Miss Mandie

An abbreviated history

Growing up in a small town, just south of Sydney, Australia, I had what seemed like a pretty typical childhood. Days spent playing with the neighbourhood kids, building cubby houses, climbing trees, riding (and falling off) bicycles, and singing myself to imaginary stardom.

My beautiful sister, Ange and me

My childhood was shaped significantly by the accompaniment of my sister with Down Syndrome.

Her imperfection tormented me at times, particularly when people in public would point and stare, but what transpired over time was a deep devotion to my special sibling and an outrageously strong streak of patience and acceptance.

She is the coolest person I know.

I spent my angst-ridden teenage years lamenting the state of the planet and harbouring thoughts of becoming the leader of Greenpeace, but for reasons I can no longer remember, I chose to study for a business degree at university.

It was somewhere during this degree that my desire to the change the world was replaced by a desire to succeed in the corporate world.

With this new found pursuit, I catapulted myself into what I deemed was a mature, logical approach to adulthood.

In short, I did what I thought was expected of me.

By the age of 23, I look around at my husband, two houses, blossoming career and newly acquired dog, and was struck with a crippling fear that my whole life was mapped out ahead.

I knew I had to make a change.

I mustered up the courage to take big risks.

I left my marriage.

I lived and partied years away in London.

I sold my gorgeous art deco inner city apartment because I couldn’t stand attending my corporate job any longer to pay for it.

I moved to Romania and lived in a tiny village.

I travelled and worked with one of the world’s most awesome non-profit organisations, CouchSurfing International.

I hitchhiked 4000km’s from Alaska to Canada.

I have spent the past year living alone in The Forest in Northern NSW, Australia in a house that is “off the grid” (solar electricity, no garbage collection, and rain water tanks but with phone and internet, thankfully!).

I haven’t worked a full-time job in over three years.

I have spent all my money.

I refuse to go back to the monotony and mediocrity of the life I once led, when all I looked forward to was Friday night drinks and my annual pay rise.

I want more for my life.

I have soul searched, reflected, meditated, connected inwardly, learned Reiki, daydreamed, felt inspired.

But I need more than soul-nourishing contentment. I want a vibrant, full, fun life that constantly challenges me to grow and stretch myself.

A life that involves deep and satisfying connections with others who value the unconventional. People who are willing to question themselves and the world around them.

I love people who are honest.

I love people who can laugh at themselves.

I love people who can make me laugh with their honesty.

I don’t like labels. I find them too black and white. I am all about bridging the gap between black and white. I guess that would make me a lover of grey.

I could be considered a Pescetarian (you know, the people just like vegetarians who eat fish), except I might occasionally eat a spoonful of Lamb Rogan Josh or a sausage.

I am a Reiki Master, and feel comfortable discussing the energetic shift on planet earth, the existence of light beings in the Pleiadians, and taking journeys into the depth of my psyche.

But don’t bother hemming me into the “woo-woo” crowd. I avoid the word ‘healer’, and love logic, business, and embracing my ego through writing too much. Oh, and I probably swear too much as well.

I don’t smoke/do drugs/drink regularly (any more). I don’t think this makes me a boring person. In fact, I think I am more interesting now than ever before.

I am finishing off studying for a life coaching qualification. However, when I’m done I don’t want to “be a life coach” – posting quotes from famous people in an attempt to motivate people, trying to sell you my “get happy quick” program and not baring my own soul and journey in the process.

I want to be a facilitator for others to embrace who they are.

I want us to feel free to be ourselves.

I want to make a difference.

I am ready to metaphorically come down off the mountain ridge now and discover what that difference is going to look like.

I just got a “day job” as a careers and disability advisor at a local university.

I am also most certainly starting my own business.

This blog has morphed over time. And will continue to do so.

But it will remain as a testament to my journey and the unfolding of me finding my voice.

Who exactly am I? And what do I really I want to say?

Come play with me and join the journey.

A friend, Weston, & me in Palmer, Alaska

My philosophy? Enjoy yourself, be happy, always remain true to what you believe and don’t ever listen to people who say you can’t do something.

25 Absolutely Random Things About Me

1. I did a live-in Vipassana meditation course and was surprised that sitting still was far more difficult for me than not talking for 9 days.

