Creative thought

Often, as we go about our daily lives, we forget the power of creative thought and imagination.

We find that our thinking becomes more constrained, less creative as we go through life and grow into adulthood.

As young children, our thoughts and imagination ran riot. Empty boxes became spaceships. We thought up weird and wonderful ways to solve problems.

Now that we are adults, we should try to let our thoughts ramble and roam, finding new ways around common problems, enjoying the pleasure of imagination and fun through our thoughts.

Within your mind are stories to be told, information to be passed on, fun to be had.

So practice freeing your thoughts today. Create, imagine and most of all, enjoy the journey of your thoughts.

Hayfever!

The day has begun,

I open my eyes,

Atchoo, atchoo,

Now there's a surprise!

My nose it is full,

My eyes, oh they itch!

I've got a full day,

This could be a hitch!

I love the Spring,

The flowers and sun,

But having hayfever,

Is never much fun.

I reach for the tissues,

And blow my poor nose,

I feel under the weather,

From my head to my toes!

I've got so much to do,

My throat it is sore,

Come on dear body,

This is becoming a bore!

The summer is coming,

Maybe it'll bring some relief?

But no, just more pollen,

That's my belief.

So I sniff and I snort,

Sigh and ask why,

Pollen was invented,

No word of a lie!

You are special

No matter what happens, no matter what anyone says, you are special.


Everyone is special in their own right. We all have a beauty and uniqueness that sets us apart from others.

When we are feeling upset or unhappy, we should remember this. Nobody has the right to tell us otherwise.

We should learn to be kind to ourselves, to see our own worth.

When we make mistakes or fail, that does not make us less important or special, it is just the way in which we learn more about ourselves and set ourselves up to do better next time.

So every day, remember to allow yourself to admit that you are special, you are unique, you are, quite simply..................you!

A cat's stare

The old woman placed the flowers on her husband's grave and gave a smile. He always did like primroses, said they reminded him of Spring and new life.

She eased her aching back straight and sat down on a nearby bench for a rest.

She heard a noise, a rustling nearby and sensed that she was being watched.

She turned. There sitting beside her was a glossy black cat with piercing green eyes.

She smiled. 'How are you today? It's warm isn't it.'

The cat stared at her. She said 'I've just come to visit Arthur, my husband, he was a lovely, kind man.'

The cat purred and settled down comfortably. The old woman kept talking, telling the cat about her life with Arthur, all of the things that they had got up to during their long marriage.

Eventually, she sighed, and said to the cat 'This won't do, I've things to do. I must get on.'

She stood to go, turned to the cat and said 'Do you know, my Arthur always said that if he could come back, it would be as a black cat.' She giggled to herself and walked away.

The cat watched her go, a look of love and understanding behind it's green eyes.

How are we not bald?

This morning, I was hoovering through the house, and the brushes on the head weren't rotating and the suction was poor. 

So I turned the machine upside down to see what the problem was.

And, as usual, it was because the brushes were clogged with hair!

So I had to take off the head and cut away all of the hair and then all was well again.

It makes me wonder how we are not all bald.

Every few days I empty out the hoover bin and its full of hair.

If I pull out furniture, there are clumps of hair in drifts against the wall.

And then there are the drains in the bathroom! They regularly clog up with hair and need to be cleaned out - not my favourite job, I must admit.

But we all have full heads of hair. It's just amazing how much hair is shed and how it mounts up.

Oh well, onwards and upwards. I can see more hair lurking over there, under the table.

Take action

Often, when we have a dream, a wish, a project, we sit and think on it for a long time, imagining it and thinking how wonderful it would be to see it done.

But unless we take action, we will never see these things in reality. Thinking things through is good, as it gives us a chance to weigh up possible consequences of our actions.

But there is one certainty in our inaction, and that is failure. For if we do not take the first positive steps towards completing this action, then we will have automatically failed.

Many people are afraid that when they do finally start on this venture, that they will fail. This is possible, but without any action, there is no chance of success either.

So stop thinking about that task that you have been putting off for a long time, and get moving towards completing it. Make that dream a reality.

Don't listen to negativity

We all have the friend or family member that never has a good thing to say about anything that we do.


They always pull us down. Usually they are not even being aware that they are doing so.

They seem to see the negative aspects of everything and can never look on the bright side.

We can find our happiness and satisfaction bursting like a bubble when we speak to these people.

But we know when we have done well, or are excited about a new venture, so the best advice is to not to take to heart their negative words.

It is hard, because often we love and respect these people, but try to keep that positive bubble and not let yourself get dragged into their negative way of thinking.

Be proud, be confident, be positive.

Soaring Starlings

Mum and Dad Starling,

Found a garden one day,

With feeders and trees,

In which they could play.

