Firstly, let me say what a very humbling experience this was. I’ve had a few days now to process what I have just been through and you know something, we are as soft as Brie cheese that’s been left out in the sun for a few hours. I’m the first to admit that I love all my home comforts and am very fortunate and grateful to have all the mod cons for cooking and cleaning. We live in such a fast paced world and no wonder my head spins with each new day trying to work out what’s hot and where it’s cool to be seen… and that’s just online!!

This is not my first trip overseas to a place where the minimum monthly wage is way below the poverty line at $30.00, but it has been quite some time since I have experienced such a lovely race of people who will never have all the conveniences that we do and not even a fraction at that!

This is taken in the Kokoda Village.

Port Moresby itself is very dirty and all hotels, shops and restaurants are locked up and have razor wire around the boundaries. You DO NOT venture into the streets on your own no matter what! You see, there are many desperate people who wait for such an opportunity and then bring out a knife to take the contents of your bag. Apparently, it is the murder capital of the world and not somewhere you would want to be without security guards by your side.

Once in the villages, it is quite safe to mingle with the natives of the land. After all, their ancestors are the original Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels who helped our Aussie diggers when wounded by the Japanese during WWII.

So upon our arrival, we were briefed and enjoyed a couple of quiet drinks at the hotel in anticipation of what we were to face for the next 8 days!

The next morning we had to have our packs and ourselves down at reception at 6am. Kind of early I thought and in hindsight, we could have slept another 2 hours. Everything moves very slowly in PNG. We were all anxious to get going. That nervous energy filled the space we were in. Pacing, catching a few more winks if we could… eating our snacks out of boredom… and finally at 10:30am we received the news that the fog had cleared and we were ordered to the airport to catch our late flight to Kokoda Village for the start of our trek.

Our tour guide Dave from www.noroads.com.au pointing out some terrain we would cover on the trek.

Once there, we were introduced to our personal porters and others who would join us and off we went with courage and enthusiasm in our steps to discover what is the Kokoda Track and to take in the beauty and history as we went.

All in all, we were that excited to get going that the first day went quite quickly. A steady fairly easy climb until we were just outside our first camp site at Deniki where we experienced the first of many steep climbs. I think shock set in and I remember thinking that I hoped that there weren’t any others as steep as this! Did I say that? Already the psychology and mindset are prevalent.

Stay tuned for the next installment… !

The Deniki Camp site. Day 1

I have something to share with you. Yes it has been quite some time since I went into Melbourne CBD to offer some Free Hugs inspired by Juan Mann who founded this campaign on the simple principle of giving a stranger a hug… and I have to tell you that I have had some real fun and challenges editing the footage, however… it is here!

If you are thinking of joining the Free Hugs worldwide campaign, I have recently learned that there is an illustrated Free Hugs guide available and it is filled with descriptions, anecdotes and iconic illustrations of over 30 different styles of hugs that leave the reader with a lasting impression.

So firstly, let me introduce you to State of Man (SOM). They are an awesome band based in Atlanta who totally RAWK and have a reputation for being “One of the East coasts premier acts” (XM Satellite Radio). They kindly agreed and gave me permission to use their inspiring song Swallow Your Fears to accompany the footage. Yay!! Thank you SOM.

This song was chosen by me because it was written to inspire you to move beyond fears caused by past disappointments in life. A song about living, trusting and loving again. A song that made me feel like I was alive and free. It made me want to hug the closest person to me when I first heard it so I thought it apt for adding to this footage.

If you like the music, please consider becoming a fan of State of Man in Facebook or click the banner to join the club and support them.

Feel free to share this post with your friends and family and get SOM love for this wonderful band State of Man. I have also given you the download link for the movie and it does require a Flash Embed plugin for Wordpress blogs.

So sit back, relax and enjoy the hugs that brought smiles to the faces of many people including my own

Free Hugs

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

“Hugging is healthy. It helps the immune system, cures depression,
reduces stress and induces sleep. It’s invigorating, rejuvenating and
has no unpleasant side effects. Hugging is nothing less than a miracle drug.

Hugging is all natural. It is organic, naturally sweet, no artificial
ingredients, nonpolluting, environmentally friendly and 100 percent wholesome.

Hugging is the ideal gift. Great for any occasion, fun to give and receive,
shows you care, comes with its own wrapping and, of course, is fully returnable.”
Author Unknown

Hello to all ( : Ange left her laptop open so I decided to sneak a post in before she noticed.

My name’s Michaela. I am Ange’s niece, 14 years young. There’s really not much to write, mainly because I don’t really know what my auntie does on here. But I’m going to say this, Ange is the craziest aunt I have. Meaning crazy in a good way. She loves her family and friends and cares deeply about what’s going on around her. For that, I love and admirer her.

I don’t find her on the adventurous scale, and I somehow don’t think The Kakoda Trail was such a good choice of adventure for her, but I know she’ll survive it ( : I think one of the most caring things she has done in the past is ‘FREE HUGS DAY MELBOURNE’.

