Posts Tagged ‘Happiness’
Posted by Shirley Anne on May 26, 2012
Topographic map of the United Kingdom. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It’s funny how life works out sometimes. Once, long ago, I dreamed of living in some hot climate but obviously not in the UK. Admittedly it can get quite hot even here but it doesn’t last for months on end, more like weeks if we are fortunate. All interest in moving away from where I am now left me years ago. I think many people romanticize about living in warmer climes but not everyone actually uproots and moves away. In my case I had thought of moving to Australia just after my ex and I were married. We spoke about it and made tentative enquiries but decided against the idea not long afterward. Basically it was down to family ties and being able to see family members more easily. We just couldn’t tear ourselves away but had we thought about moving to Spain for instance I cannot be certain the same reason would have prevented the move. E and I are too deeply rooted to the area in which we grew up and have lived all our lives. I think most people feel this way and have no real desire to move away except for short periods such as holidays. Even the thought of moving to another county can be something of a pipe-dream. Fairly recently a friend of mine up-sticks as they say and moved to another county in the south-east of the country but that move was driven by personal circumstances and a need to be located nearer to London for person reasons at least for the short-term. Probably the move will be permanent for I see no reason she should think of returning. She will be able to plant roots and become an established member of the local community. I suppose we could all do the same thing if the wish was there. Sometimes we can be tied to a place for so long and then not be in a position to move even if we wanted to. At this moment in my life I have no such desire to move away from my present location. It is a question of being contented and happy living where we do but when we are not and there is a specific need to move away many find they have no other choice but to move. Breaking the ties to a place can be difficult for some but others have no difficulty whatsoever. To be truthful I think we can all grow to like a new place and be quite happy moving elsewhere but I don’t think we ever forget our roots.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Happiness, Behaviour, House and Home, Environment | Tagged: Life, Happiness, Lifestyle, Home, England, London, Australia, Spain, Root | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on May 15, 2012
It was such a lovely day yesterday I went for a walk. I had telephoned my chemist to see if my prescription was ready for collection and it was. I telephone them whenever I need to apply for my prescription to be re-submitted to my doctor’s surgery and they do it for me. They would also deliver my medications to my house but in that case I would need to remain at home. They won’t simply post them through the letterbox as they need to be sure they go to the right person. I get twelve weeks supply each time. The medication I am referring to are my hormone tablets, something I have to take for the rest of my life. So off I went on my walk collecting my prescription on the way. It has been quite some time since I went out simply for a walk, I suppose I have been too busy. The forecast had been blustery winds and some heavy rain showers but I think the rain must have already passed because it was sunny with just a few clouds. The wind was there though! If it is windy I tie my hair back in a pony-tail else it gets all over the place. My workload has dropped off dramatically this past week although I did receive two requests to do a small job, however those ‘small’ jobs, I discovered after talking to the callers, weren’t small in the least so I turned them both down. I have reached that point in my working life whereby I set myself a limit on what I will do and I can choose which work I will take on board. Well after all I am over 66 years of age! I need to do more walking and perhaps less work, especially on nice days such as this. It is such a lovely day.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in General Chat, Activity, Weather, Leisure, Enjoyment | Tagged: Activity, Happiness, Health, Leisure, Medical prescription, Pharmacy, Prescription medication, Weather, Wind | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on March 26, 2012
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Well it’s not Saturday night or Sunday morning but it’s been a nice weekend. It is Monday morning once again and I am wondering what this week has in store for me. After last Friday’s fiasco I am hoping things will go a lot smoother. At the time it was frustrating on Friday but through it all I remained in good spirits and found myself laughing at the ridiculous chain of events in which I found myself immersed. I was rather tired after the days events and all I wanted to do was sit down and relax. I received a call in the evening from the old lady in whose house I’d been in earlier in the day asking if I could remove the wall lights for her (you will have to read last Fridays post to get the whole story). I returned to the old lady’s house on Saturday morning to remove the two wall lights and at the same time fit the new ceiling light she had bought, a much better and much simpler affair. She wasn’t able to get the new wall lights until she had returned the ones I was to take down, the ones I’d