Secret Women's Business

I've recently caught the Facebook bug... which has rather slowed my pace of blogging. Why would one go to the effort of writing a whole article when one can write a few witty words? (Perhaps in this I flatter myself about the generally trivial rubbish I post online!!!) I only joined Facebook because my sister informed me that "Not being on Facebook is like not having a mobile phone". In other words, if I was to have any relevance in the current millenium, Facebook was absolutely essential. So she registered me. A "late adopter" I may be... but better late than never. I have found it kind of fun, and an interesting way to connect with a variety of people. I've also been amazed how much free time some people have... just how many quizzes/games/challenges/virtual world construction can one pack into a day? I did have some pause for thought in the Facebook phenomenon last night listening to Dr Michael Carr-Greg speak on early adolescence. There is something a li...

I have copied the article below from the Age online: THE standard assumption is that women’s lives have dramatically improved in the past 50 years. They have considerably more personal freedom, and opportunities for education and employment have been transformed. As a result they have much greater financial independence, which has given them more power to shape their lives. So far, so easy. But something odd is going on. These huge social changes are not making women happier, and, according to several significant studies, women’s happiness relative to men’s has declined in the past 25 years. This includes women of all age groups, and is evident in many countries, particularly the United States and Britain. Let’s start with the most alarming evidence. It comes from a study by Patrick West and Helen Sweeting of 15-year-olds conducted in exactly the same place in Scotland in 1987, 1999 and 2006. The 1999 results show that the incidence of common mental disorders such as anxiety, depressio...

"It was the worst of times, it was the best of times" is the famous opening line of Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities". It is a phrase that comes to my mind on this six-month anniversary of Black Saturday. The worst of times... as Australia's worst ever natural disaster claimed 173 lives and traumatised thousands of others. However, this "worst of times" led to a truly remarkable outpouring of generosity and service by the Australian community... the best qualities of the Australian community (and beyond) were released in a most moving way. This article notes the recovery process and the contribution of a wide range of church, business and community groups that rallied to help. I would like to take a moment to sing the praises of the VCC chaplains... largely unsung in the media... who journeyed with deeply traumatised people after the fire. Many chaplains have continued to journey with those impacted by this tragedy. Each chaplain I have spoken with ...