It is hard to believe looking at the clock and it saying 4.57 I would think that I am getting up late.  But that is what happened this morning.
Yesterday did not feel like such a huge day.  It was the forth Saturday in the month and time for our free lunch.
The crowd seemed a bit lighter on but there were still plenty and some who had never been before.  Before we eat and some words are said and songs sung, I tend to check all is going ok and offer a hand where needed.  Merril was providing the audio which meant checking mics were working for the guitarist for singing and playing.  Then she puts up the slides which advertise some of the things our church has going on.
All was good so I had lunch.  I was at a table occupied by a couple I had never seen before.  I found it really interesting talking to them.  Both are well travelled around Oz.
After everyone has eaten we pack up and set up for church the next day.  That is after dessert which in my mind was especially nice.  I overheard someone say early on that the dessert was worth having.  I second that motion. 
Many hands make light work and I never cease to be amazed how quickly the pack up and set up gets done.  The more we do it the more we know what to do.  Helpers are coming out of the woodwork.
It is all done and dusted in less than an hour and folks are going home.
Merril and I were looking forward to going home and having a rest.  We still had things we wanted to do.  Self-growth things and preparations to make for the future.
But first things first.  A sleep.

A mate of mine would say, “it would bring tears to a glass eye.”
That came to mind as I was reflecting on the music posted.  I also read on the site about a mum who’s bedroom was engulfed in flames and the lady became disoriented.  Four kids across the road, ages 14 to 17, saw the smoke and carried out the lady.  Thus saving her life.
I am so glad to hear of such things and to see a blind performer singing what I think is beautiful (as is the person’s voice who sings with him.)
That gets to me.  What I see so much of is what I call creeping ugliness.  I once read that what is happening is like reading a book at dusk.  I get so absorbed in the book, I do not realize how dark it has gotten until I look up.
I see beautiful locations advertised accessible now only to the rich.  Yet when I look at the places, they were what I grew up in and accessed all the time.  In Sydney a place was set aside for a people’s place, and a casino was allowed to go there.
It seems to me that this world is getting uglier and beautiful places inaccessible.  That to me is not right.  I do not deny the rights of the rich and powerful, but I also do not deny the rights of the poor and powerless.  To me beauty is not the right of the rich only.  Beauty is for all.
Yet having said that I do believe that although locations are becoming more inaccessible to many, everyday people cannot be locked out of beauty.  Beauty is to be found not only in places - but in people.  The stories I started with, (amongst others), reflect beauty in people.
While much is a road to exclusion, it seems to me there are those who refuse to accept the limitations of the increasingly limited amount on offer.  Although marred, I, like many, recognise and respond to beauty.
Character and good will are not dead – but they are becoming less obvious.  I will promote beauty, character and good will.  When enough do something, it assumes a life bigger than its parts.

Friday is James Clear email day.  I look at what it says and write about things I have experienced and learned along the way.
Today I am reminded of looking like an idiot along the way.  There are times I just blurt out the question on my mind.  I see others nod like they understand.  Perhaps they do.  I don’t.  This is particularly the case with using Acronyms.
James Clear said "In many cases, you'll find the only thing preventing you from learning is your ego. No one enjoys feeling foolish, but attempting something new requires that you climb down from your perch and struggle as a beginner. You must ask questions that reveal your ignorance or attempt skills that make you look uncoordinated.  Learning demands the willingness to live in a brief state of discomfort. You must believe that looking like a fool for an hour will not ruin your reputation for life."
They say (whoever they are) that in learning if I get 60% there is 40% I do not know.  Chances are in future learning a portion of the 40% will be drawn on.  That is one of the reasons why in learning I like to come at it like I know nothing.  I may know a little or a lot, yet I find it is by assuming ignorance I pick up things I did not know.
It is counter-productive to me to pretend to be a “know it all.”  So often even if I know stuff I learn stuff I did not know, because I want to hear from others what they know.
The evidence of what I know is in doing not just knowing.
I will never forget a session I had with a specialist and I said, “I suppose you do this all the time.”  His response “Oh no, I just googled it.”  We both laughed because he did it all the time.  He had not just learned something but regularly did what he had learned.  That gave me confidence.
Having said that someone needs to start somewhere and for everything I do there is a first time.
I want that first time to be built on a solid foundation.  Looking foolish in learning is a price I am willing to pay, as it always reaps dividends for me and others.