It was a magical epoch.. everything I needed was a mere breath away.. I was living naked under some wild eucalyptus trees, visited daily by kangaroos and cheeky karawangs (magpie related birds) always trying to steal my bananas I had left drying in the sun.. And with regular nocturnal visits from a group of feral pigs that would come and root around in my compost holes.. I'd lie on my mattress under the stars, and watch them snuffle around in the moonlight.

Some 10 meters away, was a banana orchard, and beyond that, 500 mango trees, and an assortment of other fruit trees.. jack fruit, akee, white sapotee, black sapotee, coconut, to name but some.. And beyond these, a pristine clean river that flowed out of the uncharted mountains lying to the east.. Daily I would bathe in it's freshness with my friends Leif & Sue, and Xylon and Elskar(deg), who lived themselves, just across the field, surrounded by their magnificent permaculture garden that Leif poured his heart into...

Privileged I was.. and blessed.. and joyous.. For a good while, I convinced myself it was paradise.

Well.. My days were spent in the sunshine.. Tending to my own little garden of vegetables, and watching over a tree nursery where I'd planted well over 20 different fruit tree species... Minimal effort, minimal time.. The river was the main attraction. - Up stream, I had discovered a little cave I'd sometimes go and spend the night..

So, as I clearly had little else to do, other than to enjoy existence, and being, I had made a pact with myself that whenever I ate fruit, I would save the seed, pips, and see to it that they had a good chance of survival..

Up stream I'd plod almost daily.. with my little canvas sack full of seeds.. and.. just beyond my special cave.. I'd plant and scatter my fruit tree eggs, giving special attention to some by watering them proliferously with buckets of river juice goodness.

To plant them, I'd use half a coconut shell, my fingers, and any handy rock or stick, but this was never practical.. Sometimes I'd make my fingers or knuckles bleed trying to scrape a hole in the semi arid rocky soil.

So one day, I said.. "Enough! Please to you, Divine, I'm not a bad lad, and I think that what I'm doing is a good job, trying to encourage Eden back to the bush.. So please, whenever it's possible, could I please have a special tool to help me with this task, so I don't end up breaking my nails etc? It would be very nice, and I'd be even more happy!"

Thus, once said, I dropped it, and carried on with my life.

Everything about that time was magical..

Some days later, my good friend Swami Prem Das stumbled into my campsite brimming over with enthusiasm.. He told me to put some clothes on, and we'd drive to the coast, and get some wild food to eat.. Sure, why not..

I grabbed my sarong, and off we set..

2 hours later, we were cutting down some sugar cane from a field gone wild outside of Mossman, and half an hour later, we were at Ellis Beach, filling up boxes and boxes of common mangoes from probably some of the best trees on the far north coast line.. It was an abundance.. A short coconut feast saturated our full bellies, and after a quick dip in the sea, we moved under the shade of the mango tree, where I lay my happy self down to rest..

But.. The ground was not comfortable.. something was hidden beneath the grass.. My hand searched behind my back, and "low and behold!" I recognized my gift immediately! It was the said digging tool.. a small wood carvers adze.. perfectly designed for my means, like a small hand held pick. I kissed it, I cried..

Crying comes naturally when surrounded by beauty.