the beginning of everything

Are you organised? The sort of person who previews, analyses, considers and then implements a well-crafted plan? 

I’m not. Sometimes I think I’d like to be. But I’m not. 

I am good at lots of other things though. 

I tie a great double-knot - if you’re after a shoelace that won’t unravel, call me. 

And I'm courageous - really really courageous. 

And I listen well. In fact I’m such an incredible listener that it sometimes upends my day. 

Like today.

I’m at the Mildura Writers Festival and despite not booking any accomodation before arriving, I’ve landed myself a wonderful airbnb. At the kettle this morning, I met another guest, a young woman of about thirty with delphinium almond eyes and high cheekbones. Over English Breakfast, Jess and I struck up easy conversation that moved into the sunny courtyard with tea and toast. Small talk exchanged, in no time at all we headed into the intimate territory of family dynamics, relationship foibles and vanishing hopes and dreams. Listening to Jess was second nature … she was eager to talk and I am tuned to listen. We traversed topics broad and varied; our next port of call was the heady stuff of DNA trauma theories and chemical memory, neither of which I know to be true. But we were flying!

My new friend recently arrived in Mildura having made a spontaneous decision one morning a couple of weeks before, to make her way up the Calder. “Mildura’s the centre of it,” she explained, “the beginning of everything.” 

I wasn't sure what she meant. I already knew that she was born and raised in the central goldfields, so the Mallee was hardly her ‘country’. Not by birth or familial connection at least. And although her words seemed odd, they also rang with a certain familiarity. 

I’d heard another new friend talk about Mildura being the stepping stone to Mungo National Park. Compelled by a pull similar to that described by Jess, he had relayed that, having travelled to Mildura for years, he was repeatedly drawn here because of the honesty and integrity of the desert. They weren't his exact words, but that’s how I remember his fervour and passion. 

So ... Mildura has a pull?

Jess and I talked for hours … quite literally hours. So many hours in fact that I’m embarrassed to admit I missed the first session of the day’s program. Our time together passed in an instant; we tapped so many private and deeply personal issues that it felt as though I had known her for years. We each shared some writing … something I have done only very rarely. We exchanged numbers and email addresses and I’m certain our paths will cross again.

Listening opened the gateway to making a new friend today; a friend who is sincere, adventurous and brave. Jess loves Mildura and after just a couple of days here, I am beginning to see why.

And organisation is for the birds … I’ll take listening any day.

#mildurawritersfestival #latrobeuni #writersinaction 

#creativevictoria #artsmildura