Month: August 2017

man in an orange shirt

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MAN IN AN ORANGE SHIRT

This two part drama from the BBC in 2017 is one of the best pieces of gay TV I’ve ever seen.

A moving, tight story with no “filler”.  An honest and emotional journey that shows how the truth will come to light even if hidden for decades.  The beauty and innocence of love regardless of the judgement of others or the oppression of the law.

Oliver Jackson-Cohen is perfect as Michael, the main character in part one.  Not only is he incredibly hot, he is an amazing actor.  Part two brings us the equally gorgeous and talented Julian Morris as the focus character, Adam, the grandson of Michael.  The support cast, which includes the magnificent Vanessa Redgrave, are also flawless.

A powerful, heart warming two hours of gay TV!

10 Champagnes out of 10!

 

Orange

Fear

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FEAR … was “like poison running through my veins”…

 

Fear is such a horrible invention.

Evil and Fear are two sides of the same coin. One can’t exist without the other.

Fear rules this planet. Fear controls the human race. Yet fear is only an illusion.

Fear is NOT real.

It has no physical existence unless we allow it to possess us.
It has no power unless we hand over our power to it.
It has no place in our mind unless we allow it to echo there.
It has no voice unless we allow it to speak.
It has no heartbeat unless we allow it to hold there.
It has no place in our spirit unless we allow it to grow there.

Fear is impotent unless we give it life.

Religion is only fear.
War is only fear.
Bigotry is only fear.
Prejudice is only fear.
Politics is only fear.
Political Correctness is only fear.

Mix them with a serve of ignorance and you give them life.

Fear + Ignorance = Control!

 

It is said that the solution to fear is faith. Faith is just fear viewed through a mirror.

Respect is the solution to fear.

Respect yourself and you won’t do foolish, dangerous or irresponsible things.
Respect others and you won’t hurt them.
Respect creatures and you won’t exploit or harm them.
Respect this planet and you won’t damage it.
Respect the universe and you will feel alive.

My dogs don’t fear my commands, they respect them.
True, they ignore them some times but that’s a “choice” that they make and any negative consequence of that choice is their doing.

‘Fear God’ they say.
It really translates as ‘respect’ God. Any ‘god’ that needs our fear is no ‘god’ at all… it’s just a man made lie.

‘Fear your mother and father’ they say.
Again, it really translates as ‘respect’ your parents. Respect their words, respect their life experience, respect their individuality, respect their uniqueness, respect their choices and they should in turn do the same for you.

It’s almost impossible to see it or acknowledge it when we are being limited, controlled, imprisoned by fear. Almost…
I recently wrote this as I came to realise why I had stayed in my former job for 15 years…

“Over a year ago we went away to Lakes Entrance and I realised that my life, in particular my work, had made me into a frog dying in water that was slowly getting hotter and hotter without it knowing. So why am I still there?

Am I afraid?
What am I afraid of?
Am I afraid of losing a job that I hate?
Am I afraid of having no income? (Yes to that one)
Am I afraid of not getting another job because of my age? (Yes to that one)
Am I afraid to stand up and be heard, even though I am in agony because I am NOT being heard?
Am I afraid of change?
Am I afraid of failure?
Am I too gutless to say NO to what I am being forced into?
Am I afraid we will lose the house?
Am I just weak? (I would not still be alive today if that were true)
Am I afraid of letting others down? (I know that one of the lessons from all this is NOT TO PLAY THE MARTYR anymore!)
Am I just afraid that I am kidding myself and the Universe will not provide for me? (Blind fool, the Universe has ALWAYS provided for me, and protected me, even from myself and my own desires sometimes).

Does my partner want me to stay there and keep suffering? (Definitely not)
Do I deserve to keep suffering there, doing a job I now hate, in a company that has never truly valued me as a person, my skills, my contributions, my work ethic, my ideas, my sacrifice? (No, absolutely not, any karmic debt in that way has been well and truly paid off).

It seems that the answer is actually clear through all this … it is FEAR … I AM AFRAID!

Afraid? When I KNOW that my entire life, all the good and all the bad, has been carefully orchestrated and guided by the Universe and the spirits and angels that surround me always? Why still afraid?”
The saying that ‘no man is an island’ is very true here.
We need others to help us open our eyes to see, our ears to hear, our hearts to accept, our minds to acknowledge and our spirits to stand against … fear.

