Empathy and Compassion for the Mentally Ill.

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

The change that I would like to make in the world 🌎 is a greater understanding of mental illness and more compassion and empathy for those afflicted by it. I thank God that I live in the modern world and not 100 years ago, but there is still work to be done and I would like to think that my blog educates and informs people of the reality of mental health issues.

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

Describe your life in an alternate universe.

In an alternate universe it would be Utopia. There would be no violence, no murders, no rapes no child abuse of any kind and no violence to animals.

It would be a world 🌎 where everybody shared their abundance of resources. People would be kind to one another and cancer would no longer exist. There would be no inhumanity. Our pets would only be in loving forever homes.

It would be just like the John Lennon song 🎡 Imagine. It would be Utopia a version of heaven. God and his angelic messengers would be visible to us and evil would not exist. It would be the stuff that dreams are made of. Oh if only it could exist.

HARD ROCK CAFE

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

I usually don’t spend a lot of money on food when I dine out, and can’t really recall ever spending a lot on a meal.

Probably the most I spent on a meal, was about 20 years ago at the Hard Rock Cafe here in Melbourne when it was still open. I can vaguely recall spending about $28 Australian dollars πŸ’Έ on a porterhouse steak. What I also remember about that time was that a few nights previously I had been to the casino here in Melbourne for a friends birthday. This is rare for me because I don’t usually gamble at all, however I had reluctantly gone to the casino and I won about $400 Australian dollars on the pokies. As soon as I won that amount, I stopped playing the pokies. That was a lot of money for me, so I didn’t want to lose it by gambling more.

Winning that amount of money meant that I could afford to shout my nephew and some nieces to lunch for my birthday πŸŽ‚ at the Hard Rock Cafe. This was so very rare for me, and I loved 😍 the music memorabilia at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Was it worth paying for an experience like that?. It most definitely was and I enjoyed being able to spoil my nephew and nieces who at that stage were still fairly young kids, who loved that very much. So yeah, it was worth it.

30 Things that make me happy

List 30 things that make you happy.

1. A good night’s sleep 2. The fresh crisp morning air. 3.The morning sunshine here is Melbourne.4. My Dog Lily waking up happy every day. 5. Taking Lily for a walk. 6. Good Coffee. 7. Peppermint Or Lemon and Ginger Tea. 8 Occasionally treating myself to chocolate 🍫. 9 Eating Italian food at Itahlia here in Sunbury.10.Eating good Indian Food.11 Occasionally having savoury Lebanese pastries , in particular cheese and spinach pastries. 11 Talking to Adrian regularly. 12 Spending time with my neighbour Liz. 13. My wonderful friendship with Russell. 14 Having a great psychiatrist. 15 Going out for lunch. 16 Reading a book. 17 Reading books by Cathy Kelly. 18. Writing my blog regularly.. Writing stories for children. 19 in Particular writing about dogs πŸ• 20. Going to my hairdresser and taking Lily with me. 21. Any time spent with Lily. 22 Going opshopping with Kathryn. 22 Spending time with my family. 23 Seeing my great niece Evelyn 24 Spending Christmas with my family .25. Buying gifts 🎁 for my loved ones. 26 Enjoying a Sunday Roast with family. 27 Writing about Susanna.28 Doing angel card readings πŸ“š for myself and loved ones. 29 Goung to High Tea with friends. 30. Going to the movie.

Conversing with Russell

Describe one habit that brings you joy.

One habit that brings me joy is my weekly conversation by phone with my friend Russell. We talk every weekend normally in the morning πŸŒ„ and it is a lovely way to spend time. Russell and I would like to see one another a lot, but the demands of our daily lives means seeing one another regularly is difficult, so we at least converse by phone each week. Russell is one of my closest friends, and he is a remarkable gentleman, who even my dog Lily adores. When I am speaking to Russell, I deliberately put the phone on speaker πŸ”Š phone and Lily lies on my lap, listening to Russell’s very quiet gentle voice. Russell is the man Lily loves most in this world 🌎, and I think Lily has great taste because Russell would have to be the most truly Christian person I have met in my life. Russell lives by his faith in his everyday life, and doing good things for those he cares about comes naturally to him. I look forward to my weekly chats with Russell, it is a habit that brings me great joy, and is a blessing πŸ™Œ ❀️ ✨️.

Angels and Dogs

What are you curious about?

I am curious about the existence of angels. I believe that they do exist. There are angels in the bible and there has just been too much happen in my life that could not be coincidence. I believe that God sometimes sends angels down to 🌎 earth in human form, to walk amongst us and teach us about God and love. I firmly believe that Susanna was definitely am angel in human form and that she has returned to heaven her true home.

I am also curious about dogs πŸ• and believe that our canine companions of all shapes and sizes have a close relationship with God. They truly are sentient beings and I feel at times, particularly when they are quietly intently staring into space, that God is communicating with them, in a language they understand. I believe that they are angels sent to love ❀️ us humans and protect us. Our role is to love and protect them. Angels don’t have to have wings, they can have fur, four legs and a tail. I am always curious to learn more about dogs πŸ•. I find them intriguing and am passionately in love ❀️ with my little Lily. I could watch her all day and never get bored. I want to n learn everything there is to know about dogs.

Love Thy Neighbour

Write about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone.

I always try to treat people how I would like to be treated and I live in a very neighbourly community.

One of my neighbours was a lonely widow called Val, who was very lovely, but also terribly lonely, particularly after she had two dogs, whom had passed on within 12 months of one another. Val loved all the dogs in the neighbourhood and knew all their names. Val in particular loved my dog Lily and Lily just adored her. I had empathy for Val and understood how painful her loneliness was particularly during the intense lockdowns we had in Melbourne during the pandemic. I decided that I would anonymously leave little treats for Val in her letterbox whilst taking Lily for her daily walk. Most of the time, it was just little chocolates that I would leave, or a gold coin or two, once I left a costume jewellery necklace that I had picked up at the Salvos shop for a song.

Val started to tell the neighbours about these little treats and after a month or so I told Val that it was me anonymously giving them to her. Val was so touched that she cried tears of joy, which was lovely for the both of us as I was used to Val crying tears of extreme sadness. I felt good doing this for Val and I know I made lockdown a little easier for Val.

My motto in life is to do onto others as you would have them do onto you. We can all start by being kind to those neighbours around us.

How would I describe myself

How would you describe yourself to someone who can’t see you?

I am five foot tall with bobbed blonde hair and blue eyes. I am passionate about writing, angels and my dog. People say I look younger than my age, most likely because I take care of my skin and really haven’t abused my body too much. I am a foodie and hope to write more stories for children, another thing I am passionate about.

Typical Tuesday

Was today typical?

Test today is a typical day. I got up and did my normal daily routine of having breakfast, showering, and taking Lily for her morning πŸŒ„ walk πŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈ. It was a fresh and clear morning πŸŒ„ here in Melbourne. Looks like a settled, clear, late winter day. Definitely not four seasons in one day today.

As usual I am spending my mid morning πŸŒ„ time writing ✍️ my blog πŸ“« post, so yes again it is a typical day. Hoping something will happen that makes my day less ordinary . Being creative means everyday is something to be savoured. An opportunity to express myself, in my chosen form of creativity, ✍️ writing a blog