2. When I was younger, I had an invisible friend named Amy. I remember I would leave a space in my chair for her to sit when I would watch television at night. I don’t recall when she left.

3. Sometimes I get so excited about all the things going on in my life I can’t get to sleep at night and will lay awake for hours thinking. This also happens when I am stressed.

4. When I read a novel, I get so involved in the story and its characters that when its over I mourn the loss of it finishing. So much so, I can’t pick up another novel to read until after I have finished my grieving, which can sometimes be months. As a consequence of this, I rarely read novels and prefer to read non-fiction.

5. I wear clothes for so long they inevitably end up with a heap of holes in them. I am practicing my sewing skills as I am realising the clothes look much better when I sew the holes up!

6. I started ballet classes when I was 3 years old. But stopped when I was 8 years old as I was told my ankles were “too loose” for ballet. When I told my mum I wanted to take tap dancing classes (at age 30), the first thing she reminded me of was my loose ankles.

7. My sister, Ange is only two years younger than me. One of my absolutely most favourite things in life is when we sing the Dirty Dancing soundtrack at the top of our lungs in the car.

8. July 20th is a notable day in my life…it’s my mother’s birthday, the date I left my husband (at age 23) and the date I moved to London (age 24). It’s also the date man landed on the moon. Do you think there is a correlation?

9. I love closing my eyes when I ride a bicycle as it feels like I am almost flying. I remember a dream I had when I was young, when I was riding my BMX bike and jumped over a big hill and flew through the air – that feeling of flying through the air still stays with me.

10. I have never had a bleeding nose, a broken bone or been stung by a bee.

11. When I see a butterfly I can’t help but smile.

12. I believe in the power of our minds. I am mastering the art of training my thoughts so they work for good and not for evil.

13. Love Box by Groove Armada and Eyes Open by Snow Patrol are the only two albums I can listen to in total without skipping any songs. Surprisingly though, I would not rate these as my favourite groups.

Irises, Vincent Van Gogh

14. I love the smell of Jasmine but my favourite flower is Iris. It follows then, that one of my favourite paintings in the world is Irises by Van Gogh. I own two prints of it, and I was beside myself when I saw the real version in LA.

15. My other most favourite painting is The Lady of Shalot, by J.W. Waterhouse. I sat and looked at this painting for over a half hour in London and was super surprised by how big it was in real life. A mounted reprinted version of this painting was what I wanted for my 17th birthday.

16. The only thing I wanted for my 18th birthday was a video copy of the festival Woodstock ’69. For the longest time I felt I was born in the wrong era.

17. When I call friends for a reason, I don’t bother with any small talk – I cut right to the chase as I hate it when people call me and feel they need to talk about unrelated stuff before getting to the real reason they are calling. However, if I haven’t seen or spoken to someone for a while, I can talk on the phone for HOURS.

18. Not surprisingly, my ability to the talk on the phone was most likely inherited from my mother. We chat every week and phone calls are usually one hour length at a minimum.

19. I inherited my father’s opinionated manner, wanderlust and love for story telling (and in defense of my mother, he also talked a lot so it was a double whammy on that one for me!).

20. I am what I call a “sensory whore”. I love all my senses (even my common sense that can be displayed on occasion) but in particular, I love to smell and TOUCH! I cant help but touch things that make me feel good…when I walk past a neatly trimmed hedge, I love to run my hand over it as I walk by…I bought a new soft, fluffy blanket just because it felt good to touch…and soft skin, hmmm, don’t even get me started

21. I love to lie on my back and look at the contrast of a tree’s green leaves to the blue sky. I can do this for hours.

22. I believe we live more than one life and I have strong suspicions I lived in Romania in a past life – it’s uncanny how at home I feel when I’m there.

23. I rarely notice other people’s differences – I think it’s a by-product of growing up with my sister. If you say to me “Oh my god, did you see that person!?”, chances are I didn’t.

24. I much prefer to sit on the ground than a chair. I find chairs so restrictive that I am constantly fidgeting and moving around in an attempt to get comfortable on them.

25. I live my life with the intent of not getting to the end of it wandering “what if?”.