Sunday Night Dun Good
The life you can save this is laying it on a bit and not as conscious pricking as I expected when I
clocked out of the office for an afternoon of leisure at Wellington’s W&R week. OK so I should have
known Peter Singer was a full on ethical guy, still I left his session suitably chagrined and ready to
rescue the world. Later in the evening I came down to earth a little and realized that the starting
point for NZrs should at least be half way down Dominion Road. Yip you got it, it was a stunning
evening courtesy of Don McGlashan.
W&R week rolled out the heavy hitters with Simon Sharma, Richard Dawkins and Peter Singer and
intellectually challenging and thought provoking though they were the charm for me was in the
round table on the novel on opening night. Top this up with New Zealand poetry and Charlotte
Grimshaw, a must read if you haven’t added her to your reading list. An unexpected pleasure and
almost beating the writers as a festival highlight was the inspired scheduling of Caroline Baum as a
chair she took this task in the category, artfrom. The unexpected delight was the Saturday session
chaired by Caroline of Susanna Moore I left wanting to know more about this Bad Girl and read
plenty of her books and have her life ‘attitude’. With a cheeky nod and a wink to Writers and
Readers week for a great giggle check out the super website Awful Library Books.. It’s such a classic.
So doing and or being good. What to do and where to start. Our stitch group starts with Relay for
Life. Not many families remain untouched by cancer; several years ago we decided we would fund-
raise through this event. We do well, this is not to say it is without it pitfalls, believe me at 6.00am
cold and tired after a night circling it is hard to be charitable even to your mates. Still its fun, I can
say that now after churning the track last night at Porirua I am glad it over for another year. The
team leaders, wardrobe mistresses the fellow compatriots make it all well worth-while. We have us
stitchies, gym mates, friends, school mates and family all contributing to the occasion and keeping
the Tropical Troopers on track. Not to be outdone the hubbies pitched and lowered the tent and
fetched and carried for us. In this consumer and self absorbed society it is good to do something
outside your comfort zone and help others.
Just in case you think I have turned into a perpetual do-gooder I did have a ‘good’ time in Auckland
this week, when fate blessed me and threw a couple of unexpected shopping hours my way. It could
not go untapped and I am now the owner of two new pair of shoes and some a new patch work
fabric and pattern. Not sure that’s what Mum meant when she said don’t waste a minute – true to
her word. I didn’t.
Friday night was Whanau night and we rocked at the festival club to Calexico an indie band from
Tucson, testing these waters was a smart move, they will be on our playlist.
I guess the modern life for us fortunate enough to live in NZ and live well is the tension between
how much is enough and how much fun we should have. Peter Singer challenged us to give 15% of
our income to improve the world. In the session he shared with Rod Oram, NZ in a sense was put on
the spot, Rod is clearly a good, even great guy, but all of a sudden he was apologizing for our
lifestyle. And that’s it; we all know we need to be mindful of the sustainability of the planet, of
working and giving to alleviate the plight of our fellow humans. I don’t think this can be measured
by giving, a percent. It can be done in any number of ways; in a sense giving money is an easy
option. It can be caring for an elderly neighbour like my friend does, taking her shopping and giving
her company, or making a family a meal, making sure all the stuff you don’t need goes to St Vinnie’s
or the Sallies, or having a village or a child with Tear Fund like our Opio in Uganda. This week’s
recipe is classic make one for home an d one to give away it’s Alison Holst’s Paddies Pie – it always
goes down a treat either for home or away.
For most of us it means living everyday lives, recycling, giving what we are able, helping in our own
back yards and making the world a better place by making sure that we and the space we inhabit
contributes. In this sense embark on this week with kindness in your heart and good intentions and
like our relay team you will finish it up knowing the space we occupy is productive and caring and we
have DUN GOOD.
While collecting my thoughts and my body after Relay I was settled with a cup of tea leafing through
one of my favourite poets and this poem leapt out at me and says far better than I have above every
day in every way we can.
Mary Oliver
Song of the Builders
On a summer morning
I sat down
on a hillside
to think about God
a worthy pastime,
Near me, I saw
a single cricket;
it was moving the grains of the hillside
this way and that way,
How great was its energy,
how humble its effort,
Let us hope
it will always be like this,
each of us going on
in our inexplicable ways
building the universe