I was pretty excited by the prospect that maybe they would win.  But I really could not watch the Lions match at the start.  I actually saw the very beginning which was not good.  But after half time, when I thought they might have it in the bag I watched and yea we won!
After that I watched a show I thought was really good.  It featured an eye hospital in Nepal.  One of the poorest countries in the world.  Kids had operations on their eyes which took 12 minutes but changed their lives forever.
Before the ops they could not see and were condemned to a life of darkness and total dependence on another.  They could not work or provide for families.  Things totally changed as a result of them being able to see.  As one person pointed out it costs as much as say a palates class costs in Oz, but changes a life forever.
As I reckon was rightly pointed out, there are many times a palates class is the right way to go but this highlighted to me the minimal cost of a huge change for someone.
Bit like what we do on a monthly basis in providing a meal for visitors.   The food is excellent.  As one couple who had never been before pointed out to me it is “better than a restaurant.”  I feel the same.  Donated food and food cooked by people we know are combined and the result is absolutely delicious.  It really provides for those doing it tough.  The cost is minimal (recognising the time and effort that goes into it) and the rewards are great.  Apart from being fed in the short term, a safe place is provided.  And a place where new friends are made and meet with.
It amazes me how people want to give back.  One guy helped with the pack up yesterday.  It was out of the blue.  These days I make a point of accepting assistance.   To me it is a dignity thing.  People are grateful for the food and helping out is a way of giving back and promoting their sense of self-worth.
Once I may have said “no it’s ok.” These days it is “thank you, if you could just….it is appreciated.”
So there is no denying it, yesterday was a good day.  A Lions win, a good feed, old and new friends and something on telle that inspired rather than depressed.  A smorgasbord of good stuff really.
(Picture a smorgasbord example only and does not depict ours)

Well for sure this is different.  I was put onto it through the weekly James Clear email.  I so did not expect to be travelling this road.  Yet what I read sent me scurrying to find out more.
It was to do with rubber gloves – their invention.  I will put word for word what I read.  “Playwright and poet Sarah Ruhl on love as a creative force:  "There was once a very great American surgeon named Halsted. He was married to a nurse. He loved her—immeasurably.  One day Halsted noticed that his wife's hands were chapped and red when she came back from surgery. And so he invented rubber gloves. For her. It is one of the great love stories in medicine. The difference between inspired medicine and uninspired medicine is love...  [He] loved her to the point of invention."
Rubber gloves have evolved since then and are better than they once were, but for me what stood out was the motivation that led to the invention of the first rubber gloves.
That story was built on what I regard as really important.  Care born of love.  I often encourage others to get a second opinion as too often an original diagnosis seems to not to come from “care for another” but “care for oneself.”  That to me is at best useless and at worst dangerous.  A saying of mine is “no one cares about me like I care about me.”  My experience is sometimes that can be taken to the extreme and another’s lack of care about me can cost me big time.
But in this instance care born of love is on display.  What is obvious is that people see through insincerity and people gravitate to sincerity.  It is obvious to me when someone cares or they don’t.
To know someone I study them in the longer term.  It is what is produced that tells me the story and not what is said alone.
For me personally I am willing to put up with some things when I know that the motivation towards me is care.  Some things can be gotten wrong, and many can be gotten right.  For me the difference is motivation.  If I know someone cares, I will take the journey with them.

Yesterday was what I consider my day off.  I spent it reading and watching some tele.
There was one program on that seems to reflect what I have heard a lot of lately.  That is the importance of listening.  In fact, the program was called something like, “The Listening Tour.”  A guy spent 33 days cycling across the US.  On the way others would join him for the ride.  But he would make a point of listening to the locals when he stopped.  He would ask them about them.
What he found amazing is what I have found amazing just talking to people.  Everyone has a story.  Everyone.  And every story is a lesson in victory or defeat and always seems to contain elements of both.  To me it is how the story ends that matters most.
I have found the story of others amazing.  People that do not stand out in anyway but to me when I talk with them have outstanding stories.  The stories are not necessarily the stuff of legends or movies but the stuff of everyday.  The ordinary made extraordinary.
No one seems to want their life to count for nothing.  Often goals are humble yet profound like feeding the family or looking after a loved one.  Sometimes the goals are big and the desire is to make a positive difference in the lives of as many as possible.
Sometimes goals are not reached or are abandoned.  But it seems to me failure is giving up when giving up is an inappropriate response.  No denying it some choices are harder than others.  Sometimes my response is heroic and sometimes wimpish.  Knowing what to do does not mean I always do it.
Yet I do know that I grow by listening to the stories of others.  I mentioned recently a lady who turned up at our market.  She was a biologist and is now a writer.  I can tell who is pulling my leg and who is genuine.  She was genuine judging by the things she bought.  Another guy at the markets taught in China.  He told of a science experiment with a bowl and water he does that produced amazing results when the bowl is rubbed.  He learned it in China and had children fascinated by it at our Fun Day.
That sort of thing is only learned by listening.  I must admit listening is something I like to do.  Sometimes just a monologue is heard but sometimes gems of truth or experience are heard. Listening creates a meaningful encounter for both the speaker and the hearer.