fitted on Friday! I offered to take her into town and drop her off with the lights after which I was to return home and she would return home by herself later. I would return today, Monday to fit the wall lights she was to collect from the store. So that’s what I will be doing this morning if all goes well. It’s been a lovely weekend with fine sunshine and on Saturday evening Jane collected me on her way to the archery club social dinner, probably the last one I’ll attend as she is moving down to the south coast. E had been out all day on Saturday having driven to her venue early in the morning with her car stocked full of gifts for her ‘Formidable Friends’ competitors club event out-of-town. At least it gives her something on which to focus in her life as she is unable to work because of her incapacity. Life goes on with all its ups and downs. It’s Monday morning and I feel great.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Life | Tagged: Archery, Drink, Food, Friday, Friendship, Fun, Happiness, Jane, Life, Monday, Saturday, Work | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on March 25, 2012
Fred Neher's Life's Like That (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As I sit here writing this on Thursday afternoon the sun is streaming in through the windows and it is pleasantly warm outside on this second day of the new season. I have nothing to do so I am fixed on enjoying the moment. Still we have had little rain and I hope this won’t continue much longer. It’s not that I prefer rain to sunshine but we simply need the rain to water the land and fill the lakes and reservoirs. The coming month has been traditionally linked to an abundance of the wet stuff and maybe this year this will be the norm. Many things in life make me feel good and make life bearable but as ever I am never content with just physical comforts and delights, I need to be spiritually content too. Life itself, that is the living of it, is different and yet in many ways the same for each of us, we all need food, shelter, relationship, companionship, friendship, something to do and everything that is necessary in making life in today’s societies possible. Many are content with these things, some want more and more and are never satisfied, others are happy with just the minimum. Everything it seems centres on the practical side of life and many forget they need a spiritual side too or they don’t consider that to be true. We are all spirit, all enclosed in our mobile homes but many don’t think on such things, their thoughts firmly stuck in the everyday hustle and bustle of life. It is when we can find time to relax and actually have nothing to do that our thoughts can be free to dwell on things, make sense of what is going on around us. Too many of us use this time just to make plans for the ongoing lifestyles we lead but when I have the time, and that is quite often these days, I think about my faith, I think about my creator, about salvation, about how inadequate and undeserving I am in the eyes of Him who made me. Then I realise how fortunate I am in the knowledge of a love that goes far beyond my thinking, far beyond my deserving, a love that deals with and forgets my mistakes, a love that paid the price for me so that I could be free from my chains, this is the love I dwell in. This love is all I need, it enables me to face life with all its problems and remain happy and content no matter what is going on around me. I don’t really care if it rains or shines for I have something of more value, something I cannot get from just living this life as if everything in it was satisfying. I could have all the riches in the world and remain empty inside but I would rather be filled with a contentment that is not sourced in the physical realm. The love my God has for me is more than enough for me to be content. His sacrifice through Jesus Christ is sufficient. Life is certainly good when Jesus is in your heart.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in God, Happiness, Jesus, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit | Tagged: Christianity, God, Happiness, Jesus, Life | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 30, 2012
Image via Wikipedia
Sounds easy doesn’t it? I want to challenge my readers to make someone happy this week, someone who perhaps isn’t close to you or someone who comes into your life for whatever reason. Some of my readers will be doing this already and probably without thinking about it, others may find it a challenge. Not everybody appreciates what we do for them I know but it shouldn’t stop us trying should it? I personally do not like surprises but I do like being treated well, that is respectably. Sometimes in my working day I get unexpected rewards, for example a bottle of wine over and above my fee. Little gestures like that are pleasant to receive and they do make me happy. It is nice to know that we are appreciated now and then. Making someone happy doesn’t have to be a well thought out event, indeed it is far better when we are spontaneous for then it is likely to be more sincere I feel. Small things go a long way. Be kind and considerate when out in the world and always be ready to help those in difficulty. A lot of people live out their lives aggressively and are often selfish with it too. Some never wish to ‘get involved’ in situations and others are quick to jump in and help. Having the right attitude to life and indeed to others makes for a better person in my estimation. I will go out into the world today and forget what I’ve written here but then I know I do not need to be reminded to be nice to others because it is in my nature to be that way. I know in my heart that I will be ready to make someone happy if the opportunity arises because it makes me feel better too! I am not suggesting to my readers that they are anything else but nice people. I only suggest they might remind themselves that they are. I hope all my readers have a happy and wonderful week and along the way make someone else feel happy too.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Happiness, People, Philosophy | Tagged: Happiness, Inspirational, Love, People, Philosophy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 29, 2012
