Chapter 49 Rampant Philosophy

                Life’s Journey

A long time ago I looked up at the sky,
‘What will it be like in 2000?’ asked I.
But I was at school then...had never a care,
Too far away to be worried, I declare

Mum and Dad do the worrying, I’ll never get old,
It’s so far away...too young to be told.
I’ll be a kid for such a long while;
I wish I’d grow up in a bit faster style.

Well Holy Toledo! Did I ask for fast?
I thought my young life a mite longer would last!
2000 has come and also has gone,
I think I just missed it, though my memory’s not long!

 Well I guess there’s some glory just being here today;
 It’s not quite so easy being happy and gay.
 The 20th-century is now in the past,
 I’ve survived Y2K bugs and La Nina’s blast.    

by Giddy


                                             Chapter 49   Rampant Philosophy 

Like a large part of society today, I find many modern practices distasteful. Good manners used to be strictly enforced in the home, and emphasized at school. Fighting at school meant discipline, albeit sometimes too harshly with the cane. We were made to feel shame for bad behaviour. Teachers were especially strict about home work; and good class work was rewarded with a merit stamp, or by holding up for inspection by the class. There were no other incentives, like pretty stickers, colourful dangling mobiles, or other distractions.

     Just as now, teachers became very stressed, and I saw teachers use the cane out of frustration with the students work ability, rather than for punishment. That was wrong. But no discipline at all, or no boundaries for children, is unfair as it gives them no guidelines to behave by. I remember the teacher inspecting our necks and fingernails because he thought some of us hadn't washed properly, and the class being questioned as to whether or not we knew the right way to clean our teeth.

    “Everybody, repeat the vowels out loud with your mouths open wide...aa...ee...ii...oo...uu.” Good speech was also important, and anybody saying ‘yous’ instead of you, was quickly admonished!
 
   Neither teachers or pupils had the luxury of student-free days. By the time we left school we all had a good working knowledge of how to behave in society. No one is taking  responsibility for this now, which is why young teenagers are running rampant on the streets searching for a reason to stop. They can’t find the boundaries. One of the most important things we learned during our education was respect...respect for elders, respect for teachers and leaders, and particularly respect for parents. Importantly, we had self respect and respect for our friends, because we knew that bad behaviour reflected on ourselves. Today I do have sympathy for most parents as they receive many mixed messages. The state is keen to give independence to the teenager, offering money in all sorts of guises. but they are taking no responsibility when things go wrong, and are quick to blame the parents when a crime is committed.

    During family history research we found out that one of Pete's great uncles left an orphanage at the age of 12 to work on a farm. Later he joined the Army and during the second World War sent his sister a postcard from London. We admire the beautiful cursive script on the back of the card, and the simple, sincere message is a joy t0 read. It breaks my heart to hear that children can come through school these days and not be able to read or write.

    In the same way it disturbs me that people of other nationalities are keen to migrate to this country, but not assimilate. To retain your ethnic origin is admirable, but the old saying 'together we stand, divided we fall' is very true. Creating little enclaves that cannot even communicate with other communities is fraught with danger. Maybe this is even the first step on the way to civil war. It is especially serious when people of a particular religious following are so fanatical in their beliefs that they want everybody to believe the same way. Do they trust their God? Our Christian God has given us the 10 Commandments, and whether we believe in God or not, what a tragedy that we are not obeying those Commandments. All the rules for a peaceful society are there; and we ignore them to our peril!

    Changing our flag will not change our history; but at present we have two flags and having two flags is divisive. Instead, in my opinion, we should honour our aboriginal population by combining the flags and substituting the union Jack with their flag. It would be very colourful and look very attractive with the aboriginal flag in the corner and the blue sky and the Southern Cross holding us all together, (or use both.) They were here first. They deserve that recognition. After that we should move forward as a combined people and try to put behind us what went on in the past. The past is what it is, and no one can change that.  Rehashing the past is holding us all back. It is a nonsense to judge people for what happened in past history. We need to acknowledge it and move on. I hope and pray that blacks and whites lift themselves above racism in the near future.

