MONDAY PHOTO-A-WEEK & JOY DIET

MONDAY'S PHOTO-A-WEEK

i am back to feeling half-human again after a week of being miserable with sinus allergies and asthma congestion in my chest due to that horrible dust storm. the antihistimines helped but they also made me feel quite groggy and out of the loop.

anywhoo, i will be catching up on everyone's blogs over the coming days.....i've missed you all so much.

on friday, michelle, brad, aaron and i went over to visit my mum and dad. it seemed like ages since we'd seen them so it was really nice catching up. we went for a lovely walk around the retirement village they live in and i snapped some pics along the way.

it was a very hot day and these bougainvillea certainly made a spectacular and brilliant display in the sunlight

click on any image to enlarge

i've always loved hippeastrum which bloom here every october


a close up of some geranium flowers

one of the homes boasted a front garden amass with roses and the scent drifting through the air was mesmerising. i couldn't resist snapping a pic of this rose as we passed by

.....and this morning, i snapped this pic on the way home from dropping reece at the bus stop at 6:30AM. why a pic of a school info sign, you ask? because it was the only way i could convince my ten year old son, aaron, that school did indeed start back today after a two week spring holiday break. he was adamant that it was a public holiday today and that school didn't start back until tomorrow. the poor thing was even on the computer trying to google public holidays to back up his case. needless to say, he lost the argument though he was so desperate, i almost wished it was a public holiday for his sake.

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THE JOY DIET - WEEK/ITEM TWO - TRUTH

photo courtesy of jamie ridler

this week, martha beck asks us to create and absorb one moment of truth each day. after a life of mental overload and being conditioned to fit into society or a set belief system, is it any wonder that so many of us lose the connection we are born with to our true selves? it often feels like we've been moulded into being someone else. i have felt this way many times and it's probably the reason why i've read so many self-help books over the years. i have come to realise that i was on a quest to find me. the teachings of eckhart tolle and abraham-hicks over the past two years have been eye-openers for me and i can honestly say that i finally feel like i'm on the right track.

an excerpt from the joy diet by martha beck -

as you tell fewer fibs and keep fewer secrets in your inner world, you'll find that the energy you once spent on denial turns outward in a kind of creative bloom. fascinating ideas, compassionate actions, un-heard of adventures will bubble up from the inexhaustible well of your unique personality during your moments of truth.

so, this past week, i did my daily 15 minutes of nothing (meditation) and then asked myself the six questions that martha posed for our TRUTH menu item -

what am i feeling?
what hurts?
what is the painful story i'm telling?
can i be sure my painful story is true?
is my painful story working?
can i think of another story that might work better?

i truly feel like i have already let go of past burdens so that wasn't relevant for me. however, lately, i have been feeling blocked, frustrated, and pretty much useless when it's come down to my art. could the congestion i felt from the dust storm last week have been a manifestation of these inner feelings? one thing is for sure, i know that this too shall pass.....i know that my truth is that I AM a creative being.

this friday, i will blog about the next item on the joy menu - DESIRE

love, light and peace