Update on the Event

What a night! Took a few days to get over the craziiiness of planning and hosting an event in under three weeks! Who does that! The Local Living, Global Impact event trully exceeded my expectations. Couldnt have done it without my crew! Love you guys!
Pictures out soon!

Meanwhile Twittering has stolen my time.

Cherish your visions

Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.
James Allen

If you cherish a beautiful vision, you will one day realise it.

my friend.

My friend Andrew Schofield is a maverick. I don't know if he would agree with me, as sometimes I think he tries to conform; when in reality he is unconventional and a bit of a rebel. He is very clever. He learns and masters all sorts of new things,has great passion and boundless energy (which some people find hard to cope with). But we need more people like Andrew, they make our world colourful, rich, and interesting.

check him out
and also www.lifesupported.blogspot.com

Inspiring women

Came across this blog the other day, I found it really cool as I love to read about people who extend themselves, inspire and motivate others to do better by acts of greatness or quite simply by the way they live their lives.
One of my favourite writers Maya Angelou says 'How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!' I say do not only recognize and celebrate them, but become one too. You may not be capable of amazing feats, but you can live your life magnificently and in the process give others 'permission to do the the same'

http://inspirationalwomeninhistory.wordpress.com/

Check it out

Reposition Yourself.

Anyone else reading this brilliant book? I must admit its taking me a while. There is so much to learn.

The blurb describes it as a ' ... wake- up call to take charge of your life'......hear, hear. More of us should be doing just that, charting and directing our lives.

Its one of those multi layered books that mean different things to different people, yet contain truths that are the same for us all.

Share your thoughts......

A Life Choice

We walk carefully through life so that we may safely reach death

Eleanor Roosevelt

We have only one life and it will inevitably end. We can either exist or live. What is the difference between existence and living? Choice.

To choose life we must first know what it means to live. To live is to be real, be who we are meant to be, secure in the knowledge that we are going we are meant to go.

To live is to walk through life first with passion and then, perhaps with prudence.

Life Law No 5

According to Dr Phil, people do what works. At some level or the other we do things because they work, i.e we associate some kind of payoff to every behaviour, even negative ones. Some of the payoffs may not be easily identified, they may be unacknowledged, even denied, but they no doubt shape and control our behaviour.

So bottom line: find the payoff- manage or control the behaviour. Life is managed not cured.

On the way to Somewhere

I have just finished reading Caroline Ahern's A Place Called Here, where the owner of missing person's agency goes missing herself. She find herself in a world where missing things and people inhabit and because she had chosen to have little connection with family and friends no one was unduly worried when she went missing. Except for a man whose brother she had promised to help find.

A good read, the book at the end says 'we all get lost once in a while, sometimes by choice
sometimes due to forces beyond our control.....But regardless, always we are found'

I think being found is a deliberate choice that we make, as did this character who refused to believe like the others living 'Here' that she should stay.

Hansel and Gretel left breadcrumbs so that they would be traced, so do we whether consciously or unconsciously. We drop off something of ourselves in the people we come in contact with so that one day when we have lost our way, they can find us and bring us back.

Mind Map

I have been asleep, hiding firmly behind the shutters of my mind. I cower at the slightest movement that goes past my window, willing the world away and refusing to wake and engage. Gradually, friends, family and other stimuli cajole me from my chosen hibernation, willing me to yet again reenter life.
And so I gradually awaken my mind, stiffened from being in the same position of inactivity. Having being away for so many weeks, I need guidance, direction, a map of where I should be going.

I start here, writing to you my friends who have patiently waited for me to emerge. I acknowledge my absence as cowardice, when things get hectic, the mind wanders going off in its own particular journey, but fortunately finds its way back.

And how have you all been....?

The paradox of time.

Wow, where has the time gone? I haven't been blogging for over a month now.

Life is busy. Sometimes a bit too busy for all those 'inspirational', or funny messages that my email contacts send. I don't always read them, often deleting them as soon as I see there is no personal greeting from a friend (I hope you lovely people who send me said emails are not reading this!)

I am however glad that I opened this particular one as I thought I would share it with you the rest of the world. How long have you got?

A Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.

We've added years to life not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor.

We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.

We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less.

We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships.

These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.

A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

If you don't send this to at least 8 people .... Who cares?

George Carlin

Who's life is it anyway?

I watched a TV programme last night. I didn't quite catch the start of it, perhaps that is why I could not understand it. The story was based around a young muslim lady who by a series of events decides to train as a suicide bomber.


Some of the reasons profferred for this decision was guilt caused by her friend taking her own life, a relationship with a non muslim which was not accepted by her family, and an encounter with militants who convinced her that the only way to 'make a difference' was to kill as many people as possible.


No doubt the producers are hoping this programme will invite debate, but the question that it raises for me is this. Who decides when their and other people's lives become expendable? All war and terrorism (not war on terrorism!) occurs from individuals and groups making choices about others' mortalities.


I actually watched the film becuase I had seen some literary critics discuss its attributes. I came away from it not at all convinced with the actress. She seemed to walk through the entire film not sure why she was there, and taking the action that she was. Undoubtedly she was uncomfortable with making a choice that was not hers.

While I would agree that opening up for debate is good, I personally prefer to see some conviction one way or the other! At least the debate can be lively and hopefully help us come to some degree of better understanding of how important life truly is.