Sunday, November 28, 2010

Reach for the Stars

How many times have you heard the expression: “It’s written in the stars?” What does this mean exactly? And by what power is fate written for each and every one of us? How can that be?

So are we all a little starry eyed when it comes to our destiny? Is it written down somewhere what we’re destined to do or to be? This timeless question has puzzled many great philosophers down through the ages and quite a few authors.

In Paulo Coelho’s, lyrical fable, The Alchemist, he tells the tale a young Andalusian shepherd boy, Santiago, who falls asleep in an abandoned, ruined church where an enormous sycamore tree grows. He tends his sheep during the day and at night he reads books. He dreams a recurring dream. He’s dreamt the same dream week after week but wakes each time, before the end of the dream. In this dream, he dreams that if he travels to the pyramids of Egypt, he will find his fortune.

So Santiago sets off on a journey to discover his personal legend.
Along the way he encounters many mysterious and magical people, surprising twists and turns, and omens and obstacles await Santiago on his quest. He meets a gypsy woman who tells him he must go forward on his journey to fulfil his destiny. He meets an old King, who tells Santiago to never stop dreaming and follow the omens and pursue his dream.

He buys a ticket to Tangier, but is robbed of all of his money when he gets there and so he must work for a Crystal Merchant who teaches the young boy about patience - following through and not giving up on his mission, his dream.
The girl of his dreams, he finds in the desert at an oasis and falls in love at first sight. He meets an Alchemist, rumoured to be 200 years old, who gives just the right amount of direction and encouragement to allow Santiago to find his Personal Legend on his own.

As he nears the end of his journey at the pyramids and digs, Santiago finds, in an ironic twist, that the treasure isn't what or where he thought it was. It was in fact back at home in the ruined church where he first began his quest. Life’s often like that, don’t you think? – you never know where you’ll find your treasure.

Have you ever dreamed of finding some long lost treasure? Yes? I did too. As a child I wanted to be an archaeologist to go exploring exotic places in the world, digging for never before seen ancient treasure – just like Indianna Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. I’m not sure at what point I changed my mind. It may have been when my father pointed out to me that: “Archaeologists are underpaid publicity agents for deceased royalty.”

If nothing else my dad was pragmatic…. Not unlike Indianna Jones, come to think of it. Remember Indianna’s great line to his newly arrived, starry eyed archaeology students:

“Archaeology is the search for fact. Not truth. If it's truth you're interested in, Doctor Tyree's Philosophy class is right down the hall. So forget any ideas you've got about lost cities, exotic travel, and digging up the world. We do not follow maps to buried treasure, and 'X' never, ever marks the spot. Seventy percent of all archaeology is done in the library. Research and Reading.” And he’s right you know.

Treasure is not always buried. Sometimes it’s right under our noses. Don’t believe me? Imagine the surprise of an English brother and sister cleaning out their late parent’s house and happened upon a beautiful vase. Inquisitive as to its value, they took the vase to an antique auctioneer in London, only to be told that it was in fact a rare 18th century Chinese porcelain vase marked with the Imperial seal and was valued at $800,000. At the auction held last week, a fast and furious bidding war commenced and in less than 30 minutes the vase had sold to the shocked pair for $83 million!

I can see it in your eyes now – you’re thinking - If only I could have been that person…..but in a sense we are that person. We do have treasure right under our noses and sometimes we just don’t even see it. There’s a saying that ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ and I think this is true to some extent. We don’t value what treasure we have around us, and unfortunately, we find out too late, the value of something that we’ve lost or something that is gone forever.

For students, the treasure of your home and family life are things that you can take for granted. The one true thing I have learned in this life is that it can change in the blink of an eye. Treasure your parents. Respect your teachers and make the most of every opportunity to learn. Don’t leave it too late, don’t have regrets later in life that you didn’t make the most of the opportunities that you have at Caloundra City Private School.

For our graduating Year 12s, the class of 2010….
You have a wonderful new adventure ahead of you, just like Santiago. This journey may seem daunting to you now – wondering about your OP, or the university or a future career. You will have trials and tribulations along the way for sure but you only have one life. Follow your dreams to the nth degree. Don’t give up believing in yourself and what you can achieve. Dig deep when you need to and be courageous ; be bold. Reach for the stars – and as someone once quipped: if your boat doesn’t come into shore, swim out to meet it!
Seize the day. Carpe Diem.

For Parents

Continue to support your sons and daughters as they reach for the stars. We at the School will do all in our power to help these dreams come true.

For our school as a whole, we’re on a journey too. A journey to great achievements and great deeds. Thank you for your loyalty to the School. Thank you for your trust in us to help your sons and daughters grow and develop into young people of good character and it is our mission and our dream to allow every student to shine.

Paulo Coelho’s lyrical tale “The Alchemist” is a fable about following one's dreams, listening to one's heart. Coelho shows how easy it is to give up ever attaining one's dreams due to complacency - or not wanting to move out of one's comfort zone. "People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don't deserve them, or that they'll be unable to achieve them." "There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."
Yet Santiago does want to pursue his dream of finding his treasure and yes, at times we see and feel his fear, but along his journey, he has learned to listen to his heart and to trust what his heart teaches him.

Santiago learns about love along the way and helps others to face their fears as well. Coelho states, "And that's where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are." Yes we do.

