Inspiration | Not Just a Granny

Archive for the ‘Inspiration’ Category

a thought for today….

Posted in Inspiration, tagged a thought for today, quote on October 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
But that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give others permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from out fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Written by Marianne Williamson – an excerpt from her book – “Return to Love”.

Used by Nelson Mandela in his inauguration speech

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all the faces in the world are mirrors….

Posted in Inspiration, Personal Development, tagged Daily Insights, Inspiration, japanese folktale on September 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The House of 1000 Mirrors

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was a place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the house, he thought to himself, “This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often.”

In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, “That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again.”

All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?

Japanese Folktale

I subscribe to a wonderful website AsAManThinketh.net and receive emails called ‘My Daily Insights’ and receive ….daily insights 🙂 I received this last week and just loved it so much I decided to share it with you. The last sentence is so pertinent to life…what image do we project that influences what we think life gives us?

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a thought for today…..

Posted in Inspiration, tagged what if on September 26, 2010| 6 Comments »

What if………….. this is one of the most heart-warming and amazing videos I have ever watched……….what if!

We are all beautiful regardless. What if we could all just love ourselves and find the beauty within….how amazing life would be. What if we could let anger and angst go by without a glance, what if we could only find the joy of life and celebrate our uniqueness, our beauty, our lives….what if

I know I posted this on twitter and facebook last week, but this man has just about the most amazing perspective and made a massive impact on me the first time I saw it…..what have I got to complain about?

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every boulder presents an opportunity……

Posted in Fun Stuff, Inspiration, It's my life, Personal Development, wealth and finance, tagged every obstacle presents as opportunity, move the boulder out the way on September 24, 2010| 2 Comments »

My sister is an absolute genius at sending thought provoking and interesting ‘thought for the day’ emails. I think she probably gets them via some site or other….but nevertheless I always enjoy reading them…..this was no exception:

“The obstacle in Our Path.
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the King’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.”

I really enjoyed this post and thought I would share it with you. What does it mean to me? It is a reflection of my current position (in my life…not the job)….in that over the last 5 years I have been presented with quite a lot of boulders….. actually make that my whole life!! But, nevertheless sticking with the here and now…. it reminded me of the many boulders I have come across and how I was like those merchants and courtiers….always complaining about the boulders and not looking at how I could overcome them…or move them out the way, although sometimes I did…..and found the gold purse.

What is different now of course is that I am more like the peasant than the merchants/courtiers…. instead of complaining about the boulders in my way, I now look at how I can move them out the way. This has come about due to all the Personal Development courses I attended in 2007/2008/2009, which although they cost me a tremedous amount of money and have put me into a bit of a financial pickle…. were worth every penny I invested. They have taught me how to look at boulders as opportunities and instead of b*tching about how unfair it all is….. I now look at what it is I am doing in my life that has brought me to that boulder…..and how I can move it out the way….. hence the new business I have started.

Personal Development has been a very interesting journey for me, I still have a lot to learn and sometimes I forget myself and complain about things, but on the whole the boulders are now more of an interest than a problem and it is fun to work out the what, why and wherefores of any boulders I come across.

and of course this ties in beautifully with my post of yesterday……I will keep my eyes peeled for any yellow 1955 VW Campervans 🙂 I am sure that with persistance, patience and perseverance….the boulder I am currently working on moving out the way will reveal not only a purse but also a campervan (hopefully not a flattened one) 🙂

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for just a season….

Posted in family and relationships, Inspiration, tagged for Dianne on September 16, 2010| 4 Comments »

Yesterday, some members of my family lost a loved one, someone who left too soon…a lovely lady by all accounts. I wrote briefly about Dianne yesterday relative to words from an email I had received before……and late last night I received this email from a friend, someone who did not even know the circumstances of the day….. this is what it said:
People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that
person..

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need
you have expressed.

They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with
guidance and support,

To aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.

They may seem like a God send and they are.

