If humans had taglines, what would yours be?

The last time I answered this question, I answered that my tagline would be “Now We’re Getting Somewhere ” after the Crowded House song 🎵 with that title.   It still could describe my life, but I have a bit of a sense of humour and could say ” Life Is What Happens Whilst We Are Busy Making Other Plans” which is a John Lennon quote from the song Beautiful Boy.  Or rather, “We Plan God Laughs.” My life is a constantly evolving thing, and I feel I have lived about 5 different sorts of lives in the one lifetime.

What are the most important things needed to live a good life?

There are a number of things needed to live a good life. My advice is as follows.

1. Surround yourself with good people.  Only let people of good character be close to you. Only let those people with good intentions be the people you associate yourself with.
2. Live within your means financially.
3. Save some money for a rainy day and learn the joy of delayed gratification by saving for the luxuries that make life pleasurable.
4. Don’t live on credit. A very good way to get into lots of debt fast is to get everything on credit. So many people do this and end up in incredible amounts of debt they will never be able to pay back.
5. Be an honest and optimistic person and have some faith in God. I believe in the law of attraction.  We literally reap what we sow,  so do things with only the best of intentions, and life will return to you threefold. Both God and Karma exist in the universe, so live a good life.

Who do you spend the most time with?

If I am being really honest Lily my little dog is who I spend the most time with. She is my most loyal companion,  always by my side.

The other people I spend the most time with are Sherree and Liz.  I see Sherree at least once a week and take Lily to visit Liz and Becky once a,week.

I talk to Adrian and Liz on a daily basis.  I make sure that I don’t isolate myself.

If you had to change your name, what would your new name be?

If I had to change my name, it would be to Jessica Harrison.   This was the name of Sigrid Thornton’s character in The Man From Snowy River.   She was a beautiful, headstrong, and independent young woman. Jessica  has always been my favourite name for a girl.

Describe your dream chocolate bar.

My dream chocolate bar 🍫 would have to be Lindt balls. I love them so much, and so rarely have them as I am diabetic.  My dream chocolate 🍫 would be a sugar-free version of Lindt balls.

What fears have you overcome and how?

I have a fear of my mental health issues returning and I overcome it by talking about it with close friends and my psychiatrist and by being focused on regularly taking my medications.  I know how to keep well and focus on being optimistic and a powerful force for positivity.

Living on my own I have a fear of loneliness and isolation and overcome it by having regular contact with loved ones  I know if I maintain regular positive contact with friends it stops me from feeling lonely and isolated.

In all my fears it is my faith that helps me to overcome 🙏🏽 it. I believe God had plans for us all, all we need to do is to believe it and be optimistic.

Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.

One of the simplest things I do that brings me great joy is to every morning send all my loved ones a good morning gif. I do this to honour the memory of Susanna, who was an angel on this earth and only ever spread love and goodwill.  I gain such pleasure 🙏🏽 from doing this one simple thing on a daily basis 

How do you know when it’s time to unplug? What do you do to make it happen?

I know that I  regularly need to unplug from technology, and I have a few strategies I use regularly.

From about 7.00pm, I put my phone in the bathroom overnight to charge the battery, and by putting it in another room, rather than keep it in the bedroom, I can get a good night’s sleep.  If I get any messages after that time, I wait until morning 🌄 to read them

I also have a particular playlist of 🎵 songs I listen to if I am feeling stressed before bedtime to help me feel at peace, everything from Thats When I Think Of You, Send Me An Angel, Dont Dream It’s Over,  Let It Be, and Choir Girl.  The playlist is more extensive than this sample and there are more songs 🎵 from the playlist I select depending on what I want to hear 🎶.

I deliberately switch off from technology on a regular basis and turn my television 📺 off at the PowerPoint when I am not watching it..

All these little things I do help me to detox regularly and stop me from becoming exhausted by technology in my life. I don’t let technology control me, and I deliberately am not on social media like Facebook.  I want to be in charge of how technology affects me. I don’t need social media and constant interface with technology to be happy.

I think I control my devices and regularly turn them off, so yes, I do detox from the world🌎of technology. .

What quality do you value most in a friend?

As I think about the blog topic today, I think of Susanna, the most honest,  loyal, and loving person I have ever met.. She embodied friendship with her honesty and loyalty.  Even Lily, my little dog, is my best friend 🧡  with her loyal, loving nature.  Dogs are always honest. They are not capable of being  dishonest. To me, honesty and loyalty are the qualities of a true friend and go hand in hand. I value the friends who are honest and straightforward with me.  I respect that. If a friend is being dishonest with you,  for whatever reason,  they are not being a friend.  Honesty is a big part of loyalty.  Friendships that survive have a basis of love, honesty, and loyalty.