During an IMPORTANT CONVERSATION I had "Once Upon A Time" with my MOTHER... I was PASSIONATELY pointing out Flaws in Her REASONING/LOGIC concerning the Serious Matters we were DISCUSSING. As I had, and still HAVE a Tendency to DO. Mostly due to my Youthful Ignorance Then, and INNATELY "BRASH" NATURE that I have Struggled with "Limited Success" to "GENTLE" for most of My LIFE. In that Respect... the BEST I've managed to ACHIEVE Thus Far, is ESSENTIALLY... I "WEAR" a "Velvet Glove" over the "Steel Gauntlets" I was BORN "WEARING". READY TO WIELD when the Occasion CALLS for me to DO SO. Make No Mistake... I AM A "SURVIVOR".

Fortunately, I LOVE Velvet. I find it SOFT and COMFORTING to the TOUCH, with an INTRINSIC BEAUTY I APPRECIATE. LOVE How Velvet GLOWS with COLOUR, yet also SHIMMERS, and REFLECTS LIGHT EXQUISITELY. LOVE the GRACEFUL WAYS It DRAPES, MOVES and FALLS... the FACT that When PROPERLY CARED FOR... Velvet hardly ever Wrinkles, or shows any "Wear and Tear" over Time. In ESSENCE... "WEARING Velvet" SOOTHES My "SAVAGE SPIRIT". Much like certain SPECIAL KINDS of MUSIC I LOVE to LISTEN TO also DOES. HELPS Me TO "ACCESS", and STAY "CONNECTED" WITH My GENTLE, ARCHETYPAL FEMININE "SIDE". Which I CHOOSE TO EXPRESS Whenever I FEEL "SAFE" and SECURE ENOUGH TO DO SO. Because I LEARNED from My MOTHER that it takes more STRENGTH TO BE GENTLE, than to BE Casually Cruel. However, I have also LEARNED through PERSONAL EXPERIENCE that Most People tend to Mistake GENTLENESS as a "Sign of Weakness" and tend to be "Dismissive" towards ANYONE They "Believe" to be "Gentle". It is a COMMON Misperception that I attribute to Flawed Social Conditioning.

Which means more often than not... ALLOWING Myself to SHOW My GENTLE "Side" means I must also BE VIGILANT against Anyone who SEEKS to TRY to take ADVANTAGE of me, "just because" They have been "Conditioned" to THINK it is "Okay" to DO SO. Taking my "Cue" from former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt who said "SPEAK SOFTLY and CARRY a Big Stick."

But that doesn't CHANGE the FACT that DEEP at the HEART of ME... I'm a PROUD "AMAZON WARRIOR", a "NOBLE SAVAGE", and a "WILD WOMAN" who can NEVER BE completely "Subjugated", "Domesticated" or "Tamed". ONLY "GENTLED" AT BEST, and ONLY BY the BEST.

Oh sure... I've been "Baited", Tricked, "Trapped", Conned, Sabotaged and "King Hit" from Behind like so many of Us have been, at one Time or Another in Our Lives. But I SURVIVED. Albeit, with a certain amount of "Battle Scars" of One Kind or Another - Some Visible, Some "Invisible"... to SHOW for My PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS with the "Forces of Darkness". ALL LEARNING EXPERIENCES.

There is a Saying... "That which does not Kill Me, MAKES ME STRONGER." Well... Yes and No. It CAN MAKE Us STRONGER. But ONLY IF We REFUSE TO ALLOW that Negative Encounter to Destroy Us. HOPE HELPS Us to "BOUNCE BACK" from PERSONAL Crises on a Scale We cannot possibly IMAGINE, unless We have actually "Gone Through" such a "RITE OF PASSAGE". I'm REFERRING to the Types of PERSONAL TRAGEDIES that CAN either Kill, Maim or PERMANENTLY Cripple Us in some SIGNIFICANT WAY . That CAN MAKE Us Insane, Mentally Imbalanced or Emotionally Disturbed... that CAN LEAD Us to Commit Murder and Mayhem... or to Commit Suicide... or CAN leave Us "Walking Wounded". That CAN MAKE Us "Easy Prey" for the Next Social Predator that "Targets" Us. IF WE ALLOW IT TO. THE CHOICE IS OURS TO MAKE.

Make No Mistake... like Natural Predators... Social Predators have an INNATE ABILITY TO SENSE ANY POSSIBLE "Weakness" within Their Intended Prey, and Generally... They ARE ABLE TO USE ANY PERCEIVED "Weakness" in Us to Their ADVANTAGE. Unless We are PREPARED and ABLE to PROTECT, and DEFEND Ourselves in Whatever WAYS We NEED TO DO SO. But unlike Natural Predators... Social Predators ARE ALWAYS "Hungry". They ARE ALWAYS on the Hunt for Their Next Victim. They can "SMELL" Our Fears, Confusion and ANY Doubts We may have in Ourselves.

