Tag: life

Dealing With Anger

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Tell us about a time when you flew into a rage. What is it that made you so incredibly angry?

I don’t fly into rages. Yes I get angry—but I deal with it quickly stopping it developing further along its continuum and having a greater impact on my life.

The anger continuum has 3 points:

Anger_________Rage_________Fury

I put out spot fires of anger, stopping them becoming bush fires of rage or mega wild fires of fury. The further down the continuum you go, the more out of control the emotion and the more damage you are likely to do to yourself or others.

Anger is a valid, strong emotion. It comes about when we feel personally wronged or attacked. By acknowledging what I am angry about, I can decide what I need to do about it. My response usually comes in one of the following ways:

  • Acknowledging that I have a right to be angry about it and that I was hurt—no further action required.
  • Taking some deep breath, listening to my favourite loud music and just chilling for a moment. Pink’s music works well here.
  • Ventilating my anger in a healthy way e.g kick a ball around, journal my feelings or  just yell for a minute of too.
  •  Responding to my anger and speaking to the person involved. To do this I would make a time to discuss the matter with the person I am angry with.  I let them know why I am angry using ‘I’ statements. I am entitled to be angry and they don’t get to tell me I shouldn’t be angry—they also cannot take my feeling away. However, by talking about it with the person concerned, together we open the lines of communication and make a plan to get to the bottom of the issue. Being heard by the other person helps me feel validated and allows me to let it go.
  • My last option is to discuss it with a friend/mental health work colleague. This gives  me closure and helps me see the situation through the other persons eyes. Many people may use therapy to help with this stage.

I grew up with and still where possible follow the biblical quote on this topic— Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger”— as failing to do so has a great impact on one’s mental health.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/mad-as-a-hatter/

H – Home #A – Z Challenge

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Today I am combing Poetry 101 Rehab: Home with H in A – Z April Blogging Challenge. My two choices this week are:

Acrostic

Home is more than bricks and mortar

Opening doors to many

Memories, mistakes and special moments

Especially keeping us safe and secure

Enjambment

My home is my castle, it

reflects my personality and

doesn’t fit a mould.

There are certain things always

travelling with me wherever I

make my new home.

http://maraeastern.com/2015/04/06/poetry-101-rehab-home/

#A-Z Challenge

Share Your World – 2015 Week 14

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What type of music relaxes you the most or do you prefer silence?

I love silence. Working in mental health I spend most of each day talking so the days  I come home to no one and can control the noise even for 15 minutes are a blessing.

Show us a two of your favorites photographs?  Explain why they are your favorite.   If you are not a photographer, think of a two favorite scenes in your life and tell us about them. 

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I love this photo I took on a moving dog sled ride in Canada last year. It shows the beauty of the area and the action of the dogs as they excitedly pull our sled.

My second choice today is in contrast—it is taken on Hyam’s Beach on my birthday last year. It too was a peaceful way to spend time with nature.

012 - birthday girl getting wet feet

 

What is your favorite tradition? (family tradition, church tradition, whatever)

My extended family has a colour theme for Christmas every year. It is voted in by all members of the family—there are over 30 and once the colour is chosen everyone dresses in the  colour theme. No excuses.  My sister who is queen of Christmas baubles, decorates her house in the colour theme matched with contrasting silver or gold. It is a great day and some of the clothing is outstanding. This years theme is berry—any colour you can find in a berry is allowed. The photos below are from our – 50 shades of red theme – a few years ago.

 

If you could go back and talk to yourself at age 18 what advice would you give yourself?  Or if you are younger than 25 what words of wisdom would you like to tell yourself at age 50?

Follow your gut instincts and believe in yourself. You know what to do and your life will be a success. Accept who you are and don’t worry about if you are going to be popular or not. Your unique personality makes you popular where it counts and the rest is often fake and doesn’t matter.

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 inspiration on ways to move my chapters around and make them flow better.

Next week I am looking for ward to remembering 100 years of the ANZACS on Saturday.

http://ceenphotography.com/2015/04/06/share-your-world-2015-week-14/

If I Had A Hammer

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If you could learn a trade — say carpentry, electrical work, roofing, landscaping, plumbing, flooring, drywall — you name it — what skill(s) would you love to have in your back pocket?

Like father, like daughter.

If I had a hammer I would develop my creative streak in woodwork. My father used to teach woodwork at high school and I loved it on rainy weekend days when we could go to the school with him and create something.

I enjoyed it so much that when it came time to select subjects for 2nd form—I wanted to choose woodwork. Unfortunately, it was the mid 1970’s and I was not allowed. Dad’s friend who would have taught me had he been allowed understood my desire and previous experience but it didn’t help. Girls did cooking and sewing. Boys did woodwork and metal work. Both could do art. I don’t know when this changed in Australian schools but I am very pleased it has.

When I was younger and living alone—under dad’s guidance I did several jobs around my home and even had my own tool kit. Not something at the time many of my female friends could say or were interested in. When I retire and have time on my hands I would love to learn how to turn wood and create fancy items. Today my spare time is taken up with writing and blogging but one day my dream will come. For me there is a sense of pride in putting my feet up and admiring something that not only have I made but also planned and designed. I love originals and have been given many presents by dad made and designed from wood for me. They are my treasured possessions and always bring a smile to my face—thanks Dad.

It is nice to know that Peter, Paul and Mary song that I loved so much as a child has brought a hammer of justice to girls and boys learning any subject they choose at school. Who knows had I been allowed to study woodwork in high school my life may have been very different.

https://youtu.be/VaWl2lA7968

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

F – Fantastic News

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You get some incredibly, amazingly, wonderfully fantastic news. What’s the first thing you do?