I had the strangest feeling last Friday evening. I had taken E out to lunch in the afternoon. We had travelled to various venues before arriving at the one we had originally thought of visiting in the first place. We had not been to this restaurant for quite some time, possibly more than twelve months but we had chosen well. We went the full three courses and I had my usual bottle of red wine. Later we indulged in a liqueur coffee before finally returning home. Well I actually was dropped off at the pub and I stayed there until well after midnight chatting with friends. E would have collected me had I phoned her but I decided to walk home instead. It was a dry and pleasant night if a little cold so the walk itself was nice but doing it in high heels was not to be recommended. I managed though and was home around one o’clock. I didn’t retire to bed until after two but spent some time online first. It didn’t take me long to board that train to Slumbertown but I was up again two hours later to pay the little girl’s room a visit. Half awake and half asleep I sat there a while and it was then that I was overcome with a very strong feeling, one I had never before experienced. Essentially it was a feeling of meaninglessness if there is such a word, a feeling that somehow my life was totally meaningless inasmuch as no matter what I do to be happy and to enjoy life in the end it is all quite meaningless and pointless. My thoughts turned to Scripture and specifically the Book of Ecclesiastes which describes what I was feeling about my life. I have mentioned this book before and I still recommend it as I do all of Scripture for what it contains. I have learnt to be happy and content with life, learnt to rest in the love of God and it is only because of that love that I find life bearable. We all want to be happy and content but do we really understand what that means? There are many pleasures to be had in life but they never completely satisfy the soul and we return to them repeatedly in the hope that we will have a good time and be happy. When the self-indulgent pleasure has passed we look forward to other things or a repeat of the same which tells me that life’s pleasures are but short-lived and have to be revisited over and over. In the end we tire of them. This is the feeling that I was experiencing. I realised that there is only one thing that lasts forever and it isn’t what my flesh and bones experience but it is what my spirit experiences, the love of God. Whilst I am in the flesh all I can do is to work, rest and play. I am on a merry-go-round that never stops and never really satisfies. I am constantly seeking new avenues for pleasure but it is all truly meaningless. We are but a breath, a whisper and our passing is hardly noticed in the vastness of the Universe. We live but for a short time and we are gone. All we can do is try to enjoy it the best we can. It’s what comes after that is more important.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Enjoyment, God, Happiness, Life | Tagged: Book of Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes, God, Happiness, Life, Religion and Spirituality, Solomon | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on December 27, 2011
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Another year is almost over and many will be looking back to see where they went wrong or where they succeeded in life. Perhaps they will be thinking why they didn’t really get to grips with last years resolutions with perhaps making a better attempt this time round. It is really about a mind struggle, overcoming one’s self, being determined but also being disciplined. Nothing was ever completed without effort. So what are the things which are most important to you? Is it a real desire to finally lose weight and more importantly keep it down? Perhaps you want to finally give up the weed? Is it a determined effort to make more of your life? Is your desire to help others more, pay more attention to your family, get those jobs finished, or even started, you know, the ones your wife has been asking you to do for years? Do you think that whatever plans and resolutions you make will succeed? Well they won’t, not unless you make the effort. So you have the next twelve months to make those dreams come true or at least make every effort to make them so. This time next year you may be finding how pleased you are with all that you’ve promised to do and succeeded or you may find yourself making more promises that you cannot keep. I do not make new year resolutions, not because I am afraid that I might fail, not because there may not be any to make, for I know that my life is far from being perfect, it is because I won’t make promises that I might not be able to fulfill. Any decisions I make will be on the spur of the moment, when I see a need and out of love. I won’t wish you all the best for the new year as the ‘new year’ means nothing to me but what I will wish is that your life will change for the better from this day forth and without the need to make resolutions, unless you absolutely swear by them!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Happiness, Life, Philosophy, Values | Tagged: Happiness, Life, New Year, New Year Resolution, People, Philosophy | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on December 17, 2011
