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For the avoidance of doubt... Yes... I definitely have an opinion... |
 Welcome to my Blog!! Having an opinion is better than not having a thought of your own. I have many.... Pull up a pew and grab a hot, steaming mug of your choice.  |
| Prompt: On this day in 1719, Daniel Defoe’s fictional work The Life and Strange Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is published. The book, about a shipwrecked sailor who spends 28 years on a deserted island, is based on the experiences of shipwreck victims and of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor who spent four years on a small island off the coast of South America in the early 1700s. Write about being stranded on a deserted island. What would you do to keep yourself sane? **** I loved Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson when I was growing up. They were probably the reason I loved the TV series "Lost" later in life. There is defiantly something appealing about being "trapped" on a deserted island with no people or technology; hands on heart I am more of a dog person. I'm not saying I'd survive or thrive there. I am incredibly accident prone and would most likely be overcome with exposure or eaten by something, but I would have a blast while I was alive. For the record, I am making lots of assumptions about this island. Namely that: 1) it's a tropical island - I will give building an igloo a go, but chances of success are not good. 2) there is easy to access fresh, clean running water. 3) there are plenty of coconut and banana trees (we will also assume that I make friends with helpful, friendly monkeys, who help me harvest them) and maybe even some wild strawberries. 4) it is NOT infested with snakes - I'm looking at you Snake Island. 5) there are no cannibals - because I do not want to end up in a stew. I'm also assuming that I was stranded there by a shipwreck or a plane crash and didn't just suddenly materialise. It's also possible I was tossed overboard by a group of pirates for annoying the crap out of them by drinking all the rum. Meaning I have limited supplies (the pirates didn't hate me) - and hopefully some rum. Finding water, shelter, and food will no doubt occupy my immediate thoughts and keep me fairly sane on day one. I doubt panic will set in this earlier as this seems like the perfect opportunity for some live action homesteading, doomsday prepping, and zombie apocalypse practice - which I have been secretly training for since Shaun of the Dead... I may even a build an SOS signal if I feel like re-entering the human population - note this is not as high in priority as the other survival actions on my list. Once I have built my luxury treehouse and mud, spa annex - because all of those Hollywood movies, DIY YouTube videos on how to build mud huts, and survival documentaries (thank you Bear Grylls) will definitely come into their own now - I will move on to adding my weighted drawbridge/access door (because there is always a damn tiger), the water-cooled fridge/pantry for the bananas, and the gravity-based water system/shower - because I have needs!! With these essentials out of the way, concentrating on those homely touches becomes much easier, like woven baskets, coconut drinking cups and bowls, and most importantly a leaf parasol to escape the sun and sun burn. I may even start trading with the monkeys - coconuts and bananas in exchange for cute grass skirts that flatter every figure. I am sure the monkeys will get fed-up of my nattering at some point (it's the language barrier) or get upset over the tariff war - so I will most likely invest in a "Wilson" to slow the inevitable decent into insanity, and resort to stick figure cave art to "brighten" my abode.  |
| Prompt: Prompt: Women need solitude in order to find again the true essence of themselves." **** This is a concept/idea that will resonate with many people; especially those of us who are married or in long-term relationships, with a busy schedule, and kids. I don't think this is unique to women. I am sure there are many men who experience this as well. As adults we wear many different hats. We are different people depending on the situation or circle of people we find ourselves in, and the situation very often dictates which version people are going to get - forewarning if I haven't had a lot of sleep because the dog decided she needed to go to the toilet three times at 2 am, it's likely to be the heavily sarcastic version, with limited or no patience; it's not pretty or fun, it's just a fact of life. I, like a lot of women, have A LOT on my plate: I'm mum to two young children. I'm "mum" to an aging fur-baby and baby lizard. I'm a wife. I work full time in a corporate role. I'm a chauffeur, chef, house cleaner, personal assistant, and therapist... all rolled into one for my family. The majority of the time, all of this takes priority over me. Over what I want, which FYI is mostly to sit in a corner and drink tea in peace - an