Racism Still?

We are all different, that's a given!

Tony DeLorger © 2016

WTF! I took part in a focus group yesterday, is was about an advertising campaign for government projects. At one point we were to determine from about four different newspaper ads, which one was most suitable. The graphic was a male farmer passing a crate of freshly picked fruit to a market worker, and each picture had a different market worker: a young girl of Asian ethnicity, and older woman of European ethnicity, a young woman of Anglo ethnicity and a young man of Middle Eastern ethnicity.

In determining which was most appropriate, we had to discuss which would be more acceptable or relate-able to the general public and convey the simple suggestion of farm to market. I actually was stunned by most people, some dozen or so, who immediately related their decision making to ethnicity, and perhaps the political correctness or stereotyping of people to jobs.

I simply looked at the people and saw them all as Australians and thought for an ad a young girl was perhaps most appropriate for the equity of gender and youth being a statement of the country's future. Some thought the Asian looking girl was a political statement, some even relating China buying up so much of Australia made her a wrong choice, and the Middle Eastern man a perfect stereotype for the market worker. The older woman was simply too old to be working in a market and the young Anglo girl acceptable. My jaw hit the floor.

I was flabbergasted that every single person relied on labels to associate ethnicity to acceptability as far as the general public are concerned. Do all Australians think like this? Do we have to be a psychologist to make a decision about who appears in an ad? I'm so sick of ethnicity labels being used to determine everything in this, our multicultural society. Surely we can get over our differences, skin colors, backgrounds and live together without quoting us or them.

Looking at everyone as being different just separates us, rather than accepting those differences as just what we were born with and nothing more.

Pivotal

Tony DeLorger © 2016

The pivotal point must,
and always will be, perspective,
from where we see and know each place 
and manner in which truth abides,
before we twist it into delusion, 
before we color it with our expectations,
our predilections and wants.

Each one of us, a culmination 
of our beliefs, our sentient comfort,
expressed in terms of delusion,
to placate the unwanted, 
the hurt of imperfection, 
granted us all in our state of humanity;
the trick is to transcend our nature.

We must let go all the angst,
the expectations 
and deluded beliefs in suffering, 
for if it weren't for our perceived struggle,
struggle would not be,
just a chosen path in contiguous undulation,
learning always at the end, regardless.

Perception guides us through pain, 
misery and joy, each moment tagged,
and believed in experience,
yet without belief, what would we judge:
catastrophe, indifference, deepest love, ecstasy,
the choices ours alone,
therefore what we experience ours to alter.

With two hands open, let go,
with all being, in the knowledge
that what we allow ensues, 
what we see is not judged, 
and what we believe is not finite but in flux,
as is the very life we are, 
perspective the helm of our direction.

Soul Mates?

Do Soul Mates Exist?

By Tony DeLorger © 2016

The differences between men and woman are many, and in fact if you look at it objectively our perspectives and propensities point to an amalgam of balance. In other words together a man and a woman can make a perfect team, what one may lack the other provides, a partnership of profound success. And so, I believe it was meant to be, not just to procreate but to create a symmetry of ideas and viewpoints to find a successful and productive life together.

But is there another ,even more profound coming together of a man and an woman? Is there a perfect fit for a partnership in life. Is there such a thing as a 'soul mate'? When we find a partner, get married, have children and create a life together, we may perhaps refer to this person as your soul mate, as happiness and success infers. But do we really know? There may be a person walking the earth that is designed for us, a perfect other half on every level; but who would know?

So when you met your Mr or Mrs Right, did you fall in love as if you knew this person before, recognized them to be your one and only, your perfect soul mate? Was there a connection of the soul, a recognition that this person was meant for you and you for them? Or is this a figment of our imagination, and regardless, all relationships require hard work to maintain: sacrifice, understanding and patience. I personally have married three soul mates, or as I thought, and now I'm divorced from my three soul mates. Does this tell me something; perhaps that I'm a lousy husband, I'm not certain. Relationships, regardless of what we term them or our partners, requires work and a solid friendship that is the foundation of all relationships. Maintaining the rest requires effort. Life was never meant to be easy.

