A few years ago when I worked at a law firm in the sparkling city of Sydney I would walk to work from my home in Potts Point past the sailors on Woolloomooloo wharf and through the Domain, a large park in Sydney that backs on to the Botanical Gardens and is home to the State Art Gallery and Library. These are beautiful old sandstone buildings with rich histories and warmth that makes me smile.
One of the nicest things about Sydney is being able to walk almost anywhere and be sweetly uplifted by what you see. Sydney is a small city but the harbour is a visual treasure encased in bright sunshine. Beautiful wildlife and greenery are everywhere, and the cityscape itself is lovely. It feels like a corny kind of paradise when bright parrots and exotic come to visit.
A lesson I have learnt in my lifetime is that I am very affected by my visual environment. If it's ugly and bleak I will fade. If it's beautiful and bright I will thrive. On those walks I felt as if I was floating in a bubble of contentment, gazing like a loon at the beauty before me. I felt like thanking someone for letting me experience something so lovely. It was healing.
One day I was staring out of my office window on the 57th floor across the city to the airport watching planes take off when I heard a knock at my door. My then assistant Nicole had come to do some filing. She was laden with folders and indicated there were more to come. I went back to what I was doing, conscious to stop staring out the window at the mysterious hunks of flying metal and do some work. I heard a little snicker and then a laugh and then an "ELIZABETH!"
Opps, Nicole had discovered 14 pairs of shoes impairing her ability to do my filing and stashed unceremoniously on the bottom two shelves of my filing cupboard. These bronzed ladies were among those bashful 14 pairs. Well, a fullsome selection of shoes is at least entertaining.
x
One of the nicest things about Sydney is being able to walk almost anywhere and be sweetly uplifted by what you see. Sydney is a small city but the harbour is a visual treasure encased in bright sunshine. Beautiful wildlife and greenery are everywhere, and the cityscape itself is lovely. It feels like a corny kind of paradise when bright parrots and exotic come to visit.
A lesson I have learnt in my lifetime is that I am very affected by my visual environment. If it's ugly and bleak I will fade. If it's beautiful and bright I will thrive. On those walks I felt as if I was floating in a bubble of contentment, gazing like a loon at the beauty before me. I felt like thanking someone for letting me experience something so lovely. It was healing.
One day I was staring out of my office window on the 57th floor across the city to the airport watching planes take off when I heard a knock at my door. My then assistant Nicole had come to do some filing. She was laden with folders and indicated there were more to come. I went back to what I was doing, conscious to stop staring out the window at the mysterious hunks of flying metal and do some work. I heard a little snicker and then a laugh and then an "ELIZABETH!"
Opps, Nicole had discovered 14 pairs of shoes impairing her ability to do my filing and stashed unceremoniously on the bottom two shelves of my filing cupboard. These bronzed ladies were among those bashful 14 pairs. Well, a fullsome selection of shoes is at least entertaining.
x
