Skip to main content

Happy New Year : Love the moment


The last time I wrote about New Year resolutions was in 2014 - in this post  . I still think that the five simple guidelines for happy living  is a wonderful way to reflect on behaviours for the year, and to continue every day of every year...


I hope, this year, we will all try to be kinder to one another, expect the positive and judge less.  I am not so serious about  resolutions  and how to achieve them. I am aiming for doing the best I can each day.... There are so many websites which discuss the behaviourist theories behind successful  New Year resolutions. According to these experts, my approach is far too vague and should be more specific  and realistic  so if I were to translate this into action - a random act of kindness at least once a week, wake up each morning thinking of one positive thing which could occur in my day, hold my tongue when a quick judgement looms - this sounds ok for me. However,  I think it's so reassuring that when really high fliers, the super successful  in global business corporations were asked about their New Year's resolutions  they did not mention career and financial success so much. They mostly responded along the lines of improving communication and empathy with others, for example the behaviours listed included, having the humility of seeing strengths in others; more 'face to face" communication - fewer emails;   mentoring of  young women and assisting the global refugee crisis.  from Business Insider . 2017 is looking great! 

Happy New Year - Relax and love the moment! 



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How does your garden grow with stitch?

"How does your garden grow with stitch?" is an update on a post I published way back in 2015, when I stitched my first "impressionist garden" for a course I was studying at the Embroiderers' Guild.  Gardens are my constant inspiration for my artwork, and I create gardens in cloth  and stitch repetitively, using many different techniques. I am particularly fond of this heavily stitched embroidered "impressionist" garden.  In 2016, I stitched two small gardens in this style for an exhibition and they included photos of  my husband's grandmother and her brother and sister as children. Although the collector who bought these two works did not know our family, the children reminded him of his own family from England of about the same era. These two 'gardens'   have become my "stitch" reference and images which best showcase the technique although I don't have the originals any more.   Since then,  quite a few other gardens have gro...

Countdown to Christmas 20 - Fruitcake song!

There are many songs about fruit cakes  - not all of them referring to the Christmas cake we know and love.It is really surprising to learn via Google that there are 89 listed songs with references to Christmas cake or fruit cake - not all of them complimentary.   Probably one of the most famous folk songs about Christmas cake is Miss Fogarty's  Christmas Cake (a favourite sung by The Irish Rovers).  This first recorded comical Christmas song was written by C Frank Horn in 1883 in Pennsylania, as a variation of an Irish folk song, 'Miss Mulligan's Christmas Cake' . The chorus might give you the hint that Miss Fogarty's cake was not for the faint hearted or those who suffered from a weak stomach.    Chorus : There were plums and prunes and cherries, There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too There was nutmeg, cloves and berries And a crust that was nailed on with glue There were caraway seeds in abundance Such that...

Wednesday's Child /2

Work in Progress - 3 of the 193 for "Stitched Up"- Wilma Simmons   The work for the "Stitched Up " Project  continues. See the previous "Wednesday Child" post for the background to this art project celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Newcastle Industrial School. I have been documenting the progress of my work, so I thought it might be interesting to share some of the early stages of the "stick dolls" ... Here are some of the beginning steps.. Sticks collected while walking the bushland in my neighbourhood  Drying and getting rid of any insects - oven heat 75 degreesC for approx 1-2 hours.  Trimmed and cut if necessary  Ends sealed with matte sealing solution.  Drying  - solution goes on white but dries clear.  First wrapping - foil to create a body shape  Second wrapping - stretch fabric.  Third wrapping - fabric strips  Some stitching - more stitching and embellishment to ...