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I’ve been considering my life quite a lot lately, much of that about my gender transition but also about my life in general, work, relationships, health, lifestyle and so on. I suppose it is all to do with age and how I am reacting to the changes that come naturally with it. Some things I have no control over but over much of it I do maintain control. I know I am not able to do things as quickly as I once did, in all areas of my life. I am finding that I like the free time I get when not working and the fact that I can accept work or not. I have turned down a few jobs of late, mostly because they were too big to take on when I don’t want to work full days, especially as the work was highly labour orientated. I get much satisfaction in doing smaller jobs whilst still earning a decent wage, not that I actually need the cash but one day I might so I save what I can too. My health has been suffering a little lately, aches and pains in my back muscles for a few days forced me to take things easy for a while. I am generally quite a fit and healthy person and I do look after myself, eating the right food and getting exercise when I am able. All of my life I wanted to transition and there have been a thousand and one reasons for me not doing so early in life but when I did transition over nine years ago, well nine years since my operations, I was as happy as I could be. The change in hormones fuelled a change in my perceived sexuality which was rather confusing at first but I finally settled down to what is normal for me. These days I feel I am asexual, having no urges to indulge in any kind of sexual acts either with myself or with anyone else. I have never enjoyed self stimulation of my vagina but was readily aroused if someone else did it! I now have a vagina that gets no sexual activity at all so dilation is pointless and this is the way I want it to be. Some might say that is a waste of all that I have gone through to get where I am but life is not about sex, especially when no interest is taken in it. Yes, I could still be stimulated and probably, no, certainly would get aroused (I still get feelings of arousal but take no action on it) if I pursued a life that involved sexual activity. However and although I have a high but suppressed libido, I choose not to. Some things in life I can choose to leave without missing them, sex is one of them. I still get advances from guys though. How does the saying go? I would much prefer a pan of Scouse (similar to Irish stew in Liverpool for those who may not know). So where am I now? Well apart from my family and one or two friends I am quite alone, no relationships. no lovers and happy as I can be.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Happiness, Lifestyle, Transsexual | Tagged: Happiness, Health, Human sexual activity, Lifestyle, Liverpool, Scouse, Sexology, Sexual arousal, Sexuality, Transition | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on November 20, 2011
Image by Paolo Margari via Flickr
Sometimes I feel closer to you. Yes you dear reader! I get quite lonely sometimes. My family is spread afar, my sisters live in another country, my brothers live reasonably close but I only see one of them and that only occasionally. The other brother might as well be on another planet as he has pretty much alienated himself from the rest of us. Both my parents died years ago. My sons, well one lives with his wife, naturally, the other has taken it upon himself to leave recently to live in his mate’s house. My ex and I are not on speaking terms right now and the only friends I have either live outside of this country or too far to be regular visitors. I am not looking for sympathy here by the way, no but I just point to the fact that those I’ve ‘met’ through blogging give me more of their time than those supposedly closer to me! One way of looking at it, a philosophical approach would be to say things will improve or I’ll die first! I am not taking bets on this one….LOL I remain as ever cheerful and never do I get depressed. I am a strong person in that respect but I also have a ‘live-in helper’. I think you know what I mean by that but if you don’t then look at my ‘religious’ posts. I have a lot of time on my hands these days, not much work to do in a professional capacity and the domestic situation is on hold untill I feel inclined to move on it. I could be tempted to fall into bad habits but I fight against it all of the time, my trips to the pub have taken a back seat but that is more to do with my lack of interest than anything else. Another aspect of my personality that you may not be aware of is that I have always been what people call ‘a loner’. I’ve never enjoyed being one of the crowd, going with the flow, doing what others do sort of person but I do nevertheless enjoy conversation and mixing socially. I suppose in these situations I feel more in control, having the choice of walking away rather than feeling obliged. It may have resulted me in not having a lot of ‘mates’ but then I was never ’one of the boys’ now was I?
