Category: Daily Prompt

Beer Please?

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We arrived at the cafe in our hotel after an exhausting 22 hours in transit from Sydney, Australia to Zhenzhou, China. She was the first person we met and looked younger than her years. Her Chinese hospitality uniform stole any individuality she had. She was humble and worked hard trying to communicate with us despite her very broken English.

“Hello” she said. Handing us a menu.

“Hi” replied my husband, asking if she had any dark beer. She looked confused and began pointing at pictures understanding the word beer.

“This one?” she asked

“No” replied my husband.

“This one?”

“No.”

“I get help” she said and slowly walked to get her friend. She returned with her friend who appeared eager to help and looked at my husband.

“Do you have dark beer?” he asked.

“Yes, I think this one” she said as she pointed to a German dark beer written in Chinese.

“Yes” he said. Both girls looked at each other and smiled broadly, proud that  together they had met the needs of this Australian traveller.

“I get for you” replied our first waitress and she returned with the beer and a free bowl of beer nuts. My husband loved it.

This interaction began the nightly ritual of our stay in Zhenzhou.  During the day every time we walked passed the cafe our new friends would smile and wave if they were working and saw us.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/ready-set-done-5/

Without Fear

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At what age did you realize you were not immortal? How did you react to that discovery?

Immortality is a funny thing. I don’t think I ever thought I was immortal, however, when I was young fear was not something I considered before doing anything. I don’t see this as a bad thing either. Before being a teenager, I can clearly remember playing with snakes, jumping of the 10 metre diving platform without any care or training—just for fun and swinging on the swings so high that I nearly went the whole way around. It was a feeling of freedom.

Somewhere in my teenage years fear crept into my life—or maybe it was just an understanding that things can go wrong. This was confirmed in my senior years of high school when I was affected by two fatal car accidents. One involved other school students and the second, a personal family friend. They were all my age. Death suddenly became a reality—not something to focus on, but a reality. This same year, my beloved grandfather also suddenly died while on holidays—unfortunately I never got to tell him that I became a nurse.

Yes, there are a lot of things that can happen—good and bad. But, if you focus on the bad you will never get to experience the good. It is for this reason that I decided years ago to always focus on the positive. Even in difficult situations there is always a silver lining—something to be learnt from it. This is how we grow through pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone. Afterall, there are only two guarantees in life—death and taxes. And while my personal goal is to live to be 100 with a great quality of life, if I don’t get to achieve this goal, I want to look back on my life and say with confidence—fear didn’t stop me giving it a go.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/finite-creatures/

 

Gone With The Wind

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You get to spend a day inside your favorite movie. Tell us which one it is — and what happens to you while you’re there.

Growing up I loved Gone With the Wind. Scarlett O’Hara was the first stubborn, manipulative, capable female character, I connected with. She was my role model. Being a child, I didn’t notice her relationship difficulties or three husbands. I only had eyes for the fact that she could do anything she set her mind to and everyone loved her even those who hated her.

This year is 75 years since Gone with The Wind was released. Today, through Daily Prompt, I have the opportunity to become involved in this great movie and see what it teaches me. Coming from Australia I knew little about American history, the setting of this movie. It is a civil war romance and the passion for the cause was something that I had never seen before. This backdrop to the story gives it drama and purpose. Casting the main characters correctly— Scarlett and Rhett—was so important to the director that he held up production until both were available. A secret that did pay off in the end with the film winning 10 Academy Awards including Hattie McDaniel—the first African American to win an Oscar for her role as Mammie.

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Photo Credits: Google

The story theme for me was Scarlett’s determination to do whatever she had to for herself and her family. This was in strong opposition to the role many women played putting others before themselves and not standing up for their rights.

Scarlett-OHara

Photo Credits: Google

Scarlett’s strength was the focus of much controversy, but also admired by others. Unfortunately for Scarlett, she didn’t understand herself well and was guilty of not thinking about the consequences before taking action.

