What would your life be like without music?

I can’t even begin to imagine my life without music 🎶. It would be tragic and devastating.  My love of music is such a big part of my life.  So many songs 🎵 evoke different memories or feelings. So many songs 🎵 mean so much to me. To never hear Crowded House,  1927, Cold Chisel,  Hunters and Collectors,  the Beatles,  U2 etc etc, would be devastating and unbearable.   I have written only a select  few of the artists I would miss. There are literally thousands of songs 🎵 that make up my personal playlist, and I could never even imagine what it would be like to not hear them.  A world without music would be truly horrible.

How do you celebrate holidays?

I like to celebrate holidays by spending time with my loved one’s..  Until a few years ago I was a regular churchgoer.  Covid changed that and although I no longer regularly attend church I remain true to my faith and practice Christianity 🙏🏽 on a daily basis.

Christmas day is usually spent at my brother Peter’s home, and I look forward to that all year. Peter and his wife Kathy always make Christmas 🎄 Day a special time with their family.   This is my favourite celebration of the year.  I believe that we should spread goodwill all year round,  but Christmas is special celebrating the fact that Jesus existed. I love giving my loved ones ❤️ 💕 something special at Christmas time.

Other holidays I like to spend in Lily’s  company. I am hoping to take her for a holiday to the beach sometime soon. I took her for a weekend away just over a year ago, and she loved it. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to do so again, but it is on top of my bucket list to take her to the beach.

Holidays give us the opportunity to be with loved ones but also allow us some quiet time to reflect upon life and gratitude 🙏🏽 for what we have in life. It is a time to reflect,  rejoice, and be grateful 🙏🏽 for our many gifts.

Share a lesson you wish you had learned earlier in life.

Today’s blog topic is a profound one.  I wish I had developed wisdom at an earlier time in my life.  Thus, I wish I had learned at an earlier age to accept what I can’t change and had the wisdom to know the difference of what I can and what I can’t change in my life.  It would have saved me a lot of heartache and pain, but I think it worked out the way it did to make me a far more empathic and compassionate human.  I still would like to be 21 again,  but with the wisdom I now have,how different my life could have been, but I try to love my life without regrets so Cest La Vie to that.

What are your favorite types of foods?

My favourite types of foods from other cultures are definitely Indian and Italian.  I love Indian cuisine and I love pasta and pizza 🍕 from Italy.  I also have a soft spot for Vietnamese and Lebanese food too.

I also love traditional home cooked meals, and at the moment, I am cooking some curried sausages and vegetables that remind me of my childhood.

I do have a sweet tooth that as I get older, I don’t crave sweet things as much.  My preferred snack is cheese or dip and crackers, and I prefer this to something sweet.  I love things like olives and salami to snack on as well. I gurss I am a foodie at heart ❤️.

How often do you walk or run?

I go for a walk just about every day. I do this to walk Lily 🚶‍♂️ my beloved little dog 🐕.   I love ❤️ this walk as it is good exercise for the both of us, but it is also bonding time for us.  She just loves this walk. I try to walk 🚶‍♂️ in the fresh, crisp morning air sunshine.  It is the best time of day to walk , when the world 🌎 is just starting to come to life and it is quiet and peaceful.   I am lucky to live really close to a dog friendly park and take in deep breaths to fill my lungs with the fresh crisp morning air.  I love this so much, and the best thing it is FREE.

Do you see yourself as a leader?

I guess I do see myself as a leader. I know I am a role model for how people with my mental health issues behaves.  I know I definitely was a leader in my peer support career in mental health 🙏🏽 ❤️.   In my role I stood up for the basic human rights of those with mental health issues and used my writing skills to write and edit newsletters and the like.

Now I think in my role as a blogger, I am again showing l leadership with my writing ✍️ skills. I may not technically still be a peer support worker, but I educate,  inform, and inspire people to have a better understanding of mental health issues.  I don’t make that my entire focus and also write on the other things in my life that I enjoy and impact on me. I try to encourage people to use  their communication skills and become bloggers, too.  Writing ✍️ is what I enjoy most, and my blogging has led me on a very fulfilling and inspiring journey.

What’s your favorite word?

My favourite word is Grace. I love it because of what it means. I love that it means the grace of God.  It means being gracious and grateful 🙏🏽 and having faith in God.  It truly is one of the most beautiful words in the English language.  I have a niece called Grace, and she lives up to her name. She is beautiful and gracious and grateful 🙏🏽.   She is a lovely soul and deserving of a name with such beautiful, profound meaning . Grace has been my favourite word for a very long time, and I seek to live a life full of grace.

What are you doing this evening?

This evening, I will unwind by watching ABC iview and YouTube clips lying on my 🛋 couch with Lily laying on my lap.  This is peaceful and relaxing,  and how I spend moat evenings.

What personality trait in people raises a red flag with you?

One personality traits thst raises a red flag with me is when people use sarcasm,  thinking they are being funny, when really they are being nasty. People who use sarcasm are normally insecure people, with a lack of compassion and empathy for their fellow humans.

I’ve experienced a lot of sarcasm from people,  in relation to my mental health issues and the people who make such comments think they are being funny,  when all they are doing is being nasty, and trying to perpetuate the stigma of mental health issues.  People like this lack the most basic empathy and compassion.  Usually, the universe perpetuates ksrma for these people eventually,  so when someone is sarcastic towards me, I silently bless them, knowing karma will catch up with them eventually.   I have a good sense of humour,  usually at my own expense,  not at the expense of others. Sarcasm truly is the lowest form of wit.

Describe your ideal week.

I am using this post to describe what my ideal fantasy week would look like.

I would begin the week on a cruise ship in New Zealand and visit Sam Neill’s Two Paddocks vineyard in Central Otago. Once the cruise ship had docked back in Melbourne, I would love to see Crowded House perform at a small intimate venue with my friends Carl and Gisele. I would have a dinner party for my friends Russell,  Adrian, Lani,  Liz, and Kathryn, where we would have good food and conversation and enjoy a bit of Sam Neill’s wine.

I would catch up with my family and, in particular, all my nephews and nieces at a family picnic. I would shop for goodies at this picnic at ALDI with my friend Sherree, who, along with  Marenka, would go to one of the local cafes for a girly catch-up and good coffee and cake Lily would be by my side for all of this, spreading her own particular brand of goodwill .  It will be a very positive week, and I will get to show my loved 😍 ones how much they mean to me.