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Let’s get kissing

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On the count down to Valentine’s and what a great on-line purchase a kindle book on kissing might be?

‘The Little Book of Kisses’ by Dolly Christmas is available from Amazon to download

little-book-of-kisses

An amusing publication about kissing, An ideal sgift for your own Valentine. Kissing is a serious fun past time but is it becoming a dying art? The author examines the truth about kissing, instinct and protocol. Behavioural or preference? Keeping healthy…yes burning calories is just one advantage …the perfect lovers diet and how kissing is good for your dental hygiene. Her mission is to encourage more kissing to produce natural heat and save the planet. She reveals some of the good and the bad personal experiences and the joys of kissing a few frogs.

Valentine gift of kisses

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‘The little book of Kisses’ by Dolly Christmas is available to download from Amazon and a great amusing read and gift for this valentine’s day.

little-book-of-kisses

The author’s aim is to get more people taking kissing seriously and to make our own heat to save the planet..now there’s a thought. Save on household heating too!

Don’t forget by downloading on kindle you are saving paper and trees as well.

Cover design by Paul Manning

 

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Not to worry

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Some people are born worriers and will never grasp that worrying about things will not change them or give them control. Indeed half of our worries we never have. A few years ago I attended an interesting talk about body language and the speaker Vic Botterill gave a statistical break down on our worries or should I say what we perceive as our worries.

40% will never happen

30% related to the past which one cannot do anything about

12% unfounded health concerns

10% too petty to even worry about

4% substantially beyond our control

Totalling a resounding 96% leaving 4% so not much to worry about then!

*Stats courtesy of Vic Botterill

Seriously, though many people spend far too much time stressing over the small stuff and as a close family member said recently since facing bereavement it helps one to put things into perspective.

Of course there is another way to help with matters causing you anxiety and that is of course to talk about them. The old saying ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’.

There has been a lot of press coverage of late encouraging people to be happy, grateful and to communicate more and that doesn’t mean via facebook or texting. Indeed the modern technology that everybody allows to run their lives leaves many young people facing feelings of negativity and many feeling their life isn’t as beautiful or as good as everyone else’s.

The reality is those images are not the real life and often people hide behind the smile of their selfies. So my message for the weekend is to go out and live your life and have real conversations with real people and, teens, trust me you won’t learn valuable social skills being glued to your phone!

Tell those you love that you love them and if appropriate what is worrying you as they would want to know.

Vic…if you are reading my blog today have a great weekend.

Kindness

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People who know me and my regular followers will know that I often talk about kindness and its value in today’s society. I also encourage parents to recognise all the skills their children have rather than just focus on their academic success.

I am so thrilled that the younger generation of our Royal family are getting involved with charities and organisations that help people with mental health issues and are pro-active in promoting acts of kindness.

The Duchess of Cambridge yesterday was quoted as recognising kindness and respect as well as academic achievements.

Our teens today are struggling with all sorts of pressures and many suffer in isolation and modern media is of no comfort or substitute for real genuine friendships.

Help and support our youngsters they are a generation in trouble.

 

Productive Mondays

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As the crazy cat woman in the village I am constantly awake so very early in the morning increasingly becoming annoying. But today I made my mind up to make use of the ‘wide awake’ time and get cracking on the ever growing ‘to do’ list. I have crossed off so many admin jobs I now feel confident that I deserve a screen break …and yes of course a chocolate treat.

Mondays can often drag..but only if you let them. A great friend (also freelance) and I often start Mondays off with a breakfast meeting and in view of the long and unsociable hours we both dedicate to our work and voluntarily helping others.. why not!

After lunch I may even attack the Sage Accounts oh the joys of being self-employed it’s not all honey you know -multi-tasking or what.

Remembering William

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I know that today is cancer awareness day and the valuable work the various charities do to support families and raise funds for research is to be saluted.

There are very few families that haven’t been touched by cancer and in our family we have had more than our share. However, we must be positive in increasing awareness and encouraging those that suspect they have a health problem to get it checked as soon as possible as quite likely it may well turn out not to be something sinister. Equally if cancer is discovered early it can be cured in many cases. Being fearful can often prevent us from thinking logically.