They are there for the reason you need them to be..

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,

this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an
end.

Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.

Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.

What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done.

The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on…
Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has
come to share, grow or learn.

They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.

They may teach you something you have never done.

They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.

Believe it, it is real.. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons,

things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional
foundation.

Your job is to accept the lesson,

love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other
relationships and areas of your life.

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for Dianne

Posted in family and relationships, Inspiration on September 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »

“There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things ‘in order,’ she contacted her Pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.

She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. Everything was in order and the Pastor was preparing to leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.

‘There’s one more thing,’ she said excitedly. ‘What’s that?’ came the Pastor’s reply.

‘This is very important,’ the young woman continued. ‘I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.’
The Pastor stood looking at the young woman, not knowing quite what to say.

That surprises you, doesn’t it?’ the young woman asked. ‘Well, to be honest, I’m puzzled by the request,’ said the Pastor.

The young woman explained. ‘My grandmother once told me this story, and from that time on I have always tried to pass along its message to those I love and those who are in need of encouragement. In all my years of attending socials and dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, ‘Keep your fork.’ It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming…like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance!’

So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder ‘What’s with the fork?’ Then I want you to tell them: ‘Keep your fork ..the best is yet to come.’

The Pastor’s eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the young woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the young woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did.. She had a better grasp of what heaven would be like than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience and knowledge. She KNEW that something better was coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the young woman’s casket and they saw the cloak she was wearing and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the Pastor heard the question, ‘What’s with the fork?’ And over and over he smiled.

During his message, the Pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the young woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. He told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either.

He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork let it remind you, ever so gently, that the best is yet to come. Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. Cherish the time you have, and the memories you share ….. being friends with someone is not an opportunity but a sweet responsibility……

And keep your fork.”

Although the words above are not mine, they were sent to me by a friend…..I can’t help but think of Dianne who passed away today…also a young woman, still in the prime of her life who wasted away from the effects of a terminal illness. Now I don’t and did’nt know Dianne very well….she was the sister-in-law of my sister and I have not seen Dianne in over 30 years, so I have no idea what her thoughts and feelings were about religion and whether she would have wanted what the young woman above wanted. But, what does reasonate with me is what is said about friendship.

About the analogy of the fork….how the best is yet to come. What a lovely perspective this lass had. It relates directly to Dianne. Despite her illness and impending death, from what my sister told me, she remained positive, had a calm air and held no anger… She gave more than asked….she started a pay-it-forward system (reminding me of the movie ‘Pay It Forward’), giving us the opportunity to contribute, she gathered friends and family around her, re-uniting some with others, she imparted an air of love and gratitude, maintaining to the very end her dignity and grace.

And although there were many unresolved issues in her life, along with great tragedy, she did not lash out or ask ‘why me?’. She simply enjoyed the time she had and made the most of what she had. So this is for Dianne who despite the fact that her table would soon be empty…..kept the fork of friendship in her hand. I have no idea if she thought she would be going on to a better place, or how she felt about the afterlife or even if she thought there was one, but here on this earth, from what my sister told me… she made the most of the friendships she had…… and I am sure she has left behind some lovely memories in the minds of the people who shared her last days…. so as you continue with your life think on these words………….

Cherish the time you have, and the memories you share ….. being friends with someone is not an opportunity but a sweet responsibility……

Rest in peace Dianne…..you gave those who knew you in your last days some very special memories.

And to Jonathan and Sue who gave so much to help Dianne live her last days surrounded with love……Friends like you are a very rare jewel, indeed!