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Friendship, Life, Lifestyle, Philosophy, Relationships | Tagged: Family, Friendship, Happiness, Philosophy, Relationship | 4 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on September 11, 2011
Image by Fairy Heart ♥ via Flickr
I’ve never been a person who likes to blow her own trumpet unless I am joking with family or friends. I have never seen the need to argue too much about my corner of the world, my life, my problems, my transition or anything else. Some people have a passion, an urge to make a loud noise to put over their views. I have no axe to grind, I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. Neither do I need to justify who I am. In regard to my status, my beliefs or anything about me, in that respect, again I have nothing to shout about. I can understand why some folk are militant when it comes down to the rights of an individual in Society for instance but there are many ways to slice a cake and being militant is only one of those ways and not always the best way. Of course it doesn’t necessarily follow that having a passion for something makes it morally valid or acceptable and folk can shout as loud as they like about an issue but that in itself changes nothing. We are a planet of people of all different backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, attitudes and that in itself becomes a stumbling block to any universal acceptance of one another. There will always be dissidents in this world unless all are united under one banner, even then friction will still exist. Simply put, we have to just agree to disagree, live and let live and get on with our own existence. As mortal beings who generally live less than a century we sometimes waste far too much time rocking the boat. We are here but for a short time, why not enjoy it and live in peace? Why all the hassle? Why all the hatred? Why all the axe grinding? What does it achieve? Some people make a nuisance of themselves and for what reason? They will return from whence they came, they will cease to exist just like the rest of us. Make it known that you have an opinion, like I do on here, but leave it at that. Put down the axe, you’ll only hurt yourself if you don’t!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Behaviour, Community, Happiness, Life, Morality, People, Philosophy, Time, Values, Wisdom | Tagged: Axe, Behaviour, Happiness, Love, People, Philosophy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on August 13, 2011
Image by CodeCutter via Flickr
Reading other people’s blogs is one of my pastimes when online and I read a few but not too many of them, I have too many other things to do. I find what others write about very revealing and their posts often provoke me to comment. Hopefully I do that tactfully. I often find that I can offer some advice having been through similar experiences to theirs and I hope too that any advice I give is helpful and supportive. Many of the things people write about concern their everyday lives and problems, especially those who, like me have transitioned or are going through transition. They write about things like acceptance, homophobia and transphobia in particular, love, relationships and a host of other things too. Sometimes I avoid responding to some posts especially where I have strong feelings on the subject opposing what is written. One of these subjects is religion. It is hard for someone like myself who, after many years as an atheist, became a Christian who reads about the moral issues and habits of non-Christians. I have to try to tread carefully so as not to upset people with any response but at the same time wanting to witness to them. Well everyone is different of course and I sometimes feel that Que Sera, Sera will inevitably rule. I read about the problems others like myself have when facing the world with the animosity and homophobia rearing their ugly heads from time to time. When I first transitioned I was fairly often picked upon by some people who had obviously ‘clocked’ me. Not a pleasant thing to endure but endure them we must. These days only very rarely does anyone look at me twice. It is hard for people like myself to get back in the queue of life having stepped out along the way. There should be no problem getting back in line because the space we left for a spell can only be filled by ourselves, the person didn’t leave the planet, just changed appearance! In my personal thoughts I sometimes feel that I don’t quite fit in, haven’t been fully accepted, am only tolerated, I am pitied. None of these thoughts are rational for in reality I have fitted back into the slot I once left whilst making the detour. When I visited the USA a couple of years ago there was a special reason, best known to the officials at the airport in New York for separating males from females. The men were allowed through the checkpoint and the women were made to stand there like dolls in a window with all and sundry gawping at them as they passed through. It was a very uncomfortable feeling having to stand there with my sisters, on show, fully exposed and with nowhere to turn. A case for testing one’s confidence if ever there was one! I had no problem of course but I did feel a little uneasy, half expecting someone to point the finger at me. Thankfully that didn’t happen and I had no problems at all during my whole stay in that country. It is nice to know that you fit in, that you are accepted as the person you are and the gender you are and not just simply tolerated. A lifetime of dysphoria coupled with bullying results in a lack of confidence that is hard to redeem. I was once in that boat and although now a land-lubber still have pangs of anxiousness now and then. I get these feelings sometimes.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Happiness, Life, Transgender, Transsexual | Tagged: Happiness, Homophobia, New York, Philosophy, Que Sera Sera, Time, Transgender, Transsexuality, United States | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on July 11, 2011
