This week, as I said yesterday, I've loved spending time with a friend who I haven't seen for ages. We've chatted and laughed, and she's allowed me to talk.

She knows that the past six months or so have been really tough for me, what with losing my job and feeling rather unappreciated. Although I feel it was the right decision, ultimately, to walk away from a job which had been altered without any input from me or any option to negotiate, it's been good to talk it through and express some deep-seated emotions ... about lots of things actually.

My friend has shown me the love and kindness I needed, which is not surprising because she IS a very loving and kind person. But just being able to talk and feel listened to is an amazing thing. Really cathartic!

This week I've also talked about the skill of 'Active Listening', and looking back at the past week, I'm aware that I've probably done more talking than listening ... but it's been special circumstances really.

And so to my friend Chris ... I just say 'thanks' today ... for being a great friend, a true example of love and friendship... and a wonderful Active Listener!

Friends like this are worth millions, and we should not take them for granted!

May we all have friends like this. 

May we all be a friend like this to someone!

There are some people who are just iconic. Legendary! 

I'm sure you can think of a few ... for me they may include Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, William Shakespeare, Queen Victoria, Neil Armstrong  ... that's an eclectic mix but you know what I'm talking about.

People who are not just famous for what they did, what they wrote or who they were but also because they are ... or were ... just outstanding members of the human race. Yes, they are part of the history books or will be in the future, but it's more than that.

Not all iconic people have lived 'good' lives ...sometimes they are notorious for leaving behind a dark legacy ... let's think of Jack the Ripper for instance or similar serial killers ... these are people who become legends for all the wrong reasons.

But MY list of people who I consider to be 'icons' don't include those guys ... I'm more interested in those who made a real difference to their times and cultures, and those who  left or who will leave a real legacy of positivity.

One of those at the top of my LEGENDS list is a woman who in her time lived a very humble life but who made an incredible impact on the world ... not just on the people around her but also those who looked to her as an example of love and faith.

Today I celebrate the birth and life of Mother Teresa - Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

Born on this day - August 26th - in the year 1910, in Albania, Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu would grow up to be a world icon ... but actually she lived a very quiet and compassionate existence which was all about OTHERS. An indication of her religious life and the importance of it to her is the fact that ... so I read ... Mother Teresa actually considered August 27th to be her 'true birthday' because that was the day she was baptised into the Roman Catholic faith, aged just one day.

Please click on the link to her name above to find out more about this amazing woman, but I just want to say that very early in life she became fascinated by the stories of the lives of missionaries, especially in India, and by the age of 12 she became determined to commit herself to a religious life.

In 1928 at the age of 18 she left home to join the Sisters of Loreto at Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham in Ireland, with the intention of learning English to help her with her aim of becoming a missionary ... English was the language of instruction of the Sisters of Loreto in India.

Just a year later she arrived in India where she trained as a nun ( actually in Darjeeling, in the lower Himalayas). Here she learned Bengali and taught at a school. When she took her religious vows in May 1931, she chose to be named after Thérèse de Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries.

Her life and mission and Christian ministry would be India. By 1950, Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation that by 2012 had over 4,500 nuns and was active in 133 countries.  The congregation and order runs homes for people who are dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis. In addition, they also run orphanages and schools, soup kitchens, mobile clinics and dispensaries and children's and family counselling programmes.

Vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience define the lives of the nuns, but to this is added a fourth profession of faith - to  give "wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor."

Even though I'm not a Roman Catholic, growing up I was aware of Mother Teresa and the work she did, especially in the city of Calcutta (now renamed Kolkata) in West Bengal in India.  For me she was always the epitome of love. She worked with the 'poorest of the poor', advocated on their behalf and loved them unconditionally.

There are many quotes attributed to Mother Teresa.

She apparently once said '

"By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus."

She gave her entire life really to service in the name of Jesus Christ.  Her own needs and desires and wishes cast aside to enable her to think of others before herself and  just love.

And I think one of my favourite Mother Teresa quotes is this one ... .

"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."

When you look at the words, the depth of meaning grows over time.

We might all want to 'change the world' ... some of those on my list of Icons at the start of this blog did just that!

