From all angles

In the 1980s there was an ad on television. It featured the grim reaper at a bowling alley. He hurled a bowling ball down the alley at the pins... They pins were people...all sorts of people.

Another ad featured a couple kissing, just a couple - nothing special. They fell back onto a bed and just as they did, the sheet blew away. It was a bed of syringes...

No one would talk about it...These ads were the first time we'd heard of it. People were scared...& we didn't understand it...even as children we thought this was something we needed to fear along with the people it effected - the tragedy of the unknown, the tragedy of the time.

Today I walked through Melbourne city. People were talking...

"It's so cold...did you see the street dance competition (?), is there a big wedding on (?), we're going to the theatre, the football, the gallery, love that outfit (!), I can't believe that happened...".

They walked passed each other, they mixed happily, they weren't scared, they were people, all sorts of people.

"Have you seen the sign on the Flinders Street bridge, it looks awesome, we should put a candle there too?"

"Yeah it's for that big conference on in town - they say there are 25000 delegates coming for it! There are stories & art shows & light shows all to educate people".

This week the world AIDS conference comes to Melbourne & we welcome it's 25000 delegates with open arms.

As a kid I was told to be scared. As an adult, I know this world to be a place to embrace, I know to learn and then decide, I know that fear will always be there but that I can choose the degree to which it controls life! And I am happy to say, I know people are talking, they are fighting against the fear.

The building in this blip is joined to a stadium that hosts thousands of people each week. It changes depending on which angle you look from.... When it was first built it was met with controversy, when it's name changed it was met with anger, now it's a feature of our city. Over time it (& we) have changed. We don't all love it, some of us don't go there often, but we learnt to embrace it as part of the place, the culture & the community we live in.

Melbourne, this week we have a chance to listen, talk, share, & learn! Let's not be scared, but open our minds to the rest of the world!

Lucky us!!