So what have I learnt from my time with Gone With The Wind?

  • Believe in yourself.
  • Do what you have to do, but to be truly successful consider the impact of your actions on others. You may still go ahead anyway—plan for problems.
  • Change is necessary.
  • Don’t judge a book by its cover. Support can come from the anyone at anytime.
  • Ask for what you need.
  • Sometimes you need to wait for the timing to be right. Don’t settle for second best.
  • Freedom is worth fighting for.
  • If you want something done, do it yourself.
  • Don’t give up.
  • Hard work can rebuild your life.

And lastly my favourite quote:

scarlett tomorrow

Photo Credits: Google

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/fourth-wall/

Where are you?

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What’s your earliest memory involving another person? Recreate the scene — from the other person’s perspective.

I spent most of my early life living in the bush. Our home was the mine managers cottage of a working coal mine. We were isolated from the mine itself, so we saw very few people. At home was mum, dad, me (5) and sister (3).

***

My sister was always wandering off. She was the brave one. Or, as some people say, the stupid one. Anyone would think I am the oldest. I have more sense. I know wild animals are dangerous and there are plenty around here:

  • Snakes
  • Dingoes
  • Foxes
  • Brumbies—free roaming feral horses
  • Possums
  • Birds—especially magpies
  • Feral Cats

“Where is you?” I asked.

“Over here, in the long grass with my friend Sam, ” replied Max.

“Who is Sam?”

“Sam snake. Isn’t he beautiful.”

“Max, leave him. Come and play with me.”

“But look how big he is.”

“I don’t like snakes.”

“They won’t hurt you. They just lye in the sun.”

“I don’t think so, they’re scary.”

“His skin is so shiny. I want to touch it.”

“Stop” I yelled. “Mum, she’s playing with the snakes again.”

“Okay, okay. What do you want to play?”

“I want to ride our scooters”

“Go get them and I’ll be over in a minute”

“You better come or I’m telling mum.”

***

There was one concrete path between our house and the outback toilet. This was the only place we could ride. It was wide enough for two small girls to play together and expend some energy. We spent many hours in the early years entertaining ourselves with this and other activities— always waiting and hoping for someone to visit and break the boredom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/reverse-shot/

What About Me?

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Did you know today is Blog Action Day? Join bloggers from around the world and write a post about what inequality means to you. Have you ever encountered it in your daily life?

Inequality is everywhere. If you want to focus on it and not take action, you can find many reason to. But, does it help you grow? Sometimes, realising that life is unfair makes you a stronger person.

My experience of inequality came when I moved to country New South Wales. I was excited. I had never lived in the country—it looked so peaceful and they even had a psychiatric unit. I could work if I wanted to. In the country, few towns have mental health services—something I had never considered before my move.

I loved living in the country when I didn’t work. No traffic. Spending time with the kids and being in my own mum world.  Then, I decided to return to work after 12 month and everything changed. Working in mental health in the country was very different to the city. It was the most negative experience of my life. And, to top it off, the other staff had no real psychiatric experience. Some had worked on the unit for many years, but this unit was not a good example of what psychiatric nursing should be.

Its problem was leadership and direction. There was no NUM (nurse unit manager) and we shared 5 fly-in psychiatrists from Sydney—one for each day of the week—with the community mental health team. This meant they each spent 1/2 day at each site. To me, the patients ruled and this was not conducive to recovery. For the first time in my life—my job and opinion was not respected and in the end, I choose to leave the unit and work supporting the chronic psychiatric patients in the community. This made me whole again—from a work prospective until we moved back to the city.

In hindsight, my experience has opened my eyes to how difficult life is, in country Australia. It gives Shannon Noll’s hit “What about me” new meaning.

“What about me

It isn’t fair

I’ve had enough now

I want my share

Can’t you see

I want to live

You just take more than you give.”

