Words of Encouragement (6): *A Happy Community and an Inspiring Place for your Mind to go to*.
Create a positive and inspiring space online, one with no bad news, for example, one that helps us appreciate the places we have travelled to before and perhaps dream about the future adventures we may have. Somewhere inspiring, fun and hopeful, a positive little community, safe and set apart from everything else going on.
Think about creating one yourself, or even if that’s not for you, do something whether on or offline that is purely uplifting, a place you can look forward to going, because we all need something positive in these days, something we can look forward to everyday and a place that feels peaceful, restful, happy and encouraging.
I haven’t as yet had the privilege of visiting South Africa or Norway, but from the people I know who have either lived in or visited these countries I have heard that they are beautiful and unique places. I am so fascinated to know what life is like there, so a big ‘hello and welcome’ to all of you from these places, and thank you for stopping by to visit my blog.
A couple of years ago I visited the Czech Republic, notably Prague, and I absolutely loved it. If you want to read some of my posts on my time there visit my ‘Travel’ section (although coming to think about it, I’m not sure if I ever finished writing those travel diaries).
My impressions of Prague were that it was vibrant, full of life, history, culture, and amazing musical and artistic talent from ordinary people busking and displaying their art on the streets. It is a beautiful place, and I would love to go back again some day, so hello to all my blogging friends in the Czech Republic.
You are all most welcome to let me know a bit about your country, in the comments below. 🙂
Thanks for reading, welcome one and all, from wherever in the world you are from, and a special shout out to my viewers, readers and followers in these countries. As always, feel free to say hi and tell us a bit about life in your country, in the comments. Peace 🙂
I’ve decided to start doing a ‘shout out’ to my readers, viewers, friends and followers across the world, from the first ‘top 3’ countries as per my Word Press blog stats.
So today’s hello, welcome and thank you goes to our friends in (drum roll please):
The United States of America, The United Kingdom, and The United Arab Emirates!
Wow, amazing to glimpse where you’re from, thank you for following 🙂
P.S. It’s not stats alphabetically, that’s just coincidental that they are all ‘United’…it’s the top 3 countries from which people have given me the most views.
If you feel like commenting and telling me a little about life in your country, that would be amazing…otherwise, a big heartfelt welcome (including to all of my other readers of course too, I just thought this would be a bit of a fun thing to do) :).
Also, no matter where in the world you are reading from, feel free to share in the comments which country you are in and anything about your country that you’d like the blogging world community to know! 🙂
One of the most fascinating things about blogging on Word Press, is the amazing insight into the variety of countries that you, my lovely readers, represent. I’m sometimes amazed at the countries and flags that pop up to show me where people are viewing my blog from. It makes me really excited, and I welcome you all. If you want to introduce yourself or post a comment on which country you are from and what November and December is like for you where you are, then that would be splendid! 🙂
That being said, and knowing that some of you live in places where the sun is still shining at this time of the year, I’ll let you in on a little ‘secret’. If you haven’t guessed it already, I’m writing from not-so-sunny Scotland! Your colder temperatures would probably be what we consider to be ‘summer’ weather 🙂
And so, some of the things I write about on ‘surviving winter’ may seem a little odd depending on where you are from, but that’s part of the adventure of learning more about life in different parts of the world.
My advice from this post is a short and simple one to begin with, now that the introductions have taken place, and that is to wrap up, stay warm, and cosy.
I received a lovely notification from WordPress today, wishing me a ‘Happy Anniversary’: it’s my 2 year WordPress blog-anniversary, and I’m delighted to be able to share it with you. I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you all for being part of my journey over the past two years, or for however long you have been following along, even if you have only just joined me. I appreciate each and every one of you, for after all the art of blogging is as much in the reading as it is in the writing, and you all make it worthwhile.
It may be a modest achievement to have reached this stage, but I also want to encourage each and every one of you to recognise your own achievements without comparison to those seemingly ‘greater’ achievements of those around you.
For me blogging is not about numbers of ‘likes’ or followers, although it gives me a boost each time I see your lovely comments and contributions. It is about making a difference and putting something of worth back into the world so that I might help or encourage even one person, because each of you are so valuable in and of yourselves. For me, in a sense, my humble blog is quite an accomplishment, because I started it at a time when I was struggling massively with my health and in particular complex-PTSD, depression and anxiety…I wrote and threw myself into creative pursuits, partly because creativity is essential to who I am, but also as a way to help conquer my health battles.
Blogging has also given me a creative outlet and has provided me with insights into some of your wonderful worlds. Isn’t it amazing to be able to catch a glimpse of real lives unfolding in other parts of the world in a variety of cultures, and yet lives that share the same deep and common thread of humanity? Thank you.
As I have continued on this journey, I feel I have found not only an outlet for myself, but the gift of being able to form connections and deepen my understanding of myself in this world, to use my painful experiences hopefully to help someone else and in doing so to feel more purposeful through life, to share with you the joys, and simple wonders of life as it happens to be, and of course, to express my Gratitude and to share my faith.
So, ‘don’t despise the day of small beginnings’ if you are starting something new, or if something you are putting your heart into seems to be taking time. Things will blossom in their time.
For now, thank you dear readers / blogging friends, and thank you WordPress for the many doors you open to make life online a little more wonderful. xx
All original content on this blog is copyright (c) including written material, photographs, illustrations, etc. Where I have used images from WordPress library or Google Images or any other source these have been referenced, and adult colouring books are copyright material of their authors and creators which have also been referenced.
Have you ever worked really hard on something, spent time thinking about it, maybe planning and reworking it, digging deep within you and drawing upon personal experiences that perhaps have taken great strength for you to overcome? Have you written something from your heart, or worked on a photography project, or created some original content, only to see something very similar posted by someone else shortly after you?
It can be frustrating, especially if you yourself are careful and work hard to produce original content and connect deeply and authentically with your readers.
Have any of you been in such a position, and what did you do?
However, rather than let that mar your experience of creating and blogging, if someone is copying your ideas rather than blatantly stealing your work, try to take a step back and see things in a positive light. Some say it is a compliment when someone tries to emulate you or what you do, and we are here to authentically inspire others. Be graceful and mature, reflect upon your own practices and help each other do better with the utmost integrity as we continue to learn. Keep researching and learning ‘what’s what’ in how to present your material, and be yourself….you are authentically you, and even if someone tries to glean from that, take it as a compliment….you are an original and your original authentic creativity will always shine through, and it will draw in the right people for the right reasons, and you will continue to inspire others to be their authentic selves. It’s ok and even encouraging if someone gleans inspiration from your or my work and uses it on their blog….but only if they acknowledge that and don’t pass it off as their own. Am I right? It is also courtesy to link to the original blog, and quite disrespectful otherwise. I have been made aware of a pattern of someone copying my content a few days after writing and posting mine, and I hope they have a conscience about it and don’t continue, as it does dampen the joy of the blogging experience and has an impact on the blogging community in general.
There is so much I’d like to learn about how others manage these issues, so if you have encountered anything like this, or have any tips or advice, please let me know, as I’m sure it will help other people too.
Love to you all….keep being originally, authentically you, and don’t let anything dull your spark! 🙂 x
“Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!
Life as it happens to be 