First of all I think I should explain the reason for the name lisavonbeaverhausen:  I love the TV show Will & Grace and my favourite character is Mrs Karen Walker.  She is sexy, sassy and has absolutely no filter at all which I love love love.  Anastasia Von Beaver Hausen is the name she uses as her alias. So that is answered.  I mostly I love her character because she made me laugh out loud with lines like:

Oh I regret the day I ever laid boobs on that man.

Awwww Honey – I got a fake laugh with your name all over it.

and Because I’m a lady – assface!

Thank you Mrs Karen Walker. I salute you with a glass of champagne.

Why a blog ……………….. good question ………………. I still have not decided if I will let anyone actually read this but I feel that it could be a good cathartic way for me to express myself.  I can promise you that it will be a mixture of life, love & laughter and occasional (and possibly nonsensical) rhetoric or diatribe depending on how I am feeling.

So how am I feeling today – well not too bad.  The recent events in Paris have weighed heavily on my heart as Paris is a city I love.  The fact that we were there in September also make it all too real.  What all wars seem to fundamentally boil down to, is religion. I looked up the definition of religion which is: An organised collection of beliefs, cultural systems and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence.  So lets kick off this blog with the big one Religion – here are my thoughts.

First I should note that I am not a religious women at all.  This is because I have experienced too much loss which I can not understand.  At 6 my Mum passed away and I did not understand, then when my Dad passed away when I was 17 I not only did not understand but was also very angry.   My Dad was my hero and to this day I still mourn the loss – I have tears in my eyes as I am writing this…….. It just hurts every single day.

Anyway back to my thoughts – As I said I was recently in Paris and was sitting in the Sacre Coeur while Mike & Bailey climbed to the top and as I looked around at the people who were soaking up the beauty of the space, sitting in quiet reflection or taking part in the Mass and it got me thinking.  As I looked up I saw the light coming through onto an angel sculpture – now I have heard people say that God has spoken to them (which I have always imagined to be the voice of James Earl Jones – but that is just me) and that is what bought them to their religion and I was moved by the beauty of the vision but no I was not hit by some great epiphany although it did get me thinking.

I would like to start off by saying that if you are reading this and have found your faith with your God please don’t get me wrong – I am not against religion.  I admire anyone who has the conviction in their beliefs to live by them – I just don’t understand the people to choose to commit horrific attacks and ultimately be ready to die for their “religion” and in the process take innocent people with them.  There have been devoted people who have died for in the name of their religion such as:

• Thomas A Beckett: Archbishop of Canterbury who angered King Henry II by placing the church before the King.
• Joan of Arc: Arrested and burnt at the stake for “heterodox religious beliefs”
• Maximilian Kolbe: A Polish Franciscan Friar who was executed at Aushwitz after volunteering to take the place of a man who was afraid of death.
• Thich Quang Duc: A Vietnamese Buddhist Monk who set himself on fire and was burnt to death in protest of the treatment of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese Government.

All noble people who stood fast by their convictions.

In saying that I did not have a great epiphany I did have a very powerful realisation. Sitting there I started to think about all of the many places of worship in many forms we have visited all of the world – including walking on to a Marae,  Notre Dame, St Peters Basilica, Westminster Abbey, Duomo di Milano, Po Lin Monastery, Tai’o Taoist Temple, Jade Buddha Temple and the Meiji Shrine in Japan.  What do all of the people who visit these places of worship have in common?  I feel that the answer (for me anyway) is faith.  I may not worship a God but I do have faith and I do feel a sense of spirituality.  The closest I have been to understanding was in Hong Kong at a little fishing village on Lantau Island at the Taoist Temple – our guide was an Australian who had married and moved to Lantau.  He was very passionate when explaining the fundamental aspects of Taoism which I found very interesting. Basically as I understand it, Taoism is an awareness of your relationship with nature and the universe.  You do this by being true to yourself and connecting to the world the way you want to be treated.

I am reminded of the wonderful line from Disney’s “Bambi” when Thumper says “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”   I like the sound of that and how hard can that really be?  But people do say mean, hurtful, evil things which lead to conflict which leads to violence especially again in the name of religion.  At what point in our history did we become so ANGRY?  Shouldn’t finding your religion or faith be a calming, joyous experience where you live your life with a smile on your face and love in your heart.  When did these certain factions decide that instead of living by the word of their God they will viciously attack anyone who does not believe what they do?  I feel that finding your peace should make you feel like being enveloped in a big warm snugly blanket of delicious contentment and love.  Not make you want to commit acts of violence.

The most frightening aspect of these acts in the name of religion is the ages of the young men and women taking part.  And with quite a few of them converting to their religion – they have not been bought up in it.

I feel a great sense of sadness for all of the Muslims who have nothing to do with any of this insanity.  A friend of mine has converted to Islam and now lives her life as a Muslim women. She came back to Australia a few years ago for a visit and it was the first time I had seen her in her full dress and hijab.  Of course we had many questions which she was happy to answer – she had met a lady in London who had explained to her what Islam is and my friend then set about to look into the religion more, over many months she studied and then made the fully informed decision that it was the religion for her.  I could see the light in her eyes when she spoke of finding her God and she was genuinely happy.  That is when I knew that this was the right decision for her as she has found her joy, peace and contentment.  We then had a good laugh about the many nights we spent at Melbas back in the 90’s with many drinks in us singing our hearts out and busting out our awesome (to us anyway) dance moves.

Unfortunately wearing the hijab or burka then makes them a target of hate from another section of society who are not causing mayhem in the name of religion they are just doing it because they can.  These anarchists are not doing this for any other reason than to cause havoc and for their own self gratification.

I chose to have my faith and spirituality come to me from my interaction with the world and most importantly from my friends and family.  I chose to embrace the world and the beauty in it.  I have a tendency to become overwhelmed at times with certain situations or places.  My most recent experience was at Claude Monet’s Garden in Giverny.  I stood on one of the Japanese bridges and looked across the pond filled with the Water Lilies so prevalent in his work to the bridge on the other side and I just cried. Monet is my favourite artist and standing there in his sacred space was all too much.

Maybe one day I will get some tap on the shoulder and hear the word of God but I am thinking in reality it is probably a no on that.  I choose to put my faith in people to do the right thing and even with all the madness in the world I have to believe that good will ultimately win over evil.

Because …….. in the words of George Michael: “Cause I gotta have faith.”