Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Seize the Day: Life According to my Dictionary


Life gives us brief moments with another…
But sometimes, in those brief moments
We get memories that last a life time.

 Some people keep a diary, I keep a dictionary. Yes, a dictionary.  Don’t ask me how this happened because I couldn’t tell you but my dictionary is full of memories and mementos of years gone by. My dictionary isn’t a particularly expensive book and it’s somewhat battered around the edges now, but the memories stored in it are priceless.
These memories represent the passing thirty years in different schools and small and big moments in my personal life. The first page includes my name and under it is written, “Carpe diem – Seize the day”, which is something that stirs me and motivates me, to always make the most of every moment.

There are happy holiday snaps, postcards from exotic places that I or good friends have travelled to over the years, funny cartoons that make me laugh out loud. The Far Side collection is my favourite. 

A man is sitting on an airplane looking out at the clouds drifting by in the sky. There is a panel at his right hand, which has all the usual buttons: volume, channel, light switch, steward alert and on the left side is a button that reads: ‘wings stay on’ and below this: ‘wings fall off’. The caption reads:

            “Fumbling for his recline button,
              Ted unwittingly instigates a disaster.”
             (Okay, maybe this is a ‘location’ joke.)

Photos of family events feature in the dictionary, which record moments of absolute bliss and success with my family – everything from learning to sailboard, floating on Blue Lake at Straddie in a dinghy, children playing netball, rugby and cricket, accepting awards at Speech Night, graduating from university and most of all, just enjoying family events.
Photos and notes from good friends who make me smile, fill my dictionary. Good friends are like diamonds that sparkle in any light and even in darkness. Good friends are the ones who know all about you and like you anyway. The gift of their friendship calls out to me from the pages, reminding me that even on the darkest of days, there can still be a reason to smile and to hope for a better future.

There are thank you cards from parents, students and colleagues. Beautiful Valentine’s Day cards, special Christmas cards also kept for reflection, including a lovely Christmas card written by Riordon, David and Natarsha Turner at the end of my first year at CCPS, which I treasure.
A potpourri of photos of school related events like Anzac Day marches, graduations, formals, semi-formals, Foundation Days;  photos of Professor Ian Frazer, and who can forget his description of going to a ‘pirate school’?  Who can forget superstar, John Newcombe and the amazingly ‘young’, grand Dame Elisabeth Murdoch?

Poignant photos found in my dictionary, remind me of generous people in my life, like that of the School’s Patrons – Judy Henzell and the late Joan Ford, Cec and the late Noelene Munns – all people who have given so much to Caloundra City Private School. How can we ever repay their kindness?
Perhaps the saddest of these mementos are those that mark the death of someone very young. It reminds me of how fragile life can be and the transiency of all that is precious to us. One that always makes me pause to consider this fragility is of a past Year 11 student who died tragically in a car accident in 2001. Her beautiful face smiles out from the pages and the inscription below written by her grieving parents reads:

            “Gone from our sight
               But never our memories
               Gone from our touch
                But never our hearts.”

 
We really can’t take too much in life for granted, can we? Nothing lasts forever. All things come to an end and in my mind, it is all the more reason to ‘seize the day’ and make the very most of every moment. With this in mind I will be embarking on a new journey in 2013 and look forward to this new chapter in my life.

 I take with me many wonderful memories of CCPS – mainly of the people that I have been fortunate enough to know:  wonderful teachers, fabulous administrative and auxiliary staff,  amazing students (past and present), and supportive and caring parents. To the outstanding executive team of Ms Stuart, Mr Maguire, Mrs Frisby and Mrs Short I thank you for your amazing skills, talents, loyalty and leadership of the School.

 My creed, (also found in my dictionary), is very simple and this creed is one that I borrowed from George Bernard Shaw and would like to share:

            This is the true joy in life,
             The being used for a purpose
            Recognized by yourself as a mighty one.
            The Being a force of nature
              Instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments
              And grievances, complaining that the world
               Will not devote itself to making you happy.

 I am of the opinion that my life belongs to 
           The whole community and as long as I live,
            It is my privilege to do for it what I can.
            I want to be thoroughly used up when I die,
             For the harder I work, the more I live.
            I rejoice in life for its own sake.
            Life is no brief candle to me.
            It is a sort of splendid torch
            Which I have got hold of for the moment
            And I want to make it burn as brightly
            As possible before handing it on to future generations.

 
Thank you to everyone who has been part of my journey at Caloundra City Private School. I am leaving you now, but you will always be a part of who I am and part of you will always live in my heart. I wish you all the very best for the future.

Thank you for all of the wonderful experiences I have shared with you on this journey.

Karon Graham

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Celebrate Life!


Celebrate life!  Don’t let the moment pass without celebrating that special event, that special success, or that special milestone. Life should be full of celebrations of the big moments as well as the little moments of personal significance.
It’s so easy to get caught up in all ‘that’s not right’ in the world rather than what is right. It’s so easy to not see the forest for the trees. I use to watch the news but I rarely do these days. Some comic once quipped that the evening news always commences with ‘Good Evening’ and then the presenter proceeds to tell you why it’s not. So now I get my news over the internet and choose what news stories I read. Isn’t it better to do as Barbara Hoffman suggests?

Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey!

In my mind there are lots of things that we can celebrate every day and maybe some of these you may already celebrate too.

Celebrate our families and the ones we love.

Celebrate good friendships and the joy of friends in our lives.

Celebrate the beautiful part of the world in which we live.

Celebrate the weather – how lucky are we to have warm, sunny weather most of the year?

Celebrate good health or the recovery to good health.

Celebrate our freedom and the lifestyle that we sometimes take for granted.

Celebrate this great School and all who share it with us.

Celebrate every blessing that comes our way.

Celebrate life!
 
Life is a celebration of awakenings, of new beginnings,
and wonderful surprises that enlighten the soul.
 
Karon Graham