What would you do if you lost all your possessions?

I have thought a little about what it would be like to lose all my possessions, because a good friend of mine many years ago lost everything in a house fire 🔥 and it changed her attitude about possessions and what we need to survive forever.

If I lost everything I would begin to regain some of what I need, by thrifting at charity opshops. It is amazing what you can find at second hand shops. It would be an opportunity to declutter and buy good quality second hand goods and buying only the things I need to survive initially, and slowly over time bring back the sort of items that bring me the most pleasure 🙏.

I would hope that I would still have some devices that I could use to blog about my experiences along the way and what I would learn as to what is important to me. I would scrimp and save, so I could have some sentimental items, that would make life more pleasurable, but this would be very gradual. As I already slowly save for things, that I can really afford it brings more pleasure to save for something as you can afford them, than just going out and getting everything on credit. You then are left with a big bill, that you most likely won’t be able to pay back. I am a firm believer in delayed gratification. It feels better to get something you have worked hard to save for, rather than the instant gratification of getting everything on credit and never really outright owning anything, because your debt increases overtime as you spend and spend to keep up with the Jonses.

Keeping up with the Jonses has never been of interest to me, so perhaps the lesson to learn from losing everything is to learn how shallow and meaningless keeping up with the Jonses is. The true pleasure 🙏 comes from appreciating what we have , and treasuring the small meaningful things we have. I have never been big on keeping up with the Jonses. I believe in being grateful 🙏 and appreciating the things I do have.

Tell us about a time when you felt out of place.

There is a time when I felt out of place. In my mid teens I travelled with my parents to Fiji. Whist we were there we became friendly with a few of the resort staff. One of them, the lady who was on the car rental desk, was a Fijian lady called Sugar. Sugar was about to get married to a Polynesian Isander and invited my parents and myself to her wedding.

It was amazing. I have never experienced anything like it in my life. There was lost of tables of lots of Polynesian food and lots of cakes and a turtle was cooked in the ground in palm leave..

The number of little Fijian kids was amazing, but I felt a bit out of place, because my parents and myself where the only Anglo white people there. The children kept running 🏃‍♀️ up to us, touching us and giggling. We were a novelty to these kids, and for once I experienced how it was to be in a minority group. These kids weren’t racist. They had only ever seen white people in tourist areas. To see 👀 us up close at a wedding was something they obviously hadn’t expected. The wedding was lovely, and I feel honoured to have experienced that and very much enjoyed the innocence and playfulness of the children at the wedding.

Your life without a computer: what does it look like?

My life would be very different without a computer 🖥. I use my phone for everything, as it is a pocket sized all in one computer.

Before we had computers I still did a lot of writing. Yes handwriting. As a young adult I started a trend I continue to this day of giving my loved ones heartfelt loving, positive messages. Admittedly this is so much easier to do on a regular basis with the help of texts and gifs. I guess if I didn’t have a computer I would be using snail mail regularly and would spend a small fortune in postage.

That all said, I think our loved one’s still appreciate a small thoughtful note, be it handwritten in a card or typed onto some sort of screen.

I know that even without a computer, writing is my passion and I would use old fashioned methods to express my creativity.

What skill would you like to learn?

There are two skills I wish I had. The first is to learn to play the piano, because it is just such a beautiful musical instrument..

The second is to learn how to do leadlighting, as I love leadlight windows 🪟 I think they are just so beautiful. It is an old fashioned skill and I just love looking at leadlight 🪟 windows.

What’s your #1 priority tomorrow?

The number one priority for me tomorrow is to contact the printers 🖨 that I have selected to get a quote on publishing my latest book, “Dance Of The Emerald Dress 👗 “. I am hoping to have it published in the very near future and will add it to my ETSY site for sale. I am very excited by this and will keep readers of my blog informed as to the progress of this.

What’s the trait you value most about yourself?

The trait I value most about myself is my empathy for others. If I am to be totally honest having empathy is both a blessing and a curse. Being an empath means I can put myself in someone else’s shoes, but a curse in that I can feel their pain.

Being an empath made me a good support worker, but in the end I was very burnt out and drained by helping so many people on their journey. But to be honest I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Having empathy is a big part of my soul, and I value it greatly.

List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter.

1Radio Announcer

2. Bookshop owner

3. Writer for a women’s magazine.

What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in?

I am a proud Australian whom was fortunate enough to study Australian History in my final year of secondary school. I loved learning about the history of Melbourne, particularly from the 1850s onwards, the Gold rush and how Melbourne became one of the wealthiest cities in the world, with buildings of grandiose architecture.

The history of Melbourne was wonderful to study, but the indigenous history was only briefly mentioned and mostly overlooked. Our textbooks briefly said that Aboriginal Australians were Hunters and Gatherers and had been here for over 40,000 years. That was the only piece of Aboriginal history we learned.

Thank God when I got to go to university 🙏 I learned a bit more about Aboriginal history and the Dreamtime. Admittedly this was mainly in Children’s literature classes, where reading stories of the dreaming to children was becoming in vogue.

Most of my knowledge of Aboriginal history has come through watching the ABC , and also from my reading, particularly the book My Place by Sally Morgan. At university one of my closest friends was Aboriginal and I spent a fair amount of time with her in Melbourne University’s Koorie Unit. I also spent a lot of time observing how she was treated by others, and I am ashamed to say that at times she was given tokenistic support, or was downright discriminated against. I was enraged by how people could be nice to her in public, then treat her like a joke, when she wasn’t around.

I would like to learn more indigenous history and stories of the Dreaming. I would like to be better informed about the indigenous people of the land that is my home. Acquiring knowledge is how we begin to overcome racism.

What could you do more of?

The 2 things I would like to do more of are walking Lily on sunny days as it is exercise and bonding time for us both and of course I would like to spend a lot of time writing ✍️ my blog and books. Simple but good both things are.