Being someone else...

This leaf on the Peace Tree has been written by my lovely mum, Jodi Lee. My mum’s words are a reflection on recent events in our local community and thoughts of being someone else.

~~~

I have spent the past few weeks imagining I was someone else. To be precise, I have been imagining myself as the winning ticket holder of the recent Lotto jackpot. Although I admit occasionally I will give in to a whim and buy a ticket to dream big for a week or so, I had not done so on this occasion.

Imagine my excitement to then discover that the winning ticket had been purchased from my local newsagency. While I knew that I had not won it didn’t stop me from daydreaming the whole ‘what if’ scenario.

So I have been spending my free moments imagining I was the lucky winner and mentally spending my millions.

Then driving home from Melbourne a couple of days ago we were caught in a traffic gridlock that seemed to go on forever. As we were waved through a detour by a policeman we could see that the cause of the hold up was a serious accident at the next intersection.

As we passed we could see there had obviously been at least one fatality and it was a sobering thought to realise that someone would not make it home safely tonight. Somewhere, someone’s family would answer a knock on their door and their lives would never be the same again.

As I drove on it occurred to me that this was an intersection I used on a regular basis and it could just as easily have happened to me. I thanked God that it had not and  we had in fact made it home safely.

So I have found myself simultaneously wishing I was someone else while also being extremely thankful not to be someone else. I think I will be happy for now simply to be myself and be grateful for what I have.

~~~

Thank you Mum for always reminding me to be grateful for what I have in life. You have always taught me to “be happy with who you are”. I believe that peace within yourself cannot be achieved solely by yourself but is guided by the wisdom and support of others. I am grateful my mum is one of these people. 

A taste for Live Below the Line

One of the first questions I am asked about Live Below the Line is “but what will you eat!?”

My answer is usually “not much, not much at all”.

There is enough food to survive on but it is really not enough.

Anyone around me during Live Below the Line week would see how utterly exhausted I was and hungry as I went to bed each night.

I still had to get up each morning and face uni but I was barely there mentally. My focus had decided to leave for a holiday last week and fatigue and hunger settled in.

I cannot stress enough how tough I found the challenge this year.

So to give you an insight into what food did make it into my rumbly tummy, here is my menu for the Live Below the Line week.

Day One: $1.82

For 24 cents, my day started with bland, gluggy and almost burnt porridge.

To get me through my long day of uni study, I snacked on a small ration of peanuts at 25c.

Yummy banana oat bread was my saviour for the week, filling and cheap at only 14c a slice. I bartered for local free range eggs and bought the cheapest overripe bananas I could find.

Day One ended with a small bowl of pasta and lentils at 91c. I wish I could have added some cheese but there was no room in my small budget.

Day Two: $1.23

Second day and I realise that I forgot to soak my oats the night before for breakfast...therefore no breakfast for me before heading off to uni.

Again, I snacked on a small ration of peanuts through my long day at uni. Was incredibly difficult to focus in lectures as I just had no energy at all.

Lunch was two slices of banana oat bread at 28c and dinner was a small portion of chicken flavoured rice. Desperately felt like comfort eating today but you can’t really budget in chocolate or ice cream when you only have two dollars to spend each day. My stomach was growling as I went to bed that night.

Day Three: 74c

There was one slice of banana oat bread left for breakfast unfortunately a tad stale. Heated up with a tiny bit of butter and made for a yummy meal. Not enough though.

Was unable to cook anything for my lunch so was incredibly hungry for most of the day.

Dinner was a “large” serving of chicken flavoured rice at 60c. The rice was a bit bland and I would have loved some vegies but I was not complaining. Every last grain in that bowl disappeared!

Day Four: $1.90

Again, was so tired the night before and forgot to soak my oats. No porridge for breakfast so I had a bowl of rice, not as filling as oats but it was a meal.

For lunch I had small bowl of pasta and was very hungry for more but at 40c for my serve I couldn’t afford anymore.

Dinner was again chicken flavoured rice but to “spice it up” I cooked up an egg to go with it. Extra protein and was quite yummy although definitely getting over eating rice!

I worked late that night on an assignment and so I made some homemade chips to try and get me through my work. There was not a lot but it was just enough.