Define your fear, stand up, look it in the face, then walk right through it.

From the outside, fear is, simply, nothing but a word that has no resonance anymore; a dead, false, pointless word.

Only when we break free of fear, can we see and feel what it has done to us.

Don’t allow it to control you.

 

Fear is a lie!

 

 

©Michael Young 2017

Launch day

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SO, I get up yesterday morning, turn on my laptop so I can post the launch of this new site … but the laptop decides it is doing a MAJOR update that will take 2 hours! WHAT? I’m supposed to launch my site in 30 minutes! Don’t panic … remember, there is always a solution… đŸ€”

After about 15 minutes I realise I could use the old laptop to get onto FB, but, of course, it runs VERY slow and I have no idea what my FB password is since it automatically logs in on my good laptop. I try anyway.
Eventually, I work it out, log in… and wait … it decides to be really slow … 😩

I must persist … I must get this page launched and I will NOT be held to ransom by typical crap 21st Century technology! 😠

So I persisted… and I launched (only a few minutes behind schedule)… and I hope you enjoy the page… and the new laptop finally just finished updating an hour later … 🙂

Yes, there IS a solution to every problem … just breathe, think, and go for it! đŸ€—đŸ€©

Below are the posts that I shared on Facebook to promote the launch:

 

Announce 1

Announce 2

Announce 3

Announce 4

Announce 5

Announce 6

Announce 7

 

 

 

INSPIRED: First Blog Post

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They say it takes a village to raise a child … well; it seems it takes a team to raise this author!

To get me to this point, on this day, it has taken the input of many people.  Most recently they include my writing colleague and dear friend Vicki Williams; my spiritual “angels on Earth” Jo, Anisa, Elicia and Ross; and my partner David.  There is now a new person added to this list; accidental bestselling author, personal trainer and ex-footballer ANDREW JOBLING.

On a recent day away in the beautiful town of Daylesford in the Victorian highlands, while waiting for my friend Vicki to have her crystal ball reading with Elicia at The Empress & Wolf, I wandered into an amazing bookshop.  Paradise Bookshop is one of those magical places that is, like the TARDIS, bigger on the inside than it seems from the outside.  It’s a heaven filled with the written word; everything from rare first-edition copies of classics to the very latest releases.

As is usually the case these days, I wandered in and was led fairly quickly by my ‘people’ to the reason for my visit; a section at the side featuring a few displayed books on “How to be a successful Writer”.  I looked at a few of them but felt strongly compelled to buy Accidental Author by Andrew Jobling.  The cover was simple, fresh and classy.  Page count was under 200 and the font size medium.  The description on the front was compelling: “If an ex-footballer, non-reader, personal trainer and non-academic with no experience or qualifications can write bestselling books then you can too!”; it also reminded me of my own personal trainer. However, the real clincher was the final part of the description: “You will be ready to write your own bestseller before you finish reading this book.”  SOLD!

Being a foreigner (not originally from Victoria) and not interested in AFL, I had no idea who he was but just ‘went with the flow’.  I wandered though the shop a little more then decided to head to the counter.  I purchased the book, complemented the elderly gentleman at the counter on his magical bookshop, and then dropped it off on the back seat of my car before continuing my window shopping.

The next day, at home, I started to read Accidental Author and found it very compelling.  Well written but most impressively honest, funny and highly motivating.  My ‘people’ had “hit a home run” again.  (Oh, a sports analogy … that’s ironic coming from me!).

The one thing that blew me away more than any other was when Andrew shared the simple statistic on page 57:

“Just to put this into perspective for you, I would say that there are many people in the world who would like to write a book.  Out of these people, probably no more than one or two percent of them will actually start the process.  Out of these people who decide to become an author, only three to five percent of them will end up with a published book!”

Suddenly, the light went on in my head.

So, out of 10,000 people who want to write, only 100 actually start and only 4 become published authors.   Then I realised… I already AM a published author…  because my story was published in the book BOLD in 2015 … so that makes me one of those 4 out of 10,000!  WOW!

So, when combining that revelation with the discussion about Blog’s we had at our WYNDHAM WRITING GROUP last Sunday, the explosion of inspiration resulted in this … my new BLOG… MICHAEL YOUNG: The Author’s Journey.

