The Turning Point

Having been a long-time fan of the actor Morgan Freeman and after watching the movie The Bucket List for the umpteenth time, I found myself pondering over his line from that movie  “Find the Joy in Your Life”. Such a potent line that had really struck a chord with me and yet, I couldn’t comprehend why it had affected me so much especially since the joy in my life had always been my two children. There was no question about that…

It wasn’t until a professional assessment of my website had been carried out, that I realised much to my dismay, that I had been sending out the wrong message regarding the context of my book. I’d been mortified when it was suggested to me that if the book didn’t sell, I could at least counsel the readers. OMG! I knew then, that I had to change not just what I was doing regarding the marketing of my book, I had to change how I was thinking. What followed was more anxiety, another scrutinising session of  ‘The Bucket List’, lunch and an energising discussion fuelled by a couple of bevvies with my main man Bob, before it hit me:

“The joy in my life” was my natural mother Emily! How could I have not known that?

The reality was that after decades spent being too afraid to stand tall and acknowledge who I was and more importantly, to accept who I have always been despite the intense oppression suffered at the hands of the government and indeed a white society, I was never meant to reconnect with family, let alone, to accept my natural family and history.

But now in mid-January 2024, there it was, right there in front of me. And all I had to do was acknowledge it, a point of fact made so incredibly easy in the famous lines spoken by one of my favourite actors Morgan Freeman:

“Find the Joy in your life!”

I consider myself blessed to have experienced such pure happiness and contentment in being able to accept in an instant, my birth mother Emily Fay back into my life and to know that for the very first time in my life, I am free to explore, I am free to seek answers just as I am free to take that final critical step to reconnection with my aboriginality and my aboriginal family!

For that I am most thankful…

Judi Nash Feb 2024