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.

Why do you blog?

I am rewriting this post because somehow, I managed to delete it accidentally when I was trying to attach the Google Adsense code to it

I write because I am a ✍️ writer at heart, and the blog gives me the incentive to write and express my creativity all the while honing my writing skills and giving me a presence and personality online.  Writing a blog is something that has become  second nature and part of my everyday routine.  I write of a morning 🌄 when I am at my most alert and productive . Writing a blog also inspires me in my other wrtings, i.e., my other books, God Bless Our Dogs and The Dance of the Emerald Dress 👗.  Writing a blog improves my writing skills and my motivation to write as it is just pure pleasure 🙏🏽. I am a creative person at heart, and writing is my main media of self-expression and creativity, and yes, it is definitely pure pleasure 🙏🏽.

When I want to relax, I sit or lie on the couch with Lily on my lap as I gently stroke her fur.  It is bliss 😊 and makes me relax quickly. It is amazing the feel of a much loved pet.

If you had to give up one word that you use regularly, what would it be?

A few weeks ago, we had to write a post about a word we feel is overused.  I chose “whatever.”  That would be the word that I would give up.  Instead of dismissing the person with a “whatever,” I would carefully choose my wirds and say what it is I really feel or choose to express.  Saying whatever ends the conversation and means you don’t say what you really feel.  I don’t like confrontation,  but Saying whatever is not the answer  creating more conflict than it solves.  I know I have a good vocabulary so I would carefully choose my words instead of saying whatever.

Are you holding a grudge? About?

I don’t believe in holding grudges.  The energy spent in holding a grudge can be better spent by being positive, caring, and optimistic in your own life.

We are all on different journeys in our life with our own lessons to learn.   If anything I have learned on this journey,  it is that karma exists. If you do around,  spreading negativity and bad behaviour  the universe will make sure that you get back that negativity in your own life threefold.  You don’t bring about good karma for yourself,  when you go around trying to make bad karma for another.   We must not interfere in someone elses karma. We are to let go and learn from our mistakes.  Trying to interfere in someone else’s karma only generates bad karma for yourself.

If someone in your life is mean or horrible to you, wish them well, let go of your bad feelings, and know that person will experience karma eventually.  Everything happens in Gods time, and it is only a matter of time that karma will catch up with those who have wronged us. Letting go and not holding a grudge is the best way to deal with those who are badly behaved. The universe will bring bad karma to those who do wrong. It is only a matter of time, and other people’s karma is not our business.

Share a story about the furthest you’ve ever traveled from home.

The furthest I have ever travelled was to Hong Kong, when I was working for the Richmond Fellowship Victoria,  now called Mind. Richmond Fellowship is a worldwide organisation that specialises in mental health care and every few years the organisation has a big conference where the organisations meet to talk and present what they do for those with mental health issues. At the time I was a Consumer consultant for them and the conference was a once in a lifetime thing. Myself and the other employees of Mind were treated fabulously well.

We were in Hong Kong 🇭🇰 ❤️ for a week and one day caught the train to mainland China to go shopping at Schenzeng.  It was amazing.  I had the pleasure of having a dress tailored fit me by one of the shops  in Schenzeng who delivered the dress to me 3 days later in Hong Kong 🇭🇰 😀.  On the last day, an expatriate took us shopping at discount outlets that the average person in Hong Kong 🇭🇰 😀 would shop at, not the tourists.  I bought a few bargains that day,  including a beautiful shirt 👕 for my mum that only cost me the equivalent of $3 Australian.  We had many adventures in Hong Kong 🇭🇰 😍 and I am still amazed and impressed by the work Mind do all over the world. They are probably the most significant organisation worldwide that helps  work with those with mental health issues and does so much work to end the stigma of mental illness.   I was privileged to work for them, and I have so many good memories of my time working in mental health.