Today, England goes into a month-long “lockdown”….but I am heading to the same place I have been heading to all year. I am walking to work, singing on the way to keep my spirits up, and then I really need to pick up a few groceries on the way home. Maybe, by the time I am home America will have decided what on earth is going on!
Melanie, the creator of sparksfromacombustiblemind, has asked us another round of lovely questions in this week’s SHARE-YOUR-WORLD:
https://sparksfromacombustiblemind.com/2020/11/02/share-your-world-11-1-2020/
Questions:
Which meal is your favorite: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
My favourites change all the time, but as the weather is getting colder I am enjoying making either spicy or herb-rich vegetable casseroles in large quantity and freezing them into individual portions, so that when I come home from work, I have a nutritious meal waiting without having to do lots of food prep.
Who do you admire most in the world?
I admire my parents for setting a wonderful example for all of their children.
I also admire the many amazing volunteers I have had the privilege of working with since I was sixteen. They are astonishing. People who work without a wage are really special. They have shaped my view of what I can do with my life.
With the obvious restrictions in place, what do you regret not doing in the last year?
I don’t really have any regrets. I have been working hard for the NHS. It’s been tiring, at times it was intensely stressful, but I am glad I could be useful and part of a large team helping others.
Sure, sometimes I thought it would be nice to be at home sunbathing or learning to play an instrument. But my boss said something to me back in the spring which I have thought about at times this year. She said to me, “You were made for a crisis. It’s as if everything you’ve ever done in your life is exactly what we need right now.”
That made me think of all the stressful demanding projects I have worked on as an unpaid volunteer. For years, I have worked in demanding conditions: I have worked 18 hours a day for two weeks to get projects finished off when we had a deadline, slept on hard floors, woken up before five o’clock in the morning to join the queue to use a basic shower (dozens of volunteers waiting to use the same shower and eaten what was provided for me (whether I liked it or not).
I have worked in several fields of healthcare, including terminal care, dementia care and mental health care. I have seen death. I have seen people pull through and make a recovery. I have comforted distraught family members. I have worked as a first aider on construction sites and at major events. I have worked as a security steward and had to evacuate thousands of people during bomb scares. I have had to calm down aggressive people and communicate clearly in numerous roles including customer services, security and diplomatic work. I have….been through an enormous personal trauma in my life and come through it with gusto. I can see that all of the above does contribute to me being fairly useful in a time of crisis.
I just think that my boss said the right words. What she said made me think, “Yes, I can be useful. The right place for me is helping the NHS right now.”
Please keep washing those lovely hands….observe social distancing restrictions….quarantine if you have any symptoms of the virus….and know that lots of people who are working for the NHS are genuinely lovely. We often do overtime even though we won’t get paid. We do that because it can make a difference to the patients and to each other as a team.
❤ WE ARE DOING OUR BIT. PLEASE DO YOUR BIT. ❤
GRATITUDE SECTION: (Optional)
Feel free to share something you’re grateful for.
I know you know how I feel already – but I am so pleased Jack picked up the phone over a year ago. I am thrilled with the resulting peace and purpose that has rolled in upon me since then.
Hi….how are you today?
I am losing track of time. Somehow, I totally forgot that yesterday was a Bank Holiday Monday. It also somehow escaped my notice that the children are starting out back at school today, or at some point this week. I seem to be living in a time warp!
I don’t have many scary dreams. I don’t watch scary entertainment so my brain does not have much in the way of disturbing images to churn up.
My theory is that during those years when Jack and I were having problems, what upset me the most was the cruel gossip spreading around me. It still shakes me up to think of the horrible names I was called and the lies told about me. People were making me out to be something I was not. I tried to just be me. I tried to be the person I am and hoped that those rumours would fade away, as friends and colleagues who knew the real me poured water on them. But I learnt something that saddens me. People like a sensational story, some salacious secret. It felt as if no matter what I did, no matter how I tried to refute the slander, people still had me on trial…and they judged me guilty of things I would never dream of doing.
When it comes to food, I am rather faddish. I love variety so much. So if I do have a craving, it will be a temporary one. Tomorrow I will not want the same food.
I think my eyesight is failing. I just re-read the question and realized it said “bug”, not “hug”. Do I have a gross bug story? The only time I get annoyed by bugs is when they are trying to feast on our picnic or garden party buffet! When we were up north, everything had to be in a container with a lid because there were wasps and flies buzzing all over the garden.
