No matter how bad you may think your life is, there is someone who would love to ‘swap’ places with you. No matter how much you may dislike your body, there is always someone who would love to have it (and no I am not talking about ‘having‘ it I mean as in a body swap, not a booty hop). No matter how much you may only see the issues with your home, or the things you want to change or improve, there is always someone else who would give anything to have your home.
That is one of the reasons why it is so important that we focus not on the perceived shortcomings or faults in our lives, our homes, our jobs or our appearances, instead we need to focus on the many blessings we have and show gratitude. Gratitude brings positive things into our lives. Negativity breeds more negativity.
I start each morning with gratitude and thanks. I give thanks for the roof over my head, protecting me from rain, wind and sun. I give thanks for our beautiful view, my wonderful garden and the changes we have made. I do not dwell on the windows that are one gust away from blowing in, or the areas that we still need to renovate. Instead I will add these things I want to be updated to a new manifestation list for this year. My ‘prosperity & abundance crystals‘ I put out last year have hopefully already manifested enough money for us to be able to do these things it is just getting the workmen scheduled.
Even though I have lost 50 lbs / 25 kgs I still have issues with my body, and many of these are partially due to the weight loss. Once your skin is stretched it seldom snaps back, and certainly not at 60 years old it doesn’t. However, I have friends who struggle to lose any weight in the first place, or friends who have disabilities which mean they cannot do any exercise or even walk unaided. This is not a case of one-upmanship, this is taking in the understanding that you are blessed and focusing on the positive things rather than dwelling on the negative. I have two legs that hold me up and allow me to do squats, so I do them. I have two arms that look like they have hams swinging off of them, but I can wear a cover up over those hams. Those arms are strong enough to allow me to hug my husband or rock my grandchildren when they arrive.
I am not one who complains about my job. I love what I do and I love my current client, they are supportive and kind and they accept me with all of my idiosyncrasies and weird behaviours. So many people are unemployed and would give anything to have any job at all, much less a well paid one where they can work from home.
I see so many people who only focus on the negative. It is almost as if they are comfortable in their misery, or that is all they know. I understand that some people may be challenged by health issues, but when every thing they say is a long detailed diatribe about how difficult every single task is, that energy can drag everyone down, I am confident it does not buoy them up. I saw someone complaining about a gift! For goodness sakes lighten TF up and focus on the love behind that gift or give it to someone who WILL appreciate it. Some people seem to only view the misery in their life and grasp it hard with both hands. Whereas other friends who have far more health issues than most people always seem to be aware of their blessings, even if that blessing is just that they are alive! Maybe the issue is that some people have created such a narrow life for themselves that they are not interacting with other humans and therefore they ‘stew’ in their own bad energy. We all need to spend time grounded with our feet on Mother Earth. Breathing the air outside, sitting in nature. We all need other people. I feel that women need other women as well. We need women who always support us, who are not jealous of us and who are there to listen when we are down and to help us turn that around to positivity if we take a mental dip. I have so many women like this online, not so many in real life but the feelings are the same. It works for me but I am also trying to make an effort to spend more time with women in real life (not just online.)
I think you have a choice. You can choose to be happy and positive or you can choose to dwell on how hard done by and unlucky you are.
Please note that I am not talking about depression. I understand depression. However, I also know that you need to get help if you are struggling and not everyone knows they are depressed. But if people around you are telling you that you are Debbie Downer, or you struggle just to function, only YOU can choose to fix it, either with medication or getting therapy or by changing your attitude – depending on your own specific issue. Some people choose to wallow in it and some people thrive on being a victim (whether of their circumstance or of their choosing). I am trying very hard to focus on positivity and try not to let any negativity around me drag me down. I am trying very hard to remove my own character defects and replace them with the emotions of the Red Road. I pray for this every morning.
I do know that we are all on our own journey and it is not for me to judge anyone else’s path. Hopefully it does not come across as judgement, rather as encouragement. As a Virgo with a strong male energy, I am a fixer. I offer solutions and if they are not accepted or I see no efforts to change your perspective or situation then I struggle to listen to the same tales of woe over and over.
We had both a bit of drama and a bit of excitement this week. On Monday night we were notified of a fire burning behind our suburb. The wind was really strong and it took no time at all until it spread up the mountains.
We could see it from our upstairs bedroom window and the messages in the security group were coming through fast and furious. We could hear and then see the fire trucks at the top of our road. When we went to bed it was still burning but overnight the amazing Volunteer Fire Department managed to get it under control and extinguished. The fire services have been very busy over the last few months.
The next day was Lily’s appointment for her monthly scan and we found out that The Baby Currently Known as Pickle is a girl! I am so excited! Of course I would be just as excited if it was a boy as we all just want a healthy baby. But the idea of buying fairy wings and princess outfits is making me giddy.
We have such a legacy of strong women in my lineage and I hope that our little girl will continue this legacy of strength. I will teach her all about her ancestors and the history of the Cherokees. If I am a quarter Cherokee what does that make my Granddaughter, help me out people who can do math? Josh is Jewish so she will learn about that part of her lineage too. Lily’s father is Welsh so she can learn about that too.
