Gratitudes and Celebration Journal - Week 73 - Integrity

It has been a busy week of dealing with services that help with mum and it has not been an easy week.  I have found many people who work in healthcare that don't really care about the service user and the families that support them at all.  The very same people who need the care are the ones who worked every day of their lives and never took a day off sick, and these are the very men and women who are now the octogenarians who are being treated badly and seemingly thrown on the heap.  I have become frustrated at some of the actions and thoughts of the services that I have to deal with on mums behalf as their idea of care means leaving the elderly isolated and on their own.

Who Cares

I was told that it is alright for me to leave a 91 year old woman with severe dementia on her own at night, despite the fact that she cannot do anything for herself or discern when she is in danger.  I know that there are many elderly people who live on their own, but for the ones who are ill or frail appropriate measures need to be considered and put in place so that they can still feel like valued members of the community.  My mums borough has never recognize the need for support for night time care, I asked what would happen if she felt out of bed, which has happened as she wouldn't be found until the morning and I was told I should use the crash mat - which is supposed to be placed beside her bed, or what would happen if she got out of the flat and fell down the stairs - would she have to wait until morning to get help for that as well?

Regardless of how I feel about the role of carer, leaving my mum on her own was something we stopped doing since around 2004.  It has not been easy having to go backwards and forwards and the times that I had to console my son because he was missing me broke my heart.  But knowing that mum could walk out of the house and no one knows where she had gone is something we never want to relive again and my heart goes out to anyone who has been in this situation.

Creating problems and not finding solutions

The fact is regardless of the strides some councils have made it isn't enough.  The way that the elderly are treated and regarded is appalling especially if you happen to be frail or have an illness or disability.  Carers who shoulder a lot of the financial, physical and emotional burdens are not appreciated and those who work in the healthcare field are undervalued.  It would seem that they are brushed under the carpet until someone exposes mistreatment or someone dies then you have the politicians running around saying how shocking it all is and that their party will turn things around.

With millions of pounds of cuts being made in around the country the first services that were affected were the elderly and those with disabilities.  The staff at the center that my mum attends many of whom knew the service users were told they had to leave or face a pay cut, new staff were brought in either fresh out of University so they could pay them peanuts and felt undervalued to those who just didn't have a heart for the role in health care anymore, and didn't seem to like interacting.

The caring role over the years has taken a toll on my health and well-being, but I do it, not because I have to but because I want to.  There are times when exhausted I cry out that I don't want to do it any more, and I know that at some point I am going to have to make a decision about where mum is cared for, but knowing and doing the right thing for mum out weighs anything that I am going through myself. 

I am grateful and celebrate the creative tools that are available to me that enable me to express how I feel, to have a voice and can find a place of peace and comfort.

Share one thing that you are grateful for, stay blessed and be a blessing.

I am on a journey and hope you come along and join me. Why not start your own journal, keep it as simple or complex as you wish, but do something!

Gratitudes and Celebration Journal - Week 72 - Joy

Welcome to the word for today's Gratitude's and Celebration Journal.  The word is Joy and I guess that it has different meanings for any..... the Joy of the Lord is my strength, and I have found that my faith and belief in God has been the thing that I have found to keep me going.

I have found that in the midst of the turmoil we must search for joy, and holding on to those little moments actually enables us to make our way out of what can seem on the outside as a never ending night mare.  

In my times where I have been lost, seeking an answer to a problem, trying to negotiate doors closing at what seems like every turn, I can take comfort in the simple things which reminds me that this isn't all there is, there is more.

When we stop rushing around and take stock of our lives and those of our loved ones we see more, we can breath a little more and our surroundings hold pockets of joy depending on your perspective. 

Sometimes looking in on the details is all that it takes to turn something around, noticing how precious life is, or the breath that you take.  The laughter of a child to the simple meal shared by friends.....

Whatever circumstances or situations you are in, hold on to the joy, seek it out, share it and watch the changes that can be the turnaround in a situation, just because you allowed joy some room.

I look forward to the journey and hope you come along and join me. Why not start your own journal, keep it as simple or complex as you wish, but do something!

