When he wins a battle, the warrior celebrates

When he wins a battle, the warrior celebrates.

This victory has cost him anxious moments, nights racked with doubt, endless days of waiting. Since ancient times, celebrating a triumph has been part of the ritual of life itself: celebration is a rite of passage.

His companions see the warrior of light's joy and think: 'Why is he doing that? He might be disappointed in his next battle. He might draw down on himself the wrath of his enemy.'

But the warrior knows why he is celebrating. He is savouring the best gift that victory can bring: confidence.

He celebrates yesterday's victory in order to gain more strength for tomorrow's battle.

From the Manual of Warrior of Light by Paulo Coelho - (more here).

The above passage now makes me realise why we should celebrate our little successes and achievements - it is not just about celebrating the victory!!

Jenny - she has just been presented with 2006 Aus Flag Bearer Recognition Trophy (Macau 2006 - a story for another day) - Kawana - 23 Apr 2009 (picasa)
Hard to believe that 12 months has almost gone by since the 2009 AusDBF National Dragon Boat Titles at Kawana. As we go through the final selection process and complete our final training sessions, I guess it is a good time to reflect on past experiences.

We did have a great time at the 2009 Nationals and it was fantastic that Jenny was with us. The day before we flew to the Sunshine coast, Jenny had her 5th cycle of fortnightly treatment (chemo and another drug, Avastin) and was still able to paddle for her State and Club over the Regatta. She did experience numerous visual migraines at night, which a month later would be diagnosed as being caused by a 4cm brain tumor. She also worried that the tumors in her liver would cause painful cramping in her stomach, but this did not occur while she was paddling.

Jenny, Geoff and Joanne - State - Kawana - 23 Apr 2009 (picass)

Jenny, Jo and Geoff - 200m Men's and Women's Tropy's - Breakfree Resort/Caloundra - 26 Apr 2009 (picasa)

The following is a small photo essay of the "9 from 9" effort by my club, the Pacific Dragons. This result was never expected and we took it one race at a time. Each day the Women's Crew would put the race of a lifetime on the water in the final and somehow come across the line first. This then put the pressure on the Men's crew to do the same. A few strategic words, a couple of calming and distracting jokes, and the moving story of brave little Tommy , from Gav would get us on the water to do the best we could. The rest is now history.

Gav gave Eugene (my seat 1 partner) and myself, the great honour of receiving the last club trophy to be presented at the Regatta. It was an amazing moment for Eugene and I, as we held aloft the Gold Medals and 200m Open's Winning Trophy. The assembled Australian Dragon Boat Community stood and applauded the amazing and historic achievement of our club, the Pacific Dragons. I had never seen anything like it and was humbled by the genorosity of spirit the Australian Dragon Boat community displayed that day to our Coaches, Teams, and Club.

All the best to every competing at the 2010 AusDBF National Dragon Boat Championships in Adelaide over the Anzac Weekend. Look forward to some great racing and catching up with many friends, and hopefully making some new friends on and off the water.

See you in Adelaide. Jenny's Spirit and Memory will be with us. She Guides and Inspires us from Above.

PD's Premier Open 200m Final - Kawana - Sun 26 Apr 2010 (picasa)

Premier Opens 200m Final - AusDBF 2009 National Dragon Boat Champs - Kawana/Qld - Sun 26 Apr 2009 (at youtube by warwick27au)

The smile says it all - "9 from 9" - tidying up the Cox Vox cable after the Premier Open 200m Final - Anne would ask me to come and celebrate with the Team off the water - Kawana - Sun 26 Apr 2009 (picasa)

Eugene and Geoff - Premier Open 200m Presentation - "PD's - nine from nine !! - I did not really want this weekend to end as I kind of knew the end was beginning to start (Editors: An End has a Start)." - Kawana - Sun 26 Apr 2009 (picasa)

The Australian Dragon Boat Community acknowledging Pacific Dragons "9 from 9" - Kawana - Sun 26 Apr 2009 (picasa)

Lost in the Crowd - Kawana - Sun 26 Apr 2009 (picasa)

PD's Premier Open Men - After Party Celebration - Kawana - Sun 26 Apr 2010 (picasa)

Pacific Dragons - After Party Celebration - Kawana - Sun 26 Apr 2010 (picasa)

The Orange Wave - Gav Crowd Surfing - Just go with it Gav - After Party Celebration - Kawana - Sun 26 Apr 2010 (picasa)

Joanne, Helen, Jenny and Nicola - After Party Celebration - Kawana - Sun 26 Apr 2010 (picasa)

Joanne, Jenny and Geoff - After Party Celebration - Kawana - Sun 26 Apr 2010 (picasa)


Vale Jenny Petterson - picasaweb - A Pocketful of Sequins - PD's Tribute (picasa)

2013 Auroras Flag Bearer Speech - Joanne Petterson - Australian Team Dinner / Gyor / Hungary (Sun 21 Jul 2013)

Introducing Joanne Petterson: Your 2013 Auroras Flag Bearer
A Tribute to Joanne and all those who have supported her in paddling and life - Love Geoff (*)
Gyor / Hungary (Sun 21 Jul 2013)
I would just like to say how honoured and proud I am to be representing you as the Australian Flag Bearer.

