Tags
australia, backpackers, cherry picking, feng shui, feng shui entry, follow your intuition, fruit picking, omens, roseline deleu, signs of the universe, sleeping bags, Young
My code with the Universe works in 3 signs. They come together rapidly and either “opens doors” to opportunities or “keeps them locked”.
Oooops… I hadn’t listened to the signs with our last adventure!
The son of a dear Belgian childhood friend is backpacking around Australia for the moment. After a month of discovering Sydney and Cairns, I invited him to join us in Canberra to visit the Capital Territory. He is a gentle young man with plenty of qualities. We are having a really good time together.
After a week or so, he decided to look for fruit picking work and answered an ad in Young. It’s cherry season for the moment, farmers are keen to welcome cheap labourers. Backpackers are happy to get some work and fill their pocket with a few dollars.
Intuitively, I decided we were going to drop him off and spend a week fruit picking with him as it was only a couple of hours drive and that would give him a start. We needed some camping gear. Monday morning, we arrived too early at the shopping centre that only opened at 10 AM (sign #1) we then decided to head for our favourite bakery in Kingston, the famous Silo – it was Monday and we had forgotten that was closed (sign #2), by then it was about 10 AM and we returned to the shopping Centre to realise that Ray Outdoors had moved to Majura Park a new precinct (sign #3).
Finally equipped with a new tent, blow up mattresses and sleeping bags, we headed for Young after enrolling on line to an ad that was paying $20 per hour and 20% above award wages. I thought it was fairly well paid and suspected some twisted wording from the farmer as he only wanted us to fill in our contact details on page one and leave the hourly rate blank that was mentioned on page two that he hadn’t signed!
We set up camp and heard plenty of French speaking pickers calculating the few dollars they made over the last few days. Lucky the camping spot was cheap $25 per week but it was very basic and some toilets were blocked.
We placed the tent facing a little dam and a Aussie windmill. Good Feng Shui I thought, that’s going to help us with this experience. The tent professionally fixed was protecting us from upcoming lightning in the distance. The wind was blowing hard and our sleeping bags were not ‘winter’ friendly. We slept lightly and were at the induction meeting at 6 AM with two lovely Kiwi retirees who are traveling around Australia. They too had answered the same ad.
The induction told us a total different story, the pay was per lug, a 15 kilos crate that the average picker (from what they said) could fill in 30 minutes. Here was the “$ 20/hour”. We were only allowed to work from 6 AM till 2 PM with two 10 min breaks and half hour compulsory for lunch. At the end of our first day, each new member of this newly started team had managed to fill 3 or 4 crates each. Our income was varying between $33 and $44 for the day. We shared our understanding of the conversation with the farmer and the kiwi couple confirmed that they too were told some people could make up to $200 per day.
We gave a phone call to the farmer who had sub-contracted us to another farm and he confirmed that he would pay the award wages of $11.20 per lug not an hourly rate even though an hourly rate was the only mention on the contract. The ad had definitely something twisted. We thought, many backpackers would stay as it cost them already so much to get to Young.
As we walked towards our tent we saw that one of the middle pole had snapped and had pierced the roof – impossible to sleep in that tent again if the rain comes again.
We all looked at each other, laughed, packed the car and left. We decided fast – that’s part of the Feng Shui placement, you get a strong push!
We are so grateful to the universe to have sent us a 4th sign – it couldn’t be more obvious! It was telling us ‘get out of here’.
You might think we were very naive – we probably allowed us to be.
You might think we were angry – we were not as we looked at this as an experience, a learning curve that we could have chosen to stay or go. We decided to go as we believe that there is something else better coming for our backpacker friend.
We had a fruit picking experience. We are now more aware how much hard work it is for fruit pickers… and a strong reminder to listen to signs of the Universe!
As per today, we haven’t been paid our small wages yet. Will we ever be?
Life is filled with choices. The universe talks to us, he sent us 3 signs before we went… and we ignored them. We had good fun together though and that’s the most important point to remember!
Maybe this story will push some of your triggers. Are you feeling stuck? Are you ready to blame someone for it? This is of no use. In most situations, it is your choice to stay in that situation or move on.
Make a step and respect yourself.
Feng Shui yours,
Feng Shui Steps 
Tweeted this @SustSoapbox. Seemed very appropriate given my recent posts about slavery and worker exploitation in Australia. As you say, not everyone may be able to pack up and leave.
Hello Pip, I’m not on twitter, can you post this for me please or link it there?
Yes, it is indeed true, not everyone is able to pack up and go.
It was a good experience though to see ow much it takes for such a job… and each time we shop now for fruit and veggies we are in gratitude for those people.
Thanks Roseline
Is it bad feng shui to have an object in your home that was produced using slave labour?! (or at least bad karma?)
Dear Pip, that is a very interesting question!
🙂
Initially when you own an object that reminds you of bad memory, I will always ask you why are you keeping it and will suggest you discard it.
Now, many objects are made by slave labour, how many do we know ? When we look around us in every single home in Australia and in the world today… how many of those are made ethically?
We purchase them not knowing I’d say. So there is for us no bad memory linked…. But the energy that the person put into making that object is still stored into it and emanates in your surroundings very subtly.
Now, let’s go back to the fruit picking for a second…
How much grudge did the pickers put when fruit picking – or – how much fun did they have (we had fun nevertheless) ? Were they happy to be in Australia and getting a few $$$$ or were they grumpy being betrayed?
Our cherries will be great to eat as they carry our joy and laughter.
I think this could be another post on my blog dear Pip… I’ll look into this – thank you.
Roseline
I will look forward to reading it! It is almost like an extension of the ’embodied energy’ that we talk about in sustainable buildings but a lot more subtle and complex…
yes, indeed! I’ll get on to this new post in the next few days.