About Me

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I am a full-time mama with a passion for writing and talking to fascinating people. I live in a one horse town with a Cowboy and my son. Thank Lord for cyberspace! I lived a colourful life in Sydney for a number of years. Working in advertising and journalism for FPC and the Sydney Morning Herald. During my time in Sydney I competed in a Dragon Boat race, choreographed a dragshow, used the Share Accomodation advertisements as a way to meet men and was told by Noiseworks frontrunner Jon Stevens that I was a bitch! Then came the decision to move back to country for 3 months to help out my Father with newspaper business while he was having treatment. Convinced I was a city girl I was caught by surprise when I fell in love with a farmer (and no, he didn't want a wife... still doesn't it seems!) convinced him that we needed to see the world, popped off to Vietnam to teach english in Saigon - before realising that the "food" in Nam didn't agree with me... turned out to be Monte - my son who is now with the Cowboy and I back in country NSW! I am in a wonderful stage of my life where I am focusing on the things that really make me tick. Including writing these chronicles.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

The Big Picture

My very inspiring Aunt made a great suggestion to write a flashback piece. Having just visited me in the OHT she thought I should write a story about the picture from Angkor Wat that takes pride of place in our loungeroom....


Heregoes.




Tucked up in our Tuk-Tuk with our driver Sunny, Cowboy and I sat back stunned at the magnificence of Angkor Wat.
 To me, this amazing wonder of the world came to represent resilience in the face of adversity, tranquility at all costs and the ability to look at the bigger picture.
This is one of the reasons the 'bigger picture', a rubbing from Angkor Wat, takes pride of place in our lounge room against our crimson red wall.





Cowboy and I travelled to Cambodia shortly after the surprising news of our pregnancy.
We had been in Siem Reap for a couple of days, and I had not been the dream travel companion.
 I had entered an unexpected world of day long morning sickness and constant emotional turmoil.
The news of the pregnancy had hit me for six.
I was in foreign territory on every level.
 I craved familiarity - yet nothing around me was familiar.
Though I wanted to stay in bed all day and wallow, Cowboy made it clear we were not to do that.
We may be pregnant and in shock - but we were in Cambodia damn it!

So we met our guide Sunny, and took the tuk-tuk to Angkor Wat.
We walked hand in hand along the amazing moat leading up to the temple.
Monks and tourists ahoy, Angkor Wat was certainly the place to be.


As we walked closer and closer to the temple I pondered how Cowboy and I had only been together 9 months and how we were faced with decisions bigger than we had ever faced before.

All the while face to face with the monstrosity of Khmer Architecture adorned with more peaceful Buddhas than you could poke a stick at.




We were viewing this most tranquil and peaceful temple at my most chaotic, lost and confused time.

While we plundered through the magnificent wonder of the world amazed at the sheer detail that went into this 12th Century creation - we began to grasp the significance of where we were.

An enormous ancient temple built completely in honour of one's faith.

Though swarming with tourists, Siem Reap locals came to the temple to pray.
 There were many shrines set up.



Many enterprising Cambodians offered us their tour guide services. We couldn't help but notice the sunny disposition of the Cambodian people.

We were in a country that had been through the most horrific adversity and yet seemed to be home to the happiest people I had ever met.

It took us a couple of days to see all the sites of Angkor Wat.

We saw them via foot and via Elephant.

Some of the steeper temples I let Cowboy climb up, while I stayed at ground level having my photograph taken with locals and tourists.
I was quite a hit!
I temporarily considered moving to Cambodia where I would be treated like a movie star purely for the colour of my hair.



So much was going on.

 Angkor Wat is a magical place.

Though overrun with tourists (ourselves included) if you find a quiet corner and you are face to face with the intricately designed buddhas - you can't help but feel a sense of all that is bigger than yourself.




The ancient world, the spiritual world, a country filled with people that have faith.

Faith in things they can't see or prove.

It was about that time that I stopped the chatter in my head and decided that it was time too I stopped analysing what was happening within me, my relationship and my life.

It was time to just have faith.

In hindsight, it has paid off.

The two worlds I was experiencing those days at Angkor Wat have come together nicely and the striking reminder in our lounge room never lets me forget the bigger picture.


19 comments:

  1. Micko and I have been thinking about a holiday recently and Cambodia is on the list... Great post Sharni! It's nice when things work out just as they should.

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  2. Beautifully written Sharni. Enjoyed reading your post.

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  3. I got goosebumps reading your post Sharni! especially when you wrote "It was time to just have faith."
    Wonderful things can happen when you let go!
    Thanks for sharing your story.

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  4. Beautiful post Sharni. My Mum is often quoting the saying "Let go and let God", something that is having more meaning to me by the day.

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  5. So enjoyed your post and pictures. Felt like being there.

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  6. Wow!Phenomenal! Never considered visiting Cambodia, but you make it sound phenomenal!

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  7. Faith is very powerful. Thanks for sharing with us Sharni!

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  8. I'm slowly reaching that place where I let go of the little things and just have faith that everything happens for a reason. Call it growing up...call it faith...when it all clicks, the calm is a blessing.

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  9. Wow! Sometimes life just fits!! :)

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  10. Loved your post. What a beautiful, peaceful place. Must visit one day!

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  11. what a beautiful post.... faith is so beautiful.

    Many Blessings to you and your family!

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  12. Beautiful honey, and love the final picture... the end result so to speak!

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  13. This is beautiful Sharni. I know there was a reason why you were in Angkor Wat while you were pregnant. The energy of that place is strong. It was a blessing you were there. Sometimes life takes us on a journey we didn't plan and it turns out to be the better than anything we could imagine.

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  14. Hi Sharni stubbled across your blog through o-books on facebook. I loved this post, what is quite spooky,yesterday I was having a guided meditation and I 'saw' an image of what I described as a statue of an ancient tibetan monk. It was just like the statue of Buddah in your post - coincidence???!!!! or the universe working in mysterious ways?

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  15. hi angelguided. ha! love that - it was the Universe mysteriously advising you to follow my blog :-)
    thanks so much for your comments!

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  16. Beautiful piece and I am jealous of your time there. I love how the things most enduring in this world do not need plugged in, have buttons, flashing lights, nor desginer labels on them. People unravelled - the world did not. You are wise to see the beauty in all of this as we are truly part of a bigger picture! Pleasure to meet you and see you on WR!

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