What’s a moment that made you realize you were stronger than you thought?
WP, I may have mentioned a few times now that I feel I have sailed pretty close to the wind most of my life. Getting lots of bumps and scrapes along the way.
There have been many more moments than I care to remember, tbh.
It does feel great to come out the other side stronger and wiser, that’s for sure. But it’s pretty rubbish when things go pear-shaped.
What’s a simple pleasure in life that brings you joy?
Yay, the perfect prompt to post one of my fave poems….again
Lesuire
WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
By W.H.Davies ( 1871~1940)
If you could erase one movie from your memory and watch it again for the first time, which one would it be?
There are two films I would like to erase from my memory, and not see again, thanks all the same..
Hachi: A Dog’s Tale ( 2009)
The Passion of the Christ ( 2004)
I love dogs, obvs, and am not religious.
These two films completely did me in..
How do you stay motivated when learning something new?
The thing is, if you want to learn something, you need to stay motivated, or else you’ll fail, surely?
Being an older person without a youngster around, I have to keep ‘at it’, for a result. I never expect to ‘ get it’ first time round, and that might be a superpower? I don’t beat myself up. Just persevere. There is AI and YouTube, eventually thing will become clear, ‘eventually’ being the operative word. Patience, determination, want, need even.
We all have superpowers, find them, use them, embrace them, acknowledge them, and thank the gods.
What’s the most interesting local custom you’ve encountered?
Years ago in India, I marvelled at the amazing Hindu customs- they were filled with colour and lights, incense, prayer, flowers, and food.
I think of some of the English ones…. Father Christmas ( when you tell the kids there will be a strange man in the house tonight. But it’s OK, he’s got you some presents) The Tooth Fairy (again, someone will come into your bedroom and even touch your pillow-but that’s okay, they will leave you money) Easter Bunny-chocolate eggs, wearing paper hats whilst you eat your Xmas meal. Burning an effergy of Guy Fawkes on a big bonfire one night.
Then there’s that one where someone leaves the house at midnight New Year’s Eve and walks round to the front door and comes in carrying coal-bringing good fortune and wealth to the household. April Fools Day, where you play a practical joke on someone, when they fall for it, you have to say ‘ April Fool!’- but you have to do it before midday, else you are the fool.
All very lame in comparison to the Hindu way of doing things!
If you had to describe your ideal life, what would it look like?
An ideal life? Remaining happy in my own skin. Supremely healthy and financially secure. And I’ll take it from there, thank you, WP.
I am not a victim of domestic abuse, or am I being trafficked. I’m not held prisoner in any shape or form. I’ve access to clean drinking water/sanitation. Not in debt or in jail. My life is my own, and I have complete freedom. I don’t have the exhausting/distressing time of caring for someone 24/7. I have wheels and a roof over my head. I am not an addict, out of control, and reliant on a fix of anything. I haven’t had to flee my home and community due to a war, civil or otherwise. I don’t live in fear in a refugee camp. I have access to free health care and attention. And, of course, this list could go on.
My ideal life would certainly include the best of everything for those I care about. That is a given.
I am missing my Mr Wonderful. Some guy completely gorgeous who loves me for who I am. But I’ve got Patch, and he loves me until he has a moment and wants to gut me like a fish. But you can’t have everything, eh?
Edit. What I would really love is to have my two brothers in my life. Why did I leave that to an edit? Well, you can shield yourself from some things, push them away….but they’ll always come back to haunt you
What is the best concert you have been to?
Which is the best thing to do in your city?
At this moment in time, we live rural-side, Patch n me. Although I’m city girl and central London does feel like my spiritual home, exploring any city really isn’t up there on my to-do list right now.
I sincerely love cultural attractions, especially in the arts, but for now, I’m still getting to grips with and appreciating the stillness and freedom of retirement.
It’s taking a while, and maybe that’s a reflection on just how long the slog has been? Some folk on retirement want to get out there and do the things life had restricted them from doing? I get that, totally.
But I’m coming from this from the other end. I’ve got the tee shirt and I’ll go with that until the time presents itself that it’s time for change.
What super power do you wish you had and why?
Aww, WP, I thought you had refreshed our DP’s- but we have certainly had this one before. I remember saying I’d like to be invisible so I could infiltrate dog-fighting rings and take them all down!
A few others have sprung to mind. The ability to predict this Friday’s EuroMillions lottery. That would be useful. Or failing that maybe with a sweep of my hand my house & car would be spotless, inside and out. Because however hard you try to keep things sparkly, there’s always something off.
Being fluent in multiple languages would be very cool. I know a few people I would love to surprise with the ability to speak in their native tongue.
Or maybe I’ll just be content with being photogenic? That’s not too much to ask, is it? But it escapes me every pic.
Should you have read to the end of this post, I thank you. If you are a fellow blogger here I just want to say that I’m not ignoring anyone at the moment. I’ve simply got other stuff to do. I hope to catch up with you all very soon. It will be interesting to read what superpowers you’d enjoy having. 😉 Bye for now
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