Take Your Time

Hi Readers,

The last week of holidays and I was starting to worry that I wouldn't get another post done.

I just don't sit down and plan them, I just wait for something to grab my attention, and then I see how I can relate it to my own life.

And hopefully prompt some thinking among my readers how it might get you thinking too.

Didn't a great one pop up this week!!

This is related to something that I was once passionate about, especially while I was able to do them, but now my body just won't let me do them, no matter how much my mind wants to do it.

Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya broke his own world record for the marathon in Berlin over the weekend.

Not only did he set another record, he beat his previous time by 20 or so seconds. That's massive !!!!!

There are so many stats available that describe the enormity of this feat, but one that sticks out is that he was running sub 3 minute kilometres for the duration.

To put that in perspective, go outside and try to run 1km in just under 3 minutes.

Then do it 41 more times !!

I've only run less than 10 marathons, and for me each one was a massive grind, and took nearly twice as long as Kipchoge.

Which brings me to the title of this post, "Good Things Take Time".

There is no way that Kipchoge could have just fronted up and run this time without the many years of training, preparation and strategic planning needed to get his body and mind in the same place at the same time.

Similarly, there is little chance that he would have predicted this a year or so ago when he came so close to getting under the magical 2 hour limit in a staged race.

To go under 2 hours in the marathon is one of the major challenges left in athletics and it is very doubtful that runners go out expecting to slash more than 20 seconds off a record. The gains are becoming more miniscule as the record creeps closer and closer to the magical 1.59.00, but surely we may witness this in our lifetime.

The 100m sprint is another that is creeping downwards ever so slowly now, as big gains are just about beyond the physical power of the athletes. Gains are measured in hundredths of a second, and soon there will be debate as to whether or not to go to thousandths.

To get some perspective on this, set up the stopwatch on your phone. Now try and stop at 0.05.  That's only 5 hundredths of a second. Now you might understand how precise 1/100 of a second is.

Could the marathon be heading this way as the limits of human physical endurance be put to the ultimate test?

So what has this got to do with us?

To really achieve what we want to in life, we need to dedicate time and planning in order for some levels of success to be obtained. The problem we face however is that we often set our goals too high ( It's still okay to aim high !) and give up quickly once we hit our first hurdles. We 'dare to dream' ( from a recent post) but fail to prepare ourselves fully for the journey.

I'm thinking of the many things I've wanted to do in my life that I could have achieved, only to find that I wasn't prepared to accept small gains along the way rather than achieving them straight away.

For example, when I was in Grade 6 I wanted to learn the guitar. I went to a few lessons at school, mum and dad provided heaps of support, but I just wasn't patient enough to put in the hard yards and commit to lots of practice. I wanted to be able to play the guitar NOW, and the idea of practice, practice, practice just didn't sit with me. I have always regretted that decision.

Who knows where I might have popped up with this new skill!!

I suppose I was luckier with my marathon running, because I really committed to that and put in the MANY LONG HOURS on the road getting myself into  a position where I could finally attempt one.

The difference between these two examples is that for the latter I was probably a bit older, wiser and more patient, knowing that the window for achieving this goal was getting smaller each year. How glad I am that I persisted.

As for the guitar, I was probably thinking that I've got the rest of my life to do this, and 50 years later I am still wondering "What If...?"

I've said in previous posts that my marathon experiences have prepared me for so many things in life, particularly the need to be patient and give things the time that they deserve.

This means that I have not gone to the well expecting instant results. I've been able to accept whatever little gains came my way and used these as a springboard for further motivation. In one particular marathon I was in what I believed was my best ever shape and ready to get a cracking time. I was cooked by 20km and in the First Aid tent after blowing up. This could have been the finale for my running career, but by accepting that I wasn't able to reach my expectations that day served as further motivation to plan for a smaller gain next year.

I just needed to take my time.

Taking one's time also doesn't mean doing the same thing and hoping for better.

I had to understand my own capabilities and the requirements of the task at hand. Sure, I needed to change things, and that meant doing things that I'd rather not do, but they were necessary if I was to get where I wanted to be. 

So Readers, this big analogy is what I have been able to use in other facets of my life.

I see things that I want to do, and rather than just go bull headed at them ( some may think I still do this !) I try my best to set realistic goals and identify the smaller steps that will get me there, rather than just aim too high and become discouraged by the inevitable lack of success.