So, do 'soul mates' exist, and if so, have you found yours?

Poetry to make you think....

Slowly, Ever Slowly, Letting Go

Tony DeLorger © 2016

How confusing, life,

impenetrable causes, and we

running from ourselves,

when perspective waits,

a distant light, yet to be,

and knowledge a beacon

of what at some point,

this torn mind will see.

Wretched self, inadequate,

self persecution my indelible habit,

when I am no more,

no less than the rest,

squirming in self-loathing,

believing considerably,

I am the only one,

when life's begs to differ.

I swallow,

each one a piece of me to bury,

not honest,

just ashamed of the lies I tell,

the lullabies I sing myself to sleep,

placating all the truths I cannot bare,

for they assert my being, all I dare

to expose me, light me up.

At least then I'll sleep at night,

not live in purgatory’s hold,

where guilt and shame and loathing maim,

keep me from myself,

that moment yet come

that proclaims I am just me, the same,

and each one of us journeying in blind accord

with little faith in us.

Darkness falls too much,

begs complicity, retribution,

yet what have I done, to be so set upon,

when all I want is place,

to fit in this complex human race,

not feel cast aside, not having to run and hide,

just believe I belong here,

even with all these tears.

It is not light, it is not dark,

it is what it is, and I a part,

and pain just a moment passed,

lingering in memory not reality,

and so I breath deep, the earth entreats,

and beyond this pitiful plea,

there is light to be taken,

decided upon,

and what little else is there​​?

Shit Happens....But why does it always happen to me?

‘Shit happens...but why does it always happen to me?’

Or

‘Turning Struggle into Adventure’

by Tony DeLorger ©2016

‘Shit happens....but why does it always happen to me?’ How many times have we asked that question? We sometimes feel paranoid, singled out, and the butt of a joke that God himself has perpetrated. Sitting there on his cloud, waving his omnipotent finger at us- mere mortals with endless flaws, too many to consider let alone deal with. Then, randomly throwing lightning bolts into our complex lives, God screws up just about every damned thing we do. If God himself is against us, what hope have we got?

Life can look pretty damned dismal looking from that perspective. In fact, attributing our failures and misguided actions to anyone, including God, is our first mistake. Let me explain...

Isn’t it amazing that every time we get a little extra cash in our hand: bonus, tax return, whatever, the very next day a bill arrives. And wouldn’t you know it; it’s about the same amount. That little breathing space, that potential reward is torn from our hands, so close yet so far; so why is that?

When you think you struggle with bills, just make ends meet, never have enough for those little luxuries, that’s exactly what happens. You expected it, so that’s what you get. Simple: succinct, truth, reality.

So let’s get back to our question...’Shit happens...but why does it always happen to me?’ It happens, because that’s what we expect, its how we think, and it’s our rotten, stinking attitudes. So who can we blame? Who’s gonna take the wrap for this one? Yep, you got it- we’re to blame, lock, stock and smoking barrel.

You see the answer is simple, but often simplicity escapes our attention. We live such frantic and stressful lives that it’s not easy to gain a broad perspective. Instead we live in a cocoon of security and safety and see little of what’s really happening around us. The fact is that ‘how we think and what we think’ shapes our lives in extraordinary detail. Our very circumstance, our income, our standard of living, friendships, relationships, our entire day to day life is a result of our own thinking, one way or another. And this is no esoteric hypothesis, this is a fact that you can easily prove for yourself. Today, I’m going to show you how.

Are your heads starting to spin? I can see a few interesting expressions out there. ‘God, my thinking must really suck!’ ‘There must be someone else I can blame?’ ‘Who the hell is this guy?’

So who am I, you may ask? Who am I that I can simply hand you this seemingly implausible revelation?

Personally I’m a very inquisitive person, I like to know how things work, and more importantly I’m open, open to new concepts, to change and I creatively aspire to understand more about this life journey we all share.