But that wasn't what Mother Teresa was about. She was just walking one day at a time, looking for the need around her, helping where she could. Just making small differences which, in the end, would change lives.

The discarded babies she saved from dying on the streets, the people she and her nuns fed every day, the families counselled and cared for, the hands of people dying from AIDS or leprosy held in love, the many many thousands who still, today, receive free medical treatment courtesy of the Missionaries of Charity, the children saved from conflict and natural disasters - yes she did leave India from time to time to help in other situations.

Each person's life altered, made more comfortable. Hope given. Friendship and love shared. 

That's beyond measure!

And then there's her legacy of devotion and Christian faith. THAT is also something that can't be measured.

So today, as we celebrate the life of Mother Teresa, perhaps we can remember this one thing.

No action done in love is wasted. We might not change laws or move mountains, or even receive rewards,  but today ... if we do just one act of love for another ... we might just change their circumstances, make it easier, give them hope and surround them with the knowledge of love! 

It's Sunday and I've not much to say apart from to share this thought and picture with you.

As I said yesterday, sometimes it's just good to get away from the stresses of life, to give yourself some moments away from the everyday.

Today,  I  hope you find time  for fun and laughter, love and learning, reading and walking, swimming and dreaming!

Or whatever it is that makes you happy.

Let's treat every day as a Blessing!

Happy Sunday!

It's September! The start of a new month!

Time is flying by ... the summer is almost done and autumn is on the horizon.

I'm still hoping and praying for a few more weeks of good weather but then we know the chilly nights and frosts will reappear, and that can  be a bit depressing. especially if, like me, you prefer the warmer days of the year.

But we know that autumn - or Fall - also brings the harvest and beautiful colours, like nature is having a last glorious celebration before the dark and colder days of winter.

I think the dawn of every new month is always exciting. It's a new chapter, a new page in our book of life! New opportunities! And the first of any month is a reminder that time passes quickly, and we need to grasp life, enjoy it and make the most of each moment that is given to us.

So here's a thought to inspire us, to make us smile and encourage us to make the most of this new month!

Have a great day everyone!

And have a FABULOUS September

If you're on social media, you'll know that often there are 'viral' posts which urge us all to get involved in answering a question ... mostly just for fun.

I don't usually take part in these kinds of conversations but I saw one the other day which made me laugh ... so I answered the question.

The post said this 'Age Yourself with the poster you had on your wall as a teenager!'

And what was my answer?

'Donny Osmond. The Osmonds. T-Rex/ Mark Bolan ....a few more I could mention ... and I’m proud to be from that era!'

Yes, that does 'age' me ... I was a teenager in the 1970s! 

But who cares? As I said in my answer, I am proud to be the age I am and to have lived through my teen and early adult years at a time when there was some fantastic music around. Not just ballads and those 'teen' songs, but some fantastic rock and roll AND, of course, DISCO!!

Which brings me to one of my favourite songs of all time!

'I Will Survive sung by the fabulous Gloria Gaynor!

This is a tune that often got us up on the dance floor and it didn't matter if there were boys available to partner up. We were happy, us girls, to just get up there and freak out!

Yeah I said it ... freak out! I am a product of my age!!!

I love this song not just because of it's freaking out value but also because of those words in the title - I WILL SURVIVE!

In 1978, when this song hit the charts, I was still a teenager and I had the world in front of me.

I was still to fall in love properly for the first time, still to travel the world, still to go to university, still to become a journalist, a TV and radio presenter and an author. I had dreams but I still had all that to come.

I was still excited about life and what might lie ahead. I was still rather naïve about the realities of life.

And I was still to lose important people in my life, including my darling Dad. I was still to have my heart broken (several times) and to feel battered down by life and love.

I was still feeling I needed to 'fit in' with what others wanted me to be - I had still to discover the 'real me'!

OK... so this is a 'break up' song ... but it is the words of the chorus which rang true with us all!

Oh no, not I, I will survive
Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I'll stay alive
I've got all my life to live
And I've got all my love to give and I'll survive
I will survive, hey, hey

Years on, they are STILL important words.

