Friday 28 January 2011

Today is Gratitude Day!

Continuing my list of '100 Gratitudes', I am grateful for...

81. massage - one of the best massages I've ever had was at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. You think massage inside a therapist's treatment room is wonderful...try getting massaged while floating on your back on a mattress in the warm waters of the Lagoon. The floating just adds a whole other level of relaxation. Amazing! But of course there is also massage I enjoy much closer to home - I recently went for my second ever Kahuna massage. I loved it! In fact, I was in heaven afterwards. Kahuna literally is an all body massage as the therapist works on your front as well as your back. It's all about long, continuous, flowing strokes. It's all about harmony. :-) In Hawaiian, kahuna means 'loving hands'. Enough said.

82. showers - this is my everyday massage! I'm one of those bad people who take long showers. I try not to but I just love them so much. The hot water cascading down my back, the steam filling my lungs...what's not to love? :-) I often get creative ideas pop into my head while I'm in the shower. Or if something has been bothering me or stressing me out, a solution will appear. Now that I've gotta be grateful for!

83. bed - if I'm talking about relaxation I have to mention bed! I can't name one thing better than curling up under the doona and feeling my head sink into my pillow and feeling my tired body surrender to the comfort of my mattress. Actually, there is something better - that feeling I get when I wake up but I don't have to get up. You know it? When you can simply roll over, close your eyes again and drift off. Ahh sleep....I adore it. Ahh bed...what a wonderful invention. :-)

84. walking - that's right; I don't spend all my time asleep. I do love to go for a walk. It's another very relaxing thing to do, another way to clear my mind so I can come up with new creative ideas. In the summertime, especially, I like to go to the park and walk. There is always a buzz in the air and I make sure I breathe it in! Plus, you know what I adore about walking - it doesn't feel like exercise. It feels more like meditation.

Wednesday 19 January 2011

Today is Gratitude Day!

Continuing my list of '100 Gratitudes', I am grateful for...

77. IMDB - how great is The Internet Movie Database website?! Want to find the release date of an upcoming movie - it's on there. Want to know who wrote or directed a film - it's on there. Want to know trivia, goofs, soundtracks, memorable quotes - they're all on there! It doesn't get any better for a movie fan like me.
www.imdb.com

78. Drew's Script-O-Rama - another wonderful movie website. This one has hundreds of film scripts for you to download. Both the movie fan and the writer in me is grateful for this magnificent resource. My slightly out there writer's dream is to see a film script of mine made into a movie; and if they wanted to honour me with an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, I wouldn't turn it down! :-) This website is invaluable because as all screenwriters know - the best way to learn how to write a movie is to read scripts and watch films!
(In case you're wondering...yes, I have written a screenplay. But the film studios haven't come knocking at my door yet!)
www.script-o-rama.com

79. Wikipedia - I can spend hours on this site. I go on there searching for info on someone or something and I end up following links to related people or events. Just this morning I looked up U2, just for curiosity. I read about how the band started, then I moved on to read just about Bono, and then his wife, and then about their charity work. Talk about accessible information! I think it's brilliant.

80. Facebook - Mark Zuckerberg has successfully taken over the (virtual) world, whether that was his intention or not. We can't deny how much this little social networking site has changed our lives. And I for one think it's great. Admittedly, I don't go on there as much as I did when I was caught up in the initial buzz of it all. But I check in every now and again to see what friends are up to. I love that it only takes a simple status update for everyone you care about to know your latest news. This is especially great when, like me, friends and family are spread out all over the world. It's an easy way to stay in touch. And I know it shouldn't replace face-to-face contact, but when that isn't possible it offers the next best thing.

Wednesday 12 January 2011

Today is Gratitude Day!

Continuing my list of '100 Gratitudes', I am grateful for...

73. Tea Tree oil - I get cold sores. Something I am most definitely not grateful for. I hate them. I wish they didn't exist. But I have found that tea tree oil is the one thing, when applied directly to the spot, can stop a cold sore developing (if I catch it early enough). If not, I still apply the tea tree oil regularly throughout the day and it dries that cold sore up quick smart. Of course there is no way to avoid the unsightly scab, but all things heal in time. I just call myself scab face to add a little humour to the situation. ;-) Tea tree oil is nature's antiseptic - now, that's pretty cool; another example that nature provides everything we need to survive on this planet! And you know the other great thing about tea tree oil? It's native to Australia. Like me. Love it!

74. Essential Care - while I'm on the topic of tea tree oil, I have to mention the organic company that produces my face cleanser. Essential Care is a small family-run business who make skin care products from almost 100% organic ingredients. I swear by their Lemon and Tea Tree Facial Wash - it keeps my skin clear and I feel fantastic knowing I'm putting only natural, organic ingredients onto my face.

75. Aloe vera - if I'm talking about nature's gifts I have to include aloe vera! Ohh the amount of times aloe vera gel has soothed my fiery sunburn! Yes, that's right - I did grow up in one of the sunniest countries in the world (so you'd think my skin would be tough!), but my skin is still susceptible to sunburn. (Of course this can always be avoided by simply wearing sunscreen, something I admit to forgetting most of the time. oops!) The wonder of aloe vera is also the main ingredient in my favourite lip balm; which is another product I use to ward off those dreadful cold sores. So aloe heals me again and again - gotta be grateful for that!!

76. the organic movement - I know that everything organic is big business these days, which is, ironically, the opposite of what the movement stood for when it began. But I have to be grateful for what the movement brought to me - a new way of viewing the world and our interconnectedness to all things. It has raised my awareness and reminded me that I want to live as natural a life as I can.

Wednesday 5 January 2011

Today is Gratitude Day!

Continuing my list of '100 Gratitudes', I am grateful for...

69. clear blue skies on a London winter's day - last week as I wrote my blog the view from my window was gray and dreary. Today I look out and all I see is a baby blue sky without a single cloud, and the morning sun flooding the buildings. Ahh the difference the sun can make! :-) I wouldn't have thought the weather could have such an effect on me. I try not to let it because I know it's only weather and we can't change it. I try to remind myself that it's just Mother Nature moving through her cycles - cycles that are necessary for life on this planet. But best laid plans....! Sometimes the winter gets me down and I long for the sunshine. So I'm grateful the weather gods are smiling on me today.

70. chocolate - I eat too much of this wonderful stuff, I admit it. But I just can't help myself. I once stopped for a short time - until I realised I'd only replaced eating chocolate with drinking hot chocolates!! Some way or another I always get my fix. That makes me sound like an addict...well, maybe I am. It just tastes so, so, so good.

71. Lightworker Magazine - I only just discovered this online magazine. It describes a lightworker as someone who is "committed to the art of positive living." The magazine is full of inspiring articles. I've only read the latest edition, so now I want to go back and take a look at all their past ones. Best of all - we can all do this online, for free! I love what the people at Lightworker Magazine are doing - spreading the word in an accessible way. I appreciate that. And it makes me grateful for those in the world who just want to help others, in any way they can.
Check it out - www.lightworkermag.com

72. Toni Carmine Salemo - I bought a couple of prints by this Australian intuitive artist at the Mind Body Spirit festival last year. I was captivated by his beautiful images - they spoke directly to my soul. I think Toni is a magnificent artist who has an extraordinary talent. He is able to let go and connect to his spirit, and then translate what he sees and feels so stunningly onto the canvas. When I look at his work I feel a connection to the divine.
Check out his online galleries - www.tonicarminesalerno.com/gallery1.htm