I’ve worked in advertising, sales, marketing and management; I’m a qualified hypnotherapist, a graphic designer, a professional artist, a musician, a novelist, a poet and a motivational speaker. I’ve studied all of the above as well as Iridology, Reflexology, and Numerology, practised as a psychic medium and taught meditation and spiritual development. All this was in pursuit of the truth, about life, how we think and perceive our world and how we can make it better, for ourselves and those around us. I’ve been married three times, had five children and presently have three Grandchildren... And that was all before lunch!

My unique experiences bring to the table ‘understanding’ from a vast and diverse pool of knowledge, information and practises that I have used and proven to work over a long period of time. In 2007 I first published my book entitled ‘The Code,’ in which I constructed a simple, easy to follow course in life skills that could both inspire people, and change their lives for the better. This is based on that course.

Back to our task- So how the hell did we get this way? Why are we living a life that we apparently have control over, yet give ourselves such a hard time? Why?

Our negative thinking and attitudes are created by conditioning, what we have already experienced. Whether good of bad, conditioning creates bias. When at first we respond to something in a certain way, when a similar circumstance arises again, we tend to remember consciously or subconsciously, and repeat the response. Given enough repetition we can create a pathway or ‘groove’ in our brain (metaphorically speaking, of course). So when a circumstance arises, and a response is required, we tend to go straight back to the old response, slide down that groove to a response not even really considered. It’s simply a bad habit.

I remember my Grandmother when I was a kid, still convinced that the Japanese were taking over Australia some 40 years after the war. She was completely racist, so entrenched with bias and memories of WW2, she couldn’t let go of the thinking. I remember walking down the street with her when a hapless Asian would pass by. She would give them the death look and mumble some disparaging comment under her breath. It was rather embarrassing at the time. 

So when that bill arrives and your salary isn’t paid for another fortnight, and you start worrying about paying it, you are adding to the construction of a groove, an expectation that all bills will be difficult to pay. So if you do that often enough your thinking creates that scenario, tying you to that negative circumstance.

And isn’t it amazing, no matter how we worry and stress about these kinds of issues they all get resolved in the end, every day the sun keeps rising and we’re still standing here wondering why we keep putting ourselves through this torture. Of course paying bills is just an example. Any repeated worry about anything can create and keep perpetuating a negative circumstance.

It’s just habit, and we humans are habitual beings. Ironically it makes us feel secure, knowing what’s going to happen, repeating the known. But I ask you, is this the kind of security we really want? I don’t think so.

All we want is to be happy, isn’t it? So what is happiness? I think this is an apt definition... ‘Happiness is a feeling of self-assuredness in our ability to cope and a positive demeanour that is both the result of practice and an appreciation of what we have in life, regardless of money, status, success or circumstance.’ The stark reality is that ‘Happiness is not the result of anything, it is simply a DECISION ’.

Most of us are slaves to the thought that we need something to make us happy, a new job, a car, the latest TV, a new relationship, winning the Lotto, whatever. The truth is that although these things may make our lives easier in some way, they don’t make us happy, that alone is our decision, (pause) and that decision is made regardless of anything else.

You see it all depends how we view things, how we perceive the world. As I understand it there are two basic mentalities... ‘The Survivor’ and ‘The Victim’. The survivor sees the glass half-full and regards obstacles in life as simply challenges. The victim sees the glass half-empty and regards obstacles as the world and everything in it, picking on them. Again, which one you choose to be is up to you. But considering now you know how your thinking can affect your life, do you think the victim’s negative reinforcement and self-propagation is going to make life better? Perhaps not!

We spend so much effort on how we present ourselves, our clothing, the car we drive, our connections, our possessions, yet the very thing that creates all these things is completely disregarded... OUR THINKING.

So, in order to change your life for the better some decisions have to be made, some very simple decisions and perhaps a shift of focus that can absolutely transform you. Now let’s get back to our conditioning.

So, how do we overcome this negative conditioning and start thinking our way to an easier more enjoyable life? How do we turn ‘STRUGGLE INTO ADVENTURE’? Well, congratulations, you’ve all just passed the first requirement... ‘Knowing that this thinking problem exists’.

