A JOURNEY WITH BERNIE is approaching 100 episodes, and I can honestly share with you that I thought the purpose of this podcast would be fulfilled in 10!! Afterall, how many strategies and actions are there that lead to becoming a more loving and joyful human being?

This Journey has been one of the more profound experiences of my life, with every guest contributing something of value to the ever-expanding pathway towards love becoming a way of life. Of course, some episodes were potent and need to be heard again and again to capture the full learning they offered. Among these were Episodes 8 and 25, which combined to tell the remarkable story of Joel Staite. Joel was diagnosed with an incurable cancer and given 3 months. He lived another 6 years and when I say 'lived', I actually mean he lived every day as if it was his last. Joel's story opened our souls and taught us of what living every moment actually looks like. Only the wisdom of Joel Staite could say something like this ...

“This might sound crazy, but I actually think cancer has changed my life for the better – I feel like I have become a better person for having been through this … I so appreciate every moment, every single day so much more”.

His incredible story went to air on Jun 15, 2022. On October 8, four months later, Joel passed away.

Last month, I received a message from Keith Staite, Joel's dad, whose Episode 28 gave us even more insight into Joel's journey and the depth of our capacity to love. The image Keith gave us of Joel's 'raw courage' leaving the wheelchair and shuffling down the aisle to marry his treasured love, Kieran, will forever be a feature segment on this podcast. Joel did this just days before his death. At the time his body had withered to not much more than skeletal.

The Mater Hospital once described Joel as ... 'An ordinary guy doing extraordinary things in the face of gut-wrenching adversity.' I think they are wrong …

Joel Staite became an extraordinary human being responding in way that few would to the 'grim reaper' tapping him on the shoulder every day for 6 years. Joel brushed death's hand away for all of that time and in the process discovered a meaning in life that few could comprehend. For this reason, giving you the lessons of Joel Staite in this 98th episode seems to be the only appropriate thing to do. Afterall, you are being taught by a man who crossed the bridge and became 'love'.
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Your feedback on this episode is vital and so is your Followship. So please find a minute to press that Subscriber button and send us a message. Together, let's you and I play our role in making our humanity a more loving, joyful and aware species for that surely would bring greater meaning to our lives!

Bernie K ... + 61 412 982 444 ... bernie@journeywithbernie.co

It was the occasion of my 66th birthday and my good friend Yvonne MacLeod decided that we should celebrate at a restaurant in Brisbane, Australia called EXHIBITION ... www.exhibitionrestaurant.com

What unfolded was the most unique culinary adventure I had ever experienced. As we sat at the high table overlooking the kitchen, we conversed with the multiple chefs who meticulously created 14 savory masterpieces, before our very eyes. The plates ranged from a delicious mouthful to entree sized 'Food Art', most of which were composed of 4 or 5 ingredients, with the combinations of taste, synergetic wine and restaurant ambience exceeding any meal experience I had ever encountered.

Naturally enough, my intrigue was around who created this 'Food Gallery'.
What was he or she demonstrating to us?
What were they telling us?
What was their message?

In this episode you will meet Tim Scott, who decided that his hyper focused life force is best expressed through creative art, but this art is not with palette and brush. This art is with natural ingredients blended together to consume the senses of his every guest. I cannot imagine anyone doing it better.

By admission, Exhibition is his second baby. Together, with his dear friend Sarah Baldwin, they initially created 'Joy' ... www.joyrestaurant.com.au ... another reputable food journey that is firmly on my bucket list. It's a bit like this podcast, Tim's next chapter was always going to be next level.

Built deep underground the Metro Arts Theatre of Brisbane, Exhibition is Tim's intimate 24 seat restaurant which continues the legacy of live theatrical displays, visual arts and performance that still spook this 130-year-old building. Based on Japanese style Omakase dining, the chef will decide your culinary fate. The chef will create. You trust and joyfully invest in the chef ... all 7 of them.

