Firstly, let me say what a very humbling experience this was. I’ve had a few days now to process what I have just been through and you know something, we are as soft as Brie cheese that’s been left out in the sun for a few hours. I’m the first to admit that I love all my home comforts and am very fortunate and grateful to have all the mod cons for cooking and cleaning. We live in such a fast paced world and no wonder my head spins with each new day trying to work out what’s hot and where it’s cool to be seen… and that’s just online!!

This is not my first trip overseas to a place where the minimum monthly wage is way below the poverty line at $30.00, but it has been quite some time since I have experienced such a lovely race of people who will never have all the conveniences that we do and not even a fraction at that!

This is taken in the Kokoda Village.

Port Moresby itself is very dirty and all hotels, shops and restaurants are locked up and have razor wire around the boundaries. You DO NOT venture into the streets on your own no matter what! You see, there are many desperate people who wait for such an opportunity and then bring out a knife to take the contents of your bag. Apparently, it is the murder capital of the world and not somewhere you would want to be without security guards by your side.

Once in the villages, it is quite safe to mingle with the natives of the land. After all, their ancestors are the original Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels who helped our Aussie diggers when wounded by the Japanese during WWII.

So upon our arrival, we were briefed and enjoyed a couple of quiet drinks at the hotel in anticipation of what we were to face for the next 8 days!

The next morning we had to have our packs and ourselves down at reception at 6am. Kind of early I thought and in hindsight, we could have slept another 2 hours. Everything moves very slowly in PNG. We were all anxious to get going. That nervous energy filled the space we were in. Pacing, catching a few more winks if we could… eating our snacks out of boredom… and finally at 10:30am we received the news that the fog had cleared and we were ordered to the airport to catch our late flight to Kokoda Village for the start of our trek.

Our tour guide Dave from www.noroads.com.au pointing out some terrain we would cover on the trek.

Once there, we were introduced to our personal porters and others who would join us and off we went with courage and enthusiasm in our steps to discover what is the Kokoda Track and to take in the beauty and history as we went.

All in all, we were that excited to get going that the first day went quite quickly. A steady fairly easy climb until we were just outside our first camp site at Deniki where we experienced the first of many steep climbs. I think shock set in and I remember thinking that I hoped that there weren’t any others as steep as this! Did I say that? Already the psychology and mindset are prevalent.

Stay tuned for the next installment… !

The Deniki Camp site. Day 1

With all this talk about LOVE recently here at Buzzing with Ange, I wanted to bring something to your attention. If you love inspirational books, best selling author Kurek Ashley has just released his long awaited How Would Love Respond on Amazon. My copy is on order and I can’t wait for it to arrive.

I met Kurek a little over 18 months ago and listened as he told his story of how he went from acting the bad guy in Hollywood movies to becoming one of the most sort after speakers around the globe in his role as a Peak Performance Life Success Coach.

My good friend and mentor Sean Rasmussen met with Kurek for an interview where they discuss some very valid points in how to manage your thoughts and change some habits that could be holding you back from achieving your goals.

Here is part 1 of that interview.

Peak Perfomance Motivational Legend

Kurek also holds the record for the longest fire walk which took 4 minutes walking over 81 metres of hot coals! This is not to impress you, but to impress upon you that anything is achievable and I am taking Kurek’s words with me over the next 10 days while I trek the Kokoda Trail. Mindset is what will get me through each day. It’s about Personal Development and where I want to go with my life.

Where do you want to go with your life? Kurek Ashley’s book may be just the thing that helps you decide.

A short time ago I wrote that I Love You and it attracted some attention. I was sent this image by a friend and thought to use it here. How many times have you done something embarrassing or hurtful without intention to the one you LOVE? Now I’m sure this little fellow didn’t mean it however, things do go wrong sometimes in a relationship and it’s not that easy to get back in the good books of your beloved without having to sacrifice something unless you have a very understanding and committed partnership.

Being in a relationship or partnership brings quite a responsibility if you want it to work. Teamwork is the key. A relationship is a two sided affair so two people need to learn how to communicate with one another in an empowering way.

Relationships Require Commitment

The statistics of marriages breaking down and children growing up with only one biological parent in the home are forever increasing. Now, I am not saying that couples need to stay together for their children’s sake, and if husband and wife are not getting along and have outgrown each other, then it is better for them and their children for the couple to go their separate ways and in my opinion, after sourcing all avenues for help. What I would like to hear about is an increase in responsibilities and making sure that the children are adequately cared for, taught emotional intelligence, and to respect others when this does happen.

I am bringing this subject up because I went to dinner with some of the mothers from my daughters class last week and one of them was finishing off her teaching rounds at a particular school where the majority of children are being raised in a one biological parent home. A great number of these children learn independence at a very young age… as young as nine years old… perhaps even younger in some instances. They get themselves to school and back again as parents have to work to support the family. At my daughters school, most of the kids are dropped off by a parent, usually the mum as they are not at work.

The mother doing the teaching rounds went on to tell us of one child who had slapped a teacher across the face with an open hand and had been expelled from the school and this child hadn’t even turned 10 yet. This was only one incident among many others which she recounted to us that night and I can tell you that the stories weren’t pretty ones. Having said all that, these children will “grow up” faster than children who are lead by the hand in everything they do. Am I being harsh here? I like to teach my children independence and at the same time, respect for others.

