Put a little kindness in the world

Lyric Kinard at http://lyrickinard.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/kindness-chronicles_04.html   has written a great blog about being kind.  What can we do to be kind in the world?  She has listed listed some wonderful ideas and challenged us to make an effort to be kind.  So here is some of the kind things I have done these past couple of weeks....

• Told a lady at the supermarket she looked beautiful (this one always embarrasses my kids)
• Made smoothies for breakfast for everyone
• Told a child her hair looked lovely
• Phoned a friend have troubles
• Prayed for a friend in need
• Popped in and saw a friend whose dad is sick
• Did a chore normally assigned to one of my kids
• Sat and listened to a teenager
• Defended a person who was being put down
• Gave away produce from my garden (this one was kind to me too....does this count?)

What have you done kind this month.  Join us on our quest for kindness

Funnies



......May be this is next on the phone when you call the tax department.

.......Make someones day and be grateful.

.....Have a day with a child they will make you feel young again. 

.......Be a kid today!

.......And rememebr what it was like when you were a kid.

My daughter leaves this week to university.  She is going to be 6 hours away by car and I am going to miss her so much.  I just hope that I have taught her enough and given her enough skills so she can survive. 

It is a funny feeling to let a child leave the nest.  So much time is invested in this amazing person  My life has been so much part of hers for 18 years  and now within 1 day she will be more independent and not in my life each day.  Part of me is celebrating her Independence and part of me wants to go back to when she was 2 and I was the centre of her world.  Life is like that though.  Life moves on whether I want to too or even if I am ready too.  It sometimes seems to to go so fast and other times slower that I think it can be possible. 

What do I want her to do?

• Eat well
• Wash your clothes
• Clean up after yourself so you don't get swamped down.
• Love
• Laugh
• Have fun
• Look after yourself first so you can give to others
• Be nice
• Serve others
• Work hard
• Go to church

If I could tell her anything I would say

• Be kind and thoughtful
• Be patient
• Have good integrity
• Remember you are a child of God
• Remember God is always there for you and he loves you
• Be proud of your name and wear it well
• Always stand up for what you believe in
• Be careful and give trust away when it has been earned
• Enjoy being you

In reality I will probably just tell her that I love her and hope all those lessons I have taught her in the last 18 years will already be cemented in her heart.  I need to trust that she already knows these things and will do herself proud.  Boy this is such a hard thing to do but I know I will survive.  I have done it once already and I made it to the next day in one piece.

Joy is..........



.......butterfly wings



.....Beautiful kittens

...... New born babies

.........Being sisters

.........Going to church

........Being in nature

........Finding new doorways

......Seeing things from a different angle



........Having friends

Managing a home with a positive spirit

Do you have days where it feels everything is just collapsing around you?  Days where everything coming at you is negative, draining and filled with frustration. The moans, complaints,  constant listening,  and always having to be on board at your best.  If you do you are not alone. 

This picture seems like me sometimes at home trying to stay on top of things and not to get dragged down by others.

One thing I have learnt though is that........



Having a positive outlook even when things seem to beat down on you is imperative.  How can we as mum/women remain positive and have good emotional health amongst all this battering and to be able to follow your dreams.



Taking a sleep always feels like a good option :)  but unfortunately the problem is still there when you wake up.  sigh......

I have found some things that work well

• Take time out daily.  Even if it is only listening to a piece of music you love or reading a chapter of a book.  I have had to become very creative to get my reading time (as I am a book worm)  I have book on the toilet that I read 2 pages of when I use the loo.  It takes me a while to get through a book but at least I can get a little bit of time to read.
• Remember that you are the manager of the house.  Would you let your staff treat you like dirt?   I certainly wouldn't.  It doesn't matter whether it is a child or an adult in your home protect yourself.  Be direct though IE I don't like it when you talk to me like that can you please stop.  If you chose not to I will have your phone..... I will walk out the room......I will put you in time out ..... We are not punching bags but human being that need respect
• If I get a complaint for any child about a job they have been given I give them another one.  They learn fast!
• If I feel negative I read some inspiring quotes or I read a motivational book. 
• Phone someone.  A problem shared is a problem halved.
• Get out of the house on your own once a week.  I know this can be had a certain times of life but I know it can be achieved.  One thing that worked for me when I had very young children was to swap babysitting with another mum.  This meant we both got out once a week. I found I had to schedule time so I became a priority
• Take time to seek to understand before you try to be understood.   (This is one of Steven Covey's principles.) Just by understanding people your attitude can shift.
• Plan successes in your life.....don't plan to fail. Make small goals and stick to them
• Learn what drains you.  My biggest drain in being disorganised.  The more organised I am the more positive I am.  Work out what is your biggest drain in your life and make a change.
• Serve others.  I can be much more positive when I help others.
• Learn to say no to unimportant things.  Just focus on what gives true happiness and true fulfilment



What do you do to stay positive?