Gratitude and Celebration Journal

Gratitude's and Celebration Journal - Week 71 - Justice

Welcome to today's Gratitude's and Celebration journal. 

Today's word is Justice.

Gratitude and Celebration Journal

I dislike seeing people treated unfairly and know that injustices are going on all around the world as you read this post.  

We can all make an effort all to change the way people are treated especially the children - our next generation.  We can effect change for those who do not have a voice, and who are going through hardship and intolerable conditions on a daily basis. 

Justice - Gratitude and Celebration Journal

 As we look closer to home depending upon where you live in the world there are varying degrees of injustice that you may be able to personally make a difference with, the question is where and when will you start?  As adults we can think about our life experiences and be grateful that we got through those tough times, the places we found ourselves and the near scrapes we came out of, not wanting our children to go through the same we work hard to make their lives better. 

Yes there are injustices going on all around the world and what we read or hear in the news are just a small fraction of whats going on daily.  As adults we are in a position to do something about bringing justice for those children who do not have a voice or someone to stand up for them.

I am grateful and celebrate all those who in what ever way they can reach out to those in need, whether you are giving to a charity or on the front line working with charities, to even those who are developing their own charities to meet the needs and create a level playing field for the next generation.

Gratitude's and Celebration Journal

Whose cause will you fight for today?  Be the light in someones eyes..

I look forward to the journey and hope you come along and join me. Why not start your own Gratitude's and Celebration journal, keep it as simple or complex as you wish, but do something!

Gratitude and Celebration Journal

Gratitude's and Celebration Journal - Week 70 - Kindness

Welcome to this weeks journal page, we arrive at the word kindness.  Thinking back over the 70 weeks of post and the journal itself I think I have come quite a long way from its beginning in week one nearly a year and a half ago.

As the months have progressed I have just got stuck in and it has become a routine now that I make sure that I do.  There have been some weeks when I haven't got my act together and just moved it to the next week.  I have had to remind myself that the only pressure I will be under is the one that I set for myself, and so I have tried to remain flexible, preparing where possible the background pages, but trying to think about that week and where and what I need to be thinking about.

Kindness

I am not always kind to myself and have at times been quite harsh, and I ask myself would I treat a friend the way that I treat myself.  We talk about treating others the way we treat ourselves, and sometimes even the dog or cat is treated better and we put ourselves down or devalue our self-worth.

You have to treat yourself the way you want others to treat you, that means to respect and value your worth.  You were brought into this world for a purpose (yes I will continue to say it if I have to in each post), you might not know that or feel that, and I can say that there are times I wonder if I have got anywhere near my purpose cause everything just hit the fan!

At the end of the day you have to be able to nurture yourself the way you would nurture a child, be gentle to your dreams and treat yourself with kindness being patient and loving to your heart.  Do something nice just for you, find some encouraging and inspiring words that you can say to yourself on waking up and going to bed.  If you are stuck check out my Word for the week and Quote Wednesday for inspiration, but do something positive.  

As I go and take my own advice, I am grateful and celebrate today, a day that I have the opportunity to do something kind to myself and extend that to someone else.

Gratitude and Celebration - Kindness

What act of kindness will you do for yourself?, share, comment and let me know how you get on.

I look forward to the journey and hope you come along and join me. Why not start your own journal, keep it as simple or complex as you wish, but do something!

Gratitude and Celebration Journal

Gratitude's and Celebrations - Week 69 - Knowledge

At what point in your life did you realize that you had a purpose?  That the life that you were leading meant something, if not to yourself, it meant something to someone else.

We often stumble around our lives as if we were insignificant, and didn't matter.  It is not always our fault, but has a lot to do with the circumstances and situations that we find ourselves in.  From the years of neglect, and abuse there are many who have had to live through so many bad experiences that for others they could never come close to imagining how hard or bad the situation could have been.

Yet still some make it through, they have a strength and purpose of who they are called to be, and the life they have been called to lead.  I feel that we all have this calling on our lives to be more that we think we can be.  It first starts with the having the knowledge of who you really are.

