Practice, Practice and Then Practice Some More

Like many things in life - when we first try something new we aren't always immediately good at it. However, it is important to remember that with each attempt if we make a mistake or experience failure, there will be lessons to be learnt. With every experience or attempt comes a new skill, and with each experiement or trial comes the discovery of a technique that does (sometimes doesn't) work for you.

They key to your success is not to be discouraged if things don't work for you straight away...

Misery Likes Company? Not Always...

The old saying may be that misery likes company, or that depressed people like to bring other people down with them, but this isn't always the case. Sometimes when people are feeling down, they have friends and relatives around them who want to see if they can do something to help lift the flagging spirits of the person they're concerned about. The problem with this is that sometimes those who are closest to us aren't really the best to us out of our low 'funk.' At times like this if they are only able to provide empathy and no concrete means of rectifying any difficulties you are experiencing this can then develop in them the feeling of being a let-down to you, which in turn spreads the woe!

At times like this, it's important for you to recognise if you do just need a hug, or a few quick words of encouragement, or whether the problem is a more serious one which needs the help of a trained professional or support group from which you can gain more structured support.

It could also be that you simply need time out to reflect in solitude in order to centre yourself and move on with a clearer mindset. If this is the case, kindly advise those around you that you are not shutting them out, and simply need the time to resolve your issues without pulling them into the situation also.

Explained from a place of honesty, if they truly have your well-being at heart they will understand and give you the space you need to return in a better state of being.

Cover It With Ketchup

"Life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it."
- Apples of Gold

Now this reminds me of a situation experienced whilst growing up with my sister. She was always such a fussy eater, that no matter what our mother cooked, she would always smother it with ketchup to make it more "pallatable" for her. Even SOUP would have the condiment added to it! I was like.... What?!

Anyway, one day I asked her why she wouldn't just try it without the ketchup, to which she simply answered that it made it far easier for her to simply get on with eating the food. Well you can't argue with that right?

Rather than trying to force ourselves to go through situations the hard way, sometimes it may be easier to do what you can to make the that bit easier to handle... That is something which has stuck with me since we were children, and we still often refer to "cover it with ketchup" when we have a situation that we have to deal with that we're not particularly happy to handle... and it helps :o)

I Am Me

"Be what you are, and become what you are capable of becoming" - Robert Louis Stevenson.

This saying is so good for helping you to accept yourself for the person you are at any moment in time. Even if it isn't somewhere you are particularly proud to be, because it opens your mind up to remembering that you can still be so much more if you just try...

Being of Jamaican descent I also read something similar when I was on holiday there visiting relatives:

"I am I
And you are you.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
I do my thing.
You do your thing.
And if by chance we meet each other,
It's a beautiful thing."

Don't let others be the judge of the order and rate at which you progress in your life. Now I have many sources I could quote that I also use to remind me of this because as easily as I pass on this wisdom, know that I still use these as constant reminders. After all, we're all works in progress right? :o)

No-one is perfect which is the beauty of being who we are... the potential to be so much more, to turn things around, come back from the brink, move on and grow.

On that note I will sign off.

Later the same day...

So the baby is in bed and I've come back to post again and thought I would say a little more about what this blog will be about. I guess that from the title you would say it's fairly self explanatory, but in full it's more than preaching sweetness and light about how wonderful this life is.

Anyone who has been on this planet for more than a couple of years knows, either through their own experiences, or those of people they know that life can be full of many unexpected twists and turns that can knock you sideways (or an your derriere) .

Sometimes it can be hard to pick yourself up and keep going. It could also be that you're surrounding by people that think they can help, but you feel that you can't truly express yourself with fear of recrimination, isolation or lack of understanding. Whilst there is the option of seeking professional help or support groups, this in itself can create a challenge which can feel overwhelming for some people.

In these instances, rather than just staying in the situation of feeling there is no hope, one of the best ways forward is to actually accept where you are is just that - where you are right now. Keep in mind that change is constant... and when you allow yourself to work through what you're feeling, being mindful of what you're thinking and feeling, your thoughts and reactions to people and situations, you'd be surprised at how much you can help yourself.

No matter what your religious orientation I like to think that we are all our own little Gods and Goddesses, able to determine how we act an react to various experiences.

To this end, there are many different resources that I use to try to inspire me when I get up and go through each day. Whether they're good ones or bad ones. So my aim is to share these and what they mean to me in the hope that should someone come across them, they too may find some help or be provided with some food for thought to get through those dark days, or even come across some information that they didn't know before :o)

Well that's enough for today I think apart from to close with one of my favourite sayings from Apples of Gold , "All things come to those who wait, if they work while they wait." Until next time.

Day One of Open Expression

Well I've FINALLY done it... Taken the step of getting around to setting up my own blog! Yay... I am a great fan of the internet and like to play around with many different aspects, such as websites, teaching myself HTML and the practice of affiliate marketing.

My mother has been starting to learn all about the internet and told me that in one of her books she read about something called a"blog" but didn't really understand how to set one up. This is something she wanted to do as she says she is at an age when she is ready to write about the trials and tribulations of her life. So I took her through the steps and helped her to create her first post, which she then DIDN'T want to publish!

I know how she felt though because it's the idea of putting yourself, your thoughts and feelings "out there" for the whole web (or whoever stumbles across your blog) to see. But in the spirit of positive thinking I told her that no-one is out there to judge you, but if they do that's their prerogative. That's the beauty of a blog and freedom of speech. Besides the reader can always hit the back button or the little "x" at the top right of the screen :o)

So in the spirit of following my own advice (and that of Susan Jeffers) I decided to "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway."

So here I am... Ready to openly express my thoughts, feelings and experiences as I go on my journey through life.