I have just returned from a long weekend in Tasmania - ‘Tassie’ as we Australians affectionately refer to it. My friends have built a magnificent colonial style house on several acres of land overlooking the Tamar estuary.
Only eight years old yet looking as if it had been standing for many more, this house of modern comforts with its double glazing and its fastidious room by room decor, surrounded by lush gardens of veggies, fruit trees, herbs and flowers, stands as a living proof of a couple’s power to change their world and co-create their vision as a unique reality.
Every house bears the stamp of its owner or owners - and of its previous owners. In this case, the house has had only one set of owners. Yet the land on which it is built clearly has had many indigenous owners over the centuries and this latest dwelling, built in the spirit of love, respect and inclusion, clearly embodies these positive energies.
I returned to the energy of my own house in Melbourne, a house I love and enjoy every day, which has had various owners and occupiers, the latest being myself, with a deep sense of gratitude for the privilege of being immersed for several consecutive days in a very different energy, the energy of a home that exudes welcome, nurturing, enquiry and hospitality,
I came back refreshed, yet conscious of the ‘drag’ of the familiar. And of the unanticipated costs of creating something new and different. A kind gentleman helped me get my small suitcase down the steep tram steps - only to have the tram drive off, leaving him on the platform, his wife on the tram! A former train driver himself, he had anticipated that the tram driver would be keeping a watchful eye on his exiting passengers with a view to their safety and comfort.
The lessons I learned from this weekend away?
Together we can and do change the world in meaningful ways that make a difference: my friends are living proof of how this can happen.
Yet the change we sense is possible only happens when we take deliberate consistent action. A house needs to be cleaned. A garden needs to be watered. I needed to jump on that plane to be with my friends.
And there are always unanticipated costs, like my kind helper being left on the platform.