Terry

A friend of mine died yesterday (30th december 2006). He now shares his death day with my dear Great Granny Esme. I wondered if he arrived on that day by chance or if she was there at the portal waiting for him. I hope her, my Grandpa and Spikey (our dearly beloved and departed foxie) with his waving stump tail were all there waiting to greet and settle him.

I feel all mixed up sadness for the suffering and the loss, but happy the suffering is over and now he and his family can begin the healing.

He and his wife and family gave me many precious gifts. The first one is that they both appreciated my visits and my doctoring. I didn't do much - mostly held his hand and told him to enjoy and get complete with his life. The gift for me was realising how just being their doctor, not doing anything was a comfort. He didn't say much his last two weeks - but whenever I went to sit with him be would give me a big smile. I brought him some pleasure, even if it was only a few seconds, just by being there.

The second gift they unknowingly gave me is the chance to further heal and come to terms with the suffering my own grandpa and family went through back in March when he died.

I am honoured and grateful for the chance to have met and known Terry, my secret favourite patient this year.

Latest Itinerary

So - where the hell am I? It has taken me a while to update this blog as I circumnavigated the planet in 3 weeks ( my newest nickname is Kimeas Fogg) and my head and heart took a little longer to arrive than my body.

I left London at the end of July. I worked in the Falklands for 3 months, then I took an extended holiday. I went to Chile, Argentina, the Falklands, London, Adelaide, Tasmania, Sydney and now I have arrived back in the Falklands. I was due to do a 3 month volunteer post in Fiji as doctor on a diving conservation project and 10 days before my arrival date there was a coup in Fiji.

It seems I love this Timbob enough to have manifested military unrest in Fiji so that I was "forced" to return to my love.. The pic os of us on chrsitmas day. Now I am here regrouping, resting and planning the next step. So watch this spot...

Over a spontaneous and quick coffee with Sunil's Dad I was reminded of a very important point when I was bemoaning the last minute change in my plans. God is not testing me - he is simply showing me who I am.

Indian Princess

A maori christmas concert, a gatecrashed Jewish wedding and a Sikh/Hindu wedding all in one week.. talk about gorging on culture.. but then again - isn't that what christmas is about? Gorging on food, presents, booze, family and friends and any other delicious thing you can lay your hands on..

Sunil and Jasveen's wedding in Adelaide was really special - a 5 day celebration with many extravagant and gorgeous events. I really felt like I was at an event of royalty.

I went to the wedding with one question that has been playing on my mind. How do you keep the relationship, the love and sex fresh after years of marriage? The answer came for me out of the Sikh ceremony. It is simple and elegant - we regenerate the joy and newness everyday with the knowingness that the relationship is actually finite - it ends when we die.

This is not a vulgar or morbid thought - but a comfort. One thing we are certain of in this life is that we are going to die. In our culture we don't really like to think about death - we'd rather pretend it is not there - but as it is the only certainty we have in this life it should be the one thing we ponder over A LOT.

The truth is - our special relationships probably never finish - but when we leave this world they certainly change as we know them - and then no doubt there will be other issues to deal with other than boredom!

The Hindu wedding was colourful, crazy and chaotic - but also one of the most beautiful ceremonies I have ever seen. The words, rituals and blessings were so lovely. They chose each other with their heart, mind and soul as a dear loving spouse. They were mindful of God being present in all. They prayed for nourishment, success, to perform their duties well, for mutual happiness, the well being of all creatures, prosperity and the blessings of their elders and teachers. Jasveen was given a necklace and some saaris by Sunil to symbolise him protecting and providing for her.

Long live the bridal couple!