My immeasurable thanks to all who helped me get here,

Love and Light to you all,

Michael.

16Aug2017

P.S.  Stay tuned right here at my Blog for upcoming post about the people and events mentioned above…  🙂 

*******************

 
Accidental Author by Andrew Jobling.   www.andrewjobling.com.au
ISBN:  9780994183811 from www.classic-jojo.com
https://www.facebook.com/JoJo-Publishing-54979416708

 

BOLD: Stories of Older LGBTI People edited by David Hardy.
ISBN:  9780992584504 from www.ragandboneman.org

 

Paradise Books:   www.paradisebooks.com.au
The Empress & Wolf:   http://www.theempressandwolf.com
Vicki Williams Author:   www.vickiwilliamsauthor.com.au

 

 

World Be Gone

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This was written a few days after the major drama I had at my former work which eventually led me to resign eight weeks later. When I saw this image I said: “That is EXACTLY how I feel” and I wrote this piece within half an hour! Stay tuned for more about that explosive time in my upcoming posts


World Be Gone 1

 

The Empress and Wolf – Daylesford

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16Aug2017
35 Vincent St, Daylesford VIC 3460, Australia

★★★★★ in the last week:

My first visit to this magical place was far too long coming… but it was all about Divine timing, of course. The Empress & Wolf is a bubble of peace, inspiration and blessing in this very chaotic world. I feel so welcome and ‘at home’ every time I go there and jump at any excuse to take friends there as well. My recent Crystal Ball Reading by Elicia was spot on, liberating, and empowering. Thank you for being you!

Response from the owner in the last week:
Awww this is just so beautifully written x Thank you so much for being a wonderful soul & reviewing us, it is so appreciated xx Ps You have Sooo Got This! you are completely AWESOME! xx
35 Vincent St, Daylesford VIC 3460, Australia
+61 3 5348 3111
EW 1

Number Plate

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Returned to my car at the shopping centre to find another parked in front of me with the VERY NEXT number plate after mine!


This is a very clear indicator that I am in exactly the right place in my life right now.  So encouraging, empowering and liberating!   A very obvious sign from the Universe that I am in sync with my divine life plan.  MAGIC!

Mirror, Mirror

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So many life times missing the same goal

So many life lines taking the same toll

When all the world is falling around you

Heart over head and your instinct drives you

To play the Martyr

 

How many times have you struggled through this

How many signs have you managed to miss

What is this pain you still choose to live through

Time and again this choice comes back for you

To play the Martyr

 

Change is so hard when you’re living a lie

It breaks your heart but you can’t hear its cry

It’s safer to stay in that which you know

You think you’re destined wherever you go

To play the Martyr

 

What is the reason you keep this so near

Is it just weakness or is it your fear

When will you learn, will you see what you’ve got

There’s nothing to lose if you decide not

To play the Martyr

 

Now we are back here, same lesson to learn

Now is my time and now it’s my turn

To walk away to be all I could be

To realise that no-one else needs me

To play the Martyr

 

The struggle feels so real here within me

The stress so high, anxiety shakes me

I must say “no” so I make this all end

Stand up, walk out and choose never again

To play the Martyr.

 

 

 

©MICHAEL YOUNG 2017

 

It Is Finished!

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After six weeks of hard work proofing and editing and layout changes and font changes and rewriting of sections … it is finished!

This is the first Anthology of work from members of the inaugural Wyndham Writing Group run by Vicki Williams.  This free publication includes pieces written by Vicki Williams, Michael Young (Me), David Goldon, Emmy Silvius and Suzanne Butler.  Also included are photographs taken by Michael Young and Emmy Silvius.  This is also a result of the Wyndham Arts Incubator space that has been so kindly provided by Wyndham City Council to help creative and arty members of our local community!

Click on this image to view the full magazine:

WWG Anth 1 PAGE 01

WWG Anth 1 FINAL COLOUR 1

I am SO proud of this creation and it provided great therapy and distraction for me during a time of great stress after an incident at my former work … stay tuned for more about all that in future posts!

See http://www.vickiwilliamsauthor.com for more info on WYNDHAM WRITING GROUP!

michaelyoungauthor.com