Remember, we created this life of ours, with all its biases and rotten thinking. Imagine if we could turn all that around and transform negative thinking and attitudes into positive ones. How much better would our lives be? Hell, we could be sipping French Champagne on a yacht in the Mediterranean, or climbing Mount Everest or in fact any damned thing you want... there are no limits. Do you think the universe gives a damn whether or not you’re wealthy or poor; that’s up to you. You can have exactly what you want and all it takes is a little work. And let’s face it, you’re working, but maybe not getting the results you really want.

‘Oh, and if by chance you’re sitting there thinking that you are happy and have everything you want in life, then your in the wrong place. ‘HAPPY POEPLE WITH EVERYTHING’ stop reading!

At this point I want to tell you a bit about me and my personal experience, because my journey will demonstrate even better how this process works and how it can change your life.

I was an only child growing up in the southern suburbs of Sydney in the 50’s. My parents relationship was always tenuous, my father with his infidelity and my mother’s denial of it to protect me, until one of my father’s women got pregnant. My mother had a nervous breakdown and was hospitalised. When she returned home nothing was ever the same. I remember as a little kid lying in bed watching a mouse near the fridge in the kitchen, the muted but hostile voices of my parents fighting in the lounge room almost every night.

My father suffered from clinical depression but back then it was never diagnosed. He had great jobs but would throw them away through anger, a sideways glance from a boss or some ridiculous principle in his mind. I was 18 when my father decided to leave. The surprise was delivered to my mother during Christmas lunch with all her family present. He was going to be with his long lost girlfriend at 14. Ironically it was also my mother’s birthday.

Being an only child and from that day my mother smothered me with her emotional needs and abandonment issues until I too abandoned her, to save myself. I got married at 21, and had a baby within a year. My little daughter died at 4 months after 8 life threatening surgeries and a journey that defied understanding. I couldn’t go into a hospital for 3 years after that.

My marriage quickly broke down, too much to deal with at that age. So I fell in love with my best friend’s wife, as you do, and took on her child as well as eventually having two of our own. My mother then developed breast cancer and by the time she admitted it to herself, the tumour weighed almost 2 kilos. After radical surgery and a small remission the cancer went to her liver and she died within 3 months. Escaping my raggedy life I left Sydney to start over and within 9 months my wife ran off with one of my friends, deciding not to be a parent any more. I lost a house, a recording studio business and went back to Sydney with all the kids and with my tail between my legs.

I wrote radio and TV commercials and soon fell in love with my children’s nanny, as you do. Within two years I married and had two more children. My father then succumbed to lung cancer, with cancer of the brain thrown in. After burying him I then escaped Sydney again, and moved to Adelaide for a quieter life. After settling into a new job and finding the expectations and stress of it all too much to bear, I collapsed. One morning I simply couldn’t move and that scared the hell out of me. That was my first major panic attack.

Not long after I was diagnosed with what’s known as ‘Double Depression’- Dysthymia, a long term low grade depression and cyclical Clinical Depression. I had experienced this disorder from around the age of eighteen and didn’t know it- over thirty five years. The news brought many things into light and explained some of my responses over the years. This experience has taught me a lot and the treatments and therapies I have since been through, have helped me to understand a great deal about how we all think and what can result because of it.

When my psychiatrist suggested that I write down in chronological order what I felt to be crisis points or traumas in my life, I thought nothing of it. That is until I read the list. I guess we all feel that life is as it should be and relatively normal, for us. Perhaps I was wrong.

So, let’s get down to tin tacks. Being aware of your thought processes is certainly the beginning of discovering how you think and the attitudes you have adopted and why.

Depression is a deceptive and insidious illness that alters the very thought processes we’ve been talking about. So my journey is a fitting and probably extreme example, to demonstrate to you how thinking can affect us and how we can learn to turn that thinking around.

Having depression, anxiety and being over stressed takes a tremendous toll on our minds and bodies. The brain, in a state of chemical imbalance, produces mood swings that can all but tear us apart. Feelings of failure, inadequacy, lethargy and abject helplessness can overwhelm us completely and render us non-functioning on a daily basis.