It made me wonder and I cannot make any judgments as I do not know the child or her background. I can only surmise that this child is very unhappy and angry to perform such an action. It really made me sad to think that only 10 kilometres down the road their are children crying out for help and there is no-one available to guide and teach them. An I Love You wouldn’t go astray for this child and others like her. It would make a huge impact on her life in a positive way.

Am I making too many assumptions here because at our local school, their are many parents who get involved with their children’s schooling from dropping them off to reading with the children, to volunteering to help out in the classroom for literacy and numeracy lessons and then picking them up again? And don’t get me wrong, my daughters school is not perfect, but it does have a good reputation for being proactive with their curriculum and community. It is family orientated.

Your Thoughts

I would like your opinion please. Do you think it is easy nowadays for couples to separate without giving their relationship the work and commitment it requires to stay alive and strong? Do you spend time nurturing your children and at the same time, also teach them independence? I know there are great variances between children, but as a guide from some of the parents out there who have already been there so to speak… in your valued opinion, what have you tried that has worked with your kids and/or your relationship?

Dedicated to Success

I have something to share with you. Yes it has been quite some time since I went into Melbourne CBD to offer some Free Hugs inspired by Juan Mann who founded this campaign on the simple principle of giving a stranger a hug… and I have to tell you that I have had some real fun and challenges editing the footage, however… it is here!

If you are thinking of joining the Free Hugs worldwide campaign, I have recently learned that there is an illustrated Free Hugs guide available and it is filled with descriptions, anecdotes and iconic illustrations of over 30 different styles of hugs that leave the reader with a lasting impression.

So firstly, let me introduce you to State of Man (SOM). They are an awesome band based in Atlanta who totally RAWK and have a reputation for being “One of the East coasts premier acts” (XM Satellite Radio). They kindly agreed and gave me permission to use their inspiring song Swallow Your Fears to accompany the footage. Yay!! Thank you SOM.

This song was chosen by me because it was written to inspire you to move beyond fears caused by past disappointments in life. A song about living, trusting and loving again. A song that made me feel like I was alive and free. It made me want to hug the closest person to me when I first heard it so I thought it apt for adding to this footage.

If you like the music, please consider becoming a fan of State of Man in Facebook or click the banner to join the club and support them.

Feel free to share this post with your friends and family and get SOM love for this wonderful band State of Man. I have also given you the download link for the movie and it does require a Flash Embed plugin for Wordpress blogs.

So sit back, relax and enjoy the hugs that brought smiles to the faces of many people including my own

Free Hugs

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

“Hugging is healthy. It helps the immune system, cures depression,
reduces stress and induces sleep. It’s invigorating, rejuvenating and
has no unpleasant side effects. Hugging is nothing less than a miracle drug.

Hugging is all natural. It is organic, naturally sweet, no artificial
ingredients, nonpolluting, environmentally friendly and 100 percent wholesome.

Hugging is the ideal gift. Great for any occasion, fun to give and receive,
shows you care, comes with its own wrapping and, of course, is fully returnable.”
Author Unknown

Yes, that’s right! 16 more sleeps until I am on a plane flying out to Papua New Guinea to trek the Kokoda Trail. Yikes!! The training has almost taken over as I prepare for this grueling trek. By the time I have packed to go out for a hike and then get to where there are mountains to climb, most of the day is over when I get back home. There have also been gym sessions and other walking and aerobic exercises as part of keeping my fitness up. The training has been difficult, however, I have just sat through a series of videos on YouTube which I had mixed emotions about and at times, had tears streaming down my face which I will show you shortly.

A few months back when I was looking into the history of the track, I found that there were many video’s and sites with information regarding Kokoda. It is not something that I had specifically wanted to do although I knew that a personal challenge such as this was on the cards in so far as my own personal development went and when my friend and personal trainer Marc Stafford was organising a team to go and asked me, I said “yes.” To continue to grow in mind and spirit, challenges or goals which seem out of reach must be set in order to step up to the next level.

photo credit-pomfotos

Now I am not saying that you all have to go and trek Kokoda to step up to the next level. You yourself know what might be out of your reach and going for it may be the ticket that opens your mind and helps you along your own journey of personal development.

One of my goals for this year is to Coach, as in a Life Coach so this trek is fitting to help me discover parts about me which I need to develop and also to increase my mental toughness. My mental toughness (or lack of) will surely show while on the trek and it will be around 60 - 70 percent of that which gets me to the end of the 8 days. I have affirmations which I repeat out loud to myself to get into the right headspace for now. I’m sure once I am on the track, they will come in very handy to get me from one village to another. One foot in front of the other… one step at a time.

This trek, along with my NLP training and my own personal coaching with a very tough coach is what will bring me closer to this goal of being in a position to empower others to achieve the goals and dreams they set for themselves.

So this is part 1 of 8 of the video’s which I watched embedded here with the links to the rest of the series. It is worth the 30 minutes to sit through them all and see this band of Australian personalities to get an all round vision of what the trek is like and how they cope along the way. As well as getting a look at some of the most pristine rain forest in the world. Share your thoughts with me on this once you have been through them.

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Thank You for watching.