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 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.

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 🌄 walk 🚶‍♂️. It was a fresh and clear morning 🌄 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 🌄 time writing ✍️ my blog 📫 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

How would you describe yourself to someone?

I am a writer both of a blog and children’s literature. I believe in angels and have a dog. I have experienced mental health issues and am an empath, which is both a blessing and a curse. I have faith and try to be a positive person.

If you won two free plane tickets, where would you go?

Today’s topic is a lot of fun. Where would I go?

Definitely to New Zealand 🇳🇿. I would also go to Italy and India to immerse myself in the culture and food of both countries.

I would go to Ireland with my friend Liz to see Ireland through her eyes 👀.

I would also go to Perth, with my friend Kathryn, so she could visit her daughter who lives there.

What’s the story behind your nickname?

My past blog readers will know that I have already written a post about my nickname, but I will briefly recount the tale.

When I was a teenager at Secondary school one of my friends started to call me Sparkles because according to her I always had a big smile on my face and exuded positivey. The name stuck. The friend who gave me that nickname had the nickname herself of Possum. At the time in Melbourne there was a famous female clown, who also was called Sparkles, so I don’t know if that also influenced my nickname. Yes I was a positive young lady, but I certainly wasn’t the class clown. Coincidentally our school chaplain used to call me a ray of sunshine. This tickled my fancy because of the famous song 🎵 here in Australia by Axiom called A Little Ray Of Sunshine. My parents used to tell me, that song was about me, because it was released not long after my birth and today is one of my all time favourite songs……. so Sparkles I am.

What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well-being?

There are a couple of strategies that I practice for my sense of health and well-being.

The first is that I try to practice mindfulness in my everyday life as a means to keep my mental health issues at bay. I need it to stay centred in the present. I try not to think too much about my past, as if I do and it festers, it has a negative impact on my well-being. To that end there are toxic situations and people that I occasionally need to steer clear of, when I am feeling vulnerable so that again I practice self care to manage my day to day life of living with mental health issues. I know to trust my gut instincts and avoid any situations that could potentially be triggering for me. I think I get better at this with age and experience.

Probably the most important thing that improves my well-being is looking after my dog 🐕 Lily. She is definitely a canine antidepressant and being responsible for her well-being brings me joy and pleasure beyond all else in my life. Dogs have a wonderful impact on out day to day life and help to improve our health in general.

I also use music as therapy and there are certain songs 🎵 and types of music that I use as needed. Music can be a very powerful healer and I need music as much as I need my daily medication 💊.

What are your future travel plans?

I do have travel plans, but not in the short to meduim terms.

Ultimately I would like to go on another cruise and see more of Nrw Zealand 🇳🇿, but this is a long term goal, as there are a few things I am saving up to purchase first, before I can consider planning another trip. Ultimately the cosy of living at present mean that travel plans are on hold.

What would you change about modern society?

The thing I would like to most change about modern society is the greed and selfishness of those people, who don’t share what they have with others. If all the world 🌎 would learn to share what we have poverty could be diminished. It seems in our modern 🌎 world that those with the least wealth, give the most to help their fellow humans, and those with wealth selfishly hang on to their resources and don’t share. Money isn’t everything in this world, and when we have an abundance of something, we should share it around. This would make our society more community minded and compassionate and no one would be left behind because they have less in this world.

It was what the John Lennon song 🎵 Imagine was c all about. If all the world would share, we would create Utopia, heaven on earth. Maybe I am a dreamer, but what would life be without dreamers.