February 2015 - Page 2 of 3

Water

February 16, 2015 inspiringmax

Today I begin Writing 201, which over the next two weeks will teach me how to write poetry. This certainly will take me out of my comfort zone—but you have to be in it to win it. Here is my first attempt at Haiku, a Japanese poem of three lines. The first line has 5 syllables, the second 7 syllables and the last line 5 syllables again.

As it is my first poem since the third grade I am pleased with my baseline—looking forward to see how many new tricks this old dog can learn.

Water

I am a swimmer

Who cannot find any water

So said my daughter

Our Home

February 16, 2015 inspiringmax

What do you display on the walls of your home — photos, posters, artwork, nothing? How do you choose what to display? What mood are you trying to create?

Over the years we have gradually decorated our home with a mixture of things that have meaning to us—either as individuals or as a family. There is no theme. When we were married my husband had a collection of Australian paintings that he loved and I had a miniature alcohol bottle collection. These two items have formed the basis of our lounge and dining area decoration in the 8 homes we have lived in.

A small selection

Special photos have a pride of place in our home. We have photos of people, places and activities that have were special to us. I enjoy occasionally studying them closely and letting them take me back in time—bringing a smile to my face as I remember the details surrounding the photo. This is more important when our loved one is no longer with us.

I love collections. For me there is something about having a group of similar things. It allows you to continue to make an area unique without spending a lot of money. My belief is that if you gave ten people the same 4 items to start their collection and told them to grow it to 20 items within a six months period—each collection would be different.

We currently have four collections are working on.

My little bottle collection that started with 4 bottles about 30 years ago.
My Mickey Mouse collection that I have collected for years, however, was only put together in one place earlier this year. It now sits pride of place above my desk and helps me write while at the same time bringing joy to the room.
Our cat collection
Our travel collection—this collection includes something special from each country we have visited. It is still only a small collection however, I plan on expanding it over the next few years.

For us decorating each of our homes was never a planned thing. It was always a work in progress that took on its own life. I like it this way and it seems to work for us. However you decorate your home, I think they reflect strongly who you are. This is true for us—a fun, happy eclectic mix ready for anything.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/wall-to-wall/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Symmetry

February 15, 2015 inspiringmax

This week, share an image of symmetry.

I was attracted to this sculpture close to my house first by the striking red colour and secondly by its symmetry. It stood out from a distance along the path.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/symmetry/

Better Than Sliced Bread: Accessible Air Travel

February 14, 2015March 14, 2015 inspiringmax

Most of us have heard the saying, “That’s the best thing since sliced bread!” What do you think is actually the best thing since sliced bread?

Live has changed dramatically since 1928 when sliced bread was first sold. However most of those changes that have affected my world have occurred since 2000’s. For me, besides the obvious—accessible internet, Google and WI-Fi hot spots—I choose increased and affordable air travel. Today, you can decide to go anywhere in the world and there would be a way to get there. Years ago, this was not the case.

I flew for the first time when I was 12. It was a school excursion so there was no choice. It has also just occurred to me that I have never flown with either parent as my next flight was to Nouméa in my twenties. During these times air travel was rare and special—something most of us saved for.

My daughter first flew at 9 to Brisbane. It was 2004. While we were away she had her 10th birthday and a new airline was born in Australia—Jetstar Airways—bringing with them cheap flights throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia. It was fascinating, when we landed at Brisbane airport all the check-in counters were Qantas. Then six days later, when we left majority of them had turn into Jetstar check-in counters. We flew back to Sydney on one of those Jetstar flights. This changed the cost of domestic travel in Australia. Suddenly people were choosing to fly instead of drive. A revolution had started. Because of this change, by the time my daughter was 12, she had flown so often she could check herself in and knew the procedure well.

International air travel has also reduced in price over time so the world is now our oyster. We can travel everywhere and everywhere can travel to us. Australia is now a truly multicultural country and has opened up as a major tourist destination for the world. A lot has changed since Paul Hogan made our most successful tourist campaign for Northern America 30 years ago.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/sliced-bread/

Share Your World – 2015 Week 6

February 13, 2015 inspiringmax

What was the last time you went to a new place?

At the end of last year, my husband and I left sunny Sydney Australia to spent 6 weeks exploring Eastern Canada. We were hoping for our first white Christmas. But no, unseasonably high temperatures meant we are still waiting. Many people in Quebec City—where we spent Christmas—because it was one of the top places in the world to have snow falling from the sky as well as snow on the ground— said it was the first green Christmas they had had. They had lived in the city for over twenty years. However, to my excitement, we did receive a very light snowfall walking home from Christmas dinner—so I made my husband turn around and walk in the snow until it stopped.

View over Montreal from Mont Royal

If you were or are a writer do you prefer writing short stories, poems or novels, other? And what type of genre would you prefer?

