I'm hungry for life.

“Honesty has a power not everyone is ready for ....

Be honest anyway.”

~ unknown

There has been so much of sadness in the world of late.

Atrocities are becoming the new norm.

Terror attacks dominate the headlines.

The airwaves are saturated with them.

How confusing and hate-filled our world has become.

The eternal optimist within me struggles with this hate.

I’m a lover not a fighter

and evil is attempting to divide the world..

Divide and conquer?

It’s not a myth.

What to do in a world gone haywire??

I have to believe in the power of the human spirit.

The insatiable yearning within each of us that good will conquer evil.

It doesn’t take away from the magnitude of the evil

but it gives me hope.

Hope is a positive energy.

And I have that in droves!

Hope is what drives me out of a warm bed in the early morning.

That.

And the hound.

There’s always a sunrise to see.

Reflections to be amazed by.

People to make smile!

They’re moments in my day, frozen in time.

A necessary interlude in the chaos that is life.

They should be mandatory.

For everyone

What you feed your mind affects your life in a very real way.

If you’re not nurturing the part of you that sees the good in the world,

then the evil is likely to overwhelm you.

Rambles are my soul food.

What's yours?

.“Surround yourself with people who make you hungry for life,

who touch your heart and nourish your soul.”

~ unknown

Hope. is. everywhere.

 “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny ...” 

~ C.S. Lewis

Takapuna Beach on a glorious Friday morning.

At times I’m discouraged by the negativity that seems to dominate my world at the moment. There are times when it brings me down. 

All I see around me is despair, a lack of confidence  and sadness.  

We see SO many different breeds of dogs there ... from this little Dachshund

It makes me lose hope for the people in my life.

... to this rather nervous German Shepherd.

Then I’m reminded of this quotation from Jack Sparrow

“The problem is not the problem. 

The problem is your attitude about the problem.  

Do you understand?”

This was the rather vocal German Shepherd's buddy.

I understand COMPLETELY.

 Attitude is everything.

Sam found a friend the same age to play with .... Richie after Richie McCaw

I have to CHOOSE to focus on the little victories.

On the magic of the moment as it happens.

On the sunshine and the blue skies.

Even on the ‘words falling out of my mouth’ thingy.

A rather grumpity looking Boxer.

Be grateful for what IS in your life because

HOPE. is. EVERYWHERE.

Had to get Carol to wait whilst I captured the reflection in her glasses ... it was sublime!

I might not be in control of the situation, 

but I am in control of my thoughts.

A Hinds Variety that we've met before ... he loves his tennis ball as much as ours love their rugby balls.

THINK good ones and REMEMBER the magical ones.

A trio of chocolate mousse .... white, milk and dark.

This moment with Sam on Friday WAS a magical one.

Another Border Collie cross

Often, when the hounds get up close and personal, it’s impossible to zoom out and refocus quickly enough to capture the feel of the moment. 

Not so in this case.

The sister of the Shetland Sheepdog duo

Sam’s face says it all.

Oh yes .... he's realised just how clever that was.

He knocked my coffee over.  

Spillages are lickable.  

Yummily so!

Yep .... that was YUMMY!

The first time was an accident.

The second DEFINITELY wasn’t.

The Sparrow that distracted me.

I was distracted by the Sparrows.  

He was distracted by my coffee ... deviously so!

It was a smile inducing moment.  

Humour by the bucketful.

A necessary accessory in this crazy world I’m living in.

The brother of the Shetland Sheepdog duo

“If you only walk on sunny days, you’ll never reach your destination.”

~ Paulo Coelho

Outside the Takapuna Cafe where we indulge our caffiene addiction after our ramble