Initially, I was on the couch for about two years, slowly and thoroughly dealing with all the emotional baggage I was carrying. I hadn’t seen it as that, but we all accept our lives as being normal, what else do we know? I just wasn’t aware of the toll this had taken on me. The therapy I received was CBT or ‘Cognitive Behavioural Therapy’ Best explained by this- Remember the grooves in our brains- formed by habitual experience?

Under the blanket of depression it follows- You experience something that connects to a similar past experience; the feelings associated come to the surface and you slowly slide down that groove until you are overwhelmed, reliving the trauma of the original negative experience. The reasoning and understanding that CBT perpetuates, puts into perspective and thus desensitises the original experience so that the negative feelings dissipate, therefore disconnecting the experience from a habitual response.

So when a like experience reappears, instead of those feelings rising up, you can deal with the present in a new and pragmatic way, and not go off on some emotional tangent.

But even with medication and years of CBT, I still found instances where I went down into a depressive episode for anywhere between a week and three months at a time. I could not work; sometimes not even get out of bed. My life and my marriage were in tatters. It wasn’t until I learnt about MBCT or ‘Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy’ that my life truly changed.

This is a process of meditation techniques that teach you to be mindful of the thought process and to remain in the present, not drift into past or worry about the future. For me, this was the clincher! ‘I didn’t have to have a depressive episode’.

Sounds simple, but I’d always thought that depression was something that occasionally took hold and I was helpless under its influence. I could reduce its affects and live with it, but not having it at all was beyond my realm of understanding. I was so wrong. I just didn’t understand the power of thought.

Since that day and the course that followed, years ago, I have not had one depressive episode. On a daily basis I can feel my brain chemistry change and I still have to take medication, and occasionally it can have a physical affect on me, with symptoms of fatigue, or lethargy. I know a few simple techniques that keep me on track and I’ve learned to physically work through these symptoms and ignore their deception. And when I exercise, in no time at all I feel energised again.

So let me give you the concept. Let’s turn ‘Struggle into Adventure’.

Being aware that our negative thinking and attitudes make our lives less than perfect, we can now focus on changing those negatives to positives. First catch yourself going down those grooves, those pathways to outmoded attitudes and responses and treat every experience in the ‘now’ as if for the first time. If you feel your thinking wonder, into past, future- pull yourself back by focussing on the present, your physical feelings at that moment, what you see, what you can smell etc. This exercise grounds you and attaches you to the present.

Mindfulness keeps you away from old thinking habits and free from bias and negative attitudes. The more you practice the easier it becomes and you’ll learn a lot about who you really are and how you became to be, and the old thinking that has held you back. ‘Living in the present’ is not a new concept but one that can enliven your appreciation for life and enrich your experiences by making your life easier. And isn’t that what we want, a happier less stressful life.

It all sounds simplistic, but that is the unmitigated truth. If we are aware of how we got to where we are, then if we wish to change something, we can, by the same process of thinking that first got us there. Simply changing negatives to positives isn’t all that difficult when you know how it will change your life.

The concept of ‘thinking to physical manifestation’ or ‘your thoughts creating circumstance’ is a simple one that psychiatry is only now beginning to recognise. The ‘placebo’ medication is a perfect example of the power of belief. If we are in control of our thoughts- not clouded and out of control thoughts, but calm and decisive ones, anything is possible. That’s why meditation is a useful practice. It allows us to calm our thinking and to have more control of our thoughts. When that is achieved, what we want and think about comes to us quickly and without difficulty- our lives completely changed.

Apart from the process of our thinking there is one more concept that needs attention and that is the concept of ‘Balance’. Everything in life, both physically and mentally, exists in a state of balance. In other words if something is out of balance, there is a consequence and an ultimate return to balance. Albert Einstein came up with that one.

The consequence is the one we’re all familiar with, to get back to the example- getting that bill after the extra cash. The worrying creates imbalance, the bill arrives to return the circumstance to balance. Like wise if you believed that you would always have extra cash, then you would have, and all would remain in balance without consequence. I know it’s hard to believe, but don’t take my word for it. Try it and discover the truth.