    The recent philosophy for the care of babies has been to let them make up their own minds. How ridiculous! How distressing for a baby to be left unguided. How frustrating not to be able to cry, to express feelings in the only way a baby knows. How weakening to never discover independence, not learn the ability to go to sleep alone, or to do a painting, sing a song, and know that our best is good enough for those we love.

     All people--all children--have strengths and weaknesses, and we must encourage our young people to make the most of their strengths, and to recognize that their weaknesses are unimportant, because they ALL are precious and valuable. Allowed to go unchecked, what we end up with is the ‘tail wagging the dog,’ or ‘the fox in charge of the hen house.’

    Survival and coping are things we are not good at teaching our young people. Schools could teach more about surviving the marketing aimed at us all, but particularly at children.

    Having M.S. has taught me patience. When I was still struggling to walk with the walker I found that if I could move forward at all, (even a few inches), at least I was making progress. It's the old story of the hare and the tortoise. Little by little you can often win the race, it just takes determination. What distresses me most, is that Peter has had to suffer along with me, especially during falls as my condition deteriorated. He has been, and still is, my rock, my dearest love, and irreproachable for his stoic dedication and kindness.     

    Every experience teaches us something. I learned that from Mum. "Even if it upsets you at the time, you can always learn something from every experience." I heard that many times. I also learned from her to have a positive attitude.

    One day I called her by phone, as I do often because she doesn’t live in Brisbane.  “How are you, Mum?”

    "Oh, I'm all right..... but I have this pain in my shoulder which gets me down. But I shouldn’t complain. I should just be grateful that I'm alive to feel the pain!”

    Never underestimate the value of family. You might not always get on with them, but your family will be around for the long haul. Someone who refuses to commit to you is unlikely to be around when you need them most. Also, remember in-laws are family too, and deserve your patience and understanding. (And sometimes great tolerance!) In any case it is worth remembering that you are an in-law to them.

    Unfortunately with a disease like M.S., a person can feel trapped. There are times when I feel desperate for somebody to talk to about death. But who should that be? I can't talk to Peter. I can't talk to my mother. I can't talk to my children. They are all too precious to me to upset in that way. You can't just ring up and ask for a counsellor every five minutes. The Community-health Social Worker counselled me on the phone, but you need that sort of reassurance every day. I would be comforted if I knew that death was going to come suddenly. But that’s unlikely. So I carry on, smiling in the face of adversity. (Fake it till you make it!) I tried to talk to the Blue Care Minister about death, and he told me to discuss it with Peter!

    In November of 2008 I read a book about Joe Louis, the American boxer of the 1950s and 60s, written by his son. This is a quote from near the end of the book, taken from the eulogy delivered by the  Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson:

    It (death) has scouts running around, advertising its arrival: grey hairs, bald spots, arthritis etc. So many of our geniuses have their sun eclipse at noon; Chopin at 39 died of typhoid fever, Mozart died at 36 of disease of the kidney, Mendelssohn at 38, Schubert at 31, Bellini at 34, Dr King and Malcolm at 39, Jesus the Christ and Donny Hathaway at 33.  But God smiled on Joe. He experienced the sunset of life......
    After reading that, I try to think of my life as a joyful celebration. I am grateful that I have lived to the age of 67.  I have learnt much, because of the M.S. and in spite of the M.S. I am happy with the years that I have had so far. I don't particularly want any more, knowing the hardships I will probably experience and cause for everyone else.

    In February 2009, we saw the terrible devastation of the fires in Victoria which killed nearly 200 people, shocking not only Australia, but the rest of the world. We knew our own lives were relatively untouched by comparison. We were taken out of ourselves. It's a hard irony to know that someone else's pain and suffering has, as a consequence, given you reason to forage on.

    I continue to help myself as much as possible. In the water a new freedom is sensed, and I loved hydrotherapy while I was well enough to do it up until recently, but at present, I exercise my arms with a rope and pulley that Pete rigged up for me. I exercise a little in the standing hoist and do deep breathing each morning

     A couple of years ago I had a phone call from a young woman doing a short survey on community affairs. It had to do with income and happiness, and the last question was: Are you happy?

     My answer was: Yes.


 I hope to post some poetry in the future, especially about Australian animals.