What's grace got to do with it?

Lately (and in times long gone) I've been having conversations with people (face to face and online) that have left me impressed by the grace they show in their lives, and especially to those who are acting most ungraciously towards them.

Grace is an old-fashioned word - one that I wish we heard, practiced and experienced more often.

For the record, grace, according to the trusty Collins Dictionary on my bookcase means:  (1) elegance and beauty of movement, form or expression; (2) a pleasing or charming quality; (3) courtesy or decency. What could be better than being known as gracious?

I always feel so good after being with someone who has the quality of being gracious, particularly in situations that are highly pressurised and emotionally challenging. It makes me want to applaud them, or at least hug them and let them know that I see this quality in their souls, and it makes me want to emulate them.

I'm told that my name has Hebrew origins and means 'full of grace' and I've always thought of this as some kind of cosmic joke, as I can be exceedingly ungracious. (For the record, I have moments of grace, where I remember that I don't have all the information and it wouldn't kill me to just breathe before reacting. May they increase!)

Grace can be experienced in a myriad of small ways that really can make your day brighter, if you take time to notice them (or practice it).

Just the other day I was at the local shops and two people treated me graciously in small but meaningful ways - a man stepped aside for me so I could get through the tables in the food court, then a woman let me go before her at the supermarket check-out.

These small acts of grace made my day, and as I reflect on them now, I'm smiling and thinking, for every moron out there (see - not so gracious), there are also lovely, gracious people in the world.

Two particular friends of mine are showing amazing grace (sorry about that) in their lives at the moment, coping with big issues, and without outing them specifically, I just want to say - more power to you ladies, keep your heads up, you're doing so well and I'm really proud of you. I believe your rewards are coming.

So why this post? Well really, I just need to remember that people can be beautiful, gracious, honest creatures and I am SO DAMN LUCKY to know some of you personally. Maybe my name thing isn't a cosmic joke but a challenge to rise to.... stay tuned and wish me luck.

And so, stealing from Ellen's sign off - be kind to each other. And a little bit gracious too.


Annette x

Happiness is a full recycling bin

Why is it that lately I've been so enamoured of a good clear out?

The recent council-sponsored hard rubbish collection really sent me into a frenzy of activity, to rid myself of all the 'guff' (my word de jour) I've been storing/hanging on to, for no good reason.

Out into the street went two tables - one that came from an ex and gave me a deep sense of satisfaction to finally be rid of, the awful chairs that accompanied it, a mountain of cassette tapes, two stereos, two televisions, a zillion magazines, my old VCR, bits and bobs, awful wrapping paper remnants, an ancient computer, a suitcase full of old pillows and a doona, a treadmill (which I got given second hand and never used - no surprises there)... I basically filled up half the nature strip in a matter of two days. I confess I even threw out some old books.

It felt so good to have less stuff cluttering up my space, even though 99% of the guff was stored out of sight.
My home felt instantly bigger, somehow more comfortable, and ready for sunshine and throwing open doors and windows to welcome springtime breezes.

I still have a couple of boxes of video tapes and a box of bargain cosmetics I picked up when working in a cosmetics company's warehouse - ten years ago - to ditch, but the recycling bin is absolutely choc-a-bloc.

Overall, I have felt freer and freer the more stuff I've hurled into the street/bin. I'm no hoarder, but it is so easy just to think we 'need' to keep things that we have no interest in, just in case. In case of what? The return of the crank-handle computer? If it has been in a box for a year, it can probably go in the bin and in another year you won't even remember you had it.

So, if you're feeling the spirit of Mrs Beeton, that renowned Victorian housekeeper, whispering in your ear to have a spring clean, heed the call. You'll feel so much better once the dust settles.

Like the lovely Dilmah man says, do try it.

Annette x

Hello!

Thursday Sept 15, 2011 - the birth date of 'Founded 1967'.

Starting this blog comes at a time in my life when I'm thinking a lot about who and where I am, the things I want from life and about who I want to share the journey with.

I am six days into the 'great beyond' of leaving my latest job, where I had slipped into what I've just realised was a comfort coma. I wasn't challenged, heck, I wasn't even busy, but I was oh-so-comfy just going through the motions and hoping somehow that the life I want would reveal itself then fall painlessly into my lap. It didn't, it won't, if I want something different... well you know the drill.

So here I am, wondering what comes next. Waking up to the person who faded away a little while I've been slumbering.

I hope blogging helps me sort the fact from the fiction, gives me a place to share some of the lessons life has taught me, and to revive my hope that life can be full and satisfying, sans credit card debt, plastic surgery or on anything else that's 'so hot right now'.

If you want to come along on the journey, that would be lovely, but please be kind as I find my voice.

Onwards,

Annette x