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Many people today worship idols but probably are unaware that they do. An idol is something that holds your attention sometimes at the expense of more important things. In fact always at the expense of more important things! Marriages and relationships break down, time is wasted on futile and non-essential things. For a season we indulge in our passions at the expense of a better life. Now you may be thinking, what exactly are these ‘idols’? Hobbies that take over all our time, hero-worship, these days usually defined as a favourite music band, a singer or a group, a football player or the whole team (probably more usual). Some people just cannot get enough information about their favourite idol and buy all the magazine literature there is just to get a glimpse of their lifestyles and live in a permanent state of awe. So called ‘stars’, ‘celebrities’ and people in the public eye strut about like they were something special compared to the rest of us mortals and people love it! There is nothing wrong with most of these things if taken very light-heartedly and not too seriously of course but the danger remains in spending too much of our own lives and time following after the exploits of others. Don’t we have lives of our own? There are other things too that can take up too much of our time, drink (alcohol), drugs and other unsavoury and unnecessary things for a happy life and we should be especially careful in these matters. As a Christian I have to be very careful that I don’t spend time in ‘idol worship‘ at the expense of spending more time with God and the things He would have me do with my time. I have never been into ‘celebrities’, don’t have a favourite movie, book or author and things of that nature that I over-indulge myself with, in fact I only read non-fiction anyway. There are pleasures to be had in life of course and we shouldn’t eliminate everything that takes our time but we should consider the consequences of not doing so.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Behaviour, Happiness, Lifestyle, Philosophy, Relationships, Temptation, Wisdom | Tagged: Christianity, God, Happiness, Idolatry, Jesus, People, Philosophy, Religion and Spirituality, Television, Ten Commandments, Wisdom | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on February 26, 2011
If I were to ask you if you were happy I would like to think that you could confidently answer positively. There will be things in your life perhaps that makes happiness for you not possible at this moment. If this is so I hope that it won’t last and that you will be happy soon. We all have different ideas on what makes us happy. For some it is having enough cash in the bank in order to make ends meet, for others it is having even more cash that they don’t know what to do with it. Some people are very poor financially speaking but are still happy. Some people have occupations that make them happy or friends and lovers to make them so but what is it in life that above all other things makes us really happy? To be able to say that you are happy in all circumstances is indeed a wonderful thing if we can achieve that state of mind. For most people complete happiness is unattainable but it need not be that way. Personally I can say that I am happy right now despite the many problems I have in life but it is hard to say whether that would be the case if I wasn’t so secure in a material way, not that I am wealthy in that respect! In fact I am not wealthy at all financially speaking but I don’t measure wealth in that way. Wealth isn’t about how much cash one has in the bank but how much happiness and contentment one has in the bank of life! I can say I am happy because I know God loves me and I Him. This kind of happiness is far better than any worldly happiness I could ever have. Happy people are easy to get along with, nothing seems to bother them much. Can you say that nothing really bothers you? I’d like to think so. What is it then in your life that makes you happy? To put it another way, what makes you unhappy and can you do anything about it? If you cannot, can you still be happy in yourself knowing that you are helpless to do anything about it? We may not be able to change things or change our circumstances but should these facts deny us the ability to be happy? Real happiness therefore does not depend on material things and the more you learn in life the more you realise that is the case. We should strive to be happy above all things, what is the point in leading a miserable existence?
