What could I try for the first time? Absolutely nothing comes to mind! I am drawing blanks but I could be just tired from keeping up with this challenge, the Daily Writing Prompt that is.
I see it as a challenge and it gets my brain working first thing in the morning. Some days it is easy to come up with something and some days like today when I’m feeling like I want to get out in nature but the weather isn’t cooperating, I have no ideas coming in at all. Oh well, that’s par for the course.
Today, I have nothing to add to this question. I’m happy where I’m at and I really don’t have a desire to try anything new for the first time.
There are several principles that define how I live my life, but there are four intrinsic values that I adhere to. They are honesty, integrity, empathy and kindness.
These four make up the cornerstone of how I live my life. Honesty is important and I try to be as honest as I can. There are times when the “white lies” creep in but those moments are few and far between. However, those “white lies” do come back to haunt me. I am learning to be more straightforward without being hurtful.
Integrity is a must as far as I am concerned. I stand by what I say and when I promise something, I do it. My word is my bond and it really is with me. It basically means that “a person’s spoken promise is a serious and unbreakable commitment, just like a legal bond.” This signifies the highest level of integrity. I know many people who don’t stand by their word. It seems to be a norm these days but I do stand by what I say and you can count on it.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. It is about walking a mile in someone else’s shoes and it means to understand and consider another person’s feelings and lifestyle without judgment. I try but sometimes I fall short. It is a work in progress.
Kindness is important. I try to be kind, generous, friendly, and considerate to others. It makes for a better world and one act of kindness is all it takes to put a smile on someone’s face when they’re having a bad day or to show them that someone cares.
Those are the principles I live by. There are others but these four are front and center when it comes to defining how I live my life and they help to guide me on the right path and to keep me grounded.
Each year, it is the same old stuff. When fall rolls around, it is time to turn off the water supply to the garden so that you don’t get frozen pipes that could cause a lot of damage, car inspection to get it ready for winter, check the salt supplies to make sure that I have enough when cold weather rolls around and get my summer clothes bagged up and bring out the winter stuff. There are other things that need to be done but I usually wind up putting them off until I really have no choice!
Just looked at the weather forecast and it says a cold polar blast is going to show its face around here early next week. Temps should be in the minus and that means warmer clothes. I wouldn’t say it’s a mad dash to get my winter clothes together but since I have a lot of them, it means sorting, cleaning and getting it ready. Grrr!!! Not my favorite thing in the world to do.
I’ve got the wash running and getting what I need cleaned and ready. The rest will need to go to the dry cleaners. Yes, a major job and I’m not in the mood for it as I wanted today to be nice and easy. Cuddling with Chachi, the cat, and sipping from the soup I made yesterday to watching something good on TV. Looks like I will be dealing with putting summer away and bringing winter to the forefront. Not to mention the shoes as well. I forgot those. Boots, scarves, socks, gloves, and whatever else is needed to keep me warm and toasty will need to be sorted out as well.
I used to be a clotheshorse. I say, “used to be” but judging from what is coming out of the closets, I still am! The clothes seem to be multiplying right before my very eyes. Oh well, that’s what I have been putting off doing. Now, back to work so that I can meet the new season in style!
You may be saying, but she hangs out in PJs all the time so why the hassle? I ask myself that very same question. Let’s just say, I like having them ready just in case. Chachi is saying, “Not on my watch mommy!”
I think it was when I had my first job during the school holidays. Not sure how old I was, perhaps fifteen. The job was nothing to brag about. I worked in a store as a sales person. It was my first step into feeling like I was doing something productive. The job itself was boring and one thing I knew, I wanted to do better than that.
Anyway, when I got my first paycheck I was over the moon. It was money I had earned on my own and there was pride in that. Okay, it was a paltry sum but back then it felt like a whole lot of money! On my way home, I stopped at a Chinese restaurant and picked up some food to go. I think it was a noodle dish and a stir fry of some sort. Happy as a lark, I made my way home with the food containers tightly in grip and a big smile on my face.
I walked in the door like a grown up. Walking over to the table I placed the containers on the table and declared, “I brought food home.” I think I was glowing from head to toe! Watching my brothers and sisters dig in was something else and when my parents did the same, I felt like a grown up for the very first time.
It was my first grown up experience. However, these days kids are different. My son had everything handed to him and he led a privileged life. Work was nowhere in the picture and when he had to step out in the real world, I thought this is going to be a difficult transition. Well, it was. Amidst the complaints of working for a living and falling flat on his face, he is learning to be a grown up in his own way. Thank God for that!
Daily writing prompt
When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?
