Archives: Essays

Essay by Luke Foster “Our mother earth is teaching us a lesson in universal responsibility. This blue planet is a delightful habitat. Its life is our life, its future, our future. Indeed, the earth acts like a mother to us all; as her children, we are dependent on her. In the face of the global […]

Essay by Luke Foster “I love being able to escape my past, even though my past was great.” Perry Farrell Perry Farrell born Peretz Bernstein in 1959 is an American songwriter and musician and best known of lead singer of alternative rock band Janes Addiction. My favourite album by Janes Addiction is Ritual Lo Habitual […]

Essay by Luke Foster “What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.” Bob Dylan Bob Dylan was born in 1941 and is an American singer-songwriter and is often regarded as one of the greatest […]

Essay by Luke Foster “I can remember in early elementary school when the Russians launched the first satellite. There was still so much unknown about space. People thought Mars was probably populated.” Christa McAuliffe Since my mum has passed about a month ago my whole reality has shifted, and I know there is such thing […]

“The four building blocks of the universe are fire, water, gravel, and vinyl.” -Dave Barry About five years ago I had a dream one night and I dreamed I had bought an apple smart watch and a big record collection and a record player. So, a few weeks later I went to JB Hi Fi and bought […]

Essay by Luke Foster “It wasn’t that the teachers were bad. From what I can remember, they were pretty good. It was about the selection of books. It was about not seeing my young life reflected back to me: my family dynamics, the noise and complexities of my neighbourhood, the things I loved, like ice […]

Essay by Luke Foster “It took me a long time, but I don’t feel as anxious about stupid things anymore – or perhaps they’ve just been replaced by more complicated stupid things.” Neil Finn Neil Finn was member of the band Crowded House formed in 1985. I used to just like listening to the ocean […]

Essay by Luke Foster Life is a journey, not a destination” Ralph Waldo Emerson I arrived back in Australia on Thursday from Europe and started to get back in the groove of things by getting up early today and hanging out my washing had a decaf coffee and then two hours beach walking then off […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Love isn’t something natural. Rather it requires discipline, concentration, patience, faith, and the overcoming of narcissism. It isn’t a feeling; it is a practice.” Fromm, Eric, The Art of Loving I am not very good in romantic relationships, but I have lots of platonic friends who I care about deeply. I think that […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Nature hasn’t gone anywhere. It is all around us, all the planets, galaxies and so on. We are nothing in comparison.” Bjork I am currently travelling in Europe and have visited Rome and Athens and now in Vienna. I feel so exhilarated by international travel but there is a downside too. […]

Essay by Luke Foster “I like the scientific spirit—the holding off, the being sure but not too sure, the willingness to surrender ideas when the evidence is against them: this is ultimately fine—it always keeps the way beyond open—always gives life, thought, affection, the whole man, a chance to try over again after a mistake—after […]

Essay by Luke Foster “We cannot hope to die peacefully if our lives have been full of violence, or if our minds have mostly been agitated by emotions like anger, attachment, or fear. So, if we wish to die well, we must learn how to live well: Hoping for a peaceful death, we must cultivate […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Of all men’s miseries the bitterest is this: to know so much and to have control over nothing.” Herodotus I am in Dubai for a one night stop over on the way to Europe. I shall go to Rome, Athens, the Greek Islands and Vienna. I am very excited about Rome […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Death is a challenge. It tells us not to waste time. It tells us to tell each other right now that we love each other.” – Leo Buscaglia When I was a teenager finishing up my final year of school my major work in art was a series of four large […]

Essay by Luke Foster “To seek is to suffer. To seek nothing is bliss.” Bodhidharma The first thing I do when I wake in the morning is roll out of bed and then walk up and grab a latte at the local cafe and I love to have a chat with the always cheerful baristas. Then […]

“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend – or a meaningful day.” Dalai Lama A lot of children die in the developing world of simple preventable illnesses. “As a World […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Humor is by far the most significant activity of the human brain.” Edward de Bono Humor is the best way to teach a lesson as it lasts rather than a scary camp fire story or stern remark. Perhaps the US government and the Whitney could commission Tibetan children to make five […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” Buddha I am sort of a lapsed Catholic but at one stage I was thinking of converting to Buddhism but like the Dalai Lama have […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” Francis of Assisi I consider myself a devout Catholic but I don’t read the bible much but I do take inspiration from the teachings of the saints from all religions. There has been some powerful […]

Essay by Luke Foster “ Stop drawing yourself and use colour” Maria Foster My beloved mother has looked after me through thick and thin through my whole life not just my childhood. Even when I was in and out of mental hospitals five times she still called me most days and came to visit me. I […]

Essay by Luke Foster “No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” Robin Williams One of my favourite actors was Robin Williams and he was so genuine, funny and kind. My favourite movie he starred in was about the clown doctor Patch Adams called by his name. He first emerged […]

“My parents elected me president of the family when I was 4. We actually had an election every year, and I always won. I’m an only child, and I could count on my mother’s vote.” Condoleezza Rice My main mistake in choosing role models is that I used to mainly choose male role models but […]

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” Dalai Lama Its best if the Red Cross consults the Dalai Lama to get the money to where it’s supposed to go. Red Cross workers should get better pay and conditions and better security. Afghanistan is a hot spot that needs more aid […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul and the late Edward De Bono were and are the worlds top intellectuals and now my previous education university lecturer Marianne Hulsbosch is the worlds top […]

The Australian Patrick White was awarded the 1973 Nobel Literature Prize “for an epic and psychological narrative art which has introduced a new continent into literature”, as it says in the Swedish Academy’s citation. After my favourite Japanese author Haruki Murakami the late Patrick White is my second favourite author and was homosexual. I have […]