Newsletter May 2020
The Life Again Pillars for Men's Health CONNECTIONconnecting with self, connecting with others and connecting with nature to find meaning and purpose; GRATITUDE & GIVING BACKvolunteering and giving back to the community, with an emphasis on mindful gratitude; STORY...
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We’ve Always Been Wearing Masks
Masks have been one of the features at the core of our Corona World. Increasingly we see them displayed in various shapes, colours and forms but we are gradually getting used to them. Initially they were worn reluctantly - and their value debated by the experts - but...
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The Social Balm and Knowing Your ’Hood
Four weeks in and still going. There is light at the end of the tunnel unless the threat of the second “wave” occurs. It’s a genuine threat and we must remain prudent. But I’m handling the same walls and starting to learn more about myself than I ever imagined....
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Start Your Life Again with New Strategies
It’s a difficult time in everybody's life at the moment. We are all an island unto ourselves as we deal with the hand that we have been dealt. We all handle it in our own way and the pressure can be totally dependent on our stage of life. Young kids are demanding, but...
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The Unhealthy Fear of Corona
“Over the recent past - whatever length of time that has been - I’ve been conscious of the all-invading feeling of fear that exists in our world today. Narrowing this down, I mean the feeling of fear that exists in my world and the world of those who read my blogs and...
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Barry Richardson, Fires, and the Lessons We Should Learn from Our First People
We have all been swallowed up in the disastrous National Bushfires over the past fortnight and it has been heartwarming to see how many have contributed so much to the physical, emotional and psychological damage caused to those at the coalface - literally. We are...
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We Are The Luckiest Country – Consider That.
Australia Day has been and gone and once agaIn much of the joy has been sucked out of it. The debate ramps up annually as to whether the date is right or wrong, and the parade of the naysayers is gettIng bigger than any celebration of our mighty nation. That’s sad and...
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Our Top Five Practical Actions When You’re Down and Out.
An article by Wendy Squires that appeared in The Age recently is part of a movement that disrupts the stigma around mental health. Squires spoke about the key aspects that have helped her out when she was feeling life had taken her back to dark places she had been in...
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Keep It Real. Keep It Real. Don’t Rush.
In an article “Life, work in balance for PwC chief” that appeared in The Australian, Luke Sayers, CEO of PWC Australia, was with his father as he lay on his deathbed, diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) a month earlier. His father was determined to share his...
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FAREWELL POLLY FARMER
This afternoon (Friday 30th August) I am going to Geelong for the Memorial Service being held at the Geelong Cats for Legendary Player Polly Farmer. His well-publicised State Funeral was earlier this week. Polly was a teammate of mine, my first Captain and my last...
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AVOID THE WALL
The buzz word in mental well-being has become Depression. Whether it’s in the workplace, on the sporting field, in our daily activities, becoming a new mother, depression is a growth industry. Something which was almost unknown about not so many decades ago, and has...
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TRUE FRIENDSHIP IN THE AUSTRALIAN DESERT
I’ve been thinking a lot about Friendships lately. One of the results of the Social Media revolution is the total physical disconnect occurring between people. I read recently that as many as 50% of people today are lonely and as we get older, this increases...
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REFLECTING ON A MEETING WITH SIR ROBERT MENZIES
We are living in times when people are trying more than ever to be heard. With all the “noise” that surrounds us, whether via social media, the 24-hour news cycle, the dumbing down of language, the raising of voices or the woeful examples provided by so-called leaders...
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RESIST THE GREYING OF EXISTENCE
Did you make any New Year’s resolutions this year? Did you choose something easy, something challenging or nothing at all? For those of us who make them, New Year’s resolutions are usually bland and predictable, and, as a result, are often broken within the first...
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MY BOOK OF IMPORTANT THINGS AND STEVE JOBS
15 years ago, as I emerged from the funk that ultimately led me to starting Life Again, I bought a Collins 3880 Account Book (Feint and Paged!) to start taking account of my own life. It had a “hard cover” so I knew it was for keeps. I started thinking about the...
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ROMANCE IN LIFE, IN BUSINESS AND IN FINALS. THE NEXT WAVE.
Dick Smith, legendary Australian businessman, entrepreneur, philanthropist and political agitator, once said: “AN ORGANISATION WITHOUT A SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE WILL DIE.” He could have been referring to any of the campaigns he had taken on throughout his life, because no...
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TAKE A LUNCHTIME WALK
I have often told the story of how I got lost during my midlife and this became the genesis of my establishing Life Again. It’s about the things I could have been doing or should have been doing during those times in my life when I was under most pressure. Often this...
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WORK REST AND PLAY – ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS TO LIFE
It’s an intriguing and often beautiful thing to see animals in their natural habitat - to watch their instinctive behaviour, and notice how much of it strikes a chord with us humans, the most sophisticated animal on the planet. What’s strange is the more sophisticated...
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WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT OUR FIRST PEOPLE?
One of the joys I’ve discovered since creating the Life Again Foundation over 5 years ago is developing deep friendships with many Aborigines from different parts of Australia, particularly from the Centre and Western Desert communities. Not only have I met them and...
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OUTBACK WITH A PURPOSE
PLANNING LIFE AGAIN IN 2018 In 2018, Life Again will be coordinating several outback trips to Central Australia. Join Gareth Andrews for a journey of discovery and reflection in Central Australia’s Aboriginal community. You will need to bring an open mind, a...
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TAKE NOTE – LIFE CHANGING ADVICE FROM FRANK COSTA
Men, hold onto your hats. This is the most important message I can give you. I’ve thought about it for some time as I've reflected upon important moments of my life. Good and bad. Happy and sad. Good bloke and cad. Balanced and mad. I’ve been to all those places and...
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STOP BURNOUTS IN THE WORKPLACE
In 2013 the US Gallup data organisation released world-wide research information which is frightening for the work place. It suggested that only 13% of employees are “engaged” in their jobs, or emotionally invested in their work and focussed on helping their...
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AND FINALLY, A NOTE FROM DUSTY!
Dustin Martin has ruled our lives for most of the last six months. He has almost succeeded in taking Donald Trump off the front pages of newspapers, certainly in Victoria, and just walking around Melbourne today his “bodgie” haircut is rife. Whether or not neck tats...
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SWEEPING THE SHED
The power of Richmond on Friday night, inspired by Dustin Martin, was one of the great football stories of the weekend. It was awesome. Chilling and thrilling for Richmond fans. It came from a team that has struggled through wasted seasons for decades and looked like...
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