With all the 'stuff' that's happened in the intervening years, it is love that helps us survive. Despite the heartache and the missed opportunities, the unfulfilled dreams, even the love that did not materialise ... I have survived!
Sometimes that feels a bit like a miracle, but it's true.

And today the sentiment of the words is even more important ... I HAVE survived so much, I WILL survive so much more!!!

So why am I sharing this brilliant song today - September 7th?

Well, today is the birthday of the woman who's voice rang around those dancefloors and who has graced our airwaves for decades. Gloria Gaynor was born on this day in 1943... and she was one of the legends of music who epitomised the disco era of the 1970s and 1980s!

Happy Birthday Gloria ! Thanks for the fun! Thanks for the music! Thanks for the inspiration!

A footnote ... if you watch this video you'll see something that is Typical Disco ... a roller skating dancer. It's an iconic image. And yes, in the early 1980's when I first visited the USA I also went to a Roller Disco!

WHAT fun! What bruises! I'm no skater ... but my did we laugh!!

It's the weekend, and I'm thankful for that!

I'm thankful that I've got through this week and I'm grateful for everything I have in life. I'm not rich, but I have the love of my family. I live in a beautiful place and I have interesting work. I feel strong most of the time and when I do not ... I have God to turn to.

I am blessed!

With all this in mind ... here's an inspiring thought for today.

Have a great Saturday everyone!

Don't you just love modern technology?

There was a time when to listen to music you had to sit in the house, switch on the radio or put on the record player, cassette player of CD machine.

Now we can take our music with us on our 'phones. I can take mine to the beach, can listen as I walk and I can even plug my 'phone into my car's audio system and listen to hundreds of my favourite songs to my heart's content as I motor along. 

I do have masses of music and songs on my playlist, some are just great pop songs, some which remind me of younger and happy days, some more 'religious' and some which sort of cross over different genres.

There's a song on my list which I want to share with you this Sunday. When I listen to my music on the 'phone I have the system on 'shuffle' and for some reason this one's been popping up a lot recently.

It's a great song, I think... and one which works for me on the faith and the pure music enjoy front.

'I Find Your Love' reminds me to look for love in everything and in all circumstances. Thanks to the fabulous singer Beth Nielsen Chapman for a wonderful song and sentiment! 

So inspiring. 

Enjoy!

It's the first day of October - time is flying!

The nights are drawing in, there's a bit of a chill in the air and the leaves are turning golden and brown and beginning to drop.

Another Autumn is with us!

I have to admit I'm a bit of a Summer person myself ... I love the warm weather and sunshine. I love swimming and walking in the fresh air, no need most of the time for bundling up! In summer-time I feel liberated! 

Seeing all this disappear can make me feel a bit depressed, I have to admit, but I'm reminded today, as I turn the page into October, that there are blessings to be discovered at any time of year. And finding something positive to experience is what I'm looking for.

So here goes ... October is one of those months when we celebrate the Harvest, and I'm reminded of all the wonderful things that our earth produces. It's a month when we often experience the beautiful colours of nature, and prepare ourselves for the winter. It's the transition into that dark time of the year and it can be exhilarating. Crunching through those fallen leaves, feeling the autumn breeze on my face. And yes, delving into the back of my cupboard to fish out those winter clothes, my colourful scarves and hats and gloves which I adore!

So today let's be reminded of the importance of staying focused, and appreciating everything that every day brings us!  Not looking back, but enjoying the present moment. Enjoying what we have been given and the people around us. Remembering to treat each moment like a gift.

I love these sentiments and I'm sure that if we follow this little list, we will surround ourselves with happiness and the warmth of human kindness, whatever the weather outside.

Have a great day everyone

Happy October!

WOW, I made it to the end of the week!

Lots to do today and then an opportunity to relax a bit.

And here's a thought to help us make it to the weekend!

Don't need to elaborate.

Have a great day!!

Midway through a busy week, if we can let's take a moment to just stop and breathe and think.

If you're the praying type, maybe pray as well.

Forget the stress for a moment or two, put aside your 'to do' list and all the challenges you think you are facing.

Let's just close our eyes and forget all the distractions.

Maybe reflect on this thought!

And have a wonderful day!