What shall this life be likened to
With all it’s faults both old and new?
What shall compare with all it’s doubts
With all it’s fears and all it’s wants?
We dream of better things to come
Our hearts are lifted by the sun.
But still we moan in misery
Despite good fortune, you and me.
When rain and wind and icy roads
Do sometimes keep us on our toes,
We think our lot so burdensome
We long for better times to come.
But what is life if every day
Presents no hurdles in our way?
How boring would exsistence be
A faultless life for you and me.
Copyright Shirley Anne 12 Feb 03
Be happy!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Happiness, Life, Philosophy | Tagged: Depression, God, Happiness, Health, Life, Philosophy, Religion and Spirituality, Wealth | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 26, 2011
Yesterday it rained. Sounds a bit daft does that statement I suppose, especially when it is Winter in England or any other time in England for that matter! I mention it because we have just been through quite a few days of dry and still weather, however, they say February is the wettest and usually the coldest month of the year and that is just around the corner. I welcome the rain at this time of year because whilst it is raining it isn’t snowing! Heavy rain prevents working in the garden though and I, that is E and I have lots to do out there over the next couple of months. On my free days from work I have the opportunity to do some of that work but not if it is raining. I can turn to jobs around the house for there are plenty of those to do also but the outside work is more important just now.
It’s raining in my heart too. When we write posts on our blogs some of us write about life’s troubles as they affect us personally. I tend not to do that usually but at the same time I could write volumes if I wished to, although if you read some of my poems you will see how life has been unkind to me at times. Many of those poems relate to personal experience. People reading my ramblings may be under the impression that all is always ‘hunky-dorey’ in my life when often it isn’t. I am not alone, most people have problems in their lives and I’m no exception. I put on a happy face to the world when often I am hurting inside. I hurt because E is a difficult person to live with at times but I still love her. I hurt because she needs salvation. I hurt because she is stubborn and inflexible and won’t listen to reason sometimes. I hurt when people hurt me but I don’t retaliate, I pray for them. I hurt because of the selfishness of some people. I hurt because of all the needless suffering on the world. I hurt because of the bigotry and hate towards others for no real reason. I hurt because of mans inhumanity to man………………It’s raining in my heart and I hurt inside.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Happiness, Life, Love, People | Tagged: England, Happiness, Life, Love, People, Poetry, Rain | 6 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on January 15, 2011
Most every day of my life now since I became a Christian (6th Feb 1989) I find myself singing songs in my heart or simply just praising God. Sometimes I get so excited and shout it out loud that I love Him. To the unbeliever this might sound a bit ridiculous and it was for me before I became a believer but when you’ve such a joy in your heart it is difficult to hold it in! When I awake in the morning I get down on my knees and pray but sometimes I will sing first, well as best as I can sing these days. Sometimes I sing one of my own compositions such as ‘O Dear Heavenly Father’ which you can locate in my music and in my poems above, sometimes another like the one below. Either way I praise God for who He is and it puts me in the right spirit for the rest of the day. When you’ve got something to shout about you do it. The love Father God has for me (and for you) is priceless and goes beyond my understanding and that is why I love Him.
I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice
To worship you, Oh my soul rejoice!
Take joy, my King, in what you hear
May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear
I love you, Lord, and I lift my hands
To worship you as my soul demands
Take joy, my King, in what you see
May I be a sweet, sweet child on your knee
I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice
To worship you, Oh my soul rejoice!
Take joy, my King, in what you hear
Make it a sweet, sweet sound in your ear
Make it a sweet, sweet sound in your ear
Scriptural Reference:
“Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in his salvation.” Psalm 35:9
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Celebration, God, Happiness | Tagged: God, God the Father, Happiness, Worship | Leave a Comment »