It also means identifying those who I can lean on (not sponge off !) and use as support for the journey. The gains may differ for each goal that I am aiming for, but by accepting this and remaining patient I find that the journey is much more of an exciting challenge rather than a tedious chore.

So what things could I be aiming for right now?

As I look out the window I see the nice garden that Jen did so well at maintaining, and realise that it is now up to me to lift my game and continue her good work. Ideally I'd like it to look spiffy with just the minimum of work, but that attitude just won't cut the mustard. I know that I'll need to plan ahead, put in regular time and accept lots of small gains along the way.

Am I being a bit too aspirational here???

I have a few injuries that are going to need a bit of cut and paste by a local surgeon over the next few months. I'd like nothing more than to wake up relatively pain free tomorrow, or next month, but I know that is just not going to happen.

BUT.... I can help to facilitate this by doing all that I can to encourage quicker recovery. I just need to accept small gains along the way, give things time and not become despondent and give up if my expectations exceed my ability to get better.

Similar attitudes need to be applied even to my work in the classroom.

I'm the first to admit I feel like I'm swimming at times keeping up with what needs to be taught, collecting data and implementing various programs. 

Actually, I'd be the second to admit this. My colleagues would be first !!!!🤣

However, rather than slide into oblivion and spend my days rocking in the corner, I just commit to believing that each day will be better, and accepting small gains wherever I can.

Anything bigger than that is a bonus for sure.

Readers, after writing about and reflecting on those last three examples, it becomes clearer than ever to me that it is the mindset that we bring influences everything so much.

"If you think something will go wrong, you'll be right"

I'm sure I've read that somewhere before (Henry Ford ??), but if not, it still sounds good doesn't it !

Just by being prepared to realise that gains may be slow or minimal at times, but are necessary in the big picture is consoling and provides me with the necessary patience to persist with goals, and approach newer ones with a positive attitude.

So do you have things that you'd like to achieve, but have put them in the "too hard basket" because it might just take too long for you to persist with?

It might be a basic thing that is always nagging you, but you've never begun it because it seems like an elephant rather than the ant it might actually be.

Some plans just might be shelved altogether, and that's okay. Let's be realistic.

The world won't stop and the sky won't fall down if you just put in place some small steps to get started. Who knows, it might just trigger that little part of the brain that suddenly re-engages and motivates you to persist.

Tasks could be related to work, home maintenance, family, travel, personal fitness or hobbies. The list is only restricted by the mindset we approach them with.

What I've been fluffing on about today isn't backed by any research or world recognised speaker or educational or psychological genius.

I'm just sharing what I have experienced myself and what works for me. Your experiences could be, and will be different. 

And you might just think what I'm suggesting is what you see above !!

My experiences over the past 13 months have really challenged me and made me assess so much of what has happened to myself and others, and this is probably why I am now so much more prepared to take every little gain that is offered in life, because sometimes little gains are all that we get at times.

In finishing, I just wanted to share an experience from today.

Yesterday I went down to Melbourne as I had to finalise a number of things relating to Jen that couldn't be done here in Bendigo. I decided to stay overnight ( actually I needed to due to different appointments) and I was able to do all the things that Jen and I would normally do together when we went and stayed in Melbourne during our holidays.

While Jen was in hospital for all those months, I'd visit in the morning, go for a big walk in the middle part of the day and then head back to see her each afternoon.

While I was In Melbourne yesterday, I went for a long walk and revisited all the places and routes that I usually went to on those daily walks. In a way, I needed to see them one more time because every time I thought about them or recalled them, it just brought back sad memories of the time I spent in Melbourne. There was something nagging me to see them again and get this feeling out of my mind. Honestly, as I revisited each place, street, shop, park etc I was continually reminded of how down I was the last time I was at these places.

But it really cleared my mind and gave some sort of closure ( damn I hate using that cliche !!) and I drove out of Melbourne feeling that these places no longer had that impact on me.

The hardest part was standing outside Royal Melbourne Hospital and looking up towards the room where she passed away, but I could now move on.

So why did I share this story?

I was listening to a podcast in the car and they spoke about and used the example from the movie "Love Actually" where the guy who had a massive crush on a girl who married another bloke, played a song and flashed cards outside her door on Christmas Eve.

At the end of it he picks himself up, shrugs and says something like  "Time to move on"

He'd been able to pick himself up and get his S%&T together at last. 

Sort of.