Day Five: $1.95

Yet another meal of rice but cooked up with an egg for some extra protein. I needed as much energy as I could get at this stage. You know it is taking a toll on you, when you wake up and your stomach is already growling.

While working away on an assignment, I snacked on a small ration of peanuts and had a lunch of plain pasta at 65c.

My final meal for Live Below the Line was, surprise surprise, a bowl of rice.

It may not have been a very filling week or even a week of variety but it is a challenge that 1.4 billion people face every day.

If you would like to support the Live Below the Challenge, please head to https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/tarawatts to donate. 

Feeling well below the line...

This past week has got to be one of my roughest weeks, emotionally and physically and everything in between.

I have had tears, headaches and overall exhaustion resulting in poorly written pieces of work and many long naps.

Two dollars is really not a lot of money if you think about it.

It is almost like some impossible battle of physical combat to make that two dollars stretch so you have enough to live on each day.

It’s tough.

I only did the Live Below the Line challenge for five days but it was my choice.

Knowing that 1.4 billion people in our world live like this every day is beyond frustrating.

In our world we have enough resources and food to support our neighbours yet many go hungry.

So this is why so many thousands across Australia participated in this challenge; to raise awareness and funds for our neighbours, for these people living in extreme poverty.

Together we can make a difference.

Collectively, $1,616,123 has been raised so far. It is just amazing!

This money will go towards the Oaktree Foundation and their work in Papua New Guinea.

Funds will help to support programs for young women and men where they will receive life skills and vocational training.

Helping people help themselves out of the cycle of poverty.

If you would like to support the Live Below the Line campaign, please head to www.livebelowtheline.com/me/tarawatts to donate. Every little bit counts.

Thank you for all of you who have supported me during this campaign especially my family who put up with my cranky moods, my friends for letting me drool as they eat their own meals and for the amazing people of The Evening Cast who are collecting donations at their next gig.

Together we can break this cycle of poverty! 

Challenge...accepted!

I believe in a world without poverty. I believe we can all make a difference. Now I'm putting my beliefs into practice by living on $2 a day for five days.

Live Below the Line, is an amazing challenge that raises awareness and funds for an end to extreme poverty. 

By accepting the challenge, I will be spending only $2 on my food each day for five days. In our world, there are 1.4 billion people who live on this amount or less each day. And so I accept the challenge for them.

Here’s a brilliant video that explains how Live Below the Line works.

Personally, I love the approach of the Live Below the Line challenge:

• To encourage personal awareness through experiencing a taste (or rather lack of...meals are pretty bland) of what it is like to live in poverty.
• To create so many conversations about extreme poverty and what can be done about it.
• To raise funds to assist people to help themselves out of poverty.

If we all work together, we can make a difference in this world!

So as I plan my menu for the rest of the week, I encourage you to take the time to think of those living below the line. I know I will.

If you would like to support me, you can head to my fundraising page to donate. Thank you. 

With love, Aunty Tara

Dear Jakeb,

Welcome to the family Jakeb Francis!

I am so happy for your safe arrival into this world.

It is amazing how much love a person can have. We feel that our hearts have so much love for those around us that we could not possibly have any more and then you come into our lives. I have so much love for you Jakeb. You have so many loving and doting aunties and uncles, grandparents and cousins. We all love you so much and you must never forget that.

You have two loving parents who will be an amazing mummy and daddy. The look on your mummy’s face as she kisses you on your forehead and the proud look on your daddy’s face just show that you have two brilliant parents that will always look after you.

At 22 inches, you have a proud daddy who is already planning to put up a basketball hoop for you. Be prepared for many one on one basketball sessions with your daddy. It will be great fun!

As for me, I look forward to lots of snuggles with your spunky self. I will always be around to silly dance and take you on picnics. Together we can explore the world and pick out animals from the clouds above. As you grow older, I will introduce you to the world of Doctor Who and Monty Python, eating raw cookie dough and reading Roald Dahl.

Please know Jakeb, that no matter what you can always come to me. 

I will always be there for you. Always.

I love you Jakeb.

With love,

Aunty Tara xoxo