Category: gratitude
-
Trusting the Journey: The Secret to Happiness in Middle Age
It is only now, in middle age, that I am finally accepting that I don’t possess the superpower (or indeed any superpower) to fix everything – no one does, not even those with the money to buy whatever they want or need. Money may be able to buy rockets, but it can’t buy you back…
-
9 Surprising Truths I discovered About Myself In 2020
Compared to many people, I was fortunate to emerge from 2020 relatively unscathed. Admittedly, certain elements of our brief lockdown in Sydney tested me, but because my job carried on pretty much as usual (and I don’t get out much anyway), there were few noticeable changes in my day-to-day life. However, I don’t think anyone…
-
COVID Won The Battle This Year, But Not The War
Three days ago, I was putting the finishing touches to a post about Christmas party dresses, of all things. To my shame, I was bemoaning the limited choice of dresses for middle-aged women who aren’t a size 8, don’t have legs as long as a giraffe, and who may not feel comfortable flashing their arse…
-
The 25 Best Feel-Good Movies For Lazy Weekends
Are you genuinely still socially distancing? Or just socially anxious like me, and pretending you still have to? If so, let me plan out next weekend for you because Angela at Heritage Films has asked me to give a shout-out for this wonderful, feel-good movie starring Renee Zellweger that they are premiering online between the…
-
C-Words like COVID-19 are never good, but most clouds have a silver lining
Historically, c-words have had a bad rap. For example, the c-word “c*nt” is described as a vulgarism for female genitalia on Wikipedia, and the euphemism for “cancer” used to be the archetypal c-word. That is until recently, when a far more sinister c-word entered our vocabulary. I suppose it is fortunate, therefore, that the negative…
-
20 Surprising Things I Am Thankful For This Year
Anger was the main topic of conversation during my last visit to my therapist for the year. Anger about stuff I can’t control, mainly, but also anger about the world stuff I talked about here in my last post, as well as some anger issues about the usual personal frustrations. Photo by Howard Riminton on…
-
The 7 Best Ways To Find Your Christmas Spirit When You’re A Grinch
In spite of my newfound, VERY mature thoughts about the insignificance of consumerism in my life at this time here, I have launched myself full throttle into Christmas. Living room with full of Christmas decorations. To be honest, I’m a bit of a Christmas tragic. We were fortunate to have a mother who made the…
-
Middle Age Is About Making Important Choices
I knocked back some paid work last week. Not that we’re rolling in money and I can pick and choose the hours I want, but this time my choice was based on my health. I knew that working five days a week in three different fields would have undone all of the good I got…
-
Why Try Mindfulness In Middle Age? Because That’s When You Realise Just How Fucked Up The Worl
I took an introductory course in mindfulness a few weeks ago. I thought that the company of calm, spiritual people would wield its inner peace on me. But when it turned out that only my friends had signed up for the course, I realised something I already knew – that we’re all dealing with our…
-
Running Doesn’t Get Any Easier, But Let Me Tell You What It Does Do…
This week, I’ve decided to guilt you off the sofa with another smug-assed update about my new running career. Photo from Unsplash. Catherine McMahon Cue drumroll: Last week, I reached my target of 4kms for the Mothers Day Run For Breast Cancer. In other words, my weekly jog/hobbles around the lagoon in our new suburb…
-
Next Year, I Will Choose Another Date To Celebrate Australia Day
Something didn’t feel quite right when I woke up on the morning of “Australia Day” this year. You know me, any excuse for a piss-up and I’m there with bells on, but this year felt different. Sure, we had only organized a small gathering of friends at a local pub, followed by a nice lunch…
Louisa Simmonds 