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Why you should Blog before you Twitter

Posted in Inspiration, It's my life, Personal Development, Uncategorized, tagged #ff, #followfriday, @chrisbrogan, @jeffbullas, @marismith, @mashable, @sethgodin, bit.ly, blogging, facebook vs blogging, hootsuite, http://jeffbullas.com/2009/10/22/20-reasons-why-you-should-blog-before-you-twitter/, hubspot, jeff bullas, social media, socialoomph, squidoo, the power of social media, tweetdeck, Twitter, wordpress on July 12, 2010| 4 Comments »

14. Everyone on Twitter is looking for the next big thing or most interesting piece of content to link to. Wouldn’t you rather be the big thing than merely another person pointing at it? – via @jeffbullas

I have enjoyed and toyed with Twitter since I first signed up in December 2008, not expecting the journey to be so much fun and so transformational.

For the first few months I sent the occasional tweet, connected with a few friends and watched the stream pass by, at the time I often said “I don’t know what to say”.

Then suddenly I started to really get into the swing of things, connecting with people from around the world, enjoying ‘chat’s, being as inventive as I could with my 140 character ‘tweets’. I learned about #ff aka #followfriday, #traveltuesday and about #trending topics.

I spent hours following links and reading about places and finding out things I never knew existed. In fact I have since become quite addicted….I could seriously live on twitter; all day! I often tell my daughter I was born to twitter! 🙂 and along the way I have ‘met’ some wonderful people, and consider them great online friends.

In March 2009 I started this blog inspired by the content, search engine optimisation, social media inspiration and evangelism provided by Hubspot. I already had a blog which I started in November 2008, where I wrote about my travels and things that inspired me, although since starting this blog I have been very slack about keeping it up to date.

I then waded in a bit deeper and started to use tools and apps like TweetDeck and Bit.ly, Social Oomph, Hootsuite and Ping.fm to integrate with Twitter. I started to follow the ‘experts’, reading as much as possible on what they call Social Media.

I have since become quite the ‘geek’ as my daughter puts it and have my favourites to follow eg @jeffbullas @chrisbrogan @mashable @marismith (facebook expert) and @sethgodin (squidoo & tribes) amongst others. I have learned so much that my brain bursts with info; info that pops out from time to time and amazes me that I know that stuff 🙂

One of my favourite tweeters/bloggers to follow is @jeffbullas and I have gained invaluable knowledge from reading his posts, some of which are incredibly funny. His blog posts are informative, useful and educational. I read voraciously. He also advocates the blog before twitter aspect of social media, so of course…I listened to the teacher….

…and have subsequently become quite the blogger. I now have 5 blogs, some more active than others, and 6 twitter accounts. I also run 3 facebook accounts! How bizarre! Consider this: 10 years ago it was all I could do to send an email, and now just over 18 months later……..

I guess I have learned my lessons well; today to my absolute delight, I was asked by an online community in Richmond if they could feature my latest blog on Twickenham!! Thanks to all my teachers.

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a message from my Dad ….#travel

Posted in family and relationships, Holidays, Inspiration, news from around the world, Personal Development, Travel, tagged cycling in europe, cycling on the Danube, cycling on the Donauradweg, Donauradweg, fathers, Grien Austria, http://www.letstravelradio.com/thisweek/2008/12-25/, Inspiration, Linz Austria, travel in europe, travel to Griend Austria, travel to Linz Austria on May 28, 2010| 6 Comments »

This is a message I received from my Dad via email this morning.

I would love to share it with you, coz it is inspiring to read about how people can live their dreams, even at the tender age of 80!!! Yes, that’s right, my Dad turned 80 this last April. Now nothing remarkable in that considering that we as a race are starting to live longer and longer, but what is remarkable is that my Dad had a triple by-pass operation about 17 years ago and the prognosis at the time was not good. However, his Doctor told him to start running. The idea did not appeal so he decided to cycle instead.

A long story short, he survived…. and has gone on to become a cycling nut. He has cycled in many different in the world and has cycled the world famous Argus Cycle route about 13 times already. He has followed the Tour-de-France, and cheekily in 2005 nipped in at the front on the final day and caused an uproar as people thought he was one of the competitors (he got hustled off pretty damn quick by the Gendarmes once they realised he wasn’t) 🙂 (30.05.10 and….apparently I have to make a correction here…my brother gave me the correct version…my Dad rode in BEHIND the cyclists and the Gendarmes just waved) Ah well, I though my version was much more exciting!! 🙂 Shame about that, I have dined out on that story for ages, now it will have to go!