I am a writer. I am in the final stages of editing my non-fiction self-help book—Inspiring Hope: How Eating Disorder Recovery Is Possible. It has been along journey and I have enjoyed learning about every step. At some time in the future, however I would love to use my creative ability and write fiction—although I don’t know what genre I would write in although I would like it to appeal to both sexes like Janet Evanovich.

Out of your five senses (touch, taste, sight, smell, hearing) which is your favorite?

I am a visual person. I must see something to understand and remember it. I am attracted to the beauty of things, even the beauty of the less attractive things of this world.

If 100 people your age were chosen at random, how many do you think you’d find leading a more satisfying life than yours?

Despite my daily commute to work, I find my life and job very satisfying. I work with a great team helping people with recovery from an eating disorder, which is rewarding work. I spent my weekend with family or if I am really lucky alone doing the things I love to do—writing and blogging. Every holidays I get to travel and explore the world. For these reasons I think probably only about 10% would lead a more satisfying life than I. When my life doesn’t satisfy me for a period of time, I get to the bottom of it and fix the problem.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week we had two separate visits from extended family. It was great seeing them and catching up on the latest gossip.

Yesterday my daughter brought home a new member of the family—a kitten she calls Toast. I look forward to getting to know him and possibly coming up with my own name to match his personality.

http://ceenphotography.com/2015/02/09/share-your-world-2015-week-6/

Mental Lists

February 12, 2015 inspiringmax

Remember when you wrote down the first thought you had this morning? Great. Now write a post about it.

Every morning as I rush to turn the annoying noise of my alarm off—my brain turns on its autopilot. It instantly begins reviewing what happened yesterday and deciding on what needs to be done differently next time. Changes noted, my brain begins to make a mental list of today’s tasks. It is usually about this time my focused brain kicks in—broadening out the detail based on the overall days plan. Questions I ask myself:

What time do I need to leave the house by? I have a 1 1/2 hour commute each way to work, so if I have a deadline I have to make sure I leave on time.
Am I going anywhere after work that requires me to pack an extra bag in the car as I won’t be coming home.
Have I got time to write, post and visit on my blog before leaving for work? Most days I make it happen.

Practical plans met, I go on to make my mental list for the day. What are my top to goals for today that if I do nothing else must get done? At least one usually pops straight to mind. I then consider the remaining things I am hoping to complete today and decide their order of priority. I am looking for my top 5 things to do each day. These will be my focus.

Two must be done—bigger or more important tasks first
Three hope to be done—simpler tasks

By limiting my tasks I focus on each day and not attempting to everything, I find I get more done. Sometimes I will write down my mental list to give it more clarity and focus. My earlier post Hand Brain Connection will give you more information on this. Today I am off to a good start as I have completed one of my three simpler tasks—writing this blog post and visiting several sites in my blogging community—all before leaving for work.

Yes. Thanks to my mental lists it will be a great day. Hope you enjoy yours.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/first-light/

Back To Childhood

February 11, 2015 inspiringmax

Tell us about a sensation — a taste, a smell, a piece of music — that transports you back to childhood.

In today’s world there are many new smells. At times, they converge together and in some ways diffuse into each other. When I was growing up in the 1960’s and 1970’s things were different. In many ways, life was simpler but with a lot less opportunity. Smells were stronger and often less environmentally friendly. So which smells do I remember from my childhood. There are many—some memories are good, the others not so much, but they are still mine.

Fresh salty sea air made complete by the smell of seaweed—growing up we lived in coastal Australia. We were never far from the beach and many holidays were spent there. They were fun times. Today as I no longer live by the ocean I receive a pleasant surprise when I return. One of my earliest blog posts, Calm Action is on my latest trip to the beach as an adult.
Cherry medicine smell—made to taste like cherry to make it easier for kids to swallow medicine. I am still unable to drink Dr Pepper as it instantly takes me back to my childhood and the not so pleasant taste of this medicine—my husband is the same and our kids think we a making it up.
Mud—our house was on slope and not landscaped, so every time it rained we had a lot of mud, clay-like solid mud. It had a particular smell and was slippery when wet.
Fairy floss—as a child this had a much stronger smell than the pre-packed fairy floss you can buy today. I found that similar smell in the freshly spun fairy floss we found being sold on the street in China.
Aniseed lollies—I was the only child in my family who liked these licorice flavoured lollies, so I could guarantee they were not stolen. On the odd occasion as an adult I have bought these lollies I have been disappointed as the smell and flavour is not as strong as it used to be.
Eucalyptus smell of the Australian bush—growing up I spent many hours going for bush walks with my family exploring. It has a unique smell and these days unfortunately it is only on weekends away that I get to re-experience my memories. Although I do live in an area filled with individual gum trees—the Australian bush is different.
Mothballs—back in the day clothes were packed up at the end of the season and stored to make room in the wardrobe for the next seasons clothes. To stop moths and silverfish eating holes in the clothes, two or three balls made of naphthalene were added to the storage container. These had a strong smell and when it came time to change the clothes back again for the next season, it took a long time for the clothes to lose the smell.
Epoxy resin—as a child my father made many things as he is creative and talented. I loved it when he worked with epoxy resin—I loved the smell and how quickly it worked. I am sure it wasn’t good for me but as it wasn’t an everyday occurrence it wasn’t a problem.