Some of these questions do give my brain a workout not that it needs that much stimulation! It does alright on its own as it is.
Anyway, if I had a million dollars to give away, I would not give it out to one person. I’ve always wanted to set up a soup kitchen of sorts for people down on their luck so that’s something I would look into. Also, I would set up a place where people can sleep for the night or nights when the weather is unbearable outside. I think a million dollars would do much in that respect.
Last year, I met a young man in the supermarket parking lot and he had his hand out for some help. I gave him 5 euros. It wasn’t much and he was more than thankful. He told me that he had been sleeping at the train station and was looking to find his way back home. True? I don’t know but he looked rough. That chance meeting stayed on my mind. The next day I returned hoping to find him and to give him more money and some warm clothes but I never saw him again. I hope he made it home safely.
A million dollars? It would open up a whole world of new possibilities for some people and in a good way.
Daily writing prompt
If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?
Wow! I would attempt a lot of things. That guarantee could open up many doors, ones I have steered away from.
Let’s see. Sky diving is one thing I would definitely attempt. I’ve always wanted to fly like a bird and the next best thing to that is to jump out of a plane knowing that I can have my cake and eat it too!
Next in line. I would definitely attempt hiking the Himalayas. Tibet is one place I would like to see and experience but it is dangerous territory and there are no guarantees that you’ll make it out alive. If it’s not the rock slides, earthquakes and or the dangers of a woman hiking alone, I would definitely attempt it.
Hmm…next on the list would be the Amazon rainforest. Lovely place but filled with dangers that could swallow you whole! So if I had a guarantee of success, I would definitely attempt it!
You get the picture. I would try all of the above and more but without a ” no fail guarantee” it’s a no go. Guess I’ll go to my grave dreaming of those places!
Daily writing prompt
What’s something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.
I think that the hardest personal goal I’ve set for myself is to decide that I want “better” and to do something about it. I call it “the journey.”
It has been a hard one and progress has been slow and at times it seems like I’m standing still at one spot and not moving at all. At other times, I think I keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Out of the corner of my eye, I see some improvement but it’s not enough. Yes, that is impatience showing up and thumping its nose at me! Honestly, there has been improvements.
I’m at a point where I can say “no” to things I don’t want. I move when I see something unsavory reaching out for me and I no longer let sympathy take over and say, “Give the poor guy a chance.” I used to and that was a big mistake right there. These days, I walk and don’t look back.
This journey has been hard but I won’t give up until I make it to the other side of here. I’ll know when I get there. The thing is to get back on trek after taking a break and to keep on moving. This one is going to test my patience, my peace of mind, my strength and most of all my resilience. It is ongoing so let’s see what happens.
Daily writing prompt
What was the hardest personal goal you’ve set for yourself?
I have so many of them, however, I will go with the ones I listen to the most right now.
Kathy Melua
I love her brand of music, it is soft and easy to listen to. Her voice is one of a kind and I often listen to her when I’m relaxing. Here are some of my favorites.
The Closest Thing to Crazy
Nine Million Bicycles
Wonderful Life
Country Music
Luke Combs (Crazy Beautiful)
Darius Rucker (If I Told You)
Thomas Rhett (Angels Don’t Always Have Wings)
Coldplay
Fix You
Something Just Like This
I can come up with so many more but these are my favorite artists and I listen to them all the time. Oops, I forgot one more.
Teddy Swims
I like his voice a lot and his albums are great to listen to as well.
This is one of my favorite pastimes. It is my way to relax and to entertain myself.
I’ve always loved watching clouds go by and as a young girl I used to watch them for hours on end. Sometimes with friends and often alone. The game was to make out what they looked like. I mostly saw angels while my friends came up with some doozies!
I think that the young girl is still within me. Some days I can sit outside for hours on end and just watch as I see the angels floating by! During my walks, I do the same thing. Of course, the fields are a perfect place to cloud watch!
It is relaxing, soothing, calming and a great way to reel back an overactive mind and to give it some breathing space!
If I lost all my possessions, I would be sad which is a normal reaction. Possessions are things or stuff that we accumulate in our day to day existence. It builds up over time and it has memories and importance attached to them.
Losing my possessions would make me feel like I’m lost but if I step back and look at it from a distance instead of smack dap in the middle of it, they are just “things” after all. Sure, it will be a painful experience and some things cannot be replaced but it wouldn’t mean the end of the world. Just like with anything else, it means accepting the loss, rebuilding again and moving on.
Not easy to do and I hope it never happens, but if it does life still goes on and that is the truth of the matter.
Daily writing prompt
What would you do if you lost all your possessions?
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