So, how we get through each day, how we respond and deal with work, friends, neighbours, family and everyone and everything in our lives has a profound impact on our own circumstance. Negative responses come back to us in negative ways to restore balance. And of course Positive responses bring positive circumstances as a consequence. And I’m not talking about morality here; this is simply science, a ‘universal law’ if you like.

Even with the disadvantage of suffering from Clinical Depression, it is possible to not only overcome the symptoms but live a productive and successful life. This is achieved by understanding how the world works and how our thinking dictates our circumstance.

We are the Master of our journey, forging a life that reflects our attitudes and thinking. There may well be an omnipotent being who has set this earthly stage for us, but I believe it is we who command our daily lives. It is not ‘what we do, but how we do it’ that is important.

So, if you are unhappy in any way with your circumstance, then modify your thinking and you can overcome any obstacle, and have exactly what you want in life. Struggle then becomes obsolete and life becomes an adventure, where anything at all is possible.

Love and Spirituality

Watching Words

Tony DeLorger © 2016

How true, 

the passing fancies of thought,
as they stroke the mind's intent,
as if truth unveiled, 
displayed complete,
giving them soul enough 
for memory to keep.

Thoughts flow like streams, 
often rapids of bubbling disarray, 
yet truth finds way to clarity, 
the foaming crust a momentary illusion
and rise those words of reality,
to quench minds
and steal hearts without formality.

I sit perfectly still,
and watch words and thoughts congregate above,
like clouds seeded they aspire,
to drench my mind in love, and 
draw me to understand,
to further seek my destined path,
and be savored in meaning, a righteous intent,
with no stain or aftermath.

The Art of Happiness

By Tony DeLorger © 2016

Here is a useful saying-

‘Happiness is not the result of anything, it is a decision.’

Most of us become a slave to the thought that we need something to make us happy. It may be money, the right job, a relationship, the latest TV, power or whatever, but the reality is that none of these things will make us happy. We choose to be happy or not, regardless of the circumstance.

Certain advantages in life may make our life easier, but don’t confuse that with happiness. It is usually some crisis in life, losing someone close, or having a major heath problem that forces us to gain a new perspective about what is really important. This new appreciation of family and loved ones, our health or circumstance can help us to redefine the concept of happiness.

‘Happiness is a feeling of self-assuredness, confidence in your ability to cope and a positive demeanor that is both the result of practice and an appreciation of what we have, regardless of money, status, success or circumstance.’

Always presented as some ‘Mystical Art’, happiness is simply an expression of a positive attitude about life. There is no great secret here, no deep and complex process to attain happiness, just a shift in attitude and an understanding about how the world works.

It is not easy to smile when you are overwhelmed with troubles, and indeed you don’t have to. We human beings are afforded a range of emotions and we should experience them all. But what is important is that there is always light, even in the darkest place. There is always hope, and pain will eventually subside with time. Being positive about your life and your place in it, will pull you through anything that life can deal out. ‘It’s not what happens to us that is important, but how we deal with it’.

Again the concept of balance is important to recognize. The more positive we are the more we will attract positive circumstance. Inversely, the more negative we are the more we will attract that circumstance. It’s a matter of balance and an understanding of the mechanics of our actions.

So don’t try to become happy, if that’s not the way you feel. Endeavor to become positive with everything you think, say and do and happiness will find you, as sure as the sun rises.

When under a shroud of uncertainty and being overwhelmed with negative circumstances, simply accept the challenge and alter your thinking. Negativity got you into this mess, and Positivity will get you out of it, one step at a time. We must learn from our mistakes and at some point admit that our attitudes need to change.

This is a simple truth that can change your life.

Where's a Prime Minister of Substance?

Tony DeLorger © 2016

The latest polls tell a story, but I think that Turnbull's outstanding figures are more about Shorten's failing than Turnbull's success. Bill Shorten is probably the worst leader of any party in the history of Australian politics. He is naive, clueless, can't speak to save himself, and watching him is like a boat sinking. He appears to know nothing, express nothing, just some negative swipes that his writers no doubts scribbled down in hast. He is the most ineffectual politician in decades.