This video was filmed in his home town of Condobolin in western NSW and includes many of the towns people. Like in the song, the answer to inequality is us deciding how we can change it for ourselves. Afterall, we have to be the one who answers our own question—what about me?

http://youtu.be/kqyIwZpr5y0

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/unequal-terms/

Perfect Job

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From your musical tastes to your political views, were you ever way ahead of the rest of us, adopting the new and the emerging before everyone else?

My sixth form English teacher wrote on my reference to leave high school—I have a unique personality. I was so proud. He did understand me. And with that reference, I got my first job—as a trainee psychiatric nurse. It was perfect for me. I had two requirements for my job. I wanted to work with people and I didn’t want to be a general nurse. Both requirements ticked. It was 1981 and most of Australia, possibly the world were not thinking about mental health issues or work, even their own. I was then and I am today, still proud to be helping people find their way through difficult times.

Today, the stigma of having mental health problems or working in mental health is broken. People realise through advertising that mental health problems can and do happen to anyone and everyone.There is more information around on how, when and where to get help. Bosses are encouraged to talk to their staff about any concerns they have and encourage people to seek help.

http://youtu.be/D4kDlcXEOwg

Universities teach more mental health content and encourage people through mental health placements to take up this worthwhile career option. Today, working in mental health, you can specialise in many areas, developing many transferable skills. For most of the last two decades, I have chosen to specialise in eating disorders, however my acute psychiatry skills are never far away.

If I had my time again, would I change anything? No. My experiences and career choices have made me who I am today. If you or someone you know is considering a career in any area of mental health, I would encourage them to give it a try. It is very rewarding helping people find themselves again after difficult times.

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http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/avant-garde/

Mindful Exercise

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Good news — another hour has just been added to every 24-hour day (don’t ask us how. We have powers). How do you use those extra sixty minutes?

I fit most things I want to do into my 24 hour day. Being given the gift of an extra hour would allow me to have no more excuses for the two activities I run out of time to do—exercise and meditation.

While I walk daily as part of my commute to work, any other exercise program is very hit and miss. I would love to flex my muscles weekly in other ways. Options I would like to investigate include:

  • Aqua aerobics
  • Cycling in the open air
  • Resistance training
  • Swimming
  • Yoga
  • Zumba class

The other area I believe I would benefit greatly from is developing a daily meditation practice. I like walking meditation. My preference is to walk bare foot on grass or sand—connecting with nature. My reasons for this are:

  • Grounding me with the earth and its energy
  • Stimulate the reflexology points in my feet
  • Massage my feet improving circulation
  • Connecting with nature reduces my stress and quickly clears my mind
  • I love the feeling of sand or grass on under my feet—its a different healing sensation

 

016 - further along the beach still getting wet feet

Walking on the beach as a birthday treat

I believe a nice mixture of both of these activities will be a great way to spend my extra hour. They would be so beneficial to my health that I may need to reprioritise my current activities to include at least some of them each week. Both will give me more energy and creative awareness, which will be a blessing and worth the effort.

What do you need to reprioritise time for in your life? After all—this is the secret, I believe of getting an extra hour in our day. To make better use of the ones we currently have.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/twenty-five-seven/

Mental Health Week

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This week in Australia is Mental Health week. A time when everyone is reminded how common mental health problems are. Statics state 1 in 5 Australia will  have  problems with their mental health this year. These numbers are reflected similarly in other parts of the world.

The Private Hospitals Association have decided to tackle awareness with the theme of addressing the elephant in the room. The phrase the elephant in the room means something large that is also in the room with you that nobody wants to talk about. But until it is addressed and dealt with nothing can change. Our hospitals all have large elephants with trunks pointing upwards throughout them to encourage everyone to talk about their mental health.

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By making our mental health a priority in our lives, the lives of our loved ones and work colleagues we can help to control this illness and reduce the stigma attached to it. The more we talk about it, the more we can recognise its power and help reduce its impact in our lives.