Despite the situations and circumstances we all have a deep seated yearning to make a difference to our lives and even if you don't go on to change the life of millions, you could be instrumental in changing the life of just one, who then goes on to impact the millions.

Don't be afraid of knowledge, growth or of your calling and every time you feel afraid, know that even if it is only one person in this world whose life you make a difference to, then you have done something worthwhile.

I am grateful for the life I have been given, and I celebrate those lives who I may impact through the things that I am passionate about.  What can you learn about yourself today that could help someone else tomorrow?

I look forward to hearing about your journey and hope you come along and join me. Why not start your own journal, keep it as simple or complex as you wish, but do something!

Gratitude's and Celebration Journal - Week 68 - Leadership

Wishing you a Happy Christmas, and I hope you were able to spend the time with those that you love and cherish.

Not one shall be lost......

We all at some point have been in a situtatiion where we have had to take on a leadership role, however small or large it may have been you would have had to think about someone other than yourself in order to complete the task that was at hand.

Journal Page - None shall be lost...

We can all think back and recall those who we encountered in leadership positions who were encouraging and effective compared to those who were particularly discouraging and lacked what it takes and had no passion to inspire.

We have a responsibility to make the most of the gifts that we are sharing with the world, that we take the time to learn and hone our skills, and that we strive for better.  We also have to make the most of passing on what we know so that the next generation can be well equipped, and strive to be better.

We are making an impact on different people at different times, let us be mindful about how our thoughts and words can be healing or be used to tear down, and make a commitment to be part of the solution that encourages growth in the lives of others.

Gratitude's and Celebration Journal page

I celebrate today and I am grateful that I can make an impact on the lives of others in a positive and encouraging way., that I can interact with and be the blessing that they need in their lives.

How will you impact on the life of another today? It is time to take stock

I look forward to the journey and hope you come along and join me. Why not start your own journal, keep it as simple or complex as you wish, but do something!

Gratitude and Celebration Journal

Gratitude's and Celebration - Week 67 - Shine Your light

When we switch on the light or lamp we don't try and hide it or put it under cover, we don't put our light under the bed but we use it to illuminate the room.  When we think about all of the lights that are in our home we use them to allow us to see better, to locate those things that are hidden or out of view and to enable us to do other activities as well.  

As this light shines it not only shows us the thing that we are looking for but it also shines on other things as well.  If we wanted to focus the light we might use a torch or spot light, but generally speaking the main light is the one that will brighten the whole room.  There are some things that we don't want in clear sight and we might put them away in draws and wardrobes behind doors that invite a peek or we hide them behind other things.  As a collector of things there comes a point where you have built up layers and layers of things and barriers build up stopping the light from reaching the four corners of the room.

The bible tells us that we are to shine our light and my understanding is that we have to be all that we are created to be, without hangups, doubts, insecurities, and fear, and where these things are present then we have to work at doing something about it.  We have all been given talents, abilities and gifts, some of which we haven't yet seen manifest, we are to make sure that we are using and making the most of them, we shouldn't hide them under stuff or the cares of the world, we can't lock them away and pretend we don't know we have them, carrying them around in your bag or backpack afraid of your potential.  

When we are using our gifts talents and abilities it can impact like the torch on specific areas at a time or as with the main light switch in the room it can impact on many people from different walks of life and in different ways all over the world - look at the many gifted and talented people that have impacted on the world that spring to mind and have inspired you.

I hope to shine my light through my art and my words bringing meaning, wisdom, knowledge and understanding, and also to be effective in helping others to think about what they have been gifted with or to work on those things that they have been yearning to do in their hearts giving them the courage to make that step,  I think we all have that ability to inspire someone else and we can't take it for granted.

As you learn to shine your light and be more than you thought you could be others may try to stop you and those who will want to accompany you for the ride, but more often than not it is the journey that you have to make by yourself discovering your strengths, you have to be willing to do the work and take the necessary steps to get to that place where your insecurities no longer stop you but enable you to soar!

