"Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses." - Lao Tzu
Welcome to my first ever blog – and a special welcome to my fellow rats and mice! Around the globe millions are celebrating the Chinese Year of the Rat so I thought it appropriate to open with a quotation from Lao Tzu founder of Taoism, who wrote "Tao Te Ching" ("The Book of the Way") who lived from 600 BC to 531 BC. Connecting the head and the heart, will be a theme that runs throughout my blog – as the action of giving requires us to step beyond ourselves and to think of others.
The Year of the Rat is said to be the year of plenty, bringing opportunity and good prospects. We appear to be well placed - with the Olympics in Beijing and a new American president on the horizon. Closer to home, it is promising that the Australian parliament will say “sorry” to the Stolen Generations. Only time will tell!
When learning of my fellow rats I was pretty impressed with the company in which I found myself. Rats, being the first sign of the Chinese zodiac, are said to be leaders, pioneers and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. So let’s take a look at some of the Rats who through their talents, passion and even birthright have given back to the community.
There are many high profile and generous Australians who are rats including Pat Rafter, Hugo Weaving and beyondblue’s (www.beyondblue.org.au) chairman Jeff Kennett. I want to highlight a stellar Aussie who makes the list - Olivia Newton-John. Diagnosed with breast cancer 15 years ago, Olivia Newton-John has not only shared her own fortunes but her time and talents to raise funds for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre’s Wellness Centre (www.oliviaappeal.com) is expected to open December 2010 in Melbourne. The Centre will provide complementary therapies such as support programs for patients and their families, meditation, relaxation, massage, art and music therapy, nutrition, exercise and aromatherapy.
In April she is leading a trek in China to raise funds for the centre. Together, with a team of overseas celebrities, sports stars and cancer survivors, they will take 21 days to walk 228km along the Great Wall of China just prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics. For more information visit the website The Great Walk to Beijing 2008 (www.greatwalktobeijing.com).
I was surprised to learn that both Prince Charles and the late Queen Mother were rats – love or hate the monarchy both are exemplars in their service to the community.
There are many political figures. Winston Churchill is a rat. The list of American presidents who were born in a year of the rat is impressive - George Washington, George Bush and Jimmy Carter. Al Gore former presidential hopeful and internationally recognised environmental advocate and lecturer on global warming is also a rat. Ming Dynasty general Qi Jiguang and Lu Su, an adviser for the Kingdom of Wu during China's Three Kingdoms era were both rats.
Through the ages many rats have chosen to share their artistic talents with the world – and lucky for us they did! If it weren’t for rats our senses wouldn’t have been stimulated by the music of Mozart’s Don Giovanni or Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera or Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcraker. We wouldn’t ever had heard, “White Christmas” or “Last Dance”. People would never have read War and Peace or Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats or the hundreds of poems and plays of Shakespeare...
Other famous "Rats"
Music
- Mozart
- Louis Armstrong
- Donna Summer
- Irving Berlin
- Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Joseph Haydn
- Tchaikovsky
- Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)
Movies and the theatre
- Marlon Brando
- Doris Day
- Clark Gable
- Gene Kelly
- Antonio Banderas
- Hugh Grant
- Alan Alda
- Sean Penn
Visual arts
Fashion
Literature
- T.S. Eliot
- William Shakespeare
- Truman Capote
- Tolstoy
- China's greatest poet Du Fu
In signing off I want to borrow again from Lao Tzu:
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
Sometimes that first step is the hardest – in this instance it is starting this blog that I hope will be relevant and stimulate your thinking on how you can share your treasure and talents in the world to make a difference. I don’t assume that in 50, even 100, years from now my name will appear in a list of famous rats but I do have a personal passion for making the world a better place.
Until next time...
“Kung Hei Fat Choi” loosely translates to "Congratulations and be prosperous”