Oddly enough today was my Step Father William’s birthday. Billy to us and sadly he died from cancer but as I remind people on a regular basis the illness is not the person… that is what he had. He was a remarkable man who was step father to two families in his life and they all loved and admired him greatly. Step parents so often get bad preess, with many deservedly so..but to my family members who follow my blog I will ask them to take a moment today and remember Billy fondly as the gentle giant of a man he was.

For those nursing loved ones I send my thoughts and spiritual hug as I know how difficult this journey can be. Long term illnesses also affect the grieving process to a certain degree as we already mourn our loved one before they die and their passing often comes as a blessing.

But as I was reminded earlier this week at least it gives us an opportunity to say good bye to somebody we love.

 

‘A Mother’s Love’

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This week I am busy doing the final editing of my own tribute to my amazing mother.

‘A Mother’s Love’ (Gospels according to Dorothy) A work of love which I have been working on the past few years giving a small insight into how a woman left widowed with five children selflessly raised them to be positive caring individuals. This will be available shortly from Amazon so keep following my blog. A little taster:-

‘They say there is nothing stronger than the bond between a mother and her children and for the really lucky ones amongst us aside of that bond may come a lifetime of the best mentoring one can receive and, of course, a beautiful friendship.

The advice given selflessly by a mother is based on her own wisdom, life’s experiences and driven by pure love and a desire to help you reach your potential safely and feeling secure in that love.’

Being a mother is such a rewarding if not challenging role.

 

 

 

The Little Book of Kisses

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As Valentine looms the shops are full of cards and the usual chocolate hearts..but how about something different this year?

‘The Little Book of Kisses’ by Dolly Christmas is now available to download to Kindle from Amazon. At £3.50 is a good fun book for somebody you love or if you fancy having a chuckle about the joys of kissing. To quote an ex-boyfriend ‘Kissing is serious fun!’

little-book-of-kisses

Cover illustration by Paul Manning

 

Keeping healthy

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We all know that we take our health for granted and push our bodies sometimes to the limit. If, however, you have had and survived serious illness your attitude towards the value of good health and one’s spiritual wellbeing changes…and for the better.

Modern day people never take recovery seriously and often rush back to work too soon, sometimes this is not just about the financial burdens we all face but that we are on the run from the emotional element of being ill and feeling vulnerable.

Today I have had an interesting chat with a family member and we exchanged honestly how we have both felt after coming through serious illness and agreed that people do need to feel grateful and take life a little easier.

Getting in touch with one’s spiritual self is really beneficial and often this can be enhanced by reading the great works of others who have completed a spiritual journey.

Relaxing with a book not only keeps us writers from starving…you are never alone when you are reading but you may find an inner peace depending what you read and escaping from our own life with a book for an hour or two is a mini-holiday.

Balancing our life with relaxation and exercise will keep both mind and body healthy.

I always joke when I have been studying that I am doing my mental exercise. Great!

Accepting change and loss

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I boldy write and say on a regular basis that for stroke survivors and carers of people with dementia challenges that loss of use of limbs, speech or memory can be like a mini-bereavement and not to be taken lightly. This applies not only to the patient/client/sufferer but to family members,friends and carers who have to come to terms with the reality that part of the person they knew and loved may be lost, sometimes temporarily and sometimes it is a gradually process and permanent.

When supporting people through the bereavement process I often remind them that perhaps the cancer or heart problems which may have led to the loss of a family member or friend is not who they were…that is what they had. Similarly accepting the challenges a stroke survivor has to live with will help them tremendously.

For the bereaved; to help the grieving process focusing on the good memories and the achievements and life the person led is a positive step. Remembering the good times and even the really funny times can help. Remember our loved one would not want us to only be sad when we recalled them. I know my sister and I enjoy having a girly lunch and giggling at things our mum said and done..in doing so we are keeping her alive in our minds and our hearts.

Denying the existence of someone we loved and have lost doesn’t help but celebrating their life does, but that can take time and that can be the real challenge. Acceptance doesn’t happen overnight and talking to other people in a similar situation really can help as realisation sets in that you are not alone in your struggle. You can’t beat a bit of support with genuine empathy there is no need to feel alone.