She has a strong mind and always has her own opinion. If you dislike well trust me, you’re missing out.

I think I’m done on here. Thanks for reading about my auntie Ange ( : Much love to all, especially the one this is about.

xxx

Have you ever felt like you were the only person in the whole universe with a challenge? You may have noticed that I have been absent from Buzzing with Ange a bit lately. To tell you the truth, I lost my creativity and didn’t want to bring you half-baked articles just to keep updating. Instead, I have been meandering along another path away from my laptop and that is the one of further study for my NLP (Neuro-Linguistic-Programming) Master Practitioner along with training for the Kokoda Trek!

Aside from that, we, that is my family, have recently found out that my dad needs to have open heart surgery and as I type this, he has been hospitalised due to a series of recurring minor heart attacks and we are waiting to hear when he will be able to have the procedure done. Needless to say, it has put us all on standby wondering what the outcome will be.

Through all this, I have learned something about myself and that is that I am not the super emotionally strong person I thought I was. Does this mean that I have failed? No, not at all! In fact, what is has done is made me aware of the vulnerabilities that we as humans all have and that is that when someone close to us that we love faces a life threatening challenge, we start asking the questions why. After all, my dad is a very fit man and at the age of 78, he walks 60 kms per week!

The thing is to not ask why, but rather, how do we adapt to make this experience go as smoothly as possible while maintaining a positive outlook so as to keep my dad’s spirits up and help him as best we can through this challenge?


This Is How We Grow

While being empathic to his reality, I think the best thing I can do is spend time with him and ask questions so that I can learn as much as I can about him… I’m sure there are many things that I do not know about my dad and at the same time, tell him how I feel about him. Use the time to really bond and I think I am sounding like this is the end for him, and I’m sure it isn’t, but what an opportunity to get even closer than I was before! My point is that sometimes we leave things unsaid and then have regrets that we shoulda coulda woulda done this that and the other. I have heard it too many times before and I would rather not be left in that situation so speak now before it is too late.

This way of thinking can apply to anyone in our lives who we may be needing to discuss things with. What I mean is to not let emotions hold you back from speaking up about something or clearing the air if need be. I’m thinking in particular about forgiveness and emotional intelligence which goes a long way towards your personal development. Being consciously aware of our reactions to particular people or circumstances and coming to an agreement with ourselves or others, helps us keep things in perspective and not make up stories about it… after all, your reality will differ from the next person’s reality. We all have a different view of life and whatever your beliefs, it is the right one for you. Remember though that holding onto negative thoughts you have without either writing them down or talking about them with someone, will only make you the victim so please, if you have something to say then say it.

I know I am not the first person to be faced with this situation and I won’t be the last. So, I am not looking for sympathy here, rather, I would like to ask what are some of the things you may have tried in a similar situation which worked for you and your family to get you through a time like this?

It seems only fitting that my 100th post on Buzzing with Ange is to share with you my greatest personal challenge to date. Seeing as this blog is about personal development, it is important that I let you in on how my journey is progressing and some of the challenges that I take on. I am involved with a fitness group who have organised to trek the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea in June of this year.

For Australians, this is the setting of an extremely difficult time during World War II where we lost the most number of diggers - 6000, in the shortest space of time - 7 months. The Aussie soldiers held the Japanese back from taking Port Moresby by land, retreating many times and firing back to exhaust the Japanese soldiers into re-thinking their strategy which saw them file back to the Northern part of the Island.

The Kokada Trail is a single file footpath that stretches for 96 kilometres (about 60 miles) in a north/south direction, straight across the Owen Stanley ranges in Papua New Guinea. My good Aussie mate Allan and I will be combining our efforts to bring you some history of the Kokoda Trail, along with the training I am undertaking and most importantly, the mindset behind taking on such a feat.

This is not a decision I made lightly and for those that know me on a personal level would know that I am not the kind of girl to get my hands dirty, camping and hiking in the outback is not something I do on a regular basis as I am a creature of comforts and I really, really like hot showers, clean toilets, meals cooked in a clean kitchen and a comfy bed with a cozy doona/comforter to snuggle into. So, do you think I am going to have to have a paradigm shift in order to get through this challenge and change my mindset around creature comforts? I think it will open up new possibilities for me in the way I perceive things, and I will definitely be in need of a Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel on this trip.


Kokoda Memorial 1000 Steps

Saturday just gone was our first official training day as a group and I was whisked off to the Dandenong Ranges here in Melbourne to climb the 1000 steps which are part of the Kokoda memorial. I didn’t count them as I was too busy trying to catch my breath. I have plenty of work to do on my fitness level in preparation for this adventure so stick with me and I will give updates on my progress.

I will leave you with a sample of what I am to expect once we land in Port Moresby… tell me your thoughts and if someone here has already taken this challenge on, please share your experience. There are many expeditions organised on regular basis through various companies.