HOPE HELPS to PROTECT Us from Social Predators. Because HOPE HELPS Us TO "REGENERATE" as MUCH as HUMANLY POSSIBLE from ANY Setback. No matter How Severe, How Tragic, or How Extreme. HOPE STRENGTHENS US.

But at that Time of My LIFE when I was having such a SERIOUS CONVERSATION with My MOTHER about What I CONSIDERED TO BE IMPORTANT, and What Was Not... I was still LEARNING to "Pick My BATTLES". Still LEARNING What was WORTH FIGHTING FOR. Still LEARNING that even though you can WIN the "BATTLE", you can still Lose the "WAR". Still LEARNING HOW to "GIVE" on the "Little Things", but to HOLD FAST on the "Big Things". Still LEARNING HOW to FIGHT for What I THOUGHT was "GOOD", "RIGHT" and "TRUE". Still too quick to "remove" my "Velvet Gloves" at the "Slightest Provocation". Still LEARNING how to TEMPER My FIERY NATURE. Still LEARNING the "ART" of DIPLOMACY. Still LEARNING about My "STRENGTHS and Weaknesses". HOW Some Times... our STRENGTHS can actually BE our "Weaknesses", and our "Weaknesses" can actually BE our STRENGTHS. Still LEARNING that none of Us is "PERFECT". Although Some of Us, have come pretty close to BEING the LIVING EMBODIMENT of that IDEAL. ARE TRULY "ANGELS-IN-DISGUISE". Still LEARNING HOW TO "CLAIM" MY POWER.

STILL LEARNING... Even Now. But I keep on TRYING.

So CERTAIN I had ALL the ANSWERS Then. Without REALISING the CONSEQUENCES and DEEPER IMPLICATIONS of my ACTIONS, APPROACH, ATTITUDE, "MINDSET", STANCE, THOUGHTS, and WORDS... of HOW What I was TRYING to SAY might AFFECT My MOTHER. I "STRUCK a Nerve" during that FATEFUL CONVERSATION with My MOTHER Then. She PAUSED... Then in ESSENCE... She said that when I Disagreed with Someone, I didn't mess around, and just went straight for the jugular vein!! Her RESPONSE SURPRISED me into a momentary SILENCE, as I THOUGHT about What She SAID.

The Thing is... because I DO have a FIERY TEMPER... along with a NATURAL Tendency to Hold a Grudge "FOREVER and a Day", When I am DEEPLY OFFENDED... I really HATE Fighting!! Also, Whenever I DO get TRULY Angry about Something Offensive... the FACT that I've become Angry about Anything, makes me Absolutely Furious ("Let slip the Dogs of War", "GRRR")!!! So YES, I do have a Tendency to "Go For The Throat" of the Matter ("Where's My CROWN?? Off with Their Heads!!!). INSTINCTIVELY REACT to put an END to ANY Discord, Interference and Opposition I PERCEIVE to BE "Against Me" "ASAP". Because the Sooner a Troublesome Issue is RESOLVED, the Sooner I can put my "Velvet Gloves" back on, CAN CALM DOWN and RELAX.

So, Properly CHASTISED by My MOTHER... I REALISED that in the PASSION of the Moment... I'd Hurt Her FEELINGS without meaning to, and SINCERELY APOLOGISED. That was When She SAID... "Don't be so quick to take away Someone Else's HOPE, because Some Times... that is ALL They HAVE." It was a LIFE LESSON I LEARNED Then through My MOTHER'S WISE WORDS. Along with several Variations of that Same LIFE LESSON that I've also LIVED THROUGH PERSONAL EXPERIENCES - FROM EVERY POSSIBLE PERSPECTIVE.

I've often PONDERED over the various LIFE LESSONS that My WISE MOTHER has TAUGHT me over the Years. Such as "Words once SPOKEN in Anger, can NEVER BE Taken Back"... "If you can't SAY Anything NICE, don't SAY Anything at all"... "Can't never DID Anything"... "You CAN DO ANYTHING you set your Mind TO DO"... to name a few. Some of Which, I now Disagree with... only because I've LEARNED through PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, that This or That LESSON She TAUGHT me Then, no longer APPLIES Now, in the RAPIDLY-CHANGING WORLD/SOCIETY that We ALL LIVE IN.

