Humanity Platform

I must first of all begin this post by thanking God for answering my final prayers. This year has been an excellent artistic year for me with Barracuda going to air, the Australian Unity ad followed by another ABC drama which will go to air in 2017 makes this year my most successful acting year. 2016 was also a very good year for my writing with a piece being published on the Victorian Writers website, several poems being written, and one of my blog pieces being commissioned for the International Day of People with Disabilities event. Apart from my artistic endeavours, it has also been a year of deep philosophical and political thought for myself. That is why I have coined the phrase 'right thing politics' as part of my reaction to the extremes I have seen in politics this year. Also through my philosophical study, I have come to the conclusion that I am no longer striving for power. I am however striving to achieve my goals and live a simple artist life. That's why I ...

Today on the day of International Day of People with Disabilities I had a wake up call as to why a day like today is important. At the shop today, I was confronted by a man ranting and raving. My initial reaction was to call the police, but my disability training kicked in. I went over and asked his mum if he had autism. So, yes, we do need days like this. However, there is a flip side in my brain as well. I want to be seen as just a normal person. That argument that has been going on in my head all day inspired the following poetic thought. ONE IN FIVE One in five of the population have a disability, but I am not a fraction, I am a whole. The International Day of Disabilities is great, but cannot give an insight to my soul. Can a liberal society live with disability, is a question that the ignorant raise. We don’t need special days. Instead of focusing on disability, we should have an international day of ability. I put on a royal robe of red in an attempt to transf...

This year I have been reminded of one of my first essays "The ostrich effect" where I described how when a problem gets too big many people in the world just look away.  Now I believe there is an even more dangerous phenomena.  2016 has been a year where we can see potentially dangerous things about to happen and still not do anything about it.  I am reminded of the quote "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." There are three things which I think illustrate my point.  I recently saw the film "Snowden" where I learnt more about the NSA spy activities.  I'm the first one to agree with security measures.  If I could I would be in Australia's military.  But we must always be vigilant to protect our freedom.  I think the best way to make the world secure and safe is by becoming more globally connected, not building walls. This year people are giving in to fear, fear only breeds fear.  Maybe because I spend so much ti...

It is worth noting that fishermen play a prominent role in the Bible because I have come to see life as one big fishing trip. I previously used to attack everything like a charging bull thinking that the harder I attack something the more likely I am to succeed and using this approach I did achieve some small success. The hard charging approach however only increased stress and anxiety and the feeling that I was inadequate but the moment I adopted the fisherman approach to life things really started to flow. It is no coincidence therefore that my first big acting success was named after a fish, Barracuda. Using the fishing philosophy I am able to cast out my goals as the bait and wait patiently for life to bite and when I get the opportunities I have been waiting for to reel them in as fast as possible. I love seeing life as one big fishing trip because it is not passive as you still have to take the actions of casting your goals out yet it is still calming enough to go with the f...

When we vote in an election we should consider it a privilege not a burden. The people that run for office genuinely believe that their way is the best way. So it is up to us voters to use our vote to affect the change we want to see in the world. One way we can do this is applying the theory of the personal pillars of politics when we make our decision.  Before we vote we should think about which party will put Australia in the best position to help the world. We should also think about which party is going to do what is best for Australia and put the majority of people first instead of an elite few. Finally the last pillar, which party is going to represent what is most important to me? If you apply this formula, each voter will have a different answer but with healthcare, arts and the environment being important to me this is what I come up with.  Let me tell you a story about a young man with cerebral palsy who was very confident and self assured. People started a...

After years studying all forms of combat, survival, and prepping, one theory stands above it all. Harmony is the magic pill.  Harmony is what creates the world as we know it but for some reason humanity has forgotten the secret that lies within harmony. We forget that the same oxygen that keeps us alive also keeps our planet alive. We forget that the same blood that runs through your veins runs through every person.  The Chinese philosophy of yin and yang illustrates the principle of harmony and balance. The Christian philosophy that we are made in God's image and that the universe is also God illustrates harmony.  There are people that believe anxiety can be decreased by moving with and accepting the moment. So what I would like people to think about is how they can bring harmony to their life. One answer is just be.  It is important to realise if we do not have harmony between ourselves, the animals, and our environment we will lose our humanity....

Another Lenten season has passed. Lent is a time for reflection and meditation, I have been reflecting on the meaning of  humility for some time now. I make a living sharing my life story and along the way some people have said that I can sound cocky which is the exact opposite to what I want to portray. I believe in myself but I definitely do not think I am better than anyone. Last year I had the honour and privilege to be cast in the upcoming ABC drama Barracuda it was this experience that started to teach me the lessons of humility. I would not have done a brilliant job on Barracuda without the entire cast and crew, we were all dedicated to making the best show possible and all I had to do was my job. My cerebral palsy also teaches me lessons in humility, every time my ego starts to get out of control someone comes in and wipes my bum. I hope that the whole world can start to put humility at the top of the agenda because if our primary focus is on being humble it will be e...

A Deakin video clip shocked and horrified me with the following statistics. If we continue to use the same amount of energy we would need fourteen extra planets to cope with the strain on the planet. Leonardo Di Caprio pointed out in his Oscar speech, for The Revenant, that it is our responsibility to take care of the environment on behalf of all humanity but in particular  on behalf of disadvantaged and native peoples. I have shared thoughts on environmental issues for the past ten years and one thing I keep coming back to is the fact that we all should follow the examples of indigenous cultures in our countries because they know how to live in harmony with nature and that is something we all need to do. Pope Francis said in his 2015 encyclical that climate change is the greatest moral issue facing humans. It is time for us all to do our bit. I am not your stereotypical hippy, I am just an artist and businessman and to me creating environmental sustainability is just good busi...

Over the past weeks the topic of feminism has been going around in my house. My two lovely ladies even suggested that I am a feminist, a suggestion which made me extremely skeptical but I have since listened to Emma Watson's UN HeForShe speech and by her definition I am a man who is indeed a feminist. Emma Watson suggested in her speech that a feminist is someone who believes in equality between the sexes. I have spent my adult life promoting equality, equality between the able bodied and those with disabilities, the equality between men and women, the equality between races, rich and poor and even equality between humanity and our environment. I have known ever since my work with the Global Poverty Project that equality is the fast forward button that makes our world better. I know sometimes it is easy to get caught up in stereotypes in fact Emma talks about this in her speech. I myself am guilty of falling into the stereotype trap. Even though I now have a new definition of f...

Over the past couple of years I have started to notice that the drive for money creates a greed which morphs into a strange kind of insanity. Up until last year I used to proudly proclaim that I would one day own a mansion but I now urge us all to demolish the quest for mansions. I recently watched the movie "The Big Short" a movie that finally confirms to me the absolute greed and insanity that was behind the 2008 financial crisis. The scary thing is that it is already starting to happen again. The movie plus my observation of climate change issues has caused a monumental shift in my thinking. Financial gain is no longer my primary gauge of success. From now on all I need is enough money to take care of my family and one day give my wife her dream house with her verandah. I now only see myself as an artist. An artist of words with my public speaking, poetry, and screenwriting, a performing artist with my busking and acting and finally an artist of pictures with my filmm...