Do you see it?
It’s a dragon!! Ok, not in my garden. It is in my mum’s garden. I did try to con it from her but was unsuccessful. I do love it though … how wonderful to be guarded by a garden dragon!!
How often do you let other people’s nonsense change your mood?
Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you’re the Terminator, for an instant you’re probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly one can get back their focus on what’s important.
Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here’s what happened.
I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!
The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!”
This is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck.”
“Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you.
When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy you did.”
So this was it: The “Law of the Garbage Truck.” I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the streets? It was that day I said, “I’m not going to do it anymore.”
I began to see garbage trucks. Like in the movie “The Sixth Sense,” the little boy said, “I see Dead People.”
Well, now “I see Garbage Trucks.” I see the load they’re carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my Taxi Driver, I don’t make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.
One of my favorite football players of all time, Walter Payton, did this every day on the football field. He would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground after being tackled.
He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best. Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting.
Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses. Leaders and parents know that they have to be fully present, and at their best for the people they care about.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day.
What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by?
Here’s my bet. You’ll be happier.
Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so…
Love the people who treat you right.
Forget about the ones who don’t.
Believe that everything happens for a reason.
If you get a chance, TAKE IT!
If it changes your life, LET IT!
Nobody said it would be easy…
They just promised it would be worth it!
Posted in Attitude | 4 Comments »
I got this off a forum I am on. If you know the author please let me know so I can attribute it properly. Thanks.
8 Reasons You Should Buy Handmade Products over Commercial Products
1. Handmade products are unique. Do you really want the same scarf, mug, earrings, necklace or other item that 20,000 other people have? Of course not! Handmade items are always unique, even if they are the same type of product because they are not made by machines they are crafted by human beings so each piece will have its’ own unique characteristics.
2. Handmade items have personality. Life is not about being blah. Life is about expressing yourself and to do that your things need to have as much personality as you do. If you are happy with buying mass produced items that have no personality off a shelf at Wal Mart think about what that says about you. Don’t you want to express some personality?
3. Handmade items are special. When you get a gift don’t you feel a little bit more loved when someone gives you a handmade gift? Everyone loves getting handmade gifts or wearing something that was made just for them.
4. Handmade items last longer. Because they are made from high quality materials and handcrafted by trained artists items that are handmade last longer than low quality imported mass produced items.
5. Handmade goods are high quality. If you are a person who values the quality of an item more than the price then you already know that handmade items are far superior to mass produced items. While a mass produced item may be cheaper initially is it really cheaper when the item needs to be replaced a month later? When quality matters, go handmade!
6. Handmade items are not made by children in sweatshops in Third World countries making 10 cents a day. Experienced and trained craftspeople make each handmade item. So while you might pay a few dollars more for a handmade item it’s because you are paying for quality, experience, talent, and craftsmanship. Isn’t that worth paying for?
7. When you buy handmade you are supporting traditional arts and crafts techniques that have passed down through generations. In today’s high tech world the old arts and crafts traditions are being replaced by mass production but when you buy handmade you are saying that you prefer your items to be high quality pieces of art instead of mass produced trinkets.
8. When you buy handmade you are supporting local and small businesses. By paying artists and craftspeople for their goods you are supporting them and all the businesses that they do business with. If you are a person who believes in supporting your community economically then buying from local artists is a great way to support your community and make sure that your money goes to support local businesses.
Keep these things in mind the next time you see a scarf, a bracelet, some great handmade soap or other item and think,” I could get that for half price at Wal Mart.”!
Buying handmade also means that you can spend the same amount you were planning on spending, or less, and you can get unique gifts for everyone on your list. Please, shop handmade this holiday season!
Posted in Attitude, Quotes | 2 Comments »
So I soaped the other week … its been a little while. Now that I don’t sell my wares it takes time for us to go through my batches. I still make sort of ish large batches so I can split them down at trace to make baby batches in different scents. I like variety 
From bottom to top, they are:
- vanilla, sweet orange and cinnamon
- lime and cucumber
- pearberry and stargazer lily
- african geranium and patchouli
- lavender and lemon myrtle
Here they are in their little moulds:
Posted in Handmade Soap | 3 Comments »
I am totally loving The Outback Cafe on Foxtel’s Lifestyle channel (ok, its true, I caved and got pay tv – so shoot me!! <laugh>).
I love Aussie bush herbs, particularly ones like lemon myrtle. But oftentimes I just have not got a clue how to use these herbs … I am not into making culinary disasters because I’d never use the bloody herbs again … so discovering The Outback Cafe on TV has been awesome. Mark really does some amazing recipes and using a lot of Aussie bush foods so it is quite interesting and makes me want to try things out.
So at a recent farmers market I was finally game enough to buy some bush herbs and I have to say, oh, how fabulous they are. So I am getting more confident now in seasoning my foods with this sense of adventure rather than just the same ol’ same ol’ timid recipes!!
Gotta love tv.
Posted in Food, TV | 2 Comments »
So my husband and I went to our little local community zoo today. It’s a small zoo, takes maybe an hour to get around it. But its a lovely way to spend an hour and of course supports the local community.
A surprisingly active koala, two orphaned baby kangaroos, lots of albino wallabies, some sweet monkeys, lots of beautiful birds, small and large … an emu surprised my husband by reaching through the fence and grabbing for food when he had his attention elsewhere, laughed and laughed at that. A cockatoo wanting a head scratch was really sweet. Two juvenile monkeys were hysterical to watch as they ran all over the joint playing and teasing each other. Some sweet sweet sweet baby emus although I think I may have been the attraction for them in the window – or rather the mirrors on my skirt – they all rushed over to have a look at me.
It was a lovely way to spend an hour and I thoroughly recommend supporting local zoos this way.
Posted in Animals, Mother Nature | Leave a Comment »
Old Age – by anon
(if you know the author please let me know as I’d like to attribute this properly)
The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was
taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my
reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was
an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know. Old
Age, I decided, is a gift.
I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have
always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body,
the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am
taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like
my mother!), but I don’t agonize over those things for long.
I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving
family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I’ve aged, I’ve
become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I’ve become my
own friend. I don’t chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for
not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn’t
need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat,
to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave
this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4
AM and sleep until noon?
I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70’s, and if
I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love … I will.
I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging
body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite
the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.
I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just
as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.
Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not
break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when
somebody’s beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what
give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken
is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray,
and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my
face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their
hair could turn silver.
As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what
other people think. I don’t question myself anymore. I’ve even
earned the right to be wrong. So, to answer your question, I like
being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am
not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste
time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.
And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it)
Posted in Attitude, Quotes | 2 Comments »
Friday 24th August 2007 we attended the funeral of a dear friend’s father. We are deeply saddened for our friend and feel his grief deeply.
The service was very well attended. Frank was a much loved local character. As his sons and sons-in-law carried his coffin from the church, they were lead by a lone bagpipe player playing Amazing Grace.
That song is so haunting when played on the pipes. It always brings me to tears.
Posted in Funerals, Music | 1 Comment »