This is what I felt like as I walked away from RMH. It didn't upset me as much when I saw it on the news tonight, I was able to sort of put away so many of the bad memories these places had for me. Melbourne had left me with so many negative experiences but through revisiting them yesterday and today, I found I was able to "Move On" , just like the actor did in the movie.

I'll have to "Take My Time", but I feel that I'm now better equipped to do so.

Well Readers,

Another page of fluff and bubble, but I hope it encourages you to tackle things in a more positive way, and even have a crack at those things you never thought you'd do.

I know I'm going to tackle the next few months in the most positive way that I can and put myself in the best place to achieve whatever gains there are.

Until my next post,

Cheers 😁

 Arriving !!

Hi Readers,

Two posts in less than a week, you can tell I'm on holidays!!

And just to spare you, this won't be a philosophical mind bender, I'll give you a break.

This one stems from something I mentioned in my last post... 

"Do you ever have occasions when things come to your attention or drop into your lap at just the right time?"

Well this happened to me yesterday when I was driving out to visit a friend, and it was the purely simple nature of it that brought back so many great, and not so great memories that I'm sure even you will relate to.  Not relating to my memories of course, but memories of your own that this post just might trigger.

Well, maybe it wasn't this big, but it may as well have been !

As I was driving through Bendigo I went past a caravan park near my home in the late afternoon. As I was approaching it I needed to give way to a car towing a massive caravan and was amazed at the sheer size of the combined vehicles. I followed it for a block or two, and then it turned into the caravan park, and I was on my way again.

As I kept driving I started to think where they had come from? How far had they driven today ? How exhausted were they? Or maybe they were fine?

When Jen and I and our 3 boys went on our numerous trips up to QLD, or up through the middle of Australia to Uluru, Alice Springs and Darwin we were always pretty knackered by the time we checked into our digs at the end of a long day of driving.

We even had a camper trailer for a few years, and at the end of many hours of driving we'd then have to muster up the energy to set up camp.

Little wonder our boys didn't really share our enthusiasm for camping !

I was wondering if the people pulling into the caravan park yesterday were feeling the same way, that feeling of excitement and relief that the day in the car was over and we were now at our destination. Judging by the size of their caravan they didn't look like the sort of travellers who would need too much time to move into relaxation mode.

So this brings me to the point of this post.

When have you had similar experiences when you have worked hard all day travelling by whatever means, and you finally reach your destination at the end of the day?

Do you, like me feel like falling in a heap, safe in the knowledge that rest is just around the corner?

Well, if Jen was here she'd contradict that last statement as more often than not I'd don my running gear and head out for a run around our new location to check things out and get my bearings. 

Well that was what I'd tell her. She'd just say I was feeding my exercise addiction !!!

And these trips need not be hours and hours long either Readers.

Just last week I was driving home from school, a 20 minute trip and I was struggling to stay awake at 5.00 in the afternoon! I felt worse than as if I'd been driving for 8 hours.

When I pulled up in the garage it took all the energy I could muster just to get out of the car and into the house.

And my remedy ? Yep, you guessed it. Out to the shed and onto the bike in the belief that this would re-energise me. Not sure if it worked physically, but mentally it was just the tonic.

Must be an addiction after all !!! Sorry Jen 🙄

We have been extremely fortunate to have travelled a lot overseas before Jen got sick, creating memories that will last forever. For those who have done the long haul flights to North America or Europe you will know how taxing they can be and how your body clock gets totally trashed. We leave our homes all excited and wind up on the other side of the world looking and feeling like we have just been put through the washing machine.

At least when you are flying to your overseas destination the excitement somewhat dulls the tiredness, but the trip home often feels twice as bad and twice as long.

How many of you remember the trips home from wherever more than the trips to wherever you are going? I suppose the reality hits us on the way home that we are heading back to our various grindstones, but a positive person would say that these "grindstones" are what enable us to do these trips in the first place.

As I said earlier, we have travelled a lot, and hopefully I'll still be able to do some more.

One thing we started to do on our trips was to buy a bottle opener from as many places that we could as a momento of that place.

Why a bottle opener? Who knows.

Most likely because we both knew they would get used, but also because they were extremely easy to carry home.

This is not the total collection, there are many more tucked away, and no, they do not always sit on the door of the fridge.

Whenever I grab one I stop and think about where I was, who I was with and what memories I have of that place. It's such a great way to recall one's past, and we have had an absolute ball building this collection together.

