Mind, Body & Spirit

I was visiting a relative in hospital and outside the cafeteria they had a wellness campaign, where you posted notes to improve your mind, body or spirit.

There were lots along the lines of exercise more, stay away from junk food and have faith in God, but these were the ones that tickled my fancy.

What would you write?
What's your tip to help you love life a little more?

Linking with #MLSTL

It's so specific it made me laugh

Unsaid Goodbyes

I was helping Mum clean up the garage and move things into storage when she asked "What do you do with memorial cards?". Without hesitation I responded "Just chuck them, you won't look at them". However as I approached the box she was going through, I saw face after face of people who had been such a large part of my childhood. We used to go to parties and BBQs at their houses regularly on the weekend, swim in their pools, have them over for drinks. They were my parents circle of friends, and we kids went along for the ride. Here they all were, reduced to a handful of photographs to be remembered by.

It was a depressing realisation, that your friends will go, not after a fight and usually without a chance of saying goodbye. They will one day just be gone, and as you age, more and more of them will disappear. 

We decided to keep the cards, an unsaid agreement as we packed them back into a box. At that moment the new neighbours turned up. New in the sense of friends of a decade's standing, not like those now deceased whose friendships had spanned thirty or forty years. They came to see if we needed help, and to catch up for a brief chat. There was a comfort in that.

I guess the moral is, don't stop entertaining and catching up with your friends, just because you have kids (or kids of different ages). As a small child, I loved running around those gardens, or watching tv in the strange lounge, even though the other kids were teenagers and not willing to play with me. I loved playing with their dogs or old box of discarded dolls. These people became like family in my mind, and I mourned again, seeing the photos. Most importantly, don't stop spending time with friends because you don't know when you'll lose the chance to do it again. It's people that make a life, and moments together that make it so special.

Linking with #MummyMondays #KCACOLS & #FortheloveofBlog 

"Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy." - Leo Buscaglia

I am a bit of a worrier,but I don't let it stop me doing things. I try to compensate, even illogically, to manage a worry. I worry sometime that eventually the worry will stop me doing something. I'm scared of flying, but I endure it because I love to travel. I worry that the day will come when the fear of flying will become greater than the will to see new places.

I just read Len Deighton's Billion-Dollar Brain and there's an exchange in it, discussing Innocence and Experience. "To an innocent anything in the world is possible...innocence is the knowledge that you can do something and experience is the knowledge that you can't.'
'Experience is a method of endorsing prejudices,' I said.
'No...When did you last call upon your experience? When you doubted your chances of success, that's when.'

I think worry fits in between somewhere. The doubt of success, not necessarily based on actual experience, but perceived results. In Left for Dead Beck's wife Peach organises the 'impossible' rescue, merely because no one told her it couldn't be done. She didn't know it had never been done before, and so she did it.

I don't know how we do it, but I think we'd all be happier with a little more innocence in our world.

Linking with #ParentPower because the world is full of worries at the moment, especially for the 16-25 year old kids, the group data shows are hit hardest by the pandemic. 

 

The Lunar New Year hits Sydney

On the eve of the Olympics and the week before Valentine's Day, the Sydney shops have pulled out all stops to remind us the Year of the Dog is about to begin.












I love the Lunar New Year celebrations - and the year of the dog seems to have brought out the cuteness around town. With still a week to go, I can't wait for all the 'official' decorations to come out around the city!

Do you celebrate where you are?

Linking with #WordlessWednesday#PictorialTuesday #PointShoot #WednesdayAroundtheWorld #MySundayPhoto  #ThruMyLens #TheRandom and #SundayBest

The Wednesday Club

While away, I read Kjell Westo's The Wednesday Club. The book is set in Helsinki in 1938, in the aftermath of the Finnish Civil War and rise of Hitler's expansionist policies. The Wednesday Club is a group who get together with the purpose "to contribute to the maintenance and exploration of political and cultural conversation in the Swedish language in the city of Helsinki".

I liked the idea of this so much, I've set up my own variation - obviously we're not speaking Swedish and we're not in Helsinki, but I've rallied a posse together to explore political and cultural events, and anything else that seems fun or interesting.

There's little limit on what people can decide to do. Each month someone will be the 'host'. The host gets to chose the activity or event, and pick the date. 

Our first expedition will be meeting at the Colour Fields Pop Up Bar at the MCA and then roaming through the gallery for their Twilight Thursdays, splitting into two groups - those that haven't seen Pip My Ocean will head there, and those that have will check out the main gallery.

I have to say, I'm quite excited to see how this unfolds over the course of the year. At least once a month I should do something I haven't done before, hopefully. 

Would you join a Wednesday Club? Do you already have this kind of circle? What would you suggest if you were 'host'?

Linking with #BookNook  #StayClassyMama & #Dreamteam

Starting school

Starting school means back to obligations, time frames, extra curricular and making lunches. It's a dull routine which I don't thrive in. So I'm not talking about that. I'm showing you my fun welcome back to Sydney week - Two concerts, a show, an indulgence at the day spa and just generally loving life!

So while I'd rather be travelling, I'm happy to call this beautiful city my home.

I can't believe we have 10 more weeks of this!
Do you love the school term? Do you look forward to the start of the school year?

 Linking with #PointShoot  #LovingLifeLinky #WordlessWednesday  #PictorialTuesday #TravelTuesday #SundayBest  #ThruMyLens and #MySundayPhoto

A little thought on appreciation & a challenge

I was reading The Wednesday Club and a little throwaway dialogue stuck with me:

 "Perhaps that is one of the shortfalls of reality," he said. "That we have to improve it even when it is at its most beautiful...Unless the shortfall isn't in reality, but us?"..."Like Garbo, perhaps," Mrs Wiik suggested. "The whole world admires her perfect profile, but all she can think about are her big feet."

 Isn't it funny how people don't see their own beauty, or fail to value their achievements? Some people who have achieved so much are always comparing themselves to others, and feeling like they've fallen short.

I travelled halfway around the world, and spent a small fortune to see the elusive Northern Lights. After only seeing the white grey ones, I will admit I was a little disappointed. I was talking to a Russian lady, later in the trip, who grew up in the Arctic circle in Russia. She said "We saw them all the time. I didn't even know they were anything special until I moved to New York at 20. People kept going on and on about them. They were no big deal to us."

 For me seeing the Northern Lights is such a mystical, magical experience - for the Russian, it was just something that happened all the time, like a full moon.  The same thing had a very different effect on us both. Our appreciation of the Aurora is what made the difference.

What makes something special is the value you place on it. So start placing value on yourself. On your achievements, on your successes, on your looks and personality. Start to appreciate all that you have, and all that you are. Don't diminish what you do when talking to others. And don't let anyone else belittle your efforts.

I know that all sounds a little silly, but give it a go this week and see if it makes a difference. I'd love to hear you responses.

Linking with #BooknificentThursday