Do I believe in Karma?

Do you believe in karma?

Yes i do believe in Karma.  I believe that we reap what we sow in this life and world 🌎 and that goodwill generates goodwill.   If you are a bad person and do     bad nasty things life will pay you back in kind eventually.  But if we learn from our mistakes and are remorseful and grateful 🙏🏽 and learn to treat people with kindness we will generate good karma for ourselves.  We need to learn to be gentle with our fellow human beings and not ride roughshod over each other. If we are grateful 🙏🏽 and empathetic will experience the wonderful benefits of good karma.

How do I write what people actually want to read?

How do you write what people actually want to read?

This is a thought provoking blog topic.  I believe that writing ✍️ from personal experience helps as does being honest and candid with  good sense of humour and the ridiculous.   It helps to have a good vocabulary and not take yourself too seriously.  It helps to be well read 📚 and learning new words for your vocabulary.  You need to enjoy what write ✍️ and be open to feedback.  Most of all you need to have fun writing.   I write like I am conversing with friends.

Another thing I do for self-care

How do you make time for self-care?

When I answered this post 📫 yesterday I forgot one of the big things I do for self-care and that is to make the time for and put money aside each week so I can regularly go to the hairdresser for cut and colour every 8 weeks.

When I was married I couldn’t afford to go to the hairdresser and even though I liked my hair coloured blonde with foils and well cut very rarely could go to the hairdresser.  I was lucky if I went once a year and if my husband found the money I had secretly put away to save for the hairdresser he would be furious and demand that money be spent on something of his choosing.  But enough about that.

When I left my husband a support worker suggested that I splurge some money on myself and giving get my hair done to improve my sense of self worth and self-esteem.   It was the absolute best thing I did for myself at that time and ever since then I put money aside each week so I can regularly do something that is just for me and makes me feel good.

My hairdresser has become one of my closest friends in this 🌎 world.  We share a love of our dogs and similar spiritual beliefs.  We are soul sisters and I  couldn’t imagine life without my regular dose of self-care.

Review of “Willie’s Bar And Grill ” by Rob Hirst.

This is a book that I have just finished reading by the late great drummer from Midnight Oil the one and only Rob Hirst who sadly passed away back in January from pancreatic cancer.

It doesn’t surprise me that it is a remarkable read because Rob was one of Australia’s greatest songwriters though he humbly never took the credit for being the main songwriter and driving force behind Midnight Oil.  He was a poet who was also a gentleman,  and wrote a lot about social justice and many of the causes Midnight Oil sung about eg nuclear disarmament,  the environment and indigenous issues.  So much of what I believe to be true about certain issues I  learned from listening to Midnight Oil.

The book has a good sense of humour and will make you laugh and smile.  Rob and Bones Hillman were the humour of the band and Rob was definitely the charming one.  A few examples of the sense of humour were Rob’s drummer joke being as follows

“What do you say to a drummer in a three piece suit?

“Will the defendant please rise.

When asked about their thoughts on Kylie Minogue they replied that they like her, that she “was just like a real woman only smaller”.

This book made me smile. It gives a very honest reflection on what it was like to be  a band touring the USA 🇺🇸 in the weeks that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks. You can’t help but like Rob,, he’s a gifted writer with acute observations about what was happening in the world 🌎 at that time. He truly was a gentleman and I am quite sure he is in heaven entertaining all with his musical talent and wit.

Make time for self-care

How do you make time for self-care?

I guess I make it a priority that I practice self-care, I build it into my daily routine.  I consciously practice mindfulness as part of my regular day. I try to eat slowly getting pleasure from my food. I fill my lungs with fresh crisp morning air as I take Lily for  walk 🚶‍♀️.  I consciously choose these things so they become second nature to me.

Places i visited that felt like home

What’s a place you visited that felt like home?

There have been several places I visited that feel like home 🏡.  Here in Victoria I would say that Williamstown,  Barwon Heads and Queenscliff feel like home.  I would say that Hobart in Tasmania feels like home 🏡 and in New Zealand the seaside village of Gisborne feels like home . I would love to say that Parnell in Auckland feels like home, but honestly that feels more like a pipedream than a familiar home like feel.

It’s the little things that matter

I am feeling so much happier, grateful 🙏🏽 at peace and contented.  The reason for this is the cumulative affect of a few small changes in my life 

In the past few months I treated myself to a new bed and a new washing machine/dryer combined . Both of these items have helped me feel more comfortable and relaxed in my home 🏡 and I am now happy to just be in my current abode until I get offered government housing.  Life is so much easier now I don’t have to carry loads of laundry up and down the stairs and around the block to the laundrette.  It’s the little things that make all the difference.  As I write this I am lying on my new bed 🛌 with Lily by my side whilst I read and write ✍️  . It doesn’t get better than this sense of peace and contentment.

Best advice for someone younger

What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?

The best advice I would give to someone younger would be to trust your gut instincts and never let people into your life that sets off uncomfortable feelings in your gut. Best to be safe than sorry. Learn to surround yourself with good people who only have the best of intentions.  If something doesn’t feel right be wary and careful in your interactions with people whom your gut instincts are telling you to not get involved with.

More public housing

What’s one thing that would instantly improve your city?

The one thing that would instantly improve the city would be more public housing in suburbs surrounding the outer suburbs of Melbourne.  We are facing a rental housing crisis here in Australia that began with the covid lockdowns and only became worse in the following years.  The wait list for public housing takes several years to be housed because there is an extreme shortage of housing available.  Our government needs to build some new public housing as a priority because the situation is at the point of crisis.