I now place them on the side of the fridge where I can't see them and whenever I need to use one (or more if the footy is on !!) I tell myself that whatever one I randomly pull out is where I will travel to next. But then I say that about the next one and so on.

There are so many places I'd love to go back to again, but then I tell myself that would be at the expense of visiting a new place.

Of all of them though, I'm sure to go back to London. I've been there a few times and it just never fails to leave me in awe.

On our last trip away we were due to travel through Germany, but unforeseen extreme weather meant we had to skip that part of the trip, so that is where my thoughts are now. I pinch myself at what we have done and where we went together and not for a moment am I forgetting how lucky I have been.

Going back to the title of "Arriving", brings back some very special memories, ones that I would never have anticipated until I experienced them, and I was only talking about this with someone yesterday.

A few years ago, our eldest son Sam was working in London, and I was over there on a Scholarship trip. We arranged to meet at the Borough Market for lunch, and as excited as I was to see him after so long away, nothing could have prepared me for the absolute thrill and joy I felt as I saw him coming towards me through the crowd. I wasn't prepared for the emotion I felt, but it was something I'll never forget.

A similar example when I was at Melbourne airport to welcome Will home after a few years in Canada. Likewise, a few months earlier Jen and I had to say goodbye to him and leave the bar where we had all met for afternoon drinks on our last day with him.

Likewise, the hardest thing is the opposite of this, when you say goodbye to one of your kids overseas when you are the one flying home. I experienced the joy of the catch up, but then a few days later had the huge deflation when I flew home, having that same feeling of having sat behind the wheel of the car for many hours. 

I guess it just goes to show we just have to accept all the bad with the good, and this is what can define us.

Whoops, going down philosophical street there, something I said I wouldn't do on this post !!

So, my focus today is all about trying to celebrate the arriving somewhere, rather than dwelling on the dullness or ordeal of the journey to get there. Is this because we focus too much at times at the end and not the means?

Once again going down that street I wasn't meant to mention, we can also apply this concept to our daily lives. I know as much as all of you that sometimes we have great things to look forward to, but the method to get there is much less than what we desire.

How we carry ourselves at these times says a lot about us, and can often have effects on those around us.

What we choose to do about it can dictate these effects greatly.

For instance, yesterday I was going in to have a cortisone shot into my hand for an ongoing problem I have. At the moment with my body you could just about jab a cortisone needle anywhere with a blindfold on and you'd hit something that needed some treatment !!

Anyway, the mindset I adopted yesterday morning went a long way towards me having either a good day or a bad day. I recently read Andre Agassi's book and his description of receiving a cortisone shot is so descriptive and accurate.

I just didn't look as the needle went into my knuckle, and thought about what Agassi wrote about, and before too long I opened my eyes to see the 3rd needle finishing and it was over. To say it was painful is an understatement, but by focusing on the 'destination', the 'journey' wasn't as bad as I was anticipating. I knew that what was being done was going to leave me in a better place, so the attitude needed to remain positive - don't think about the pain of the needle, focus on the relief it will bring.

And the main thing too - at least I'll get better. Too many others don't.

It was just an ant, not an elephant.

So is this another weird way of comparing things? I started off talking about a caravan and end up talking about bottle openers and cortisone injections . I warn you constantly that I digress !!

Well Readers,

Before I start to digress further and start to try saving the world, here it is in a nutshell....

• Embrace the journey, and what it takes to get there. Even if the destination isn't what you may hope for. Celebrate what is worth celebrating along the way. I don't know how I would have got through this year if I didn't try to do this, as incredibly hard as it has been.
• Our 'arriving' each day to work  - do we turn up in a deflated frame of mind and then take it out on all around us, or just suck it up and make the most of an ordinary situation? How often do we feel like we have just driven for 8 hours when we have only driven for 20 minutes.
• Forget about that crappy little tiff you had with someone, your next interaction could be your best one for the day - don't spoil that opportunity!
• Sounds too easy I know, but wouldn't it be good if we could actually buy 'perspective pills' !!

Finally,

A huge thank you to those who left comments after my last post, it means so much that you took the time to read, think and then respond. 

Thank You 🙏

Not sure if my waffle today will generate that much of a response, but I've enjoyed the time writing today and listening to my favourite music doing it. And my new Garmin watch from my boys is showing that I am relaxing more...Heartbeat now 46. I'm alive !!!!

Until my next post..