The days became warmer,

Spring did arrive,

The flowers sprang up,

The world came alive.

The Starlings did nest,

Laid eggs, raised a brood,

And very soon,

They all wanted food!

Parents took them all,

To the garden they'd found.

There was food in the trees,

And also the ground.

They soared and they squabbled,

Were there six?,

or perhaps eight?

They ate and they ate,

from dawn until late!

Fat balls and grain,

They liked in the main,

Squawking and flapping,

Again and again!

But soon they will fly,

Making their way,

Flying high up,
In the blue sky.

To join the large flock,

To soar and to fly,

Making patterns and waves,

As they paint in the sky.

Life is precious

 We only have a short time on this Earth and our time here is precious.


We should not waste what we have and what the future holds for us.

Each minute should be used wisely for once it is gone, it is gone for good, we can never get it back.

Try not to waste your time on negative thoughts and feelings, or on holding anger in your heart.

Live each day, enjoy it, fill it with love, joy and laughter. Use your time well.

Your life is precious. Look after it, yourself and the lives of your loved ones.

Make you life matter, make a difference and enjoy it.

Treasure the truth

Sometimes, what we want to hear and what we get told are two different things.

Friends and family do not want to upset you, so they tell you what you want, rather than what you need to hear.

But there are those friends who will tell you the truth, and sometimes it makes you angry or upset because you think that they are saying it to spite you.

But are they really? Or are they one of the few good friends who are telling it like it is because you need to hear the truth, so that you know how things truly are rather than how you hope that they are.

The problem is, often it is the true friend that then gets hurt, because they've done exactly what you've asked - told the truth.

Before you shoot down your friend, take a step back and analyze what they have said. If it is the truth, said to help you, then treasure this friend, for they really are few and far between.

Stop complaining

How many times have you complained about how hard things have been for you, or that things haven't turned out the way you would like?

We all do it, and sometimes we have a right to feel that we have been dealt a bad hand in life.

But, these misfortunes shape the person that we are, they make us stronger and more rounded in the long term.

Instead of feeling negative and down about them, we should use them to our advantage.

We can learn and grow from every one of these situations. We can turn them around and use them to make us stronger, give us more of an understanding into both ourselves and the world around us.

So instead of dwelling on them and feeling hard done by, stay positive and regain control of your life, growing stronger as you do so.

Chase your goals

Make today the day that you get closer to reaching your goals.

Sometimes it feels as though we will never reach the goals that we have set ourselves.
They seem elusive, too far away.

But if we keep sight of our them, and work towards them each day, then they will slowly draw closer and closer.

Sometimes it is easier to break a large goal down into smaller steps. These smaller goals seem easier to reach, less daunting, but they all add up on our race to meet those big challenges.

Keep running, keep chasing. Eventually, your efforts will pay off and the finish line will come into sight.

Today

Today is a fresh day and a fresh start. Whatever happened yesterday is in the past.

Learn from it, put it behind you and move on.

Take this fresh start as an opportunity to get yourself back on track.

See things from a new perspective.

Make a start on that project that you have been putting off for ages.

If you have been waiting for 'the perfect time', make that time today.

Today could be the opportunity for you to surge forward in your life. Use it well. Embrace it.

So don't put things off until tomorrow, next week, next year. Do it today.

Once you have made that start, it will be so much easier to keep up the momentum and move onwards.

Worth the effort

Everything that we do in life involves effort on our part.

Some projects require a lot of effort, some very little.

But one thing is for certain. If we do not put in the effort, then we will get nothing in return.

Sometimes we will say 'That's not worth the effort'. But if we do this too often then we could be missing out on many worthwhile things.

Everything that we put effort into in life has a reward. If we do not put in the effort, then we will never be in a position to reap these rewards.

So never be afraid of effort. Use it to your advantage and reap it's rich rewards.

Slow down!

Sometimes we rush through life, so caught up in our lives that we forget to see what is going on around us.

Even things that we should be seeing, such as what is going on in our immediate family.

We should try to slow down, take a closer look. Savour life rather than rushing through it at breakneck speed.

By rushing through, we miss so many important things. Even to the point of not 'having the time' to talk to our loved ones.

The world and lives around us are rich and diverse, exciting and beautiful. If we only take the time to slow down and look.

So instead of filling your days with more and more, try to slow down and enjoy the journey, rather than speeding along with life passing you by in the fast lane.

Take a step back

 Sometimes, when we get immersed in a situation, we begin to find ourselves getting stressed, struggling, feeling as though we will never get to the end, will never succeed.

When we feel like this, it is often when we have been working hard on a difficult task, and are getting tired, seeing it up close and not getting a chance to see the bigger picture.

At times like this, it is useful to take a step back from the situation and to see it with impartial eyes.