I was feeling blue on Sunday. Jack was worried about me because I had a few tears and I told him there was a sad heavy lump inside me that would not go away. At his encouragement, Jack and I went for a walk that evening and I felt my spirits gradually lift. I am so pleased I live near to beautiful parkland with ancient trees and pretty flower gardens. I am thrilled that those parks were quiet on Sunday evening except for a few smiling families and cheerful dog-walkers.
I am glad that I have someone to share all of that wonder with, someone to put his arm around me when I am a little tearful and I am not sure why. Someone to nudge me to put my boots on and go out for a walk with him. Someone to grasp my hand and kiss the back of my fingers.
Useful, healthful, playful, joyful, grateful and purposeful. I have to say, I really enjoyed the questions provided in the SHARE-YOUR-WORLD post from Melanie the creator of 
It might be fair to say that you can’t really have the latter without having at least a little bit of the former. But as for which is more useful, I would have thought most would agree that wisdom is finer and more useful.
The acquisition of knowledge is the start of learning, I suppose. Yet the ability to discern between true and false is of vital import. Understanding the information one has acquired and how it relates to the foundation of true and eternal principles is the next key step to learning. This ability helps one to reject information that clearly does not fit the pattern of truth.
I was talking to a colleague recently. I think my colleague is curious about some of my decisions in life. I explained that I had choices. I was achieving A grades throughout school. I come from an academic family. My older siblings and cousins had been to renowned universities and were immersed in lucrative careers. I was the rebel perhaps, although I did not have a rebellious spirit.
I have lived a rich and rewarding life on a shoestring budget. Working as a volunteer has opened up opportunities to me that I would not have had if I had pursued my own material comforts.
Having a clear grasp of basic truths is a huge aid to sorting through the never ending “information” overload that we are bombarded with.
Many people are pursuing things that do not bring true happiness. In fact, this world is designed to encourage people to pursue vain, empty goals. Is it wise to conform to a system that pats you on the back if you pass it’s tests? Follow it’s goals? Define success by it’s standards? It is alarming how many people are seeking things that will soon be gone forever!
Long answer: I could answer this in so many ways. But the first thought that came to mind was this past week in the north of England. Our family fun involved lots of running round, playing games, dancing and laughing. Ages represented on this occasion were seven months (due to be born in two months time) right through to seventy-two years of age.
I normally have a lot to say on the subject of happiness. But because I am sleepy right now, I just typed into my Google search bar “what is happiness?” Google came up with a lot of references, but right at the top was an article called “The Recipe For True Happiness”. I am so glad it did. What a brilliant article.
For me personally, and I think that when it comes to our physical and emotional health, many of us are in a position where we can look at our own habits physically and emotionally and identify areas we could address, I think a good place to start is looking at our attitude to money, responsibility, relationships, giving, balance, and our outlook in general. I normally find that if I take some time to work on any of those ingredients in the recipe for happiness that I am missing, I normally do feel better.
I think that options when it comes to addressing chronic symptoms of depression or other emotional health challenges are personal and should be researched by an individual and their closest supporters, so I prefer not to endorse any particular treatments myself. Mainly because I do think we are all different, and what works for one person, may not work for another.
Working in with patients who were terminally ill for around eight years in total meant that I was sometimes with a patient, holding their hand as they took their last breaths. I always felt it was important to give them every care, every comfort, every dignity right to the last moment (and even after they had died). I guess I would hope that someone would be there to help me if an illness ever cut my light short while we are under human rulership which is unable to eliminate disease.
Two of her older siblings were executed by Nazi soldiers for their stand. She still has the letters her brothers wrote before their deaths. These courageous young men were at peace. They were fully convinced that they were doing the right thing. They wrote wonderful letters empowering their family and all who would do what is right. I was deeply moved by their words. They were not alone when they died. I am sure they were being empowered by the Sovereign of the Universe.
Online screen name? Is this the name of a blog? Or an actor’s pseudonym for the screen? I am sure there are plenty of odd screen names out there. I am just not sure that any unusual names have made an impression on my memory.
My main character has been hiding her challenges, her emotions and her damaging behaviour. The secrecy she has tried to maintain, the pretending, the hiding, the fear of admitting her problems has caused her damage and strained her relationships with those closest to her. The books are partly about finally facing those challenges and mustering the courage to ask for help to deal with them. They are a lesson and an epic journey in life and in love.
I guess for it to be a 100% new car you would have to replace all of it’s parts at the same time, making it an entirely different car. Because if you were only replacing parts gradually, it would always be a mix of new and old.
Caramel 