Award! :)

Cora from Postulations of an Iconoclast nominated everyone for this award.

The rules are as follows: she has 10 questions for me to answer and then I pass along the award with my own questions for others to answer! :D

Cora's questions were absolutely brilliant so I'm being sneaky and changing the rules a bit (as per usual ;)) and I too nominate everyone - to answer Cora's questions! :D Go for it! It really made me think about the Good in Life and whatever questions I would think of would be nowhere near as great. :)

Let me know if you decide to accept the award! I'd love to read your replies. :)

Cora's questions to me...and you if you choose to accept. ;)
1. What moment in your life did you feel that Life wasn't Good and how did you turn it around?
I'm not sure if I've ever had the thought that Life wasn't Good… It's been hard, tough and unfair at times but never not good. Does that make any sense…? When Life has been hard, tough and/or unfair I've not thought that there is anything I could do to turn it around… I've tried my best to keep going because I know it's not going to stay hard forever. I try and cherish the little things and see the lessons learnt from whatever has happened. Trying to see the "whole picture" rather than just my own miserableness has helped too. And when Life's been tough have I've never been more certain of the enormous love and support I have from my family and friends and that's Good, even when Life is unfair…

2. What moment did you experience the quiet validation that Life truly is Good?
On a bus home from school, listening to music with the sun shining through the window…or was it raining? ;) It was awesome…! :)

3. Has your life turned out the way you hoped when you were little? Is it better or worse? Explain.
Hmm… That's a tough question! Overall I do think life as turned out the way I hoped; I'm a mom, a wife and a good friend. I've traveled some and seen things and learnt from my experiences…yet the joys in life have been more joyous and the hard parts have been harder than I could have ever imagined, so Yes and No. :D

4. What does "Having a Good Life" mean to you?
Loving and being loved.
That's it… Having people around me that I care for and who I know care for me.

5. If you were granted 3 wishes to make your life better, what would they be and why?
3 wishes to make life better… hmmm…
* I'd wish for our finances to be a bit better, I'm not wishing for a pot of gold or anything but having a bit more money saved and a little bit more funds to use when needed because it would make life easier and therefore better.
* I'd give my husband the peace that mindfulness brings, because being in the presence brings so much more than just peace.
…
And I'll keep that third wish for later…perhaps when the little ones are teenagers and need to see that I'm only human and whatever I do for (or against them) is because I love them… ♥

6. What is your greatest dream that you want to accomplish for yourself?
I want to get a degree - in teaching, or possibly social work. That, and being at a weight where I feel comfortable in my own skin…

7. In your daily life, what are the things that validate your own Good Life?
Whatever makes me smile or brings me gratitude… It can be a good old fashioned letter in the mail, a sparkle in Erin's eyes, early morning snuggles from Anton or the silliness of painting my nails a sparkly pink shade. :D

8. What brings you the greatest joy(s)?
My children ♥ , a good book and sparkly nail polish. ;)

9. If you had complete control over the Fates, what would the next 10 years be like?
Not sure that I'd want that control, I quite like not knowing what'll happen… :/
I'd keep everyone I love healthy and safe…but then I'm quite happy to take the good with the bad and the happy with the sad… I'd not like to decide the what's and when's of the rough times and I'd not be willing to be completely without, that's the stuff you learn and grow from you know…! ;)

10. What is your favourite quote about life?
Ah! Just ONE?!? *lol* "Desiderata" by Max Ehrmann is more than a "quote" but it says all that I want to keep with me a I walk my path through life.

I also really love… "Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on, so that children have very little time for their parents. Parents have very little time for each other, and in the home begins the disruption of peace of the world." ~ Mother Teresa …'cause I think she right in that we need to slow down and start making the world a better place in our own homes first.

And another really good one is "Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens." ~ Kahlil Gibran

♥ E.