Some areas of mental health that commonly affect people include but are not limited to:

  • Anxiety
  • Bi Polar Disorder
  • Depression
  • Drug and Alcohol issues
  • Eating Disorders
  • Psychosis
  • Schizophrenia

Don’t assume everything will be okay. Talk to someone—a family member, friend or professional about your concerns. Your symptoms may be as simple as not sleeping well, having no energy and low mood. Don’t assume it will fix itself—address your elephant or help someone else address theirs. if we all work together we can help to normalise this debilitating illness and improve everyone’s mental health at the same time by getting treatment earlier and no hoping it will go away.

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http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/ready-set-done-4/

Questions Answered

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Congrats! You’re the owner of a new time machine. The catch? It comes in two models, each traveling one way only: the past OR the future. Which do you choose, and why?

You can’t move forward by looking backwards. It is for this reason that I would choose the time machine model that travels into the future. The future is full of excitement and anticipation.  The more we plan our future, the more it is created rather than something that just happens to us.

I would like my time machine to take me to my future where my book on eating disorder recovery has been published and is available for purchase—hopefully either 2015 or early 2016. How well is it received? What are people saying about it? Does the general population find it as helpful as early feedback from people living with an eating disorder found it? Are any changes required? Does anything need to be done differently? How am I and my family coping with the pressures of being a published author? These are all questions that if answered by travelling to my future would allow me to make my book and my life even better.

However, the time machine doesn’t fix any of these problems. It will only highlight them. I may still choose to leave things as they are and go with the flow seeing where the journey takes me. Just because the time machine has shown me a potential problem, doesn’t mean I must react to it and change it immediately. My choice would be to response to any changes necessary—with thought and consideration.

I see the time machine as a tool, not a director issuing instructions.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/one-way-street/

Moving People

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Planes, trains and buses are essential to get us from place to another. Every trip has feelings attached to it, created by the person making the trip and your attitude to the trip and can have a big impact on the outcome of your trip.

I commute approximately 1 1/2 hours each way to get to work, sometimes more depending on my train connections. It’s my choice. I could drive but it would take me a similar amount of time depending on the time of day. The reasons I choose the train are:

  • I walk to the station—includes my daily exercise
  • It’s reliable—most of the time.
  • Half the price of driving
  • Less stressful. I don’t have to watch the traffic and predict other drivers behaviour.
  • I can be productive—write, read or blog—I wrote half my book on the train in 45 minute sections.
  • I can sleep. Every afternoon I find the train rocking automatically puts me to sleep and I wake refreshed, even if I only slept for 10 minutes.
  • No parking hassles.
  • No damage or wear and tear on my car that I left safely parked on my driveway. In some cases also lower car insurance premiums.
  • There is always something welcoming about looking out the carriage window each morning while travelling across the Sydney Harbour bridge and saying “good morning” to the Sydney Opera House. It puts me in a good mood.

Last year, we were in Ghangzhou and were excited to be able to explore the city like locals by train. The previous year in Nanjing, we couldn’t get into the train station, let alone work out how to buy a ticket or know where we wanted to go—so we left stressed and defeated, happy to breath fresh air. We just made alternate plans. Ghangzhou’s train system was different. We could choose where we wanted to go, work out the closest train station and go. Easy. We even took ourselves to and from the airport with luggage. It was a sense of freedom for us. While in Ghangzhou my favourite was catching the People Mover—an automated train. This train had no driver and moves people—lots of them—between the main stations in Central Ghangzhou. It was a weird experience but it worked.

Next time you are at the airport, train station or bus stop and need to wait, experiment with focusing on being grateful that you can use public transport to get you to where you want to go and that you are going somewhere. Find alternate ways to occupy your mind and time will appear to travel faster and you will arrive more refreshed.

Remember the old saying “A watched pot never boils.” In my experience this can be true for the planes, trains and buses we are willing to come.

Automatic train - no driver -1

View from the Automated Train

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/in-transit/