Inspiration Saturday

The girl who silenced the world for 5 mins

This clip is a number of years old but still is so relevant for all of us today.

Most of us can't change the whole world but we can make a difference to the community we live in. 

 What are WE going to do to make our part of the world a better place?  

What are WE going to do to clean up our community?

What are We going to do for our starving children of country?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQmz6Rbpnu0&feature=related

Be inspired!

Severn Cullis-Suzuki is now 32 years old and a environmental activist and speaker.  She is still fighting for our world.

Inspiration

I am constantly amazed by other peoples stories and lives.  They just blow me away with their courage and bravery.

Hilary Weeks a amazing singer and songwriter has written this beautiful piece of music to capture the heartbreak of our stories and the miricle of rising above them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyX-I-um5Kk&feature=relmfu

I am a survivior of an amazing story that I have chosen to rise above.  I am a survivor

of moderate to severe depression.

It could have knocked me back,  I could have taken my life,  I could have left all that I hold dear.  But I didn't I chose to press forward and to hold onto faith.  This song was written for me and for many others. 

Enjoy!!!

Goals

How does one reach goals? especially challenging ones.  I find this a very hard question to answer especially when I don't know where to start.  I would really love to make a go of making a business from my art work but I don't know where to begin. 

I sat down to figure out what things were stopping me from trying to achieve this goal and finding out where to start.  The biggest reason was I could find was fear.  Fear of failure,  fear of not being able to do it,  fear of not having enough time to meet my goals, fear of inadequate skills and fear of rejection.

Fear is a really hard thing to overcome.  As a child the fear of a monster under the bed can be almost debilitating.  Fear is our bodies way of showing caution for a new experience.  But when fear takes over it can be very hard to let go of that fear and work though it.  I still have not worked through a fear of being locked in dark spaces or pinned down  after my brother locked me in a cupboard as a young child. I still irrationally cannot cope when someone sits on me and can't move or when I play hide and seek and the cupboard door I am in closes tight and I can't get out.  Starting a quilt business is a bit like this fear for me, quite irrational but understandable. 

In what ways can I overcome this fear?  I spent some time thinking about other fears I have had and how I have overcomed them.  I use to be scared of the dark and being home on my own and night but I seemed to have worked through these ones.  So I wrote a list of what I did to get rid of these fears.

• I didn't dwell on the fear
• I wrote down my fears
• I tried to experience the fear with someone else supporting me
• I made myself do the thing I feared so I gave myself an opportunity to try to overcome the fear
• I talked about it with a friend and my hubby
• I celebrated the successes. 
• I shared my success with my friend and hubby
• I kept challenging myself until I could regularly go into the dark on my own.
• I kept my imagination from running overtime.

Now that I have written this list I can see that I can use these same skills to work on my fear of failure.  This list helps me to know how to attack the fear and make a go of a business. 

I was surprised to see how well this list idea worked.  Now I wonder what other things I can help myself with.?

New years

I have spent the last couple of days reflecting on the past year and looking ahead to the new one.  2011 was a year of many challenges and ups and downs. I have finished the year exhausted form looking after and supporting people though many difficulties and I have survived another year with teenagers :)  (7 down and 12 to go...one disadvantage of having a large family)  I have spent a few days taking time out and just resting so I can get some energy back again and I am glad to say that I am starting to feel a little more like myself again. 



I love the ending and beginning of things.  I love to look back on what has been but I really enjoy the setting of new goals and having the excitement of new experiences. This year has been no exception.

I want to

• Get fit.  I really want to feel healthier and to have more energy I'm even thinking about running a half marathon.  But we will wait and see
• Progress more with my art work
• Have better relationships with my family
• Have a weekly date with my husband
• Extend my education through reading



I may not get everything done but it is really nice to plan and prepare for the year ahead.  What goals are you making?  How are you going to spend the next 366 days?