What is the meaning of life?
To me the meaning of life is about the journey and the values, lessons and wisdom we learn as part of that journey. Life is all about giving, not taking. We must learn goodwill and that life should be about paying it forward and graciously paying back. We reap what we sow in this life and goodwill manifests and generates goodwill. This is what God hopes we learn on our journey by faith in him.
What’s a moment that made you realize you were stronger than you thought?
It has been over the past couple of weeks that I have realised how strong and resilient I really am. Circumstances have forced me to be strong and stay mentally well in the face of major events forcing me to reconsider my housing options. I am vulnerable but I really have got my suit together.
What’s a simple pleasure in life that brings you joy?
The most simple pleasure 🙏🏽 in life that brings me the most joy is every morning when Lily firsts gets up for the day ahead and lies on my lap or chest on the couch and showers me with kisses 💋. She always wakes up happy and with a heart full of love and joy. It is pure bliss. Unconditional love is the best sort of love.
Who would’ve thought that the advice I can most use at the moment is the above quote taken word for word from the Jimmy Barnes song Working Class Man. Jimmy thank you for helping me get the right attitude. I don’t think Jimmy realises what a role model he is.
I have had the rug pulled out from under me in relation to my future housing situation. I am stunned but not defeated. When a door is closed God opens a windows. Perhaps The Haven wasn’t meant to be for me, it could’ve been very challenging living in close quarters with some seriously unwell people. As my friend Adrian pointed out I have done my job too well, as I hsve stayed well for several years and hsve many strong reasons to keep well to avoid those you come across in a hospital environment.
What does the future hold for me and Lily who knows. Maybe a small cottage with a little yard for Lily. Maybe a retirement unit in a village. I am considering a few different options and my faith in God means that I know he has better plans for me.
If you could erase one movie from your memory and watch it again for the first time, which one would it be?
The one greatest movie I would like to watch again for the very first time is a very powerful emotional movie. Pay It Forward is probably one of the most significant and important movies of its time. At times it is bitter-sweet and sad, but also incredibly moving and it delivers a message about how we should all live our lives, being kind and paying it forward 🙏🏽 wherever we can
The past few days I have spent very quietly gathering all the strength I can muster and getting all my ducks in line. I am backed up by a wonderful support network. I have been totally surprised by just who and how many people have my back. When the going gets tough is when God shows us just how loved 😍 and cared for we are. No man is an island and I am certainly not going through my latest battle on my own.
This week I am open to fighting for my rights abd and gathering all the right resources i need to do so. I hope my fight is a wake up call to those at the NDIA, because I am exactly the type of resident Mind would like. How the NDIA can say that I am not moving into any sort of social housing when Mind made it clear that I tick all their boxes.
Watch out i am not going down without a fight for my basic human rights. I have strong faith 🙏🏽 and alot of support.
What’s a book that completely surprised you?
Probably the book that most surprised me as a teenager was To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It is such an amazingly written book 📖. You grow to love Atticus Finch, Scott, and Boo Radley. It is a classic that I think everyone should read about racism, equality and social justice all told by the narrator Scout Finch a young girl whose father lawyer Atticus Finch is defending a black man wrongfully accused of sexual assault. Atticus Finch is a damn fine lawyer and justice is served.
As a lot of my readers would be aware I have been battling mental health issues since I was first diagnosed at the age of 25. As The Eagles sung Welcome To The Hotel California. Once you receive a diagnosis of mental health issues, particularly schizophrenia you become locked in a system that will mean because of the stigma you are caught up in a system of stigma that you will need to fight for as long as you live. As The Eagles sung in Hotel California You Can Check Out Anytime You Like, But You Can Never Leave. Learning to live with stigma takes time, empathy, compassion, knowledge and resilience. You learn that medication helps the symptoms but nothing prepares you for the stigma, even from those whose job it is to support you. I became a support worker to help people who had similar experiences to me. It was both rewarding and draining at the same time. I know I helped and cared for many on my journey, but even to this very day I battle with the stigma of my diagnosis.
I am in the process of hopefully moving into social housing built for people in my situation and up to yesterday it was a process I thought would have a bright, positive outcome for me. I have been going through a lot of red tape and jumping through all sorts of hoops, with the end goal of a peaceful existence at The Haven. Unfortunately the decision isn’t mine, and even isn’t Mind’s. It is all decided by some bureaucrats interpreting legislation and deciding if we meet the legislation in the most minute detail, and because of a lack of knowledge, empathy and compassion my dream of a peaceful, supportive and therapeutic environment has been judged and now I find myself having to gather my resources be strong and resilient not only for myself but for those who are going through the same process in the future. I am vulnerable but I am strong and resilient and will fight this with all my might.
Please count your blessings and i will keep you posted on this journey circumstances have brought my way.
What’s a thing you were completely obsessed with as a kid?
As a young child I was completely obsessed with ABBA. I even had ABBA socks and my oldest brother Peter gave me all his ABBA records which Peter gave me because it wasn’t cool to like ABBA at his age. I still have all those records in my vinyl collection. My dad even called one of his tattslotto lottery tickets after ABBA and he was going to take me to Sweden to meet them if he won.. Oh what a beautiful dream for my dad and me his only daughter.
The next thing I was obsessed with was Split Enz. I fell absolutely head over heals for them as a 10 year old when they released I Got You from the Album True Colours. To say I was obsessed with the Finn brothers is an understatement. I have loved Neil Finn from that young age and even joined their fan club Frenz Of The Enz all those years ago and I’m now in Private Universe a special online club for fans of Crowded House and all things Finn related. I joke that Neil Finn is my longest term friend because he has be in contact with me, initially hy letters since I was 10 years old. I cried for weeks when Split Enz announced they were breaking up, I wish someone had a crystal 🔮 ball to show me that Neil Finn would go on to establish Crowded House, my main obsession in my teenage and adult years. Crowded House remains my all time favourite.
Today is Mother’s Day here in Australia and although I have never experienced pregnancy or childbirth have experienced deep material feelings towards my furbabies, my nephews and nieces etc. Being a cancerian I have deep seeded material feelings that I think my loved 😍 ones realise it is part of my very soul. This morning 🌄 I sent Mothers Day greetings 🙏🏽 to my female loved 😍 ones be they actual mothers of children or furbabies alike. I remember the painting 🖼 that Michael Fleming did of Madonna and Child, where the Madonna resembled me greatly. Perhaps he sensed something about my true nature and found the way to express it was by painting 🖼 it.
I think of my own Mum today and how she has raised me to be an empathic, compassionate and independent woman. I think for years she struggled with my mental health diagnosis, but now she has moved beyond the stigma and just loves ❤️ and appreciates the woman that that experience created, largely due to this blog and my other writings ✍️. Maternal love is a very powerful thing and I am forever grateful 🙏🏽 to God for the life i know have. I get in some ways to adopt the children my nieces and nephews have. I get to be an Aunty my most loved role in my life.
