up. I heard the reverberating footsteps, synching up to the beating of my heart, and I was positive that unless I got myself together, I would watch me fall apart.

I could be anything, you can be my everything.

Proverbs 22

⁶ Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge
or puts up security for debts;

²⁷ if you lack the means to pay,
your very bed will be snatched from under you.

This is highly relative to the current economic climate. Banks take notes; people, stop buying things you can’t afford. What common sense is there in buying something you can never afford?

Sometimes answers are easier to find than we think.
They just happened to be different from the ones we were hoping for.

Proverbs 22

⁴ Humility and the fear of the LORD
brings wealth and honor and life.

Proverbs 24

¹⁰ If you falter in times of trouble,
how small is your strength!

Oh God, how you constantly remind us. Yet, just as quickly we forget in youthful exuberance.

Can you forgive me for thinking i’m 22 and invincible for now?

Sweet angel of mercy, with your grace like the morning, wrap you’re loving arms around her.

Hey unfaithful, I will teach you to be stronger.

Hey ungraceful, I will teach you to forgive one another

Hey unloving, I will love you.

Proverbs 11

¹ The LORD abhors dishonest scales,
but accurate weights are his delight.

² When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.

³ The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

⁴ Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death.

⁵ The righteousness of the blameless makes a straight way for them,
but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.

I tend to be my worst own enemy at times. I am learning to trust in God, I need to surrender completely. It’s so much hard than it sounds. Yet, it’s the purest love we can find, and my foundation.

Sometimes a foggy mind snaps a foggy picture.

….well at least my foggy mind, that is.

]]> http://shakespeare.yougov.com/2009/12/03/domestic-violence-confusion-among-the-public/ Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:02:33 +0000 nfpba http://shakespeare.yougov.com/2009/12/03/domestic-violence-confusion-among-the-public/

A new study suggests that many of us are not aware of the signs of domestic violence with nine in ten people (92%) believing that they don’t know anyone currently experiencing domestic violence.   Official figures from Refuge show that one in four women in England and Wales will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes.

The YouGov research findings, on behalf of Avon UK, show that the majority (52%) of people questioned believe that certain communities in the UK are more likely to experience domestic violence than others. 58% of respondents think ethnicity is an influencing factor, 53% religion, and 45% reporting class as a factor.

15% of respondents disagreed with the idea that some communities in society are more likely to experience domestic violence than others.

Reese Witherspoon visited the House of Commons yesterday to raise awareness of domestic violence. The Legally Blonde star has backed a joint campaign by Avon and the charity Refuge to get more Government funding for victim support services in the UK.

Part I – Part II – Part III

The Monarch (Part IV)
31 August 2009
Quogue Wildlife Refuge, Quogue, NY

The Flycatcher in the Leaves
19 October 2009
Quogue Wildlife Refuge, Quogue, NY

Identified with the help of some good folks over at the WhatBird Forums as a Yellow Rumped Warbler, as I am terrible with the smaller birds.

The Warbler in the Wind
19 October 2009
Quogue Wildlife Refuge, Quogue, NY

The Butterfly in the Leaves
06 October 2009
Quogue Wildlife Refuge, Quogue, NY

]]> http://dacalleja.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/refuge-des-espuguettes-france/ Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:27:45 +0000 dacalleja http://dacalleja.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/refuge-des-espuguettes-france/

Bosque de Arribama. Gavarnie

Refuge des Espuguettes

Refuge des Espuguettes

Autumn in the Leaves
19 October 2009
Quogue Wildlife Refuge, Quogue, NY