Canberra: Family and Parliament

My mother put on a twin birthday for my older brother and his daughter. I had spent a few days with my younger brother and had a really lovely time with him. I gave him many strategies to deal with feeling flat and hopeless. I gave him plenty of materials and encouraged him to face fear and overcome. To find his inner peace. We became much closer through this time, he wanted me to stay longer but my feeling is to move on. He ultimately has to do his own inner work and only he can do it.

At the party later I saw my former sister in law who is an angel in her own right. One of these people who never talks about others, is always welcoming and humble. I had a couple of nieces at the party and found them to be very wise. They are advising their parents, very interesting.

The party was great, much laughter. I brought out my singing and dancing cow, singing lion and my laughing dragon. Everyone cracked up laughing as they looked like they were dancing together. It was very funny. My older brother and his friend were drinking a fair bit and were being very naughty in humour. However, the whole night was filled with laughter and positive energy. It was very healing I felt. My step father was also a bit drunk and he was going around talking to people and speaking words of wisdom and love.

I was planning to leave for Melbourne on Monday but was told Parliament was recommencing on Tuesday (after public holiday). My inner feeling when I first arrived in Canberra was to go to Parliament. So I decided today to go and observe.

I was interested to learn that I couldn’t take notes into my own parliament and take notes of what is said. I can’t see the point of that. I do understand there maybe media issues, however Handsard reports every word, so people can check what was actually said. Thankfully I booked tickets for Question Time and we easily got into the chamber. I looked around at the public and special persons who had their own allocated area. I looked at the media and observed.

The Prime Minister entered the Chamber and I found myself noting how dignified she seemed. The rest of the parliamentarians rolled in and sat on opposing sides of the Chamber. When I designed a children’s parliament I had a parliament based not on adversarial politics but on inspiration, challenge and empowerment. I was interested in small circles and all persons working on problems with solutions in mind. I didn’t have opposition by challenging approaches. We do this to help each other with the quality of thinking. I also felt they should be trained in lateral thinking, problem solving and conflict resolution. However, back to the actual parliament the two main parties are physically placed in opposing camps. Naturally they see themselves as teams and they tend to merge into group think. There is time allocated to putting the other down and to somehow point out how they had failed. I thought about the negativity of this approach and the personal animosities that would arise. It distracts from solutions I felt. They appear very conscious of performance and the process is about your team asking questions of the front bench and the opposition doing the same. They seem to strategise to somehow force the PM to resign or to block the parliamentary process. My step father commented on this and found that honesty goes out the window in favour of winning. He felt it was like football. Certainly by placing them in opposing place it is likely to create more adversity, rather than collective problem solving which is what is needed at the present time.

I imagined positive energy in this parliament and I contemplated the mystical symbolism of Canberra designed into the architecture by Walter and Marion Griffin. I wondered at the possible power this Chamber could have if they focussed on positive energy and possiblities. However, with the constant attacking and structured talks to demonise the other, solutions do not have the floor.

I sat in the public gallery conscious of the fact I don’t have a voice but have to listen to voices I am told represent me. Yet in truth they don’t. My thinking is quite different and I wish to work with people and find ways to live in peace and harmony. I don’t see the future wellbeing of a nation as linked to physical wealth, I see it in personal development and the development of personal character. I see coooperation in the future and living in ways that are harmonious with natural systems. I see this highly dependent economic system, that is very wasteful of resources and disproportionate power. that is those who are wealthy or influential or deemed successful have greater access than the average person. Yet the true essence of democracy is to give the people a voice. It is government by the people for the people. I know as a former researcher that people have great ideas and I would love to see community councils, forums or ways to garner their opinions. I feel solutions reside there and I have great faith in the average person.

I felt strongly to write a poem which I posted in my other blog Peace is Our True Nature. I always find poetry tends to clarify my inner feeling, always I feel truth emerging. I do love poetry and I spoke briefly to a friend today who is also writing poetry. He is a former British policeman who is now an expert in the illegal drugs trade. We had a brief talk and I offered to send him some poetry.

Tonight is my last night with my family. My mother is reading with interest my book on Earth Changes.

I have enjoyed my time here. My sister told me I had done a lot of good for the family. My brothers are in harmony with me and I felt we are getting closer. My father reconciled and I felt enormous peace. My mum said she noticed I am becoming more peaceful. I don’t know if that is maturity or all the travelling I have done. I do feel deeply happy. I had a wonderful chat with my step father and spent time in Parliament with him which was very informative for me. So I feel harmony in my family and I feel I can leave with a deeper sense of peace.

On that note I will send love and get myself ready for sleep. I have a 700km drive tomorrow and hope to not get in too late to Melbourne.

In unity and peace.

Susan (de peace clown)

 
Mohandas Gandhi

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”

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