Keeping a journal is like going on a journey within yourself.

A Bon Voyage Gift
Monday 8 May 2006

Did I mention that I'm off to the USA this week? Must have slipped my mind. This is the reason why I'm particularly focused on my workload! This evening my lovely friend Roby dropped in with a little "supper" of vegemite on biscuits and a piece of cheese cut in the shape of Australia.

This deserves a close-up. Ain't it gorgeous? (I gotta confess, I HATE vegemite and of course Roby knows this very well, bless her dear heart.)

I've been summoned back to my childhood home in Salem, Indiana because my parents have moved to a retirement community in Bloomington, an hour and a half away. My brother, four sisters and I are all gathering to clean out the house my parents built over fifty years ago. It is a bittersweet time - but I wouldn't miss it for the world. Not that I want to lay claim to any treasures in the house (my suitcases won't hold much, anyway) but it is a chance to say goodbye to the house I grew-up in. And I think it will be great fun to be together with all my siblings on their own - no partners or kids, but just us six.

I will also spend a few days visiting my parents in Bloomington. This is the town where I attended university for four years: Indiana University. My five siblings also attended IU and my parents, too. In fact they met and fell in love there! Don't you think it is romantic that they have retired to Bloomington?

Australia to America - it is a long way to travel to drop in on the folks and do some house cleaning, true? So I looked around for something else to do while there and found that the Dallas Art and Soul Retreat was on. Yup, before I even get to Indiana I'm stopping in Texas for nearly a week of classes with the likes of Claudine Helmuth, Lesley Riley, DJ Pettitt and Traci Bautista as my tutors - these are fantastic book and mixed media artists. Can't believe my good fortune really. This year continues to be a most amazing art journey.

I doubt that I'll be writing another blog entry until I've returned - so please tune in again in early June. I'll have lots of show and tell!

Enuf Time
Sunday 7 May 2006

I can't recall a time in my life when I have been so busy and happy at the same time. In fact, if you were to read my journal entries from four or five years ago I was constantly bemoaning the fact that there was too much to do and not enough time. That's really laughable now, because I have far more work responsibilities and volunteer involvements these days, but I don't obsess about time.

So what's different now? My attitude has changed. A year ago, I made a decision to be happy and enjoy living my life. I started repeating mantras or affirmations about feeling happy. I stuck to it. I still do it. And my internal life is different. Very different. Now, because I am feeling happy within myself, I don't get stressed-out when life cranks up the demands. I examine my priorities, write up a "To Do" list and get to work. And I reward myself with a little play-time here and there, too. (Sometimes that means writing my blog!)

Last weekend I attended a fabulous seminar called "Breakthrough to Success" with Neuro-Linguistic guru, Christopher Howard. Christopher got us to examine our attitudes and values, our relationships, and our goals for the future. He led us through exercises and creative visualisations to help leave behind the baggage and move towards achieving our dreams.

At one point Christopher was talking about our limiting beliefs and he invited audience members to take the microphone and share their own examples. One woman stood and said, "I never have enough time."

"Who can relate to that?" Christopher Howard asked the audience, and there were a lot of hands in the air. Not mine, though! I could already attest to how the power of self-talk had made a difference in this area of my life - even though "having enough time" wasn't the focus of my affirmations . . . But feeling more comfortable about how I use my time is a by-product of being happy. No doubt, if I started using affirmations about working efficiently and increasing my leisure time, I'd see more specific improvements in this area.

Language intrigues me - there is creative power in the written word, the spoken word and the internal self-talk. Change your thinking, change your life.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

Hard Slog Mode
Tuesday 2 May 2006
If my business workload translated into dirty dishes waiting to be washed, the kitchen benches were overflowing yesterday morning. In fact, there would have been dishes stacked on the floor. But hey, I concentrated on my priorities and started tackling those tasks and 32 hours later I am treating myself to a moment of blogging.

Yesterday I focused on dealings with Paperific Expo exhibitors. There were payments to be processed, phone calls to return and stand positions to be finalised.

Today I made stamps. Here are the fruits of my efforts:

I have six stamp orders to fill. I always feel so much lighter when all my stamp orders are processed and posted out. That feeling will come tomorrow . . .

I have to laugh at myself. I was thinking that April had 31 days. Monday morning I looked at the calendar and got a rude shock: It was May! Sheesh! How did that happen?

Can't wait to tell you about my fantastic weekend. That'll have to keep till next entry. Gotta make dinner, now.

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