I love this sport and am very passionate about it and have been fortunate to witness many opening ceremonies and I still can't believe I have been given this honour to carry the flag.

I have been involved in the Australian squads since 2003 and have been fortunate enough to have been included in many great teams and squads, and have met many wonderful people over the years.

Each Aus Sqaud experience has been memorable for all different reasons and we are now making more memories together which we will reminisce over for years to come.

I have loved this time in Gyor and it was so nice to see how good all the divisions looked on the water and how each of the divisions supported each other.

We have all trained hard and put in a lot of work and we are now ready to face the rest of the world, so what is important now is what goes on in your head.

Some things I have learnt over the years are:

1. Trust and believe in yourself, your team mates, coaches and managers knowing we have done everything required.

2. Work together as a team and a squad on and off the water and support each other.

3. Go hard and don't hold back.

4. Focus on doing your best possible race rather than focusing on the result.

5. Be positive and be brave - you can go harder than you thought was possible and your body will be able to do it.

From my experience, I have seen it time and time again, not just in paddling but in life, keep a positive attitude even when things become tougher than you could possibly imagine, as anything is possible.

I know this to be true and I have witnessed many great moments in this sport and through that have realised as the German crew said to us after a Final at the 2009 World Championships "you made the impossible, possible".

I often remember a comment one of my coaches said as we huddled together in a circle after our last race together at the 2009 World Championships. He said "look around at each of your team mates, this will be the last time this team will race together". So saviour the moment.

I'd like to wish everyone well in Szeged, go hard, be strong both physically and mentally, be brave, but most of all have fun, these are all memories we are making together which will last a lifetime.

On the Beauty of Photography - Spencer Lum (Mon 07 Jan 2012)

Green / CAMO - Alexandria (Mon 16 Dec 2012)
Spencer Lum (*) writes On the Beauty of Photography (*):

The question isn’t what looks good.

The question is what fits.

Are you building something?

Are you filtering through what works and what doesn’t and packing your pictures with connotation?

Or just showing what’s there?

In the simplest terms, get rid of the bad and keep the good.

You can spend a lifetime deciding on just what that means.

And that’s the beauty of photography.

The key is just to keep making those decisions.

via Say what you mean and mean what you say (*) by Spencer Lum (*).

Always making decisions here. It's part of the attraction of doing what happens here. I look back over the four years of photos here and sometimes I shake my head at what I see. I look at it and say to myself, it was the right decision (or maybe the only decision) to make at the time. In some ways it makes me realise how much I have done and learnt. So while I might shake my head, there are no regrets.

On Anger - Rebecca Propst

Untitled - Busan (Fri 07 Sep 2012)

Rebecca Propst on Anger:

Anybody can become angry – that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way – that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.

via Fear of Anger and Avoidance of Conflict by Rebecca Propst.

Have learnt much about anger recently. Thought anger was a futile emotion, but it much more complex than that, as the above quote indicates. If it's there, it's generally there for a reason. It needs to be acknowledged, addressed and can't be harboured for longer than necessary. It takes great strength and emotional intelligence to confront and deal with.

I've been angry when I should not have been, and not angry when I should have been. And there have been many times when I was entitled to be angry.

The difficult emotions and actions around anger are something I've tried to avoid for a lifetime. When it was unavoidable, it usually resulted in a pent up and regretable response. So now knowing a little more helps. As I was told recently:

Know more, Do more, Be more

The Archive: A Legacy for the Future - Shooting Wide Open (Tue 21 Oct 2014)

Street Art (*) - Chippendale (Tue 15 Apr 2014)
Jin (*) writes on the Archive (*):

It comforts me a bit that even if nobody pays attention to my work [..] during my lifetime, there might be a place for it in an archive. It is a humble end, but I find the prospect of being stored for future sifting by researchers or scholars immensely appealing.

via On archives (*) by Shooting Wide Open (*).

I suppose this blog (*) will be my archive, my legacy, if there was to be a legacy, along with a beautiful old house (*), just maybe. And of course there is archive.org (*) - elj-daily (*) and GUERL (*). Amazing looking back at all of this just now. I've forgotten so much. What I do remember is how exciting it was to be connecting to people from all over the world. These were the early days of the World Wide Web and somehow I was part of it.

