You cannot control the behavior of others, but you can always choose how you respond to it. Roy T. Bennett Hey, Lovelies. I live in Queensland – a state of Australia that has had few COVID cases, and which has maintained strict border closures since the pandemic began. We’ve had a relative amount of freedom […]
I Don’t Have A Problem With Your Differing Opinion But Why Won’t You Respect Mine?
We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection. Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that […]
Hey Sensitive Soul, Don’t Amplify Fear!
It’s the questions we can’t answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question and he’ll look for his own answers. Patrick Rothfuss Hey, Lovelies. Our Cauldrons and Cupcakes community is a group […]
Some Thoughts On Risk, COVID and Individual Responsibility
Life is mostly froth and bubble, Two things stand like stone. Kindness in another’s trouble, Courage in your own. Adam Lindsay Gordon Hey, Lovelies.I’ve had many messages and emails since my post about Sophie, a colleague who recently passed away from COVID. Missed it? You can catch up here.I’ve also had my share of unfollows, […]
Vale, Sophie.
Sadly enough, the most painful goodbyes are the ones that are left unsaid and never explained. Jonathan Harnisch Hey, Lovelies. Last week I had a zoom call with a friend, Irene, who is helping me with some analytics and marketing. As we talked, she raised the idea of me finding a web dev (web developer) […]
Lockdown Workarounds
Sometimes you just have to pee in the sink. Charles Bukowski Ah, Bukowski – I just love the way you tell it how it is… Hey, Lovelies! We’re in lockdown again here in our part of the world. Greater Brisbane went into a 3 day COVID lockdown at 5pm on Monday. Ben and I had […]
Quiet Time As A Coping Tool
You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s […]
Back In Lockdown
Another way to be prepared is to think negatively. Yes, I’m a great optimist. but, when trying to make a decision, I often think of the worst case scenario. I call it ‘the eaten by wolves factor.’ If I do something, what’s the most terrible thing that could happen? Would I be eaten by wolves? […]
On Finding Yourself Stranded Far From Home
No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. Gautama Buddha Hello, Lovelies. Yesterday one of my community reached out to me, to ask for ‘Any help you can give the souls that have been stranded in alien places due to corona virus… I know […]
Thank You, Melbourne and Victoria ❤
Always remember people who have helped you along the way, and don’t forget to lift someone up. Roy T. Bennett Hello, Lovelies. Today I am dedicating my post to the good people of Melbourne and Victoria, who have endured one of the longest and hardest lockdowns in the fight against the spread of COVID. As […]
Counting Down The Sleeps!
“After all,” Anne had said to Marilla once, “I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” L.M. Montgomery Hey, Lovelies. Overall I’ve been doing okay, […]
For Kate, who might read this from Heaven
I was waiting for the longest time, she said. I thought you forgot. It is hard to forget, I said, when there is such an empty space when you are gone. Brian Andreas Dear Kate, I called your number last night. It was late, and I was writing, and sipping tea, and playing music softly […]
What Do Russian Roulette And COVID have in common?
It is easy to be wise after the event. Arthur Conan Doyle Hey, Lovelies. I know. I’m usually Love and Light and Optimism. But you also know, above all, I’m going to be real, I’m going to talk straight with you. I’m going to do that now. Because, you see, I’m worried that you are […]
Safety Measures People Ridiculed Or Fought Against That Are Now Mainstream
“When any one asks me how I can best describe my experiences of nearly forty years at sea I merely say uneventful. Of course, there have been Winter gales and storms and fog and the like, but in all my experience I have never been in an accident of any sort worth speaking about. I […]
I cleared space in my calendar last night
“Death twitches my ear; ‘Live,’ he says… ‘I’m coming.” Virgil Lovelies, I remember one particular morning so clearly. It was the day we all thought I would die. None of the treatments had worked. There was nothing more to be done. And so I waited through the long hours of my last night, wrote my […]
A little bit social…
“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.” Linda Grayson Hey, Lovelies! How are you coping, where-ever you are in the world? We’ve been in self-isolation here at the farm, Ben, me and the pups, since late February. It hasn’t been too bad overall. We’ve loved the slower pace, […]
That long COVID night…
I’ve been thinking: This is what the living do. And yesterday, hurrying along those wobbly bricks in the Cambridge sidewalk, spilling my coffee down my wrist and sleeve, I thought it again, and again later, when buying a hairbrush: This is it.Parking. Slamming the car door shut in the cold. What you called that yearning. […]
Midnight Chat with a COVID-19 Emergency Doctor
“He ached with weariness, but it became part of him; he scarcely noticed now that he was weary, he might always have been thus, it was so familiar to him.” Tanith Lee Last night I was woken by the flashing of the screen on my phone. A friend in New York was sending me messages, […]
The Chestnut Tree
“How simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. . . . All that is required to feel that here and now is happiness is a simple, frugal heart.” Nikos Kazantzakis Chestnuts. They’re not really a popular Australian thing. The closest […]
The Best Place To Go This Easter
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Albert Einstein Hey, Lovelies.I have an excellent suggestion for where to go this Easter break. Home! The best place for you to be is home. But it doesn’t have to […]
An Inspiring Dinner Tale
“There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate.” Robert Breault Hello, Lovelies! I thought you might appreciate this little tale of an Australian family, living on a farm in the Outback, who are members of our online community. Last week Emma and her kids Harry and Holly joined me […]
The Survivor
“The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.” Roy T. Bennett Hello, Lovelies. It’s funny (or not) how nature has lessons for us, if only we pay attention. Last year, here in Australia, we experienced terrible drought here at […]
How to stay home, work from home and stay sane
“Everyone is driven by the need to fill their life with meaning. Sometimes this need is articulated clearly and then a purpose emerges and that leads to a sense of direction and a sense of mission. Most times it is not. So the void is filled with action. People have kids, gets mortgages, raise families, […]
Cycles and Seasons – Monday Oracle 30 March 2020
“The frost which kills the harvest of a year, saves the harvests of a century, by destroying the weevil or the locust. Wars, fires, plagues, break up immovable routine, clear the ground of rotten races and dens of distemper, and open a fair field to new men. There is a tendency in things to right […]
Accepting Loss As A Coping Strategy – Advice for Dealing With The Disruption Caused by Coronavirus
“It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.” John Steinbeck Hello, Lovelies. During a conversation with someone from the chronic illness community yesterday, we compared notes on how part of our own journey of coping – with difficult diagnoses and prognoses and the devastating […]
5 Free Guided Meditations to Help You Manage Stress, Anxiety, Overwhelm, Panic and Fear
“When somebody plays music, you listen. You just follow those sounds, and eventually you understand the music. The point can’t be explained in words because music is not words, but after listening for a while, you understand the point of it, and that point is the music itself. In exactly the same way, you can […]
Up All Night Because Of COVID-19
“Nicole, tell them to be worried, tell them take this seriously, tell them not to be like we were, unbelieving. Because now my husband is dying. This should not have happened but it did. So, tell them!” Mariette Hello, Lovelies. I’m late blogging this morning because I have been up most of the night talking […]
Finding The Calm Strength Within – Monday Oracle 16 March 2020
“Instead of forcing yourself to feel positive, allow yourself to be present in the now.” Daniel Mangena Hello, Lovelies! March is a month for creating space in your life, for breaking patterns and creating new ones, for inspired thinking and new directions. It’s also a month where extreme self-care and deep rest may be needed. […]
Making the most of social isolation, quarantine and lockdowns
“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.” Earl Nightingale Lovelies, I […]