I would like to share this beautiful passage from Marianne Williamson’s “Return to Love”:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?.... Your playing small does not serve the world well at all.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. … It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. "


It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.
Never stop dreaming.
Reach for the stars every single day.


Karon Graham

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Life is Making the Most of Every Moment - Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

How many times do we lament what happens in a day - all the bad stuff - instead of focusing on the positives in our life?

Life is here to be enjoyed, not endured. We only have one chance to live the life we do, so make the most of every moment. Celebrate every new dawn, like it was your last and 'don't sweat the small stuff'.

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.


(Mother Teresa)

Qualities of a Person of Good Character

“She’s such a character,” I hear people say and they’re usually referring to some larger than life, over the top person with quirky fashion sense or eccentric manner. Many famous characters of this kind come to mind. Think of comedian Phyllis Diller with her wild hair and ditzy laugh, or Jennifer Saunders and her outrageous fashion sense in Absolutely Fabulous, or Barry Humphries’ alter ego Dame Edna Everage and ‘her gladdies’, or English actor Rowan Atkinson’s, Mr Bean – what can I say about Mr Bean – he defies explanation. These characters all have this amazing ability to bring together both endearing and cringe worthy qualities that usually make us laugh and see the funny side of life.

What of a person’s character though? What are the qualities that mark a person of ‘good character’? History reveals many great men and women of character – people tested by difficult and dangerous circumstances beyond their control, but triumphing over extreme adverse conditions, by their very will and determination - India’s liberator, Mahatma Gandhi, England’s ‘mother of nursing’, Florence Nightingale, America’s Afro-American Civil Rights leader, Martin Luther King, Calcutta’s carer of the children of the slum, Mother Teresa, American President Benjamin Franklin, and New Zealander and Australian restorer of sight amongst indigenous people, Fred Hollows. Were these people perfect? No they were not. Did they have good character though? Yes, they did. So how do we measure a person’s character?

The giant Californian redwoods are amongst the world’s tallest trees and while they are the world’s largest trees currently living, it may surprise many people to know that an Australian Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) was the world’s largest tree ever recorded. According to historical records, the Ferguson Tree was reported at over 154m (nearly 500 feet high). It was measured by Surveyor Ferguson in 1872 in the Watts River Catchment near Healesville, in Victoria. The point about these giant trees is that they are supported by massive root systems, which represent almost two thirds of the tree’s mass. These root systems are of course hidden underground and out of sight. A person’s character, similarly, is often hidden from the visible eye; these intangible qualities lie deep within a person’s psyche but they are there, none-the-less, like an inbuilt moral compass. On the other hand, someone’s outward personal appearance and personality, is on show and there for all to see.


What is the difference between someone’s personality and his or her character? Personality is the natural or inborn traits of a person - the outward show of who they are, which could range from: extraverted, bright and bubbly, quiet and shy, confident and commanding, caring and compassionate to introverted and studious and all variations in between. This is very different though from someone’s character. Someone can be very charming (a personality trait) but a charlatan or a cheat (a character trait).

Character, is a learned behaviour and reflects someone’s attitudes and values. In a nutshell, character is a set of behaviour traits that define what sort of person you are. Your moral or ethical qualities if you like – qualities of honesty, courage, integrity, trustworthiness, respectfulness, responsibility, caring and compassion. People judge your personal character by their perception of how you respond to challenges. Someone who perseveres in the face of adversity and works persistently to complete a task or sees something through is generally thought to be someone of good personal character. By every measure Fred Hollows was such a man. He never wavered in his mission to bring sight to thousands of people suffering from trachoma, in aboriginal communities in Australia, Nepal, Eritrea and Vietnam. He organised manufacturing labs to provide low cost lenses (about $10 each) to the people of these countries and trained many ordinary citizens on how to complete the procedure in remote, often war-torn and inhospitable parts of the world. He was a humble person but a great visionary, a ‘giant’ among men – a man of great character.

It’s not easy though to be a person of good character all the time. Even Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s greatest Presidents who identified thirteen values to live by, and wrote to his son about these virtues, (including them in his autobiography), was often unable to live by these very virtues, succumbing to gout, excessive drinking and other less virtuous behaviours. As I say, no one is perfect but, the reality is that:

You can’t discover light by analysing the darkness.”

All of us can learn how to be a person of good character, or to be a better person. It’s something we can all strive to achieve. I will be the first to admit that it’s not always easy, particularly when you’re a young person and facing enormous peer pressure to do something that you know is not right. Part of learning how to be person of character is being able to show integrity – doing the right thing in a difficult situation under pressure. Admitting when we’re wrong, owning up when we’ve done the wrong thing and being honest about it is one of life’s toughest challenges. Hiding the facts, deceiving others to ‘protect our own skin’ is no way to develop into a person of good character. Taking the consequences and learning from our mistakes is the only way that we can move forward as a person of character.

Our aim at Caloundra City Private School is to develop good character – traits of honesty, respect, trustworthiness, integrity, responsibility, self-discipline, compassion and care - in every single student. Together, the School and parents can achieve this goal. Our students, like the great Mountain Ash and Redwoods, can one day be ‘giants’ among men and women, if only they continue to learn from their mistakes and make good choices, that ultimately develop within them, a person of integrity – a person of great character. This timeless verse from Samuel Smiles captures the essence of ‘building’ character in young people.

Sow a thought, reap and action;
Sow an action, reap a habit;
Sow a habit, reap a character;
Sow a character, reap a destiny


Karon Graham