What positive emotion do you feel most often?

The positive emotion I feel most often is 🙏🏽 gratitude.   I may not be financially well off, but what I do have I am grateful for.   I am wealthy in terms of relationships and friendships, and don’t take that for granted.   I don’t believe in keeping up with the Jonses and don’t have many expensive possessions.   I am happy with my lot in life and feel gratitude for the things I do have..

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How do you plan your goals?

I plan my goals first of all with an attainable goal and give myself a fluid time frame for achieving it.  I break it down into baby steps that I try to achieve them on a regular basis, eg daily,  weekly monthly.  I reward myself if I stick to these goals along the way.  A good example is my plan to move house sometime next year.  I am slowly decluttering my home and trying to take a small bag of stuff to the Salvos store each week or give my friends things that I don’t need that I think they would like. I regularly throw out things that I don’t need.  I don’t punish myself if I have a week that doesn’t happen, but I am kind to myself when I do achieve these baby steps.

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What is a word you feel that too many people use?

The word that I feel too many people use is  “whatever.”  It has become so common place, and people use it when they are bored or apathetic and don’t say what they really think or feel.  It is used to be dismissive and to end conversations or avoid conflict.  I would prefer someone telling me what they really think rather than dismissing me entirely with  a “whatever.””  Just like  OMG, it is used too much to control the conversation by people who are apathetic and don’t bother to properly express their thoughts.

What brings you peace?

There are a few things that bring me peace. My daily practice of mindfulness helps to bring me peace.

Patting Lily’s soft coat is very calming and peaceful.  Also, taking her for her morning 🌄 walk in the fresh crisp morning 🌄 air helps me to feel peaceful and contented.

I’ve just realised that everything that brings me peace is FREE.   It is often the most simple of things that bring us  the most joy and contentment.

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What profession do you admire most and why?

There are a number of professions that I admire the most because of my experiences in life.  I admire social workers, nurses, and teachers whom I all think are overworked and underpaid in our society.   I think of the social workers I worked alongside in mental health and of the nurses who have always treated me so wonderfully when I have been unwell.

The other professions that I really admire are those that take care of the animals in this world. I think veterinary workers are amazing, and I know I couldn’t do what they do on a daily basis. I couldn’t operate on or put animals to sleep.  I couldn’t bear to do anything to harm an animal.  I have a niece who has studied animal studies, and I firmly believe she has been put on this earth 🌎 to love ❤️ and care for animals.  People who are born with the gift to care for animals are definitely one of the professions I admire most.

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If you were going to open up a shop, what would you sell?

I know I have answered this before.  If I were to own a shop, it would be an old-fashioned children’s literature shop.  I would stock all the classics as well as modern-day literature.   I would sell teddy bears and angelic and fairy products.  I would run storytelling sessions for the children and have face painters on hand at these storytelling sessions so it becomes like a child’s party time. In fact, I would offer these storytelling sessions as an option for young childrens birthdays.  I would have authors and illustrators do book signing  sessions and meet and greet the public.

I would be spreading the word that if you love books as a small child  and are immersed in good children’s literature as a child, it will foster a lifelong habit of reading and a love of the arts.  It will help engender creativity in children.

I know this is a big dream,,, but it is a dream I love contemplating.

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What is the most important thing to carry with you all the time?

The most important thing that I carry with me all the time is a  handbag 👜 that I always carry my house keys, my purse 👛 and my mobile 📱 phone.  I always have these things whenever I leave my home.  The phone 📱 is important to have in case of emergency, and I never leave my purse or mobile 📱 just lying around wherever.   Even when I walk Lily, I have these things with me.

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What change, big or small, would you like your blog to make in the world?

This is a great question to answer.   I would like my blog to make the world 🌎 a more positive  optimistic place where compassion and empathy are really the norm and really valued.

Optimism is something that I would like my readers to feel and hope my blog puts a smile on the mouth of those who read 📚 it.  I hope that by modelling empathy and compassion that I make the world 🌎 🙏🏽 a more compassionate and empathic place.  I hope to make mental health issues better understood and that those like myself who experience mental health issues be treated with more empathy and compassion and much less stigma. I guess I hope my little blog finds an audience for its optimistic voice.

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Describe your life in an alternate universe.

I know I have answered a similar question before.  Life in an alternative universe would be different, as there would be no violence of any kind.  There would be no murder, rape or domestic violence of any kind. No cruelty to children or animals. People would be kind to one another and would share their abundance with others in the world.  There would be no hunger or famine and no greed.

This type of universe is really what my latest book I am in the process of writing ✍️ is all about.  The main protagonist is  Susanna, my beautiful, passed over angel 😇 lady and is about her experiences as an angel in heaven and on 🌎 earth,  so an alternative universe is something that has been on my mind lately.

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What’s the most money you’ve ever spent on a meal? Was it worth it?

The most expensive meal I ever had was steak at the Hard Rock Cafe in Melbourne for my birthday around 20 years ago.  I think it was about $30 Australian.  I had been to the casino for a friends birthday a few nights before and won about $400 on the pokies and this win meant that I was able to shout the meals that my nephews and nieces had at the Hard Rock Cafe. My nephews and nieces were on school holidays at the time. So yes, it was worth it both for my own pleasure,  but also to bring 🙏🏽 to my nephews and nieces.

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