![](\"https:\/\/www.relationships.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/KarenPaull.jpg\")
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by (Rev) Karen Paull<\/strong> \u2018And the winner of most items in their handbag is\u2026Karen!\u2019 My embarrassing \u2018win\u2019 was many years ago now, but was symptomatic of a tendency to be over-prepared. Although my handbag is lighter these days, unnecessary details and decisions can occupy too much of my time and energy. \u2018Your mind never stops\u2019, is my husband\u2019s lament. Not that it\u2019s wrong to consider options, but sometimes we can waste time on trivial matters.<\/p>\n Good decisions about important matters, however, are pivotal to the quality of our existence. Making good choices requires careful evaluation of the factors involved. Which important questions will guide us? This is where our value system clicks in. Our inherited world view is an important factor, but it is ours to accept or reject at every turn.<\/p>\n Advertising sends us a constant message that it\u2019s all about satisfying our needs and our desires. Don\u2019t be fooled by this assumption. It should\u00a0not\u00a0be exclusively about our personal gain, or that of those closest to us, all the time. This approach is not even good for the individual, let alone others!\u00a0Community is about what is best for all of us. Looking beyond ourselves produces a by-product of satisfaction and a reduction in anxiety. Hugh Mackay\u2019s latest book Australia Reimagined<\/i> informs us:<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026belonging to a community keeps us in touch with people who might need us, and nothing\u00a0 relieves anxiety like a focus on someone else\u2019s needs\u2026 it is the exercise of compassion \u2013 not merely the experience of belonging \u2013 that is the great antidote to anxiety. (p. 65\u00a0Australia Reimagined. Towards a more compassionate, less anxious society<\/i>).\u201d<\/p>\n So next time we are faced with an important decision, let us buck the \u2018me first\u2019 trend mainly encouraged by advertising media. Instead, lifting our gaze to consider and include those around us \u2013 our community \u2013 gives us the opportunity to build bonds and contribute to something bigger than ourselves.<\/p>\n Our local community has taken up the challenge to think differently. We have formed a Hugh Mackay Book Club and meet each month to discuss our response to each chapter of Australia Reimagined. How can we best show compassion and respond to the needs of our neighbours?<\/p>\n Rev Karen Paull is the Lane Cove Community Chaplain, employed by Lane Cove Uniting Church in Sydney, to embrace\u00a0the local community\u00a0and respond to its needs in a wide diversity of ways. Karen loves to help connect people socially through groups and events. She\u00a0 also enjoys the outdoors and is a keen sportswoman and bush walker. <\/strong>Karen writes a regular blog for her local community at <\/strong>https:\/\/www.lanecovecc.com\/blog<\/strong><\/a> .\u00a0This blog was first published on 7 November 2018.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by (Rev) Karen Paull5 December 2018 \u2018And the winner of most items in their handbag is\u2026Karen!\u2019 My embarrassing \u2018win\u2019 was many years ago now, but was symptomatic of a tendency to be over-prepared. Although my handbag is lighter these days, unnecessary details and decisions can occupy too much of my time and energy. \u2018Your mind […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":225086,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[14],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.relationships.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224338"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.relationships.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.relationships.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.relationships.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.relationships.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224338"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.relationships.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":226962,"href":"https:\/\/www.relationships.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224338\/revisions\/226962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.relationships.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.relationships.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.relationships.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.relationships.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
5 December 2018<\/i><\/p>\n