The Time Is Now - DB

This is the face of 5 year old Liam Conejo Ramos, who ICE gents in Minnesota was just about to use as 'bait' to get his father to come out of his house. So they could send them both to an immigration detention centre in Texas - thousands of miles away from their home. No criminal convictions, no history of anything but being an integral part of their local community.

This, following the murder of Renee Nicole Good, for being a non-violent protester, has taken what's happening in the US to extremes that cross many boundaries of decency and humanity.

And as a Christian, the far-right evangelical Christian National influence in all of this is too much for me right now. I have no words ...

This is NOT the world I want to be part of. And certainly not the Christian world I want to be part of. Take heed Australian Christians ... what do you want?!

Because the propaganda is already here in Australia. And honestly, it disturbs me greatly. I can no longer turn my head and stay silent ... 🥹This is the face of 5 year old Liam Conejo Ramos, who ICE gents in Minnesota was just about to use as 'bait' to get his father to come out of his house. So they could send them both to an immigration detention centre in Texas - thousands of miles away from their home. No criminal convictions, no history of anything but being an integral part of their local community.

This, following the murder of Renee Nicole Good, for being a non-violent protester, has taken what's happening in the US to extremes that cross many boundaries of decency and humanity.

And as a Christian, the far-right evangelical Christian National influence in all of this is too much for me right now. I have no words ...

This is NOT the world I want to be part of. And certainly not the Christian world I want to be part of. Take heed Australian Christians ... what do you want?!

Because the propaganda is already here i /n Australia. And honestly, it disturbs me greatly. I can no longer turn my head and stay silent ... 🥹

💢 Dinah gets political ...

This is a political post, so if that's not your thing, please scroll on down .. 😎 Respectful comments only please ...

I have a large group of overseas followers, but what I have to say here is primarily for my Aussies. We have a major Federal election coming up, and this one is important!

I have never been totally aligned with either of the 2 major political parties we have here in OZ. I've always been a swing voter ... voting for the character and policies of the men and women of the moment.

But politics is polarising big time around the world and as it is doing so now in Australia, I'm finding I have to polarise with it.

This is a matter of morality and democracy for me. As Authoritarian regimes are being ushered in to countries around the world, some who have been strong democracies up to this point, I find I have a passion to support the values that my spirituality and civic consciousness have birthed in me.

As the world plummets into a soup of individualism and isolationism, where empathy is a 'sin' and the 'strong man' is celebrated, I become more horrified and full of fear and disgust.

The world is beginning to fight back at this fascist push for power, but here in OZ that push has only begun to lick our shores, tasting the readiness of the people to allow it full entry.

I cannot stand by and watch what is happening in America begin to happen here. The antagonism toward science and the arts, the loathing of social justice and preservation of nature, the lean towards tribalism in its worst form and the fear of the 'other', the dismantling of democratic government and institutions of health, education and law, (especially the rule of law!), cannot be allowed to happen here!

Our own 'right-wing' conservative party, ironically called 'liberals' over here, is already setting the stage for that transition. The moment I heard Dutton use the word 'woke' to denigrate his opponents I knew that toxic divisive thinking was here in our land already. And then seeing Dutton with Gina Reinhardt, who was celebrating with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after his inauguration, I realised we're on the precipice of deep s**t. We must not let our politicians be bought. We cannot let the divide between left and right grow larger. We must fight for democracy and civic discourse so that issues don't become politicised and polarised.

We have a chance here in Australia to be on the right side of history. To use our conscience to choose wisely. To not only think of ourselves but our 'neighbour' also, and the collective good. Authoritarian regimes always fail but they leave a wake of destruction that traumatises the people and takes years to emerge from. Let's not go down that road too Australia! The warning signs and red flags are here already.

The spirit of the ANZACS lives in us ... let's choose that spirit now!
❤️❤️

Time to stop buying American Products Australia! ♥️🇦🇺

💢 FREEDOM ...
I've been long on this planet ...
I have a little ways to go yet, but as I look around at the world I find myself in, it looks almost unrecognisable.
Tectonic plates are shifting, a new world order is arising out of the depths of our collective greed and lust for power. The freedom song of the 70s diminished to a thready echo in our memories.
I was promised the kind of Freedom that was the sister sibling to Love.
A new consciousness was awaiting us, they said, where we were all more equal, all more caring, all more FREE to be ourselves. And I lived with that promise in my being and found myself committing to it ... a belief in something bigger than me, a collective embrace that would advance humanity and leave us with the fragrance of divinity.
And now it seems that dream lays shattered amongst the debris of golden statues and dismantled governments ... across the seas but closer to home downunder than we're ready to realise.
Must I relinquish the dream of FREEDOM for ALL as if it never were?
Do I pretend I never heard the beat of it's drum in my heart?
I can not.
I will not!
I must not!

Dinah Buchanan

💢 Let's talk about EMPATHY ...
The one characteristic that separates humans from the rest of the animal world is the ability to 'empathise' ~ 'to put ourselves in someone else's shoes'. To imagine experiencing what they're experiencing and feeling what they're feeling. This human ability is critical in evoking compassion, kindness, and care for each other. Without it, our world just becomes a 'dog eat dog' situation, where we only care for ourselves and maybe those closest to us. In this world, power and strength are glorified, and need and vulnerability of any sort is seen as weakness, and despised.

But our world is not sustainable without empathy, compassion, and care. Because these are the things that build sustainable communities, and ultimately secure our own survival. For it is only when we are part of a system that cares for each other that our survival is guaranteed.

Power and strength might work for a while, they might seem to have the upper hand and 'win' in the short term, but they are not sustainable in community and not sustainable in the long term.

Only compassion and care for ALL of those in our communities, honouring the kaleidoscope of talents, abilities and perspectives that reside in a colourful community, will secure the safety and longevity of all community members. From the 'top' to the 'bottom'. It seems we must learn these lessons anew in every generation. We must commit to the values of compassion and care for the least amongst us ... our very survival depends on it!

Dinah Buchanan

💢 "I cannot remain silent..

As a Psychotherapist, I can tell you that what we just saw in the Oval Office, was the narcissistic bullying of someone they had already decided was 'weak'.

He was berated, talked over, and 'kicked while he was down'.

He was Gaslit and disrespected in the cruellest betrayal imaginable, the betrayal from a so-called ally.

Some will see it as a show of strength. As 'masculine strength' which is an antidote to our feminised culture. Where empathy, respect, vulnerability, maturity, and diplomacy are seen as WEAKNESS.

It will be difficult to change the hearts and minds of those who believe this. But for the rest of us, it's important to keep those values alive.
To live and breathe their essence in our everyday lives.

There will be worse to come for the US and the world. But hope is always threaded through the fabric of our lives, whatever happens ... We must look for it and nurture it now more than ever.

Kindness is not just some 'nice idea'. Giving and receiving kindness changes neural pathways in our brains.It is the fabric that keeps our Communities functioning. Without it we are merely brutes. And in the end, brutes fall ..."

Dinah Buchanan

💢 Friends ... I have also started an IG page to post more like this. This is a time to speak up, not stay silent.
Please also follow me on for more!

Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGt1nDUzCPP/?igsh=NHMybWljb3hleGp6