For a Moment, Forever .. To be an Aurora - eljeiffel (Wed 19 Aug 2015)

A Moment - Before, During and After - Racice / Czech Republic (Sat 29 Aug 2009)

For a Moment .. You think, you dream, you are inspired and you decide to go for the Team. You plan, you flex, you push, you pull, you metal, you shuffle, you kettle, you stand and paddle, and jump a few hurdles, and suddenly, you've made the Team, the first stage of a dream. You smile for a while, but you know it is only the first mile. You train, you strain, you pain, you drain, you gain, you laugh, you try, you cry, you learn, you create capacity and experiences, and build motion, connections and emotions for a Moment that seems so far off. You desire, you aspire, you perspire, time transpires and suddenly the Moment is there just in front of you, just there waiting for you to decide and respond as only you know how to. May you seize this Moment just ahead. It is just there .. waiting .. yes, just there. Where? It's there, just there, you know it. Grasp it with both hands. Fight for the inches, they are hard to find but they are there. And given an inch, take a mile, no mercy. What lies ahead is a mystery and shortly it will be history, to become your few threads in the rich tapestry that became before you. Be in and saviour this Moment, it is there waiting for you to move into and through, just like a door, to shape you and to become your memories with friends for a lifetime. Forever. As Jenny would say, "Don't Wonder 'What If?'". Go Australia!! Go the Auroras!!

Birds of Tokyo, "Lanterns": Stripped Down (Live)

On Recognition - artlyst (Sat 27 Dec 2014)

Untitled - The Met / New York (Mon 15 Aug 2011)
artlyst (*) writes on Recognition (*) and Vivian Maier (*):

After a lifetime in domestic servitude, secretly documenting the streets of America through 100,000 photographs, Maier had died in great old-age, and in poverty - just on the edge of global recognition - never to know that her work would even receive a glimmer of praise, or understanding.

via Vivian Maier: The Secret Photographer Gets A Retrospective In Amsterdam (*) by artlyst (*).

On Destiny - Chris Horner - Twisted Spoke (Sat 14 Sep 2013)

Bike - GHT / Freedom 2.0 - Madrid (Sat 10 Aug 2013)
Chris Horner (*) talks On Destiny (* | w):

I don’t need any time for this to sink in, I’ve had lots of time to think about it and what this accomplishment would be like, [..] I’ve had lots of time to think about how much I suffered (*) to get here, and the feelings (*) I have now will last a lifetime (*).

via Horner king of Angliru and winner of Vuelta (*) by Twisted Spoke (*).

Congrats to Chris Horner (*) who rolls into Madrid tonight to become the oldest rider to win a modern Grand Tour Cycling Event.

For someone who has assisted so many great riders over the years, he must have known that winning feeling, to stand on the top level of the Podium and to hear his National Anthem, to be the one to receive the accolades.

Everyone at that level in their sport dreams about it and now Chris will be fortunate enough to live it, tonight and for the rest of his life. For one who has pretty much done it his way for most of his career, congrats and enjoy the moment.

Photography - Drew Kelly (Thu 19 May 2016)

panorama - Wilpena / South Australia (Tue 12 Apr 2016)

Drew Kelly on Photography:

photography should allow you to transplant yourself to the moment it was taken

via Instagram of the Week: Candid, Vibrant Street Photos From Inside North Korea by Jenna Gattett.

This photo I made on my Phone as the sun set over Wilpena on the distant horizon near the lone tree

The panorama covers more than 180 degrees and I used the tree to hide the sun and my shadow is hidden in the shadow of the tree on the left. My Mum and Joanne are in there also.

Everything about this photo reminds me of this memorable moment so far from anywhere. A moment I will remember for a lifetime.

Smile #3 and #4- Circle Line Ferry / Hudson River / New York (Sat 13 Aug 2011)

Smile #3 - Circle Line Ferry / Hudson River / New York (Sat 13 Aug 2011)
Smile #4 - Circle Line Ferry / Hudson River / New York (Sat 13 Aug 2011)
Just continuing on from yesterday (*).

It was not only fun to watch the City Skyline pass by, but to watch how everyone else did take it in and respond to record an experience (*) of a lifetime.

I like the way these two photos relate to each other. There seems to be an inwards and outwards focus which is emphasised by the other.

The next photo and the last in this series from last Aug is to come shortly. It seems to tie it all together.

For me this was the second time on the Round Manhattan Ferry Trip. First time was back in Sep 1988. I have a few photos from that trip which I will put here at some stage.

On Vivian Maier - Laura Hutson (Thu 16 Jul 2015)

Staircase (Blue) - Courtauld Gallery / Somerset House / London (Mon 15 Sep 2014)

Laura Hutson on Vivian Maier:

Vivian Maier is a perfect storm of populism [..] Maier is firmly nestled in the greater canon of modern photography already. It only took a lifetime of hiding her work and a chance discovery to get there

via Self-portraits and street photographs by Vivian Maier are brilliant and haunting by Laura Hutson.