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MSWA Bulletin Magazine Winter 16

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Volunteering News Dawn

Volunteering News Dawn Burke, Volunteer Coordinator The law of infinite potentiality Dr Andrew Ong Sister Marie Moriarty. Hello to all my vollies and the many other readers of this Bulletin. Autumn is here and the leaves are falling, as well as the much needed rain. By the time this reaches you, it will be winter and hopefully more rain would have followed to fill up our dams. I was kept busy organising our Annual Volunteers Luncheon which is celebrated during Volunteers Week, Monday, 9 May through to Sunday, 15 May. I was so looking forward to catching up with all of you and enjoying the great company and fabulous food. The Metropolitan Luncheon was again held at the Burswood on Swan, such a beautiful riverside location with a superb view. Bunbury celebrated at the Back Beach Café, also with amazing views of the ocean. Unfortunately, I will have to share these special days in the next Bulletin, as crossover times for printing clash. Of course this will give you all something to look forward to in the spring edition. Watch this space! I would like to share some news from the larger volunteering world. Volunteering WA, who are the State’s peak body for volunteering organisations, have just welcomed on board a new CEO, Tina Williams. I would like to extend an MS Society of WA welcome to Tina and thank Volunteering WA for all the work they do and the assistance they provide to us with advertising for volunteer vacancies, training, information and ongoing support. Organisations such as this are an invaluable resource. If any of you are looking at volunteering with MSWA, or any other organisation, jump onto the website and see what’s on offer. We, like many other organisations, appreciate and value any time given. A new free online hub has just commenced to assist all Not for Profit organisations with any legal questions. They will provide assistance for organisations to support and manage volunteers. This service has been provided through Justice Connect. Connecting to the world through the internet is certainly the way to go. For those of us who aren’t so internet friendly, or avoid computers at any cost, we would benefit from sharpening up our IT skills to keep up with the big World Wide Web. Some more trivia for all of you volunteers out there. Did you know that WA has approximately 174,700 volunteers? This equates to one volunteer for every fifteen people in WA. What an amazing ratio and a great effort from our volunteers! I would like to take this opportunity to mention two very special volunteers, Sister Marie Moriarty and Marie Harris. Now please don’t go thinking I don’t think all our volunteers aren’t special, because you are. However, these two are more so, for one particular reason. These two volunteers are ‘Long Timers’ and have been volunteering with MSWA for over 25 years. I don’t know about you, but I think this is an amazing achievement. How fortunate we are to have volunteers supporting us for so long. Very few people stay in one work place for more than five years these days. This shows you what a great bunch of folks we are to hang around with. I would like to share a bit of information with you all about Marie and Sister Marie. Sister Marie has been volunteering at our Wilson Centre throughout the years and her roles have changed over time. I do believe in days gone by she would make toasted sandwiches on a Friday for all the staff. Times were a bit quieter then compared to now. Today Sister Marie is regularly seen in Outreach and also helping out with card making with our Members in the Occupational Therapy area. Sister Marie is quite a character and well known to all the Wilson staff and Members. Marie Harris has been volunteering with our Bunbury Outreach group every Wednesday for many years and assists with events down that way and also participates in them when and where possible. Marie collects the group’s weekly Lotto monies in the hopes of winning the big one. I know at the end of the year they walk away with envelopes filled with the winnings accumulated during the year. According to Marie, this year the winning pickings have been very slim. Sister Marie and Marie have made a great contribution to the MS Society and we are truly grateful for all their valuable time and support for the staff and Members over the years. I wish to personally thank you both for your ongoing commitment and contribution and hope to see you both still floating around our centres in years to come. One more event that has been is the Annual Moore River Members’ Camp, Monday, 16 May until Thursday, 19 May. I am extremely privileged to attend these camps and love helping our Members have some much needed time out, socialisation and of course loads of fun. I have two volunteers again helping out on this camp and having the extra hands on deck helps everything to run more smoothly and gives us weary staff a bit of a break. I will keep you up to date with the camp gossip in the next Bulletin edition. I wonder what dress-up delights we will get up to! One can only imagine. I trust this Bulletin edition finds you all well and fighting fit. I always enjoy catching up with those of you who are around our Centres. Take care and bye for now. “Between the lowest and the highest degree of spiritual and bodily perfection, there is an almost infinite number of intermediate degrees. The succession of degrees comprises the universal chain. It unites all beings, ties together all worlds, embraces all the spheres” Charles Bonnet, 1764. Like the acorn that grows into a giant oak tree, we also are genetically programmed to grow into adulthood. But as human beings we have this added responsibility bestowed upon us to acquire an education so that we can fulfil our particular purpose and obligation to become the best possible person that we can. Unlike that strong oak tree, our privileged position in the universal chain of being is to continue to grow our mindset, appreciate our body and improve ourselves until we have realised our own true, authentic and unique self when we have become a complete human being. Once we realise and come to believe that this transformation is possible and that we possess the ability to create and become whatever it is that our heart desires, our potential is infinite and limitless. Providence has given us this opportunity to live at the highest level of an infinite number of intermediate degrees of bodily perfection, and such a privileged position propels us into a realm of spiritual magic. It is a realm which knows no boundaries, whose power is magnificent in its invincibility. The false self you know so well, however, wears a social mask that each day seeks external approval. This is the false self that wants to control you and is sustained by power because it lives in fear of providence. Your true, new self on the other hand is internal and has an inner locus of control. When you are in touch with your true self you will be immune to criticism and fearless in all your life’s endeavours. There will be no desire to control or manipulate other people, no wish to justify yourself or indeed to be seen by others to always be politically correct. Instead you will be content because you are polite and will have done what you feel is the right thing. You will have cast aside your social mask and no longer seek to thrive only on the approval of others. As your true authentic self you will have that infinite potential to be creative. You will magnetise people. You will have good luck and experience circumstances that will support all your worthwhile desires. You will feel a sense of bonding and synergy with people because your strength is built on the greatest power in the universe, that of respect for your privileged position in the universal chain. Then you will have found unconditional love. “Accept the children the way we accept trees—with gratitude, because they are a blessing—but do not have expectations or desires. You don’t expect trees to change, you love them as they are” Isabel Allende. Tips for a healthy lifestyle Dr Andrew Ong Take anti-oxidants. Ensure that your diet contains high fibre. No sugar. Low fat. No salt. Always exercise regularly. Maintain a positive mental attitude. Have a hobby. Maintain goals. Enter a relationship. Take enzymes, co-enzymes Q10, selenium, calcium. Never smoke. Drink alcohol in moderation. Be judicious in your use of drugs. Rest often. Take a holiday. Ensure that you have some quality time to spend with the one you love. Find some personal space. Eat two ginseng leaves each day. Always have positive expectations. Be moderate with sunshine. Drink lots of water. And laugh. 26 Winter 2016 The MS Society of Western Australia The MS Society of Western Australia Winter 2016 27

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