Hello Sunday Morning | Alun

The Wagon – From Ask Yahoo
16/11/11 • 2 Comments

Though the phrase “to fall off the wagon” can allude to any number of vices, it usually refers to a person’s failed attempt to give up alcohol. In the late 1800s, many Americans campaigned for a government ban on liquor. Those who chose to live the sober life were said to be “on the wagon.” In this case, the “wagon” was actually a water cart used to hose down dusty roads on hot days. Basically, saying that a person was “on the wagon” was shorthand for “they would sooner climb aboard a water cart to quench their thirst” than have a drop of liquor. We doubt many demonstrated the vow by actually jumping up on carts, but the phrase makes their commitment clear. The proposed ban on alcohol, known as Prohibition, eventually became law in the United States, but it didn’t really work out the way advocates had hoped. [...]

Ok. It’s late at night and I am off to India soon, and I have loads to do before I go, but I haven’t done a post for ages, so I will type something out as a bit of an update. The Mark Bin Bakar/Mary G film I have been working on is nearly finished. It was a privelige to have such an in depth interview with him and he shares his stories of how he kept his spirit strong through the challenges of the socially fractured indigenous community he grew up in. His words and the humour of Mary G strike a chord with a lot of people around Australia. I hope this film communicates something of his spirit and love of people. I have started working with Mick Lindsay and his Lyricist on ideas for a couple of songs for his album. If things go the way he [...]

What tangled webs I wove
22/10/11 • 5 Comments

Judgement, Justification, Abiding, Open Heart It is really strange how we get caught up repositioning ourselves as a non-drinker amongst our friends. Sobriety is a natural state; intoxication is an altered reality. People build up all sorts of stories to justify to themselves why intoxication is ok – and I am not talking about the occasional pleasant drink here. So many HSM posts testify how worried we are about letting people know that we have chosen not to drink for a while! For my part, I have so often worried about what other people think about me, and when I actually find out what they think surpisingly frequently it is more positive than I could imagine. I got the sack from my first professional job out of uni. My world collapsed! But when I told Dad he didn\’t see me as a failure, nor did my girlfriend, in fact [...]

Film splits in two
18/10/11 • 6 Comments

The youth alcohol film project has split into two strands. I did an interview with Mark Bin Bakar (aka Mary G.) an Indigenous cross dressing comedian. He has a big impact on attitudes to health in Indigenous communities. RFDS are keen to see this material turned into a film – I will post this one as soon as it is finished. It will provide a valuable film for health and wellbeing work in the bush and is a great outcome for the project. We will then be chasing funding to complete our filming of rural experiences of HSM and produce the short doco to encourage people to question why they drink. We have a few leads to follow and a lot of enthusiasm and we have about a dozen people that I know signed up to HSM so far. There are insights and wonderful stories already – check out [...]

Stillness
18/10/11 • 3 Comments

I struggled with drinking for a long time. I finally managed to give up 3 years ago and it has felt like a blessing. When I read the blogs on HSM I feel very connected to people in their challenges and successes. It seems that, for some, the simple act of finding moderation is enough and they happily live healthier lives. For me I see that, while my life is much better in so many ways, there is a periodic sense of anxiety that in the past I attributed to after effects from drinking. Now I remember it has been there right back to childhood. Meditation has given me a much greater understanding of how the process of anxiety comes about. I have learned to be more attentive to thoughts and emotions and to let go of identifying with them, rather seeing them as physical sensations and patterns of understanding. [...]