If humans had taglines, what would yours be?

To begin with I don’t believe that we should have taglines as I don’t believe in having tickets on myself, nor am I that self absorbed.

Really had to think about today’s topic and I think my tagline would be Lily’s Mum or something along the lines of above all else do no harm,try to do the good or right thing. These are just musings as again I don’t think we necessarily need a tagline.

What are the most important things needed to live a good life?

I believe that one of the most important things to lead a good life, is to be wealthy in terms of the relationships we have. By this I don’t mean, that we need to have a lot of money, but I do mean, that we need to be “a good friend ” in our life and by doing so, we will attract good people into our lives.

There is a saying about life to be healthy, wealthy and wise. Yes looking after our health adds to our happiness and helps bring about longevity. Wealthy doesn’t mean we need to be rich. It does mean to live within your means and to share what we have. If all the 🌎 world would learn to share there would be no poverty. Being wealthy doesn’t mean being selfish or greedy. Sharing our abundance would make the 🌎 world a more happier, fulfilled place. Being wealthy doesn’t mean being rich, but it does mean to live within our means. A simple life, where nothing is wasted, helps our wealth to grow it is the way of the universe. We reap what we sow. Learn to live a simple life, appreciating the little things, and your wealth will grow. Goodwill brings about Goodwill. Be a good person and you will attract good people to you. Like attracts like in this world.

To be wise appreciate what you have and don’t rush to make decisions or acquire things in this life. Learn to save for what you want. Delayed gratification brings about pleasure 🙏. Don’t rush and get everything on credit. Lots of debt equates to lots of stress and ruin in our lives. Selfish people who when they see what they want and have to have it “yesterday ” never are happy, because they haven’t learned the lessons of the universe and have been unwise.

The truly happy are those, who appreciate what they have, don’t rush into anything and attract good people into their life. Don’t rush, be careful and grateful for what you have and the universe will reward you with goodwill.

Who do you spend the most time with?

I spend the most amount of time with my dog 🐕 Lily. I then spend a good amount of time with my Mum and my neighbour Liz, and occasionally see one of my brothers.

The people I wish I could spend more time with are my closest friends Adrian, Russell, Lani, Helen and Kathryn. We regularly text one another, and talk on the phone 📱 but time is precious and we lead such busy lives, that to see one another only happens infrequently.

If you had to change your name, what would your new name be?

If I had to change my name, and I had a choice I would rather fancy being Jessica Harrison. I have always loved that name. Jessica Harrison was the name of the female lead that Sigrid Thornton played in The Man From Snowy River. She was a beautiful, headstrong and independent character and Sigrid portrayed her beautifully. I think a lot of Australian women of my generation loved that movie and were envious of Sigrid. This was the movie which launched Sigrid Thornton on the Amercian market and I know it was this character that made Steven Spielberg say that Sigrid had the most interesting face he had ever seen on screen. I really love Sigrid and have followed her career with interest, but Jessica Harrison remains my favourite character of hers.

Describe your dream chocolate bar.

I’m again amused by today’s topic. I’m diabetic and occasionally do indulge in a little chocolate 🍫 eating.

My dream chocolate bar would be suitable for diabetics, but be made of the finest Swiss or Belgian chocolate . It will be fine and smooth and creamy and most definitely non fattening. Oh but we can dream.

Do you remember your favorite book from childhood?

My definite favourite book from my childhood was These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It was one of the Little House series, and was the one where Laura grew up and got married. It is a true story and I think I read the ink off the print, I read it so often. I still have a copy of this book. Interestingly enough Laura Ingalls Wilder dis not start writing about her life until she was well into her sixties.

List three books that have had an impact on you. Why?

It is hard to confine a list of books that have had an impact on me to 3 but I will give it a shot.

Probably my favourite book from my childhood, is a novel by Laura Ingalls Wilder called “These Happy Golden Years”. It is part of her Little House series, the one where she grows up and gets married. I read this book many times ⏲️ in my childhood and absolutely loved it.

My second book is “To Kill A Mockingbird ” by Harper Lee. Wow! What a book of such importance. I read this book for school 🏫 and again I have reread it many times. If there is one book that I think everyone should read this is it.

My third book is anything by Cathy Kelly and it would be either “Past Secrets” or ‘The Year That Changed Everything “. Cathy Kelly books 📚 are just so easy to read and her characters are believable. I constantly read her books 📚, I love them so muchn

What fears have you overcome and how?

One of the fears I have overcome in my life is the fear of being isolated and alone.

Throughout the pandemic I guess we all dealt with isolation, and had to learn to be at peace in our own company. I realised early on, that I was at risk of experiencing isolation , so I made an effort to overcome this. The way I overcome it, was to use my mobile 📱 phone to reach out to my loved ones and send them positive uplifting messages. The way I solved my own isolation was to reach out and be a positive inspiring influence to my family and friends. If you want to have friendship in your life, particularly during challenging times, is to reach out and be a friend to others.

The only other time I experienced a fear of isolation and being alone, was in the last few months of my marriage . I finally realised that starting over again and being technically alone, was better than slowly dying in an unhappy abusive marriage. It was hard to separate and start my life over, and for awhile I did feel lonely and isolated , but that period passes and I think I became a stronger, more balanced person for it. If you work at it isolation is a temporary experience. Life will bring you around again to being happy and fulfilled.

To get over isolation we need to reach out and connect with others. That was the lesson of the pandemic. I faced my fears by being a positive supportive influence to others. It’s a no brainer. Fight isolation by making connections to others Don’t let isolation control you. Take charge and fight it with positivity.

Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.

The one simple thing I in my life that brings me great joy is to show love to my beautiful little dog 🐕 Lily. Even as I sit and write this piece Lily is sitting on my lap

Loving Lily is so very easy and she brings me love and joy by the bucket 🪣 load. I love her with all my heart and its simple gestures that bring me the most happiness. I would recommend to anyone, with love to share to get a pet. I personally favour dogs 🐕, but whatever floats your boat.

The simple act of loving my dog brings my life the most happiness.

How do you know when it’s time to unplug? What do you do to make it happen?

In this day and age of constantly being plugged into one device or another it isq important that we regularly have sometimes where we switch off from these devices and take some “me time “

What we do with this time may vary from person to person but we should make sure that we turn off our devices and screens. Use this time to to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness in its purest form is about focusing on the here and now and shutting out distractions. Even little things like eating 🐌 slowly and focusing on really tasting ourt foods are part and parcel of leading a more mindful existence. Focusing and enjoying the little things in life is important. We shouldn’t think happiness through acquiring more is what it is about its not. We are at our most happiest and content when we re at peace with ourselves. When we are mindful, we are truly at o peace. Focus on the small, simple pleasures 🙏 in life and peace and contentment will follow. Turn off your phone and turn off the television 📺 at the power point. Take your dog for a 🚶‍♂️ walk and leave your mobile at home. Turn off your mobile whilst driving, shopping etc, and just focus on being in the here and now. This will improve your mental outlook no end. Constantly checking your phone etc, makes us stressed and feel time poor.

Take some time to enjoy the simple things in life and regularly turn off the devices, get away from constant white noise. You will feel none relaxed and at peace. I guarantee it. Focus on savouring the moment, and stop rushing. Mindfulness isn’t hard to achieve and you will feel better for it.