unrealistic dream I know, I'd have more luck asking Santa for a pet dragon. But nether-the-less there are a lot of plates spinning or balls being juggled. And as a society, I don't think we full appreciate the stages in adult life that we move through. Twenty year old me, who only had herself to take care off and who could stay out half the night and still function at 09:00, quickly morphed into grown up fiancée and wife me, who became mum of one, then mum of two (there are not enough books or advice to prepare you for motherhood), to mum of preteens who have way better things to do than to consider my feelings or want to spend ANY time with me. It happens fast. Without pauses. Without you realising it's happening. And all of a sudden you feel a million miles away from the person you remember being when you only had you to consider. It not surprising, therefore, that very often it feels like there isn't a lot of time or space for us to be just us. I felt this so acutely when I first had my daughter - baby blues are real and oh my goodness did they throw me through a loop. So, when someone says they need solitude in order to find themselves - it makes sense. We need that space to realise who we were, who we are, and who we want to be - without the noise of everything else getting in the way and competing for attention. |
| Prompt: "Nothing in the world is quite as adorably lovely as a robin when he shows off and they are nearly always doing it." **** Winter is one of my favourite times of the year. Largely because of the dark and stormy weather, cozy nights in, and the juxtaposition of a cruel, harsh environment with the delicately beautiful wildlife that thrive in it. The robin being a star in this regard. And why wouldn't it be? Beautiful and lyrical. It brings life to a bleak landscape - or my mother's garden wall. Where many fly south for the winter, in search of warmer weather, the robin thrives. The world can be a cruel, harsh place - especially in today's political and seemingly unstable climate. Opinions divide communities rather than bring about debate, and nuances are lost in favour of black and white pigeonholes. Alternatively, the robin is at home, being itself. Making the best of the often baren landscape in which it finds itself. Being damn proud of what it achieves - however small. If only more of us were as resilient. When I was a girl, I used to watch them for hours as they hopped along the walled boundary. I couldn't help but smile at how happy they seemed. A simplistic innocence that at the time I could relate to. As I grew, the world became far more complicated and the ability to notice that child-like joy faded - replaced with responsibility, consequences, and anxiety. It wasn't until I had my children that I saw that pure, unadulterated wonder again in human form. The joy and excitement radiating from my daughter the first time she did a perfect cartwheel. How proud she is to show off her backward walkover at every opportunity. And how every task, no matter how mundane, deserves to be done with or in a box split, accompanied with a dazzlingly bright smile. She is a robin through and through. Unapologetic. Authentic. Real. A bright pop of colour in my world, with the superpower of reminding me of the girl I used to be and how important it is to live in the moment and celebrate each win - no matter how insignificant they might first appear. The world would be a happier place with more robins in it and I'm glad my daughter in one of them. |
| Prompt: Prompt: Fears and Courage “Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.” Robert Louis Stevenson Is it always wise to keep fears to ourselves or should we boast about our courage? What would pros and cons be in both these cases?? ***** There is no courage without fear. Each act of courage comes from overcoming something that we found/find difficult. Everyone is intimidated or frightened by something - it's normal human behaviour. It's also what has kept us alive for thousands of years. It is nothing to be ashamed of. I have developed a fear of heights - it's a learnt fear from my inability to climb a ladder without wobbling all of the place. It's also completely understandable!! Keeping our fears to ourselves does not help us overcome them. In fact, I believe it does the opposite. As a species we learn through sharing our experiences. Sharing our fears with others shows us that we are not on our own - giving us some much need support. It also allows us to learn how best to overcome those fears - as many of them are learnt behaviour and with support we can re-program our brains to eliminate or reduce the effect that fear has on us. Something that is difficult to do in isolation. Sharing our fears also gives hope to those around us and gives them the confidence to do something about it, rather than just accept it. In this vein sharing our fear, showing and placing ourselves in a vulnerable position, is in itself courageous. |
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