Blog No. 274 – Canberra in 1970, Part 2 – 11 June 2025

My purpose is to give hope to those who have lost hope. Without hope, we remain lost in the Shadow Lands.

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If I had not successfully endured the multiple calamities that happened in Canberra, I would have never had the joy of meeting my granddaughter Evelyn nearly 40 years later.

By 1970, Evelyn and I survived through sheer grit and a refusal to give up.

Although my brand new career as a public servant did not look at all promising, I refused to give up; my family depended on me.

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My granddaughter Evelyn was in a great hurry to be born.  She was in such a hurry that she worried the life out of my son and daughter in law because premature babies like Evelyn can easily be overcome by “events”.

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Evelyn was much stronger when this photo was taken, but she was still less than one year old.

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Another photo of my extraordinary granddaughter Evelyn; she was still less than one year old when this was taken.

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[Extract from :”Liminal Days” by John Hankin] Sometimes the walls between realities grow thin; Tremble and shudder. Then realities mix and step inside each other. Those are the days when we walk across worlds; Touch, see, talk to and physically hear the eternal. These days are the Liminal Days. The truly divine days. When we know we live in the eternal. When we the divine lives in us. Give Love Always

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To do the impossible, we have to keep going when “common sense” says we should give up.

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Go with a clear, open and receptive spirit, and the universe will not treat you badly.

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Long Time Sun – Sung by Amrit Nam Kaur May the long-time sun Shine upon you All love surround you And the pure light Within you Guide your way on Guide your way on May the long-time sun Shine upon you All love surround you And the pure light Within you Guide your way on Guide your way on May the long-time sun Shine upon you All love surround you And the pure light Within you Guide your way on Guide your way on Guide your way on Sat nam

Accept what is and keep moving.  Swallow the sh*t sandwich and keep moving.

There is nothing else that offers any hope of survival.

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To move into our newly rented flat at Campbell, we definitely needed to have a bed – but we did not have a bed and our furniture would not arrive for a t least two weeks.  The furniture removal had been arranged by the Immigration Department and my survival needs were not of any real interest to the Department.

I found a furniture store in Canberra city centre and located a double bed that would be adequate.

Unfortunately, I had no money to pay for the bed.

I asked if I could buy the bed under a then prevalent system called “hire purchase”. The legal theory behind hire-purchase was that the store lent you the money to buy what you wanted to buy and you agreed to make weekly payments at an exorbitant rate of interest.  I vaguely knew I would have to pay much more for the bed that I ought to be paying, but what other options did I have?

We could not sleep on the floor of our miserable newly rented flat.

I met a major problem when I asked about hire-purchase.

I was then aged 20 and the minimum age when the law would recognise that I was an adult and able to make a hire purchase contract was 21.

My attempt to buy the bed on hire-purchase was a failure.  I was told to come back with a signature from an adult who would guarantee I would make the payments.

One of my brand new work colleagues agreed to be a guarantor and we got the bed.

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When you are young and have zero credit history, money lenders are reluctant to lend money to you,

When you are young and have zero credit history, suppliers of basic services such as electricity are reluctant to supply you with electricity.

Somehow I scraped together the money I needed to pay the electricity company (Australian Capital Territory Electricity and Water) to let us have electricity.

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Although I was enrolled at Australian National University in three subjects, I did not get to any lectures.  We had no car so I had to walk from work and it was too far to walk and be able to get back to work in the allowed time.

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I focused on our most immediate needs.

Get furniture for the flat.

Get some health insurance.

Learn what I was supposed to be doing at work.

Try to memorise the complex maze of streets in this confusing city called Canberra.

Getting health insurance proved to be an interesting exercise.

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Terrible situations can be overcome.  Whatever you do, do not panic.

Add meaning to your life by acting with purpose.

When you add meaning to your life, the way out of the terrible situations becomes clearer.

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I will tell you more tomorrow.