The title of this post is quite deliberate on my part. Probably the most powerful written image that comes from The Beatles I have been listening 🎶 to the song  Let It Be on high rotation over the last few months.  The song 🎵 is important to me and gives aome very pertinent advice.  Let It Be.   Focus only on what you can change, and to just let go of the elements of your life, you can’t change.  I think it is the most wise advice you can give anyone who is struggling with life issues and wasting precious energy constantly worrying about things they can’t change.  Change does happen in our lives, but it happens in Gods time.  Making small positive baby steps on something you actually have the power to change is a far wiser way to spend your time,  rather than working yourself into a lather worrying about things you have no control over.  Speak words of wisdom to yourself. Let It Be.  There will be an answer.

Today, I experienced a self actualisation.   When I was young, I wanted to be an author when I grew up, and I knew I knew I wanted to live a life less ordinary .  It occurred to me now that I have achieved this.

When I was young, my idol was Helen Keller, who never let her disability dictate the success of her life.  A bit like Helen, I never let my mental illness dictate the success of my life.   I challenge the notion of what a person with mental health issues can achieve. I live independently and have some wonderful people and experiences that make up my life..

When I was young, I never visualised  myself of being married with a lot of children. I visualised myself as being independent and having a dog 🐕. I wanted to be an individual and unique.  I used to want relationships, and in my early 20s, it was the centre of a lot of attention from the opposite sex.  When I moved out of home to be independent, I experienced a lot of  attention from men who were inappropriate, to say the least.  This attention changed my view of the 🌎 world  the attention I received was from some truly awful people. I married late to someone incapable of understanding what the vows of marriage mean.  This experience has made me celibate by choice, and I do believe it makes me a far more interesting person.  It occurred to me today that I have a lot in common with my female role models, I am living a life less ordinary and feel that with my experience of life, I have a lot to offer.  I still find some members of the opposite sex very attractive. I like how Simon Baker looks, and I think Scott Aplin is probably the most attractive man I have seen in a long time. I still have eyes to notice what is attractive. I just choose not to get involved . I have some wonderful male friends and don’t take them for granted, but I am contented in saving my love for Lily and focus on my writing.  I have become the writer with the interesting life that I envisioned myself being as a child. I am confident and an individual when it comes to living my life, and I treasure the role people like Susanna and Michael have played in making me the person I am today.

As what John Lennon wrote in Beautiful Boy, “Life is what happens whilst we are busy making other plans.” We plan God Laughs..

My life seems to be a series of curve balls  that I juggle with on an ongoing basis.   I juggle well most of the time, but occasionally, I can feel the monotony of constantly juggling.   I have handled my mental health issues better these days, but I am very self-aware, and being that self-aware is one of the main balls I juggle.   I am so conscious of my mental state and know to check up with myself about the small curve balls I deal with so that they don’t becone hard to juggle. I know to be kind 😇 to myself as my first priority abd not to beat myself up for having mental health issues .  I feel well and strong and constantly check in with myself so that small things don’t become big and unmanageable.   I have asked my friends to let me know if they pick up any changes with me that I might not be aware of.   So far, so good…… I am juggling well at the moment and feel that just maybe being unwell is a thing of the past.  Again, so far, so good….. life is a meandering journey, and my personal journey certainly is the road less travelled.   I will keep you posted on my ongoing journey .

My little Lily has a favourite hobby, apart from going on a walk or playing with her toys and me. Unlike every other dog 🐕 that has been in my life, Lily loves watching 👀 television 📺.  Her favourite programs are Muster Dogs and All Creatures Great And Small.   She knows the sounds of the themes of these shows and even responds to the ads for the programs.  Lily barks madly at the dogs 🐕 on Muster Dogs and barks at all the animals on All Creatures Great And Small.  When it is an animal that isn’t a dog, Lily turns to me to almost ask what animal it is.  It is something really endearing that Lily does and shows how bright she is, that she notices the television 📺  . I’ve never known a dog 🐕 who loves ❤️ the television as much as Lily, and it is like she sees 👀 the television as being interactive.

The Split is my favourite BBC drama series set around a family of high-class female family lawyers. It is both polished and slick, and the characters are well drawn and believable.   You can’t help but like them, although they all have their flaws and issues.   My favourite character would have to be Hannah Defoe⁵she is remarkable and carries herself with a sense of grace, be she standing up for her clients or navigating the demise of her own marriage.  If I were getting a divorce, I would want her on my side.  She would eat your ex partner alive, but do it gently with class. Having been through a divorce myself,  whereas it was simple because there were no children or property involved  I would I would’ve loved a great lawyer like Hannah on my side if there had been assets or custody of children involved.

I don’t want to say too much about the series because I don’t want to spoil it for new viewers.   It would have to be one of the best series that I have seen in a long time. There were initially 3 series of it made with series 4 being of 2 episodes filmed in Barcelona.   It is well worth watching. Another of my favourite characters would have to be Rose, the only daughter,  not a lawyer.  I love all the clothes the characters wear in the seies. No expense was spared from Hannahs stylish designer clothes to Rose’s second-hand vintage chic.  Visually, it is a delight to watch, and I recommend this series to anyone, particularly if you are a female craving watching strong female characters.

Life brings us many gifts and experiences if only we are open to them. Two of the biggest gifts 🎁 💕 😍 in my life have been my relationships with Susanna and Lily.

Susanna was my sister in every way that mattered.   We were so close, and our generosity to each other was profound.  She gave me time, kindness, and goodwill.  I miss her immensely and am grateful 🙏🏽 for her presence in my life. Friends are the family we choose, and  Susanna and I share a deep sisterly bond, always looking out for one another and standing up for one another when the need arose. She was the greatest gift God ever game me in human form.

The other great gift 🎁 from God would have to be the unconditional 🙏🏽 love that I receive from my dog Lily. I never doubt the presence of God in my life because God created  these creatures to be our most loyal, loving companions.  Lily is a happy, contented little soul whose existence tells me of her love for me and the beautiful relationship God has with his creations.  Dogs have a special place in Gods heart ❤️ and Lily certainly has a special place in my heart.  To anyone who yearns for unconditional love, my advice would be to get a dog 🐕 because if you care for it, you will be rewarded with the most genuine love on this 🌎 earth.

I am genuinely grateful 🙏🏽 for the gifts 🎁 God has brought into my life. These gifts confirm that there is something more to life than just existing on this 🌎 earth.   If we give love to one another, the universe will bless you with goodness in return.  Look for the silver lining, and you will find it

The main challenge I face in my everyday life is to maintain my mental health and not let circumstances affect me in such a way that deteriorates my mental health.   This is an ongoing challenge in my life, and 99% of the time, I manage this really well.  This means being very self-aware and constantly checking in on myself.   I need to make sure that I maintain good mental health and good sleep 😴 hygiene.   The heat of our summer season here in Australia can impact upon my sleep hygiene, making me have strange dreams and a lack of good sleep.   Most of the time, I juggle all my health issues very well, and I don’t let myself become overly worried if I have the odd night of bad sleep or strange dreams. I think I handle my challenges very well, as it has been a long time since my last episode of mental health issues.   The trick is to have a glass half full perspective to life and be kind to yourself when life throws you curve balls.   Life basically is good . It is healthy to be optimistic  😊