He has cycled the Camino del Santiago through France to Spain and is now back, cycling through Europe. Here is where he is today.

“Hi ! Just a brief note to keep in touch. All well.
Cycling up river along the Danube. This from a town Grien in Lower Austria.

Grien, Austria

So far mostly cloudy and rain. Not fun in a tent with a heavy downpour in the middle of the night ! Seems to be clearing today.

Spent a couple of days with K&T camping in a small town on the Danube.
They have had to head home for ‘work’, I’m cycling up-river to Linz (if you know where that is !! ) which will be a 58 km trip today. Stay over there one or two nights and then head back down river to Budapest.

Donauradweg (cycle route along the Danube)

Beautiful countryside. ‘Donauradweg’ i.e. Danube ride path is fab for cycling. Along the river and mostly away from road traffic. Just thru some small villages that the cycle path comes to an end.”

Linz, Austria on the Danube river

My Dad (p.s. that’s not his cycling helmet), I have no idea what he is wearing on his head and take no responsibility for that! 🙂

my Dad

thanks to http://www.letstravelradio.com/thisweek/2008/12-25/ for the photo of Linz 🙂

thanks to http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g190426-d1604170-Reviews-Schloegener_Schlinge-Upper_Austria.html for the photo of the Donauradweg 🙂

thanks to http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grein,_austria.jpg for the photo of Griend

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aka a whale! :)

Posted in Fun Stuff, Inspiration, It's my life, tagged healthy body image, http://www.twitter.com/notjustagranny/, i want to be a whale, mermaids, shutterstock.com on May 17, 2010| 4 Comments »

I recently received this via an email from a friend; it is delightful:

Recently, in a large city in France , a poster featuring a young, thin and
tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said, “This summer, do you
want to be a mermaid or a whale?”

A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of
the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the
gym.

To Whom It May Concern,
Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious
humans.) They have an active sex life, get pregnant and have adorable baby
whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with
shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like
Patagonia , the Bering Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia . Whales are
wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures
and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected
and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don’t exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the
offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human?

They don’t have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them, not
to mention how could they have sex? Just look at them … where is IT?
Therefore, they don’t have kids either. Not to mention, who wants to get
close to a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me: I want to be a whale.

P..S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only
skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my
kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver, and a piece of chocolate
with my friends. With time, we gain weight because we accumulate so much
information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it
distributes out to the rest of our bodies.So we aren’t heavy, we are
enormously cultured, educated and happy.
Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, ¨Good
grief, look how smart I am!¨

thanks to shutterstock.com for the picture 🙂

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What Lies Beneath?

Posted in Inspiration, news from around the world, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged camel hair socks, Christina Noble Children's Foundation, facebook, http://Socks4HappyPPL.twitter.com, http://www.cncf.org/en/home/index.php, http://www.pennyon.com/, Mongolia, social enterprise, Socks For Happy People, Tom Minter, Twitter, Wealth Dynamics, What Lies Beneath, youtube on April 19, 2010| 4 Comments »

What Lies Beneath?

The hidden mystery of the foot world, aka my socks!

At first glance you would assume that I am wearing a pair of plain black socks! You would be wrong…. for if you took a closer look (if I allowed you to 🙂 ) you would notice that all is not as it seems!

Today I am wearing the first of a series, and my most recently acquired: pair of socks.

Ah! Ha! You might say “Now what is so special about a pair of socks?”

Initially one would think that wearing a pair of socks is nothing unusual and certainly not out of the ordinary! After all……millions of people wear socks every day.

But these are special socks.

