I do a great deal of housesitting as I love the win-win set-up of caring for the homes and pets of others to help enable them enjoy well-earned holidays, family affairs, attending to important matters elsewhere etc. Meanwhile, I get to explore many diverse places I might not normally visit and leave a Cedar Trail.
On my journey down to Sydney for an lengthy gig I stayed overnight near Newcastle. My limited experience of Newcastle was in 2011 which was beyond hellish as I had an extended stay in a hospital waiting for a local ambulance infection to clear before I could have surgery to have a pacemaker fitted. In the 24 hours of the 13/14 December 2017 it took to reset my previous nightmarish impressions, I discovered Newcastle to be a most charming, vibrant and friendly city.
Having found a suitable place for breakfast on the 14th - ie: carpark immediately outside - imaginative food - great coffee - spotless, I noticed a woman engrossed in Gregg Braden’s book ‘The Divine Matrix’. Always having my antennae polished for mystical connections, I softly approached her and her smile lit up the room warmly inviting connection. She introduced herself as Michelle Crawford and I explained that my remarkable sister Chris Hooper organises Gregg’s speaking engagements in Australia and New Zealand - ’click’ - a resounding resonance revealed itself in a field of both spoken and unspoken similarities.
Michelle gave so generously of herself and her work and interests in the short time we spoke and when we exchanged business cards I discovered her title is Chief Conversationalist at www.beingmorehuman.com.au. Rather uncanny really as the art of conversation is one of my most favourite topics to explore, not to mention my interests in how we can all BE MORE HUMAN. I learned that Michelle and her team work with local businesses teaching leadership skills and helping develop programs to eradicate homelessness in their city among other important initiatives.
In this video on Facebook Michelle gives tips on how we can complete 2017 well and make the most of 2018. It’s unlikely she and I will meet again, yet I’ve been enriched by this lovely chance encounter with a remarkable woman. Thank you for the tremendous work you’re doing Michelle.
During your Solstice Dreaming or End of Year Review you might also like to reflect upon Remarkable People you have met throughout 2017.