HOWEVER... I DO KNOW that the INTRINSIC IMPORTANCE of ALLOWING, PROTECTING and NURTURING Someone Else's HOPE for a BETTER LIFE can be a CRUCIAL TURNING-POINT in the LIFE of that Individual. As well as for EVERYONE who is CLOSELY "CONNECTED" to that Individual. So much SO... that when We in our Ignorance and/or Impatience, Thoughtlessly and Cruelly take away Someone Else's HOPE... BASICALLY, not only are We perhaps "Stripping" that particular Individual of the ONLY EMOTIONAL and SPIRITUAL STRENGTH and COMFORT that Individual may HAVE to "HOLD ONTO", at a particularly Vulnerable Time of that Person's LIFE. IN DOING SO... We can ALSO EFFECTIVELY Dishearten, Undermine and Destabilise EVERYONE Relatively "CLOSE" to that Individual BY ASSOCIATION... along with ALL of the Other Individuals who ARE ALSO Relatively "CLOSE" to the People who are "CONNECTED" to that One "Key" Individual. Much like knocking over a Pattern of Dominoes standing on end, Stacked CLOSE ENOUGH to Each Other. So that ALL it takes is One Careless, or Purposeful PUSH at the "Wrong" Time... to EVENTUALLY CAUSE Everyone to "Fall on their Faces" or to "Fall on their Asses" into the "Dust", or to "Fall Hard" onto the Concrete, or Much Worse. To "Fall" into a State of Homelessness. Or Over the "Edge of Nothing" into "Free-fall". To subsequently "Fall to their Deaths" upon the "Rocks Below". Or to "Fall into the Sea of Despair" to either "Drown", or "BE Eaten" by the "Sharks", or some other Predatory "Denizens of the DEEP". This is UNACCEPTABLE to Me. It should BE UNACCEPTABLE to You too!!! Because There, but for the GRACE of God, or Whatever HIGHER POWER that You may ACKNOWLEDGE... You could BE THAT Individual who ends up BEING "Pushed" into a "Hell" of Someone Else's DESIGN - for No Good Reason.

I've LIVED A "COLORFUL LIFE". As Fate would have it... over the Years I've EXPERIENCED many "Long, Dark Nights of the Soul" and LEARNED that it is HOPE that ENABLES Us to ENDURE What Cannot Be Endured... ENABLES Us to DO the "Impossible". LEARNED that "Impossible", just means it hasn't been DONE... YET. That it is HOPE, that GIVES Us the STRENGTH to MOVE FORWARD with Our LIVES. Even When a "Significant Part" of Us is so Exhausted, so Deeply Injured, and so World-Weary... We would much rather "Give Up", "Lay Down" and "Wait To Die". Someone once said "Sometimes it takes more COURAGE TO LIVE, than to Die". I KNOW that to be TRUE.

I've LEARNED that it is HOPE that BANISHES DARKNESS. Like a BEACON FIRE BLAZING on a HIGH PLACE, so I CAN SEE My WAY CLEARLY enough to BE ABLE TO FOCUS on What I NEED TO DO, and Where I NEED TO GO Next. That both DRAWS Us, like "Moths to a FLAME"... that GUIDES and STRENGTHENS Us on Our Life Paths - Wherever We must GO. Whether THROUGH Dark Alleys, Poorly-Lit Parks, Questionable "Short-Cuts", Dead-End Mazes, "Endless" Labyrinths, Dire Situations, Living Nightmares, "Enchanted" Forests Where Things are seldom what They SEEM To Be, even into the "Valley of the Shadow of Death" (LIVED There for Too Long - TWICE). Or eventually... "Trapped" by the "Minions of Darkness", then Dragged back and tossed into the Next New and Improved "Inescapable" Oubliette in Hell Reserved just for You or ME. Where I have STAYED Just Long Enough to CARVE My Initials into the Walls, Before I ESCAPE AGAIN. BEEN There, DONE That.

HOPE is that BRILLIANT, DIVINE "SPARK" DEEP WITHIN the CORE of ALL THAT WE ARE. That HELPS Us to HOLD ONTO our SENSE of HUMANITY... in spite of All Odds Against... No Matter What... Come What May. It is HOPE that ENABLES Us to "BLOOM" during the Long, Dark, Nights of our SOULS... "PERFUMING" the Night Air with an ENCHANTING "FRAGRANCE" that STRENGTHENS Our SPIRITS, and CHEERS Our Hearts. That HELPS Us to PERSEVERE until the Next DAWN of a MOMENTOUS DAY. It is HOPE that "WHISPERS" in our ears of NEW POSSIBILITIES for a BETTER LIFE for Ourselves, for Anyone and Any Thing We CHERISH. That We can't possibly SEE Before. Not until HOPE GRACES Us with Its DIVINE PRESENCE.

NEVER Underestimate the INNATE TRANSCENDENTAL, LIFE-TRANSFORMING POWER, and INTRINSIC VALUE OF HOPE to be FOUND WITHIN the HUMAN SPIRIT. For It is One of Our MOST PRECIOUS SAVING GRACES.

Regarding what I made this "Extract" from...

Ha ha ha ha ha... Guess!!!

Taken at "Our" Old House in the Backyard in Bankstown, NSW, AU. On a BRIGHT and GENTLE Morning. I was sitting on the Back Steps, Facing EAST... Brushing my hair. All of SUDDEN... I was INSPIRED. Made a Series of These Photos. What Do You THINK?? What Do You SEE???

As I've Mentioned More Than Once In My Artist Statements... That Old House... The Oversize Yard... Was SACRED GROUND. This Photo was taken in 2009. That Old House and the Grounds were Desecrated... Destroyed by Property Developers in Aug 2015.