First of all……I am a sock collector. I have socks from South Africa, socks from America, socks from Paris and socks from Amsterdam. I have ‘silly moo’ socks, I have ladybird socks, snowflake and Father Christmas socks, I have ‘Best father in the World’ socks (there is a story behind that and no I am not a transexual :)), I have pink, blue, red, orange, yellow and purple socks. Flowers, stripes, patterns and animals…… and that is where this particular pair of socks comes into the picture!

Two years ago I attended a seminar/course called ‘Wealth Dynamics’. An entrepreneurial platform.

At the time, attendees were invited to stand up and present their Start-Up business and invite investors or people who wanted to be involved. Long story short, a young man by the name of Tom Minter stood up and presented his business: Socks for Happy People or Socks4HappyPPL for short 😉

As soon as he spoke my ears pricked up at the mention of socks. As a proverbially Happy person, the idea of Socks for Happy People appealed to me! I was fully taken by the idea, loved his presentation and the appeal of happy socks, I’ve kept in touch ever since. Sadly, although I was never in a position to invest in the business, I have had great fun mentioning them on twitter and facebook 🙂

I have kept track of their ups and downs, their disappointments 😦 and successes 🙂 via twitter, facebook and youtube. Keeping afoot of their progress, so to speak! Pun intended.

It has been two years of patient waiting, now fulfilled, and today I am wearing my first pair of Socks4HappyPPL 🙂

Now, you may ask…..What indeed Lies Beneath?

The choice I made for my first pair is the ‘What Lies Beneath’ model. Have I said yet ‘What Lies Beneath’? No, not yet I havn’t!

At first appearance you would be forgiven for assuming I am wearing a pair of dull, ordinary, nothing wrong with that pair of black socks……. but ahhhh; ‘What Lies Beneath’?

First of all the socks are, I can now say with total confidence….EXTREMELY comfortable. My gosh, I will have to increase my ‘socks’ budget and order another few pairs.

Why? Well I’ll tell you:

Firstly, they are quite simply the most comfy socks I have ever placed my form of transport into, fitting like a glove? They are socks…I promise. They are 80% organic cotton (organic cotton: better for the soil, better for the workers and better for you!) the rest is made up of 19% Nylon by necessity (makes the design possible) and 1% Elastane (ensures a snug fit)….and snug they are.

Secondly, and more importantly, besides the fact that I collect socks, is the fact that Socks4HappyPPL are what is termed a: ‘Social Enterprise’. What this means is that they contribute part of their income to a charitable cause; in this instance they supply socks to the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation.

So every time I buy a pair of socks, a little child, homeless, somewhere in Mongolia will also receive a pair of super-warm camel hair socks! 🙂 This is done via the Buy1Give1 method of contribution.

Now before I continue let me ask you this: What do I, the folk at Socks4HappyPPL and hairy Mongolian camels have in common?

We’ve all just helped a street child in Mongolia!

But wait…. there is more…….when you order your Socks4HappyPPL you have the option of contributing to the Penny On Trust. Yes! Not only do these fine folk at Socks4HappyPPL send a child a pair of socks each time you order a pair, but they also support Penny On.

Penny On is a system whereby you have an option to add onto your purchase 1 penny or in fact as many pennies as you wish, to your purchase. Can you imagine the power of that! Millions of pounds are spent online every single day; if each person added just 1penny to their purchase…..the mind boggles. Awesome!

So, finally and in conclusion….What Lies Beneath?

Finely crafted, woven into the fabric of my socks and keeping me company every step of the way, I am accompanied by a multitude of creatures: There is a pony, a squirrel :), a frog and a duck, butterfies, a camel!, a kangaroo, a hippo, a turtle, a penguin, a bird, a man carrying above his head….what looks like a pig!? And last but not least there is a giraffe.

I will never walk alone again, and as I walk about my day, I am in the company of and accompanied by a whole retinue of creatures, and no-one would even know!

Only I know: What Lies Beneath!