You cannot escape who you are.
Your thoughts create you.
Who you want to be is what you do.
Now that I have arrived at the blessed age of fifty-four, there is the voice that speaks clearly from inside of me, the truth, with acknowledgement of who I am today and with the realisation of experiences that moulded me. I can ask myself how more I can become in the time I have lesser off. I hope it will be of benefit to myself and my significant others.
Born from Polish nobility with immigration to Australia in 1970’s, inspired me to have the expectation to live a life that surpassed mediocrity. Adapting to the Australian way of life was quite a difficult transition for my family. Not only were there the initial financial losses in vacating a post WWII country, but there was also the loss of identity, the friends and the yearning for the culture that once fed their souls.
Growing up her eyes sparkled as she danced tip toe in her pink leotard, improvising that of swan lake. Rustling sounds of the eucalyptus leaves and the kookaburra birds laughing was her orchestration. The butterfly whispering past was her audience. She then gifted herself with plucking a dandelion flower and blowing with a single breath the seeds away while making a wish. Her make-believe dance recital had now come to fruition and at no such time did she ever need to feel alone, she felt prouder for her imagination so wild, free, and innocent. Her enchantment of the world flooded her with emotions, a playground of what she thought was to be so pure and delightful.
Youth sure had its beauty and there was no denying there were the good times, the passions, the excitement that came naturally to her without fuss. Yet it was her mission as an immigrant to find acceptance and to belong in the land down under, hoping all circumstances would be pleasant and enterprising. Schooling was not smooth sailing, for her comprehension was not succinct enough due to the family speaking more in their native language. Yet she held herself with grace and manners bestowed on her by her family upbringing.
Life is by design from the choices we make. She finished school, entered the workforce, and accomplished accolades from the few of them. Stoic with the steely determination she would complete all the tasks with painful perfection. She would always give more than expected. She learned most about herself from the relationships she had with people. There were the mutual respected ones, yet there were others that broke her spirit. Cruel judgments together with the gossip were sometimes soul destroying. Bullying sent her into a spiral of temporary disillusionment. Relatives and friends supported in her times of distress, but there was no magic wand to take away the hurt and the disappointment.
She knew that she needed to survive and learn from these life upsets and miss happenings. She had to find solace in something, to strengthen herself back to the joy latent in herself. She discovered her creative side – drawing, painting, sculpturing as well as creating landscapes and gardens, water features and living eco systems. Her artistic talents were both therapeutic and healing.
Her world did become her oyster, for her mind connected with her hands and has since made joyous works. She and her loved ones are finding pleasure in her truest existence living close to nature, in bliss, on her hobby farm in Shady Hills, Western Australia.
Joie De Vivre