So when the polls reveal his oh so devastating stats, it is expected. But Turnbull's approval rating surely is more about a non viable alternative rather that his popularity. Turnbull has been riding the coat-tails of his predecessor as most of what has transpired since his coup was of Abbott's making, Malcolm in all his humility, happy to accept the accolades.

Malcom Turnbull is a puppet and pretender, with far more confidence than ability, far more guile than savvy and in the end, his ego and arrogance a dangerous combination to an Australia in a political stalemate. Labour is gone, not even worth a mention, yet voting for the coalition retains the leadership of Turnbull, who in the end has no real affiliation with the Liberal Party, his interest the top job alone, and he didn't care how he got there or which party would help him.

This man is not a PM, just another self-serving poli with the ability to well and truly have a negative impact on this country's economy and even worse, ruffle the feathers of global concern by big-noting himself in the global community. He may be a puppet of Obama's presidency, but look how screwed the US is; our alliance, necessary, our opinions say-so in a global sense.

Where's a Prime Minister of substance, of humility and a patriot of this great nation?

Holding On To Our Identity

Tony DeLorger © 2016

How Australia is changing, and may I say bluntly, not for the better. Born in the early fifties my growing up was a perfect upbringing: I had so much freedom, spent half my days in the bush, the natural world which I absolutely loved. Back then everything was so easy, so laid-back and carefree.

This is my understanding of the Aussie ethos: we are a tough, hard-working lot, easy going and always fair, willing to give a bloke a go. We love and protect our women and families and although with a sometimes rugged facade, we have hearts and are prideful of our way of life. Sure we might be rough around the edges, we may curse, drink too much and say it with a slap, but we are accepting and if you do right by us, we do right by you.

In the early days, when both Italian and Greek immigrants graced our shores, we gave it to them, made fun in our own inimitable way, but those immigrants learned of our sense of humour, and have assimilated into our culture and now are true Aussies who love this country like the rest of us. In fact the Anglos have probably adopted just as much of their culture as they have of ours. But now we're all in it together and we stick up for one another, as is our way.

So what's happened over the twenty to thirty years that seems to have changed the landscape here in the burnt country? In a nutshell, I believe there are some cultures that prohibit assimilation, especially to a laid-back society like Australia. We're the bronzed ones, love our casual , informal life, our beaches our sport and telling it like it is. When a culture is not open, is so different from ours and these people wish to become Australians, two things have to happen. One, they have to adopt our cultural identity, and accept our ethos as theirs, otherwise there will be no assimilation. Two, they have to blend in, adopt our clothing, our housing and our way of life, otherwise they will just create enclaves of their race or religion and literally divide society.

There is no prejudice her, or religious intolerance, just the simple fact that if people want to live in this Christian, English speaking nation, they are free to practice whatever religion they like, but they must assimilate, be one of us and not separate themselves for any reason. That is against all of our beliefs. So, are our latest immigrants from the middle east and parts of Europe, willing to become Australians? I don't think so. The nature of their culture and religion prohibits assimilation and therefore they will cause problems, dividing the very society that with open arms has embraced them.

Many Muslim men because of the dress codes of their native women, can't expect Aussie women to be the same, yet, they see our openness as a slur on our integrity and worse, see women as sexual prey, their openness an invitation. Recent happenings in Germany are prime examples, when hundred of Syrian refugees surrounded several woman and molested them, taunted them, called them names like 'sluts' and all but raped them on a railway platform. This open denigration of any woman is an absolute affront to any thinking culture, and this kind of behaviour cannot be tolerated. There have been many assaults here in Australia by Muslim men, who think they have the right to mistreat women, for their our pleasure and amusement.

So I say to you, how can we accept these people regardless of circumstance, when their culture tells them something very different about women, their place in society and their value as human beings. Surely, knowing this, we cannot allow any people, who will not assimilate into our culture, free passage into this great nation. Some cultures just won't blend with our Aussie way of life. And we want to preserve it, not flush it down the toilet.