When we do this, we can often see where we are going wrong, or see a better, more efficient way of doing things.

Sometimes, just walking away for a few minutes, taking a break or having a rest can give our mind time to reassess the situation and find a way around.

When we return to the task, it will be with a clearer mind and much greater chance of success.

What's in your handbag?

What is it about handbags that seem to attract junk?

I've just had a sort through of mine as it was getting rather full.

Where did it all come from? There's half a dozen gift cards, all of which only have a few pence on them, bus tickets from years ago, a receipt from a hair cut months back.

And oh, I don't even want to think about what that sticky lump covered in fluff used to be!

There's some buttons, which obviously came off of my clothing at some point and which I meant to sew back, but I can't even remember which clothing they are from!

There were no less than six opened packets of mints, many of which are now soft and are destined for the bin.

And those painkillers! How old are they? Who knows, I can't read the use by date because it was rubbed off long ago.

I now have a tidy, clean uncluttered handbag, well for at least a few days, anyway.

Co-operation

Sometimes it is good to get on and do something by yourself. That way you are in control of the process and you can be sure that it will turn out to be the best outcome.

But there are also times when help is needed. In this situation, don't be afraid to ask for help. Without it, the task would be difficult at best or impossible at worst.

Needing help is not a weakness, and both you and the person that is helping can learn from the situation.

Co-operating with each other is the only way to solve some problems.

Once you have been helped, remember the feeling of gratitude, so that when you are asked to help in the future, you will say yes. For co-operation has to work both ways.

Don't give up!

 How often, when things don't go the way we expect or want do we say 'I give up'.

But by giving up, we do not learn, we do not find a better way of doing things, or find out what we are truly capable of doing.

Failing or finding something too hard is common. But if it is something that we really want to master, then we must try again.

Often, by leaving something, walking away for a while, it gives our mind a chance to relax and our subconscious mind will often come up with a solution, without us really thinking about it - the so called light bulb moment.

But even if this does not happen, a short break will give us the strength of mind and body to try again.

So don't allow failure to be the easy way out. Work through the failure and frustration and towards your end goal.

Hope for the future

There are times when the future seems to be a bleak prospect.

Times when everything that can go wrong does go wrong.

At times like this, it is easy to give up hope, to believe that nothing good will ever happen again.

But there is always hope. There is always the possibility that things will go the right way.

When we give up on hope, we give up on life.

If you live with hope in your heart, then you will be living a life of possibility and positivity, but give up on hope and there is little left to live for.

So cling onto that hope, let it live and flourish within you. See a bright future, see possibility.

Enjoy the day

 Each day is a new start, a new chance to enjoy life.

We should look upon each new day this way, fill it with enjoyment, love and joy.

Today should be a day to savour, to enjoy to the full.

What we do each day, should be a reflection of us and each day should be one that we can look back on, secure in the knowledge that we made it count.

In this uncertain world, we never know which day will be our last, so it important to enjoy each fresh new day and use it's time wisely.

Make this day count. Enjoy it. Make the most of the opportunities that it throws your way.

Be the best that you can be and live it to the full.

Compensation culture

I've just watched a television programe and in almost every ad break there was an advertisement for accident compensation.

It made me wonder at the way in which our world is going. There always has to be someone to blame.

I can remember falling off of a swing in a public playground onto concrete as a child and hurting myself.

When I arrived home, my Mum said 'accidents happen', cleaned me up and sent me on my way.

If that happened now, the local council could find themselves with an expensive court case.

This compensation culture has led to schools banning things that children once enjoyed. Simple pleasures such as leapfrog, conkers and even handstands and cartwheels, for fear of being held financially accountable if there is an accident.

Where will this end? Will every bump and scrape warrant accident compensation?

Will we not allowed to 'live' because it is too dangerous?

There are some accidents that do require compensation, life changing, awful things do happen, and it is only right that people have financial help in order to live as normally as possible.

But is it right to seek compensation for a minor accident that causes only temporary discomfort and which is nobody's fault?

Or is this compensation culture more about getting as much money as possible rather than our well being?

The day has gone

 

The day has gone,
Night is here.
It's time for bed,
But do not fear!

Tomorrow is another day,
During which
We'll laugh and play.

And can you guess what I will say?

It'll be to smile
And if you don't,
I'll see it from a country mile

We'll run and jump,
with glee, you see,
We're alive,
It's the best way to be.

I bid you bye,
In my bed I'll lie,
And dream about
The day gone by.

I'm sleepy now,
But don't you fret,
I'll be back again,
Of that you'll bet.

I hope tomorrow,
The sun does shine,
Because the day, will be,
Mine all mine!

Stay true

Sometimes when we are working hard on a task or project, we are so focused on the immediate job at hand that we lose sight of where we are going, our goal, the bigger picture.

