I’ve been granted precious time away from home in Whanganui, away from what was my normal life, to spend days and days fossicking on beaches in the South Island, especially Gemstone Beach in Southland. By the time I leave, I will have visited that beach 43 times over a three month period, collecting many gorgeous stones to take home to start tumble polishing. And I’ve visited other beaches as well, like Slope Point and Kakanui. I couldn’t have done it without the encouragement, support and sacrifice of my wife Petra. She’s been prepared to help me do this. It’s been hard for her, being at home while I’ve been here. All that time, precious time, she has given to me.
“Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)” by Arcade Fire
Lookout kid, trust your heart
You don’t have to play the part they wrote for you
Just be true
There are things that you could do
That no one else on earth could ever do
But I can’t teach you, I can’t teach it to you
Lookout kid, trust your mind
But you can’t trust it every time
You know it plays tricks on you
And it don’t give a damn if you are happy or you’re sad
But if you’ve lost it, don’t feel bad
‘Cos it’s alright to be sad
Do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do…
Lookout kid, trust your body
You can dance, and you can shake
Things will break, you make mistakes
You lose your friends, again and again
‘Cos nothing is ever perfect
No one’s perfect
Let me say it again, no one’s perfect
Right
A lifetime of skinned knees
And heartbreak comes so easy
But a life without pain would be boring
And if you feel it, it’s fine
I give you everything that’s mine
I give you my heart and my precious time
Lookout kid, trust your soul
It ain’t hard to rock n’ roll
You know how to move your hips
And you know God is cool with it
Some people want the rock without the roll
But we all know, there’s no God without soul
Right
A lifetime of skinned knees
And heartbreak comes so easily
But a life without you
Would be boring for someone like me
And if you feel it, it’s fine
I give you everything that’s mine
I give you my heart and my precious time
(Precious time)
(Give you everything)
I give you my heart and my precious time
Unconditional…
The writer of these lyrics, Win Butler, has said: “I was really just thinking about my son and the world that he’s facing and how I was a very depressed kid, particularly in high school. I was trying to imagine the way that I’m wired, just chemically, having to deal with that now, not to mention 10 years from now, whenever…he’s going to be dealing with it. He’s going to need to have a thick skin and to just really be able to take a hit and have some fortitude. And basically just the idea of unconditional love, which is this impossible thing to achieve. But we do it naturally, somehow. And it’s something that I think we naturally have with our kids, but I think it’s something that we’re supposed to have for people that we’re not related to as well.” (Source)
TumbleStone 