I have enjoyed remembering my childhood smells. I will keep this post as a work in progress continue to add smells as they come back to me. If you are from a similar era—what smell do you remember? I would love to hear about them.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/the-transporter/

Tomorrow Is Another Day

February 10, 2015 inspiringmax

Take a quote from your favorite movie — there’s the title of your post. Now, write!

As a child in early primary school I can remember going to the movies to see Gone With The Wind. It is a movie that changed my life.

I loved it.

I left the movie theatre that day thinking, I as a girl, growing up in the 1970’s could do anything. Scarlett O’Hara was my hero. What I saw as a child was a woman who, if she wanted something, went out and got it. She was a tough, resilient survivor and I needed to know that was possible. I, of course missed all of her relationship difficulties, which are another part of the movie, but I was too young to understand.

The concluding scene of the movie and the title of this blog post has lived with me everyday since—”tomorrow is another day.” Whenever things get tough—I like Scarlett—remind myself “I can’t think about that now, I’ve got to think about it tomorrow, after all tomorrow is another day.” I usually find by giving myself some space, by sleeping on my problem—the next day I have an answer. My problem may still be as big but at least I have made a plan to get through it. When problems are really tough, I go back to an earlier blog post and ask St Francis of Assissi for advice.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/silver-screen/

Proud Of Me

February 9, 2015 inspiringmax

When was the last time someone told you they were proud of you?

I think this prompt needs to be turned on its head. Instead of saying “when was the last time someone told you they were proud of you,” it should say “when was the last time you told yourself, you were proud of you.”

Our self-esteem depends on our opinion of ourselves. If we are regularly criticising our efforts instead of finding ways to encourage growth—we are going to go backwards. It is okay to be proud of even small changes—it is not about who has the proudest moment—it is about acknowledging our own worth, not waiting for external validation.

For me, the last time I told myself I was proud of me and that I had done a good job was last week when I printed off the latest version of my Inspiring Hope manuscript. I hadn’t seen the changes I had made in the last six months and it looks more like a real book everyday. It looks good. I am proud of it and all that I have learnt on my journey of writing it.

Take some time and consider when was the last time you told yourself you were proud of you. If it has been a while—what are you proud of recently? Beginning this month, join me and give yourself a pat on the back regularly. This will help motivate us to take on more challenges and grow into the person we dream of being.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/proud/

(Eating Disorder Recovery) for Dummies.

February 8, 2015 inspiringmax

Take a complicated subject you know more about than most people, and explain it to a friend who knows nothing about it at all.

Well it seems amazing to me that today I celebrate my 200th post. I am also proud to say that is has only taken me 276 days to reach this milestone. Not a bad effort for someone who—works full-time and is writing a book.

It is the topic of my book that I thought may work well with today’s prompt—my thing is—how eating disorder recovery is possible. I have worked in the field since the 1980’s and have many years experience supporting people living with and recovering from an eating disorder. But what are they and how does one recover?

Eating disorders are psychological and physiological disorders that takes over the lives of those living with them as well as their families. They are characterised by an obsession with food, weight and body shape. There are 4 types:

Anorexia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa
Other Specific Feeding and Eating Disorders
Binge Eating Disorders

People living with an eating disorder use a mixture of various behaviours to control their weight, numb their feelings and control their lives. Behaviours used that need to be manged in recovery are:

Restriction
Bingeing
Self-induced vomiting
Laxatives
Excessive exercise

Recovery involves stopping the use of these behaviours and replacing them with healthy coping skills. But how?

There are 6 stages of recovery. It is an individual journey and can take between 2-7 years from the commencement of when people decide to recover. This in fact may be several years after the person was diagnosed.

The stages of recovery are:

Nutrition Management
Stopping Eating Disorder Behaviours
Feelings management
Passions
Relationships
Intimacy

My book—Inspiring Hope: How Eating Disorder Recovery Is Possible covers all of these areas and many more. Breaking the hold an eating disorder has is difficult. It requires addressing many individual issues some of which are initially unknown. There is no map for the journey, but it is definitely one that needs professional help. The quicker help is sought, the better. However seeking help late doesn’t mean someone is not treatable — even if you have had an eating disorder for years. Committing to recovery and connecting with a treatment team is what makes a difference. This is always hope.