It is therefore important to take a step back every so often, to make sure that we are still working in the right direction, that we haven't taken a wrong turn along the way.

For if we forget in which direction the finish line lies, then we can never reach it.

So take that step back from time to time, check that your direction is still correct. Keep on track and succeed.

The time has come

The time has come. She feels the panic rising within her.

Before, this moment seemed an age away, as though it would never come.

She is as prepared as she can be. Everything is packed, her clothing and hair are neat and tidy.

Last night, she retired early for the night, hoping that the extra sleep would give her a head start, give her the edge that she wanted, needed.

But she tossed and turned, sleep eluding her cruelly as thoughts and doubts swirled in her mind.

Today, she feels as though she is walking through fog, sluggish and slow. Even two cups of strong coffee have not cleared her head.

She picks up her bag and leaves the house on the way to college, to take her final exam, hope in her heart that she will do well

 

Hokey Cokey shower

We live in an old house which shares the mains water supply with our neighbour. The water comes down from the top of the hill, reaching our neighbour first and then us.


Most of the time, this is no problem, but if we are using the electric shower and they run water in their house, it reduces the water pressure in ours and makes the water run too hot.

So if we have a shower and next door is using their water, we now have the saying 'It was a Hokey Cokey shower' As in, you put your right arm in (water is too hot) You pull your right hand out.

Hokey Cokey showers always seem to start just as you have either lathered up your hair or soaped up your face.

You then have to do the Hokey Cokey with your eyes shut which is never easy.

Have you ever had a Hokey Cokey shower?

Have you ever?

Have you ever been walking along, in a world of your own, only to realize that you are walking in totally the wrong direction?

Yes, I think we've all done it, but what do you do when you notice?

Do you just turn around and walk the other way? Or do you look to see if anyone is looking first, so that you don't look silly?
 
Some people look at their watch, and then turn around, pretending that they are supposed to be elsewhere.

Others do the decoy ploy, stop to 're-tie' their shoelace, then do a quick turn around so that nobody will notice.

Others check the contents of their bag, as if they have forgotten something before 'going home' to get it.

Yet others make the grand gesture - stop stock still, getting in everyone's way in the process, slap their head with their palm mutter loudly about how stupid they are and then turn around.

But, at the end of the day, does anyone notice if we've gone the wrong way, does anyone care? No, they don't. So why do we do it?

 

Truly care

The way to prove that you truly care is to help others without making them feel that you are doing so as a kind of favor.

Caring does not mean finding fault with the way other people do or don't care for others.

Caring comes from the heart, it is deep wanting to help others because it makes both of you feel good, helps you both, not because you expect something in return.

Giving care and love spontaneously swells your heart, gives you purpose, guides you to a higher plane of life.

Life can seem complicated, but truly caring is simple. Just open your heart and give, and embrace the feeling of joy and love that it brings.

How heavy is the Tardis?

We all know that the Tardis is bigger on the inside than on the outside, but what makes up it's weight? It's outside appearance or what is inside.


On the outside, it is just a wooden box with room inside for a phone.

But on the inside it is fully decked out with a swimming pool, a library and numerous other rooms, which each individual Doctor changes to suit his needs.

If the weight of the Tardis was the combination of it's internal features, then it would weigh a great deal indeed.

When seen 'landing' on various surfaces in the TV program, it does not sink, which would point to it not being overly heavy.

So my conclusion is that it's weight is the sum of it's outer appearance, rather than the sum of it's interior contents.

Unless of course, it has an anti-gravity field, which would solve the sinking/weight problem.

You can do it!

Often, when we look at a new venture or task we doubt our ability to succeed.

Sometimes this is a legitimate concern, as the venture or task is not something that we have come across before and we do not feel that we have the knowledge to do it.

But sometimes there are times when we do indeed have the expertise to succeed, but it is our lack of confidence and fear of failure that holds us back.

If we know, deep down, that we do have the ability, then we should find the confidence to try.

By trying and trusting in ourselves we will have learned much about our strengths and weakness along the way.

For if we never try, we will never learn, we will never grow.

Silly Bee!

 

You buzz and fret,
You silly bee!
You should be outside
And flying free.

You beat your wings
With fear and fright,
Flying towards
The bright, bright light.

I open move the curtain,
The window to open
So you'll fly out,
Will here is hoping!

But woe, the window's locked
I've lost the key,
I just want you out,
You silly bee!

I hunt the house,
Up and down,
Upon my face,
A great big frown!

Ah, yes, there it is,
I can now calm down,
I've got myself in such a tizz!

I open the window,
And nudge you, slow.
You buzz all angry,
But down you go.

You feel the breeze,
And off you flee,
Finally you are gone
Away and free!