Cheers 😁

 Dare to Hope

Hi Readers,

For those who have been regular readers, you must be thinking that I have left the planet since my last post so long ago.

This is not an excuse, but since going back to work this term I just haven't found the time to put into the blog due to needing to put so much time into my school work and catching up on so many things after taking 12 months leave to be with Jen.

I always thought that I'd be able to slip back into the groove with only a few bumps and hurdles, how wrong was I !!!

I hope I can get my act together next term and hit the ground running and not keep bothering the rest of my team for advice!

Which brings me to the title of this post.

Do you ever have occasions when things come to your attention or drop into your lap at just the right time? That has happened to me this year with some books that I have come across that have helped me get through the worst year of my life. You only have to look at previous posts to see which books I am talking about.

I was cleaning up our house a few days ago after having people staying here for a while after the death of Jen's mum last week, and I picked up a book that I had left in one of the other bedrooms that I had been reading earlier this year, but just didn't get finished.

I was at boarding school with the author many years ago and he was just the warmest person you could meet. Little wonder he has made such a huge impact as a coach, and now even more as an ambassador for the fight against the illness that will ultimately take him.

I hardly need to say anything about Neale Daniher to my Australian readers, but for those overseas, this is it in a nutshell.

Neale finished school and was an instant success in the AFL before being the victim of successive serious knee injuries. He made a number of comebacks, but was never the player he was. He became a coach at Melbourne and got them into a Grand Final. 

A few years ago he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and has outlived the life expectancy of someone with this disease. In this time he has worked tirelessly to raise money and awareness of this illness and inspired millions with his attitude towards approaching one's own mortality while at the same time doing his utmost to help others.

He has brought so much hope to so many people, and not just those with MND.

His approach is helping anyone facing adversity in whatever form that may be, whether it is a tiny problem or something just as big as what he is facing.

While finishing his book this week, and flipping back through some pages that really resonated with me there was so much to take in when considering what he is going through and seeing how I, or we can take something from him.

He talks about the setbacks and hardships that we face at different stages in our lives and how the severity is often connected to particular stages of life. In his own example he compares what he thought was the devastating news of a serious knee injury when he was at his peak, and how that becomes so insignificant 30 years later when he is diagnosed with a terminal illness.

He goes on to talk about how we don't really get to choose our setbacks or adversity, but our lives become defined by how we respond to them. We don't seem to have trouble dealing with all the good things that happen to us, but when the  💩💩 really hits the fan we find out who we are and what we are made of.

We learn how to cope with the bad things and to appreciate the good things a lot more.

Throughout all that he he has been going through for the past few years he has continued to be hopeful for the outlook of others facing the same reality that he has. His work for the MND Foundation will continue long after he is gone, but it will give hope for others who have just been diagnosed, or who will be diagnosed in the future. While there is no cure yet for MND, perhaps the work being done by Neale and his organisation could soon change this.

All because he dares to hope.

That was a short digression, but an essential one as I come to the reason why I chose this topic to write about.

I was watching a TV show this week, and they recounted the story of ex AFL player Paul Dear who died recently from pancreatic cancer.

Rather than wallow in self pity about his own setback, Paul and his family decided to create a documentary about his journey so that it might give some hope to others facing similar setbacks. 

The story was titled "Dare To Hope".

Just like Neale, Paul was virtually given a death sentence given the extremely low rates of survival from pancreatic cancer. It is a cancer that progresses so far before being actually diagnosed, and by then it's often too late.

While being very realistic about his own chances of survival, he always had hope. Even more to the point, his family shared the same hope.

While not wanting to spoil the story should any of you want to watch it (It's on 7Plus), let me just say that I found it incredibly sad, inspiring and heartwarming all in one.

I found the last 5 minutes so hard to watch given the circumstances of this year with my family, but something that his wife said was just so profound, and looking back, is exactly what we did without really knowing it.

They were expecting Paul to live for 9 more weeks, so anything beyond this was a bonus to celebrate. They chose not to display sadness and sorrow in the remaining time he had left, as there would be ample time to do this after his passing, should this occur.

His wife felt that she could cry all that she wanted to after his death, there was no need to do it beforehand. This enabled the whole family to work together to support Paul throughout his illness, and this shared hope no doubt helped them to support each other as well. It was all about celebrating that he was still alive.