I swam on Monday, Wednesday & Friday after work as it was so hot. I love swimming after work and having sore muscles afterwards. Even though I just do boring old lady exercises my body is not used to any exercise so it feels the results.
Then in contrast we woke up to tons of rain on Tuesday morning which was unexpected. I always pray for rain over South Africa as there is so much drought. Our water tanks were completely empty so I hope that the rain topped us up a bit so that we have water for watering our lawn.
Load-shedding has continued and we have been off for about 8 hours each day. If it happens during the time when I would be cooking we end up having take out but I am keeping to intermittent fasting. We are being carb conscious and avoiding heavily laden carbs.
With the weather being so warm we are happy with a big salad base and then adding some protein to it to help with my low iron levels. I am now taking Vitamin D, Vitamin B and Evening Primrose oil every evening as well as my morning collagen. Hopefully my hair will start to grow back and I will get more energy. I cut out the cream from my morning coffees in hopes of reducing my cholesterol and I am swimming and exercising in the pool so hopefully when I go back in 3 months for a recheck my blood tests will show improvement.
Last Sunday we had a visit from the owner of the dog I mentioned that we rescued last week. She dropped off a bottle of her own wine and some divine biscuits which I completely scarfed up. Norm can have the wine as I am not a red wine fan but it was a lovely gesture to show her appreciation.
A friend also popped by this week as she is going to make some simple sheath dresses for me so I chose a few fabrics for her to get started. I am so excited! I also ordered a lovely linen dress from BENA which arrived on Tuesday and I am wearing it to a party this evening.
I bought a few things from BENA and they were so well made (which is not always the case in SA!). One was too small so Norm dropped it off so I did not have to pay for shipping and they refunded me quickly and even refunded my delivery charge! I will use them again for sure.
I also ordered a few bits from the 65% off sale at Woolworths. I bought a swimsuit cover that matches one of my new swimsuits, some silver sandals and a lovely wide-brimmed straw hat. I adore this cover up! It is also nice to have a decent hat that I can wear out in public instead of my battered cowboy hat.
When I swam on Thursday Norm was out with Finn and it was so peaceful. I usually have to contend with him pushing me off the steps when I try to do my squats or trying to ‘rescue me’ when I am paddling around, or stealing my shoes or towel. I finally came up with a way to prevent him stealing my flip flops so that solves one of my issues with him.
There were about a dozen tiny little Swee Waxbills flying all around the feeders near the pool so I splashed around as quietly as I could so as not to disturb them. It makes me so happy to watch them dipping, diving, playing and feeding.
On Friday I did a smudging and energy cleansing ceremony for a friend. I often do it in my own home but it is the first time I have done it for someone else so I asked for guidance from Tass my shaman ‘teacher’. In exchange for my time and energy I was given the most beautiful flowers, card and voucher.
Afterwards I came home and asked the trees to take away any energy I retained, pushing down the dark energy into the earth and calling down the light to ground me and then I had a swim, making sure my head was under the water. This cleanses me of any residual energy I may have brought home. After that I had a shower and washed my hair. I was absolutely exhausted and was asleep on the couch by 9pm. Norm woke me to go upstairs and I slept right through to 7:30am when my alarm went off.
This morning I attended the Women’s Soul Circle and this month’s topic was “An Attitude of Gratitude”. It was just a wonderful morning. The rain was pouring down again but it was still warm and we sit around a big fire. I love this group so much, I always take something positive away and I have met some wonderful women. There were several new women there this month whom I really clicked with and we are all going to meet for a coffee. This group has enriched my life in so many ways.
This week I watched the film “Where the Crawdads Sing“.
It was a beautiful film but had an element of tragedy and sadness to it. It was based on a novel of the same name written by Delia Owens who is an American author, zoologist, and conservationist. It was produced by Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter. It stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kya, a young girl who was abandoned by her family and pretty much raised herself in the rough North Carolina marshlands. She was ostracized by most of the residents of the town near her home and did not attend any formal school. She was taught to read and write by a young lad and she became a naturalist and author of books about the creatures that lived in the marsh. I really loved this film and I give it 5 Kitten Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Then for a complete opposite sort of topic I started watching “Escape to the Chateau” which is an older series from the UK. I love renovation shows and I love old houses so this combines both of these things. It is about Dick Strawbridge and Angel Adoree who along with their family, buy and renovate the 19th-century Château de la Motte-Husson in Martigné-sur-Mayenne, France. The couple have 2 small children. I have started back at the first episode from 2016. I am really loving it!
Tonight we are off to a celebration of Caitlin and Wes’ marriage which is being hosted by Wes’ Mom and Dad at their home. I am not good in crowds especially as I do not know any of the guests (other than the hosts and the happy new couple). But I have a new dress to boost my confidence and I will have Norm by my side if I panic. I am looking forward to getting glammed up and having a nice night.
I wish you all a lovely week ahead.
Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxoxox
Kitten in the City 
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