We live, we learn

God's been here from the start, He provides the wind behind our sails... aye, we be simple sailors riding the storm, with our wits and skills; our learnings from misadventures survived, serve best to educate future sailors, and through oral tradition and sea shanties, we, in turn, find closure...

What dreams may come!

 “...the blessing of being able to bless others with strength, support and counsel, upon the roads we wander, means we leave a better culture wherever we are blessed to tread. Be honest and open, and trust that that which the winds accelerate us towards or tides bring us to... may time prove to be merely a daunting fireplace tale, perhaps but one of many more, of trials triumphed! Take heart!”

Experiential Bliss in the Wisdom of Community

It was archery that showed me true strength did not come from the ability of a physically weak kid to pull a 24# wooden recurve bow. But rather the will to want to become an asset to those around me, by becoming a better person by straining and growing under the effort to endeavour... little by little we are encouraged to go further, for small successes and the intrinsic celebration of milestones, do bolster confidence. Let the young people make their decisions and mistakes, defend their own causes, for them to experience the toil and necessary growth that will in turn bolster their communities. From that, we in turn, will be fulfilled.

We know the hearts of our kids, we know they are good kids at heart. We know that their journeys will see them come into their own; and we have to take courage to watch them fly. Believe that God has a purpose for all, and that each person has their own journey of discovery to embark on, with just the right amount of time, not more, and never less!

...resourcefulness is discovered, not taught. If we want it, determined to seek, we will sleuth and solve. The question is how determined we are, and how critical the need! I do not teach my students or kids to be sportmen, those I synergise with, toil with me to simply provide opportunity for the youth to become better versions of yourselves, that all may in turn build up our communities. All we ask is faith and positivity, that there will be better days ahead, tough days too, but the better ones will be worth the trouble and toil.

For through toil and strain, we grow to be stronger yet of body, spirit and mind! I am blessed to have been given the chance to learn and compete in archery at 14, from being a timid, weak, self-conscious, introverted kid, unable to handle a 24# basic wooden bow then, to standing upon sporting arenas in multiple roles and capacities; we know the chapter in life for the youth is unique in many ways, but we allude that positivity and solutions focus - with community and critical mass backing the battering ram - will open doors to opportunities, inaccessible to solo strife alone.

It is still often observed that it takes a village to raise a child; for not all parents are equipped with the resources to guide their own, but the wisdom of the village at large will always see hearts, hands, and minds step up to assist in the needs of the growing young minds, who seek, strive, and endeavour to never yield in the face of adversity.

Make a daily commitment; share values through sports...

"Plus est en vous! Move often, move well; one life, live it well! For we are the adventures we live!"

Make a daily commitment; share values through sporting endeavours!

“That moment when the tension breaks, and the arrow is cast, as swift as the follow through... that resolute moment of stillness, when all is as it should be... is unadulterated joy.”

And that skilled act of releasing arrows purposefully into the wind, towards the sighted target... at all speeds, with calculated routine, is at once stoic and zen. Unpredictably guided by the buffeting wind, yet all methodologically hitting home into a tight grouping, that’s perhaps the best metaphor for the endless pursuit of self-improvement.

Some days the arrows shot are clustered into a dense grouping, other days they're spread a little apart, but all days, I relish the time and space it takes to make good the shot process.

It’s a long haul. And each day is what we make of it.

Still, I am glad to be able to share the joy of movement literacy with others, as a physical education & sports lecturer, multi-sports life-coach, and friend. This is sport, this, is our journey. Come be a part of the community! Live the excitement, the toil, the epiphany, the calm, the confidence, the spark, the tension, the relief, and the camaraderie.

Sport is therapy, sport parallels life. We learn that even at our best, we win some, and lose some. That our greatest fan or critic is actually the person in the mirror. And that the best equipment, is that which you grasp in the moment, and you learn to make good with what you have.

Enlightened Legacies... strength, resolve, and an extra dose of kindness

The Age of Technology ought beget broader viewpoints on all sides. Long haul journeys require wit and mettle, charisma and resolve; there are no sovereign models to emulate in this multilingual city state of religious understanding and cultural synergy. In all its iterations, the islanders who have come to call this land home are no slack-jowled idealists. We grew up caring enough to pull our neighbours kids along for skills tutoring and meals, car-pooled and shopped wet markets together, shared tales of weal and woe in each other’s homes, worked through shared candles during power outages and took care of each other’s chores... never forget that it is this heart of camaraderie, this essence of gotong royong that allowed our little red dot to harbour all through this current calamity of Covid’19. If anything, this be the time to share innovation, cherish informed viewpoints, marry solutions and most importantly work to reunite our neighbourhoods. Many have put in too much... we owe it to them, to ourselves, and those who come after, to get our act together... this island was and should continue to be the bedrock of shared relief, just as sailors had once scrambled onto land, having braved the arduous voyage and harsh seas, united by a common code to do better by their fellow man, and strove to grow what scarce resource we shared. Let the unifying trait hark back to one of industriousness and the code of stewardship. To tend and nurture, to bolster and grow. For this is our shared home. Look to nature, if in need of insight, the geese and flocks of birds oft remind us, we all need to lead at times, and at times, simply allow others to do so, while keeping pace, ever ready to helm when need beckons.