Malcolm, the Solver of Global Problems

Tony DeLorger © 2016

Give a Prime Minister who gained power through deceit and manipulation, not by vote, the opportunity to play international diplomat, voicing his oh so experienced opinion on how the problems of the world should be addressed, well he really is an embarrassment.

Uncalled for and grossly inappropriate, our glorious leader has espoused the solution to both Syria and Iraq's problems. He suggests a partition in both countries as a solution to a lasting peace. In other words divide lands up between the Sunni and Shia Muslims and Kurds and all will be at peace, just like that. Oh his selfless wisdom is overwhelming. Of course this land division would be controlled by one federal system and thus will immediately halt all sectarian violence.

He must be right as these imaginary lines, boarders, would truly keep these religious factions from contention after thousands of years of hatred, just by being there. Of course this idea was first suggested by Joe Biden, now vice president, back in 2006 as a solution in Iraq, and is believed to be a popular solution in the US for these regions. Funny about that? I wonder what Turnbull can see, so far up the backside of president Obama?

'Did I do good again, Barack?' I hear echoing in my head. Yes a partition is a wise move Malcolm, and who will get the best land, perhaps the best views, and will the land be equal, who will decide: Obama.

My God, Malcolm Turnbull is a flea irritating a water buffalo. Not a single thought of originality, just a broad mirroring of his chum Barack, while the world looks at him and wonders who the hell he is, and what right does he have to propose anything to a world audience, let alone in the middle east. Oh, Malcolm, you are a legend in your own lunchtime, such an embarrassment!

This is one of his typical pictures. What if anything is going on in his skull. He's not really sure, but he does do a rather good impersonation of a parrot.

The Alliance: based on what?

Tony DeLorger © 2016

Released by the Liberal party, while PM is with Obama in Washington DC. A bit of fluff for the believers.

'Our alliance is founded not just on national self-interest, not just on economics or kinship, but on shared values.

We define our national identities by reference to common political values of freedom, the rule of law, democracy -- real democracy, which empowers the majority, but constrains them so as to protect the minority.'

How sweet! I would say with both politicians that alliance may be founded on self-interest, not national self-interest.

Lets talk about Turnbull. His family all past communist or socialists, and he originally a labour politician. He wished to become Prime Minister and didn't care which party he belonged to, and so he picked the party most likely to win power and thus became a Liberal. This man doesn't represent Liberal policy, he represents himself and now that he has stolen the top job and not been voted in, he will do anything to achieve his own goals, not that of our nation. This man is not to be trusted. He's a pretender and arrogant enough to cause a lot of damage.

So many Australians don't know what to do, as a vote for their party gets Turnbull as leader, and a vote for labour gets Bill Shorten, the most inept politician ever to grace a political leadership. So where and how do we vote, considering the flow of preferences. The Australian public are caught between a rock and a hard place, unless the libs can restore the leadership back to Abbott. We have a rocky road ahead in Australian politics. God Help us!

Happiness is....

In Each Others Eyes

Tony DeLorger © 2016

We two upon the knoll did sit,
while birds attest two souls as one,
and heavens gaze in gracious grin,
applaud love's afferent beguiling sun;
and we, so lost in each others eyes.

In melodic rhymes of passionate verse,
with words so tender of heartfelt notes,
each to the other commits to nurse,
this cradled love in life devote;
and we, so lost in each others eyes.

The sun it warms that very knoll,
where worlds fall away and hearts do meld,
the gentle hum of time's recall,
preserves these moments with doubt dispelled;
and we, so lost in each others eyes.

As time decides to quaff this sanguine spell,
and lay upon a slumber bed and still,
the world is but this tender knoll, alone,
no other moment exists until fulfilled;
and we, so lost in each others eyes.

In touch we two find rapturous release,
while angels moved in gleeful grace,
and moments woven in golden peace,
embraced by wings of softest lace,
and we, so lost in each others eyes.