I am assuming from this prompt that the incredibly, amazingly, wonderful fantastic news is mine to tell—if not I would keep their secret.

If it is mine, initially I would say thank you to my angels and spend some time enjoying the moment—connecting with everything I was feeling in my body and head. The more exciting my news—the more I would plan my sharing. Super exciting news requires time for self rejoicing, planning, dreaming and working out what it means before sharing my news with the world including my immediate family.

Once I had worked through my news, I would plan a special dinner that evening for the family and share my news with them in person. I love to see the responses on their faces particularly if the news related to something I know they thought I truly was dreaming about. I tend to be the believer in the power of positive thinking and the law of attraction and not everyone shares my thoughts. I love examples of it working in my life.

Once we had celebrated—with a fancy champagne—my husband and I would work out a plan to share my news with the rest of the family—parents and siblings. This would mostly involve ringing them individually or sending a text if time poor although sometimes a road trip may be in order to tell them personally.

Only after all of these options had been completed and if I decided my news was suitable for a public billboard would I post a status update to Facebook. My personal boundaries stop me announcing anything and everything to the world without careful consideration.

Through blogging I have become more comfortable with my online presence however I don’t want any surprises. If appropriate, to complete my celebrations and take it to a new level I would write a blog post and see where that takes me.The advantage of celebrating through a blog post is that you get to celebrate many times over as people read the blog posts in their own time.

Bring on the fantastic news—I  love to celebrate.

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

#A-Z Challenge

E – Easter Show

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First held in 1823 at Parramatta, Sydney’s Royal Easter Show has grown to be the largest event held in Australia and the 6th largest in the world. Due to its growing size it has moved localities twice and is now held at Sydney Olympic Park in a purpose built facility. In 1891 Queen,Victoria bestowed the right for the show to be officially called Royal. Attending the show is fun for all ages and my experience is that you run out of time to see everything not that you are bored with nothing to do. Each year the shows theme is “city meets country” and it can be found in the following  activities:

  • Agricultural Show
  • Animal Shows
  • Art & Crafts Displays
  • Community Displays
  • Entertainment
  • Fireworks
  • Grand Parade
  • Main Arena
  • New Product Displays
  • Petting Zoos
  • Side Show Alley
  • Stages
  • Wood Chopping

The following photos are from the show a few years ago as unfortunately I was unable to attend this year do to other commitments.

 

#A-Z Challenge

 

 

Mistakes

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Write an entire post without using three-letter words.

Everyone makes mistakes. These mistakes teach us lessons about ourselves that allow us to grow.  Think of these lessons as gifts from life. Some people find keeping a list of lessons learnt helpful. They’re a visible reminder that helps keep us focused on moving forward to reach goals.

Edison failed 10,000 times before he invented a light globe. He doesn’t describe these attempts as failures however as 10,000 ways they don’t work.

By re-framing your words, it is possible to change your thinking. Life is full of lessons—we choose at what speed we acknowledge them. Remember they help us to develop personally as well as professionally.

Do not be afraid to take a risk. Take on challenges, learn by your mistakes adding to your repertoire of things known.

***

I found this challenge tricky. I noticed that it changed my voice considerably because my style is made up of small words—mainly with three letters. It certainly made me think which took me from my comfort zone—teaching me some lessons as I went.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/three-letter-words/

A – Australians

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Well I am a day late however I have decided to join the A – Z April Blogging Challenge. It involves writing a post a day for the month of April going through the letters of the alphabet. For most people this challenge started on April 1 with A and concludes on April 30th with Z. As Sunday is a free day I will catch up to everyone then.

I am Australian and proud of it. Australians are an eclectic mix with people from all corners of the globe now calling Australia home. Although affectionately called Down Under and along way from many countries—there are many reasons we are grateful to call Australia home. Some of which are described in my acrostic poem—Australians.

A – Amazing animals

U – Unique characters

S – Sydney Harbour Bridge and other famous icons

T – Temperate temperatures

R – Rugby League and Rugby Union—two of our favourite football codes

A – Art and culture

L – Lifestyle choices

I – Idyllic beaches

A – A friendly bunch of people

N – Nature

S – Surfing, swimming and sports

@inspiringmax1

Loving Advice

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My loving neighbours, married for 62 years had  died within a week of each other. I was approaching the house to give the family my condolences, when I found an old tattered letter at the front gate. No-one was watching. I took a peek.  Tears swelled in my eyes. The letter was written in response to a question asked of the loving couple the week by the local newspaper. It read.

Dear Friend,

Here are  the  secrets of our happy marriage. We hope they also work for you. Give them a go—you might surprise yourself.

1. Respect each other and yourself

2. Communicate

3. Compromise

4. Know your limits and what is important

5. Work as a team and rely on each other

6. Spend quality time together

7. Share the tasks and the glory

8. Laugh a lot

Love Mary and John

Day 5

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_assignment/writing-101-day-five/

Wonder Woman

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If you were involved in a movie, would you rather be the director, the producer, or the lead performer? (Note: you can’t be the writer!).

I love acting. Bringing characters to life and making them believable. Acting allows you to totally immerse yourself in the character and find things about yourself you didn’t know existed.

It has been many decades since I last acted but who knows I may return to it in my retirement when I have more time on my hands.

My greatest acting moment was playing Wonder Woman to a crowded theatre. At the time I didn’t look to bad either—unfortunately I don’t think I have any photos to remember it by.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/the-show-must-go-on/