I am grateful and celebrate today the light that I carry within me, one that we all carry and it is our responsibility to use the talents that we have all been given to help others and be a blessing to others. I hope as always that my words carry encouragement and that when you have read this post that you feel encouraged to shine your light, to think about how much more you could get from your life if you turned it up a notch.  What ever has been laid on your heart in a years time you will have wished that you started right now!

Gratitudes and Celebration - Week 66 - Listen

Well we made it again, we have got to Friday and this is something that we need to be grateful for.   As a carer to my mum I spend a lot of time driving back and forth in looking after her and my own family, and this gives me a bit of time for reflection, to mull over things and even unravel those complicated things that rear their head from time to time to seriously try you!

I have learnt that I need to take time to listen and not just jump in without taking time to consider, contemplate then make an informed decision.  I have found that we can get so caught up in the circumstance that we end up running from one point to the other without feeling if you have actually achieved what you set out to do.

When we listen with the two ears that we have we can see things from many sides and come to a range of conclusions but only one might be the right one for us.  I challenge you to take a moment right now as you read this post to listen to your surroundings, and if you get the chance take a moment and do something else down this list, there is so much that we miss when we rush around.....

Listen - take some time today to listen to your surroundings.  

Listen to your heart beat, 

Listen to your walking the sound of your feet as your shoes hit the ground, is it a squelching sound or a clip, clop of your heals on the sidewalk. 

Listen to the rustle of the wrapping to that thing you are opening is it paper or plastic,

Listen to the sound of the birds, flying over head or on route to warmer climbs

Listen to the wind, as it breezes past your ears, gently moving past your cheeks

Listen to the back ground noise, can you hear people talking or is it a tv in the distance

Listen to the tones, are they raised, or gentle caressing voices

Listen to the sound your car makes when you start it up

Listen to the tap taping as you write on your lap top

Listen to the heating coming on, the noise that the radiators make as they warm up

Listen to the sounds that your home makes, the familiar sounds, the footsteps of someone moving around

Listen to what your heart is saying about your current situation,

Listen to what your head is saying about your current situation

Listen to your creative spirit full of joy that can very often get lost in all the noise when we forget to listen

Listen to your voice

I am grateful and I celebrate the life that I want to live to the full, to the ability to notice so many things around us that we can often take for granted.   Those magical things that appear in the still, small voice, that breaths grace into our daily lives.

Gratitude's and Celebration Journal - Listen

What can you hear when you listen?  Stop for a moment and take in your surroundings

I look forward to the journey and hope you come along and join me. Why not start your own journal, keep it as simple or complex as you wish, but do something!

Gratitude and Celebration Journal

Gratitude and Celebrations Journal - Week 65 Nurture

Nurture

Welcome to today's post for Gratitude and Celebration.  I have a lot to be grateful for and many things to celebrate that I have been sharing here on the blog over the past few weeks.  So much has happened that I had missed a couple of weeks of posting on Fridays and now will be playing catch up.

Gratitude's and Celebration Journal - Nurture

It is fitting that today the theme is nurture and I have had to remind myself that I need to make sure that I spend time on activities that will not only nurture and nourish my health, but also my spirit and creativity.

I have had the opportunity to go away get some sunshine and get the rest that I needed physically, and with all that we were doing in Barbados, I spent time away from my role as a carer and writing online on my blog, although I wrote in my journal.  

Whilst I missed and at times felt guilty for not doing something on my blog, I felt that time was needed for reflection and just taking time to notice my surroundings, which was very beautiful.  We all know how you can take for granted those things that you see around you on a regular basis, or most of the time in your rushing around and not stay in touch with your senses - when last did you feel the breeze on your skin?

Spending time in my journal helps to focus on what matters

In nurturing my soul I spend time in the word of God, allowing my heart to be healed, my mind to be renewed and taking another step into the adventure of life.

How will you spend time nurturing the different aspects of your life?  It is time to take stock and if you can take time out and refresh those parts that need to shaken up, before you begin again.

I look forward to the journey and hope you come along and join me. Why not start your own journal, keep it as simple or complex as you wish, but do something!

Gratitude and Celebration Journal