Gratitude

Two days ago I was speaking with a group of people on a Permaculture design course in Chile. Grifen Hope, an inspiring and energetic young man I met briefly at a LETS conference in 2006, has been in Chile for a couple of years now. He has been making good use of technology recently, and setting up Skype video calls for his design students.

When Grifen wrote and told me his students had been speaking with David Holmgren and Geoff Lawton (two people in the Permaculture world that I have huge respect for), I felt honoured that he was inviting me to follow in their footsteps. For an hour I fielded questions about Transition Towns and how it is growing in New Zealand, in which my video image from their side was a dark screen with a single bright spot from a naked lightbulb.

At the end, by way of hosting them in my place, I took the laptop out into the garden and onto the deck of the house we have been living in for the last few months.This was the view which greeted them, and I suspect from Grifen's comments part of what made him a little homesick.

I arrived on Waiheke island in early 2002, and was met by my friend Laurence Boomert. As we walked along the beach on a glorious later summer day, in awe at the beauty of the place, we shared our perceptions of world events and pondered future scenarios, Laurence has a way of offering gems of wisdom from time to time, and that day as wondered about the fate of people in countries where there are vast energy reserves, Laurence pointed out that "If we don't celebrate what we have, we make a mockery of the people who are really suffering in the world."

This pearl has helped me accept with deep gratitude, the abundant gifts in my life, amongst them this beautiful place I have been able to call home for the last seven years. After having been away from New Zealand for five years, there were times in that first year of living on Waiheke, that I would find myself overwhelmed with gratitude, and wondering if I could receive any more grace in my life without bursting. The last two days I have been reminded again of the need to celebrate and be deeply grateful.

Yesterday, Zuva and I went for an early morning picnic of pear and dried apple on the beach before going off to join the local Permaculture goup on a pruning course with Ken Clark. We gathered around Ken in different people's gardens and learnt how to care for all kinds of different trees and vines, Zuva played and found friends of all kinds.

Around lunchtime I took Zuva home, and went for a paddle in the bay. I don't get out often, but a day like this was not to be missed. It's a short paddle to the other side of the bay where Kim and Zuva spent some time on the swings and enjoyed ice cream from the Little Oneroa Store - only two sleeps till she is three. On the way there and back I stopped often to capture some classic images and talk with all kinds of interesting people.

It was John Croft on "stolen Moments" who reflected so well how I was feeling. After a lengthy conversation about his work as a scientist working in the field of marine studies, and the idea of establishing a new marine reserve on this peice of coastline, he told me, with a simplicity and humbleness of his incredible gratitude for how his life has worked out to provide him with opportunities to do what he loves, and still steal these precious moments away on his yacht on stunning days like these.