Over the last few weeks this site has had some strange happenings going on and I am putting it down to my lack of attention to it. You can liken it to a car for example. If you don’t put petrol in it, it won’t go!! To my loyal readers, for this I apologise in not bringing you material that keeps you informed and growing within yourself. With the upgrade and migration to a new server, I encountered some technical issues which are now resolved so all is up and running and now and I am back to writing for you.

Good vs Bad

I would like to bring your attention to something that struck me the other day. I watched a movie (shock, horror) which made me think about the good and the bad that is in the world today. Without the bad, there would be no good. What I mean to say is that every action has a complimentary reaction so when we hear of natural disasters or terrorist acts, we think these are bad things, but without them, we would not see the acts of kindness of the human race either. Follow me for a moment here.

In 2001, we all remember the planes crashing into the twin towers on 9/11. It didn’t hit me until one week later because at the time, I was with my firstborn in a sleep centre learning how to get her to sleep without too much interference from me. She happened to wake about 2am and that particular night, her cot was in the conference room where the night duty nurse had the TV on. I was half awake and the chaos of that day was unfolding right in front of my eyes on the tube. It didn’t really sink in until I was back home and my fogginess had cleared.

The events of that tragic day had everybody (or so it seems, as that is what the MEDIA portrayed to us) against terrorists and focusing on what they could and would do about them. Much later came the stories of acts of human kindness and because of this, there was a major shift in consciousness around the globe. People were helping others because it seemed the right thing to do. Now I am not discounting the thousands of people who lost their lives due to those attacks, and may they rest in peace, I am simply saying that if something as big as 9/11 didn’t happen, we may not have come as far as we have with a shift in consciousness.

I still don’t fully understand why it happened and I guess I never will because I cannot be those terrorists that made it so. What I can do though is be grateful that the human race can come together in times like these and give a helping hand.

Acts of Kindness

Now I have just described an event of mammoth proportions but it doesn’t take such an event for human kindness to shine through. Maybe you helped an elderly person cross the street, or maybe you cuddled a child who was hurt in an accident. It could be that you telephoned your wife/husband just to say “I love you” or even to take your mum shopping, or letting your niece write a post on your blog, lol! Whatever the case, I know each of you has this capability and if you wouldn’t mind sharing some thoughts on this, I am looking to write an ebook to be released when I get back from the Kokoda trek in which I will include a section about Acts of Kindness where I can feature what you share here.

PS. My niece who wrote the post prior to this has now set up her own blog at Michalea Is Me and I look forward to seeing what she does with it.

To Our Success

Have you ever felt like you were the only person in the whole universe with a challenge? You may have noticed that I have been absent from Buzzing with Ange a bit lately. To tell you the truth, I lost my creativity and didn’t want to bring you half-baked articles just to keep updating. Instead, I have been meandering along another path away from my laptop and that is the one of further study for my NLP (Neuro-Linguistic-Programming) Master Practitioner along with training for the Kokoda Trek!

Aside from that, we, that is my family, have recently found out that my dad needs to have open heart surgery and as I type this, he has been hospitalised due to a series of recurring minor heart attacks and we are waiting to hear when he will be able to have the procedure done. Needless to say, it has put us all on standby wondering what the outcome will be.

Through all this, I have learned something about myself and that is that I am not the super emotionally strong person I thought I was. Does this mean that I have failed? No, not at all! In fact, what is has done is made me aware of the vulnerabilities that we as humans all have and that is that when someone close to us that we love faces a life threatening challenge, we start asking the questions why. After all, my dad is a very fit man and at the age of 78, he walks 60 kms per week!

The thing is to not ask why, but rather, how do we adapt to make this experience go as smoothly as possible while maintaining a positive outlook so as to keep my dad’s spirits up and help him as best we can through this challenge?


This Is How We Grow

While being empathic to his reality, I think the best thing I can do is spend time with him and ask questions so that I can learn as much as I can about him… I’m sure there are many things that I do not know about my dad and at the same time, tell him how I feel about him. Use the time to really bond and I think I am sounding like this is the end for him, and I’m sure it isn’t, but what an opportunity to get even closer than I was before! My point is that sometimes we leave things unsaid and then have regrets that we shoulda coulda woulda done this that and the other. I have heard it too many times before and I would rather not be left in that situation so speak now before it is too late.

This way of thinking can apply to anyone in our lives who we may be needing to discuss things with. What I mean is to not let emotions hold you back from speaking up about something or clearing the air if need be. I’m thinking in particular about forgiveness and emotional intelligence which goes a long way towards your personal development. Being consciously aware of our reactions to particular people or circumstances and coming to an agreement with ourselves or others, helps us keep things in perspective and not make up stories about it… after all, your reality will differ from the next person’s reality. We all have a different view of life and whatever your beliefs, it is the right one for you. Remember though that holding onto negative thoughts you have without either writing them down or talking about them with someone, will only make you the victim so please, if you have something to say then say it.

I know I am not the first person to be faced with this situation and I won’t be the last. So, I am not looking for sympathy here, rather, I would like to ask what are some of the things you may have tried in a similar situation which worked for you and your family to get you through a time like this?

. This last week, I have been devoting my time to my family which has curbed my time online. It has made for a very special Christmas Day for us all. We celebrated both the night before Christmas and the day itself with family and we have managed to catch up with some friends as well.

Seeing how special it was, I wanted to share some of it with you.  I put together this holiday video message for you with a special offer as my gift to you my readers.  All you need to do is leave me your contact details with an address to send the book to at no expense to you.  I will cover the costs involved and I will leave this offer is open until the 31st January, 2008.

If you would like a digital version of the book while you are waiting for the hard copy to arrive, you can request it from here.Have a very special holiday season, stay safe, and may you be blessed.

Dedicated to Success

Every once in a while, here in the blogosphere, it just so happens that we get tagged in a meme and have to pass along a chain letter, in this case, to some other bloggers. When the lovely Te-ge from SU Comments hit me up for this, I thought why not. Te-ge is a blogger just like me, at home with her kids, we met through the Thirty Day Challenge and are still in contact. The request came through the Twitter logs and she just couldn’t help herself. Te-ge’s blog is very helpful with everything you need to know about StumbleUpon and how to use it. If you’re not sure about anything on SU, Te-ge even has a how to video which explains it simply.

What I like about this particular one is that it’s All About Me which will give you some idea of my online habits and why I am here. Some of you may have read earlier posts where I refer to my presence on the web and for those that haven’t caught up with me yet, you will find the answers down below. So keep reading.

Here we go, questions and answers. (more…)

As I reflect on this past year, I look back in wonder at the things I have achieved.  There is so much I have done that I did not know I could do.  There are so many things you don’t know that you don’t know that when you start something new, the possibilities are endless!

I am grateful for the oportunities that have come my way and that I have been open enough to take them on.  For one thing, my presence on the web has especially been a wonderful and interesting journey and I would like to thank my friend Jim for helping me and guiding me in building my first website over cyberspace.  What evolved from there is this blog and another web business which I am happy to say is developing nicely with other opportunities that have come to me just by being in the business.

Success is something you attract by the person you become.  Put your energy into becoming a better you, the best you.  Learn the skills.  Practice the skills and attract the success.

I would like to thank  you for your support over the last six months and I leave you this year with best wishes for a wonderful festive season and a prosperous New Year.  I can’t wait for all the exciting ideas that will come to me in 2007.

See you in the New Year!

Ange