My family of shopkeepers

(L) Julia, my grandmother (R) Mie mie, my mother - the mothers who inspired Mamaku - means my mother in Bahasa Indonesia - our current food business in Brisbane. 

They say you can't choose your family...

​In this instance, my story is one of gratitude for my family.

Especially in this time of uncertainty of COVID-19.

If it were not for my ancestors I would not be here.

If it were not for them I just really wouldn't know what kind of person I would be, where I would be living, or what kind of life I would be leading. 

My family all come from countries outside of Australia. They were brave and made courageous decisions to leave their home countries to give themselves and their family a better life. 

At the moment, our world is being impacted by an unprecedented event that is creating waves of life threatening illness across the countries my family originally came from including China and Indonesia. 

I started to think today what would my life be like if I was in China or if I was in Indonesia. I know for absolute sure it would be very different, assuming fate meant I would still be born, even if my mum and dad didn't meet in Darwin. 

The beauty is this. Everything happens for a reason. So I am here. On this earth. In this place. In this moment. Right now. Here. Experiencing this world, right here from where I am.

And I just want to say thank you to my grandparents and my parents. For their ultimate sacrifices. For their hard work. For enduring. Through it all. 

They saw things too. Just like I am seeing things today.

I often wondered what were they thinking back then. I will never know. 

Now is my time to share what I am thinking today. And one day my children and grandchildren will know me. Through these words that will hopefully travel with them and land with them when they are looking for them - just when they need them the most. 

Don't be afraid. Be still. Be present. Be in this moment. It will pass as quickly as it came. The unpredictable will soon become predictable and we will wish it would become unpredictable again. But even as we lived our lives not much was certain. The only constant choice we have is what are we willing to fill our minds with?

And it is a constant choice. 

​I want the best for me. I want the best for my family. And of course I want the best for you. The only way I know how to do this is to share my experience and hopefully impact you in a positive and fulfilling way. Be inspired. Be willing to step out of the normal that everyone prescribes to. That's what my grandparents did and I will continue to honour them by doing the same.
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