Tag: gratitude

Circle of Life

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If your life were a movie, what would its soundtrack be like? What songs, instrumental pieces, and other sound effects would be featured on the official soundtrack album?

I love Disney. I find their songs very empowering. Circle of Life from the Lion King reminds me that life is a journey that never ends—there is always something else to be done.  Everyone and everything on the planet plays a part—no one is an island.

“From the day we arrive on the planet

And blinking, step into the sun

There’s more to see than can ever be seen

More to do than can ever be done

There’s far too much to take in here

More to find than can ever be found

But the sun rolling high

Through the sapphire sky

Keeps great and small on the endless round

It’s the Circle of Life

And it moves us all

Through despair and hope

Through faith and love

Till we find our place

On the path unwinding

In the Circle

The Circle of Life”

The circle of my life has been an interesting one. It has taught me many things. The older I get, the more I realise the rewards I received from the various difficult mazes I have been through.

I have had the oppurtunity to see most official versions of The Lion King— animated, stage show as well as the Disney Theme park version. I enjoyed them all and they left me warm on the inside, reminding me of the importance of family.

Like in The Lion King, everyone has a support team surrounding them to help in times of need. Thanks to everyone who has been on my support team over the years and helped make my life what it is today.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/cue-the-violins/

Share Your World – 2014 Week 44

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What is your most vivid memory of the kitchen in your childhood?

Exciting vivid memories elude me. My main memory is being required to wash and dry the dishes with my siblings every night. Not caring for the washing part—I was happy to dry. This usually made everyone else happy.  They would rather wash or put the dishes away. It also meant I had control of any naughty tea towel flicking behaviours my younger siblings liked to try.

As a child, who was your favorite relative?

My father’s mother lived in a granny or in our case, nanny flat at the side of our home. She was always available to us if we needed anything and would wait for us to come home from school. I remember one year she told Santa that we would like a swing set, which Santa delivered.

What did you or did not like about the first apartment you ever rented?

The first apartment I rented was in Sydney after I was married. Having already purchased my home I did find that I was limited in where I hung pictures and what I could do frustrating. I was excited however, by the freedom of being able to move cities and set up a new life that renting gave me.

What kind of TV commercial would you like to make? Describe it.

I would like to make a television commercial about the power of positive thinking. How your actions can change your outcomes. It would include references to being in the present moment.

My hope would be that it would inspire people to recognise the power of their daily choices.

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

Last week I was grateful for the fun times I had at our work Christmas party. Catching up with people you don’t see often and remembering the year that was.

Next week I am looking forward to finishing work for the year at preparing for my Canadian adventure.

http://ceenphotography.com/2014/11/03/share-your-world-2014-week-44/

Gratitude

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Oprah

 

Gratitude is infectious. Give thanks at every opportunity. The more you do it, the more you will find to be grateful for. Start small. With practice, you will begin to realise that the things you feel negative about can be redefined. You choose the way you look at every situation. For example, instead of focusing on how stressful your work is and all the things it doesn’t have—choose to make a list of all the things about your job that you are grateful for. Some examples may be:

I have a job

It pays me regularly—providing money for housing, food, bills and my current lifestyle

I have friends at work I can talk to

My job has taught me

  • how to use a computer and computer programs
  • time management
  • conflict resolution skills
  • customer service
  • organisational skills
  • presentation skills
  • personal resilience
  • complaints management
  • stress management
  • documentation
  • Occupational Health & Safety legislation
  • boundaries
  • people skills

It gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning

Provides me with annual leave, sick leave, long service leave and superannuation

Take up Oprah’s challenge. Make a decision today to start focusing on all that you are grateful for in your life. Gratitude is a feeling and focusing on it will lift your mood, allowing you to see more things to be grateful for in your life. As you become more grateful for things in and around your life, you will begin to be able to see things to be grateful for in negative situations, even tragedies.

Guoliang Tunnel

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What’s the most surreal experience you’ve ever had?

Up until the early 1970’s, Gouliang village, high in the Taihang mountains, Henan Province in central China had a big problem. They were isolated from the outside world except by climbing down a ‘sky ladder’, which were steep narrow stairs carved into the side of the mountain joining the top of the volcanic cliffs with the valley floor below. There was no road. Anything coming in or going out of the village needed to be carried via the stairs.

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Guoliang Village cut off from the world before the tunnel.

In 1972,the village elders became more and more frustrated with the government as they continued to reject their requests to build a road down the mountain. As a result, the village elders decided that the policy of if you want something done do it yourself was the only way to solve this problem. So the villagers sold everything they could to buy hand tools and selected 13 of their strongest men, who began the arduous task of hand cutting a tunnel through the rock. Below is the entrance to the tunnel and as you step into it, you become overwhelmed by the enormity of the task that the villagers had undertaken and are inspired by the gift the tunnel has given the world.

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Interior view of hand cut tunnel entrance

Building the Guoliang Tunnel took 5 ½ years patience and determination. It is 1.2 kilometres in length, 5 metres high and 4 metres wide. It has been described as the 2nd most scariest road in the world and cost several villagers their lives. Forty years later the legacy of this tunnel—built as a life line to a small village—has become an international tourist attraction.  Guoliang village is now recognised as  China’s number 1 movie and television set,  which make the villagers a lot of money. According to James Packer the next ten years will see the Chinese film industry become bigger than Hollywood.  So as you can see the legacy of the tunnel is bigger than the villagers could have ever dreamed possible and has given them a lot of power.  Now if their requests are not met by the government—they simply shut down access to the tunnel until they get their way as happened in 2011.

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Comparison view. Note size of car compared to tunnel

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Base view of tunnel from the Guoliang village.

This remote part of China is difficult to get to. While it can be done on public transport, we had a guide take us and the journey took all day. It was however an amazing experience and one I would recommend to anyone travelling to central China. The Guoliang Tunnel is an inspiring example of how something planned for one purpose can open doors that were never believed to be possible. What doors do you need to open that seem too difficult—by taking steps in the right direction you never know where it will lead?

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