Just as his family remained positive and upbeat despite what was facing them all, we found ourselves doing the same with Jen throughout her illness. No matter what setbacks she kept facing, she, and we always clung to the hope that these challenges could be overcome sometime. As it turned out, the challenges proved to be far too overwhelming for Jen, but at no stage did she give up hope for some sort of recovery until it was well and truly too late. Having hope was something that binded us together for the duration and also gave Jen so much purpose to keep fighting, for apart from her last few weeks there was always a slight glimmer of hope for her.

So what's the message I'm trying to get across in my usual random manner?

I have always considered myself to be someone who always tries to maintain a positive attitude through all things. It doesn't always happen, but I try to do it. I get frustrated when people complain about trivial things, especially when we put them in perspective with other things going on in our lives.

How we react and respond to trivial matters either prepares or under prepares us for the bigger things that really matter. If I let myself get upset about things like getting stuck in traffic, busting a pipe in the yard, not understanding how to administer a particular literacy assessment ( yep, that's me all over 😩) or my footy team losing, how then am I preparing myself for bigger issues that really matter?

It's like the "Is it an ant or an elephant" analogy I mentioned a few posts ago, and one which I use with the kids in my class constantly. With this approach in use, I find that they are able to deal with their own little problems themselves ( "Someone else is sitting in my chair", "My water bottle is empty", "She was staring at me" etc) so that when bigger ones occur they are more equipped to handle them.

In a way, I 'dare to hope' that the kids are developing resilient skills, and that I am in some way helping to facilitate this. In my current classroom, there are irregular power shortages and internet dropouts. Whenever this happens I always try to model a positive reaction by not worrying about it and finding an alternative. On the inside I might be feeling 🤬😡😤, but by displaying this I am doing the kids no favours, and it doesn't solve the problem anyway. Our "We don't have problems, just solutions" mantra must drive them insane at times, but hopefully it is helping them to deal with setbacks more effectively.

Now that it is a bit over 12 weeks since we lost Jen, I still wake up some days thinking "How will I get through today?"

This is when I take my perspective pill and consider my situation to that of others., and I soon snap out of it. I 'dare to hope' that each day is going to be better than the previous one, and this only encourages me to look for ways to make the day better and carry myself in a manner that Jen would be proud of.

I have a few ailments at the moment that require surgery ( all self inflicted, so there's no-one else to blame !) and while general movement is a bit of a chore right now, I'm not going to let them stop me from doing most of what I want to do. To me, they are just bits of the body that need a bit of 'cut and paste', and by adopting an attitude of "I'll get better" I find that the nuisance value of them goes away. 

Sort of 😤

Daring to hope means that by this time next year I could be in a much better physical condition, something that I am eagerly looking forward to. Others may look at me and say, "Just give up now, you're cooked", but that is even more incentive to prove them wrong.

Look, they may be right, especially at my age, but I'm not prepared to give that idea a chance as I have hope for better things no matter what.

Just wait for it to happen rather than expect it to happen.

Daring to hope for me is making plans to do so many things in the coming years that Jen and I were going to do together, but I'll now do alone. And I'm okay with that. Having these things to look forward to gives one's life purpose and something to look forward to and work towards.

So what are you daring to hope for?

Is there something in the back of your mind nagging at you saying "Come on, just have a crack" ? What's stopping You?

I know it could be financial or just too impractical due to circumstances, but why not just start small? I always wanted to start a blog, and it took me years to get my act together and get started, but here I am a few years later still fluffing about writing about stuff that probably only interests me. 

But it works for me.

Do what works for you.

If we refrain from doing or trying things just because we are concerned about how others may react or respond ( assuming it's legal of course !!) the things that give us the greatest purpose may be forever not done.

"The most secure prisons are the ones we create for ourselves" - a quote I read recently that resonated, and sums up all that I'm fanging on about. Break out from the perceptions of others and have a crack at what you dare to hope.

I know that today I have referred to some cases of people who have received the worst diagnoses, but they all continued to have hope in the darkest of situations, and that rubbed off onto others. Perhaps we can start small and build small communities of hope and positivity?

As Paul Kelly sang... "From little things, big things grow.."

Well Readers,

That's it for today, and hopefully (gee I've used that word a bit today !!) I might get a few more posts done in the next two weeks of holidays.

I'm disappointed that I haven't used more pictures, but I was determined to get my thoughts down without the distraction of finding appropriate images to match.

As always, you can leave comments down below, just hit the "Comment" tab.

Until my next post...

Cheers 😁