Expect to witness custom handmade cutlery, ceramics from local and international artists and their unique skills and knowledge blossom in front of you. Their goal is to share the story of all the creators, producers, artists and craftsmen that have contributed to tonight's Exhibition Food Theatre. Wowwwww !!

So, what does this experience have to do with becoming a more loving human being ... the stated objective of A JOURNEY WITH BERNIE!
It has everything to do with the mission of this podcast. Listen to this episode and you will hear ...

This dining experience is one man's expression of who he is. He is asking you to not compromise on who you are!!
Tim is bold enough to put himself before the public and serve them with his gifts.
Do you have such courage to put your true self before the evaluators?
Tim plays a mentor role to the young chefs who join him, hoping that through his values and vision, they too might realize their unlimited capacities to be best version of self and express it even through what others call work. How do you and I spread our greatness !!
Finally, the eye-raising moment in this discussion, where Tim announces that he is both blessed and burdened with 2 medically diagnosed conditions, will only help you realize that blockages don't exist if you still seek to maximise what is.

This is a remarkable story with as many learnings and 'Ah Ah' moments as I had on Sept 3, 2024 while at dinner for my birthday. My extraordinary experience is still with me two months later and now dissected in this sensational Episode 97.

Would you like to share your birthday with Tim and his team at EXHIBITION sooner than later.
Here's where you book ... www.exhibitionrestaurant.com

And after this episode, here's where you can find the SUBSCRIBER or FOLLOW US button for A JOURNEY WITH BERNIE.
Please do so immediately and join our near 12000 listeners from 52 different countries.

A Journey with Bernie Podcast Series - Apple Podcasts
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Bernie Kelly ...+61 412982444

Open up Google and type in Dr Adrian Mattke. If you can find his bio send it to me! I am sure there is a resume page about Adrian Mattke somewhere, but I couldn't find it amidst the hundred plus research articles referencing this incredible Doctor's passion for looking after very sick children ... sometimes dying infants. The vast amounts of references to Adrian's valuable research are stunning. It is obvious that when it comes to Pediatric Intensive Care, Dr Adrian Mattke is world class.

This entire episode explores so many human dimensions of Adrian's incredible work.
These five discussions are riveting ...

1. How ego and individual advocacy may have to be modified to allow the collective expertise to arrive at sometimes lifesaving medicinal strategy.
2. Why it is so important at times to 'ride the pain' with parents and families. At times the best medicine is just 'being there' with them.
3. How parental love can be an even greater medicine than any tablet or formula. Doctors like Adrian know this from experience now.
4. How Western Medicine has slowly moved to embrace a more wholistic approach to resolve health matters. Consequently, the opinions and collective knowledge of all stakeholders including patient and families can inspire favorable medicinal pathways.
5. This of course, does not diminish professional responsibility. In fact, it is a demonstration of professional accountability to include rather than ignore under the banner of status and perceived right.

The fascinating conclusion is that Adrian points out how so many of the principles that need to thrive in an effective Intensive Care Unit also have to serve our lives.

Of course, only a man whose foundation was so varied, so rich and so volatile would recognize these valuable comparisons with life. Being raised in West Germany when the country was divided was stimulating in itself. Choosing to do his tertiary studies in East Germany after integration, was a chapter that has colored the tapestry of this man's existence.

Are you ready for a unique ride inside the mind of a reputable medical professional?
Are you ready to learn from someone who plays in the space between life and death on a daily basis?
Are you ready to embrace a man whose work is an extension of values that have been moulded and shaped by both the joy and heartache of serving a child's life. Not all were happy stories.
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References in this podcast promoted "The Courage to be Disliked" ... the worldwide Japanese phenomena to be found on Google or Amazon.
Adrain also suggests you read Erich Fromm's "The Art of Loving" and Scott Peck's epic books "People of the Lie" and "The Road Less Travelled".
Bernie K also advocates that after this episode you will have an excellent reason to immediately 'Follow' A JOURNEY WITH BERNIE by pressing the appropriate button on this link ... A Journey with Bernie Podcast Series - Apple Podcasts