So behind on the Bloggersphere – I can only blame busy-ness and moving house which is no mean feat in itself. I am however on week 5 of the sugar detox, haven’t been an absolute nazi about it – had one or two pieces of fruit but otherwise going well. I can now walk down the chocolate and biscuit isle and say ‘talk to the hand’. What’s been the benefit? Well a little self control in life always makes one feel …. in control. The best thing is I definitely have more energy, better concentration, better mood (although my wife would debate that on week 2 of the detox) and I’m virtually stopped snoring. So all good and thoroughly recommend for anyone who has a sweet tooth. Apparently the receptors in the brain that crave sugar are the same ones that fancy crack cocaine – food for thought.
In between packing up the house I’ve been flitting around the country side doing talks. I did 3 days worth of talks in Wollongong to BHP Dendrobium Coal Mine which was quite an experience. I’ve spoken to police, firemen, farmers and NRL players and I thought they were tough bunch but not compared to these blokes. I’m sure working 1000’s of feet below ground in a tunnel that is 13km’s long; a place receives no sun light, the work is loud, dirty and dangerous. The work environment is 99% male. The shifts go around the clock. This is hard men doing hard work. I felt positively, soft, pink and flabby talking to these guys but it was an important message (mental health and how to build resilience) for a group who wouldn’t typically put their hand up if something was a miss. What really struck me about this group was that they were very much like an army unit, there was a real solidarity, a band of brothers who watched each others back.
There was little discussion or questions at the end of each talk which in itself was reflective of the culture but I have to say that each talk the group was incredibly quiet and attentive. I just hope they talked amongst themselves after the fact; it was a fascinating environment to be in and a real privilege to speak there.
Anyway shall blog again soon with updates on other recent talks and upcoming book. Hope this finds all those who read this well. Mj
