Archives: Essays

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 […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” Dalai Lama Can the world leaders step up to the plate and donate 100 billion dollars to Oxfam International to save countless lives in Africa and Asia over a twelve month plan. Middle class people who live in the […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. “ Dalai Lama This essay is dedicated to my dearly departed best friend Nick Cuttell and his brother Ash and parents Frank and Barbara who have been looking after me from a distance for decades. Nick passed in 1991. Nick was electrocuted in […]

Essay by Luke Foster “ I wanted to go completely outside and to make a symbolic start for my enterprise of regenerating the life of humankind within the body of society and to prepare a positive future in this context.” Joseph Beuys The late German artist Joseph Beuys was my favourite artist at art school […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is the wife of former President Barack Obama. Raised on the […]

Essay by Luke Foster “You’re only young once, but you can be immature forever.” Germaine Greer  Germaine Australia’s most loved expat lives in Essex England but when I thought about London for some reason I immediately thought of her. She is a powerful voice for women and women rights. In other words she is a […]

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” Dalai Lama World poverty can be overcome with the US government as the world leader with a three trillion plan over ten years. “We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.” Bill Gates Bill Gates is the ideal […]

Essay by Luke Foster “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” Dalai Lama If all the worlds members of the United Nations give three billion each to Doctors Without Borders then that shall make a huge dent in world poverty in the developing world. Some countries are so dangerous in Africa that only […]

Essay by Luke Foster “My heroes are the ones who survived doing it wrong, who made mistakes, but recovered from them.” Bono It only dawned on me today how important the social work of U2 leader singer Bono has made by campaigning for the overcoming of world poverty for decades. My favourite U2 song is […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Solar power, wind power, the way forward is to collaborate with nature – it’s the only way we are going to get to the other end of the 21st century.” Bjork Bjork is my favourite musician and she is a casual genius when it comes to composing her music. But it’s […]

Essay by Luke Foster “ Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at the things in a different way. “ Edward de Bono These pillars of the community need wage rises and better conditions. The Australian SAS should get these particularly as they have looked after me with expert security for […]

Essay by Luke Foster “ Since I was a young girl in the punk scene, almost all of my friends have been gay or lesbian, so for me, it’s an obvious answer when it comes to whether or not gay people should be recognised as equal. “Belinda Carlisle I have seen Belinda Carlisle twice in […]