Is Man's Best Friend the True Key to Everything?

Dear Lovely ones,

It suddenly occurred to me this morning how much positive power our canine furbabies have in this world.  I've always loved and admired my friend's dogs and those I met on the street.  I've followed the lives of various friend's pooches on social media and in the 3D world and remember fondly how much my dogs meant to me when I was a lonely adolescent in outback NSW.  Actually having my own furkid now and sharing our exploits on social media it's apparent to me that these furry friends are possibly a bigger key to world happiness than ever before.

Why am I saying this?  On instagram my followers have grown so much since I began posting images and videos of Molly.  I'm meeting people from across the world who share in my love of my dog by sharing themselves and their babies.  On Facebook and twitter they have become the most commented posts, and when I see a mate's photo with them and their furbaby I can't help but feel so much happier.  What I am seeing here is a widespread love of all things doggy.  

Then there are the "feelgood" stories and videos that so many people share about dogs.  The dog performing CPR, the ones that are taken into nursing homes to visit the elderly, and the ones who rescue a  human child in their "pack" family from adversity.  We've all seen this but have we really LOOKED and taken in what we are seeing??


I'd love to see if we could harness this love we have for the canine and find a similar joy in the human world.  Our furkids love us for many reasons.  They feel protected and nurtured in a pack situation.  They are fed and cared for by us.  We give them shelter and quality time.  These are all things we can do in our human world as well.  It takes a shift in mindset to accomplish but I'm sure that if we took a chance our world might slowly share more joy than sorrow.

This is Molly.  She is our furbaby.  She's naughty, cheeky and I'm so in love with her and the joy she brings into my life.  No matter what happens, she makes my day that much brighter and I feel I can face the world with a much stronger foundation.  I know when I come home she is happy to see me.  I can be in a bad mood and all she wants to do is comfort me.  We spent quality time together and I get to watch her grow into an adult.  

this is Molly the night she arrived at our place...10 weeks old 

Molly at 12 weeks of age. Such a cutey

this is Molly now.  Quite the "lady" 

Even when she's destroying things it's ok. 

We've actually found things that we are happy for her to "rearrange"

Having a furbaby in our family is always entertaining!

This photo needs no caption lol......

Wouldn't it be great if our attitude to dogs and what they give us is all that is needed to give us a bit more world peace?  Yeah, you could say this is a simplistic attitude and you would be right.  However, if a simple thing like spending time with a canine actually helped you to destress and recharge wouldn't you want that in your life?  Are you a nicer person to those around you as a result of this?  If seeing a positive video about a dog made you feel all warm and fuzzy, couldn't you use this to do something nice for a human in your life?  A dog gives and gives until its last breath.   In return we cuddle, play, feed, give shelter and love them back with all our hearts.   If we gave to humans wouldn't it come back to us in spades eventually too?  They say that "paying it forward" is the way to live your live if you want to be happy.  I think dogs do this in spades.  I also feel they are the key to eternal happiness if we let it in.

Lots of Love

Susan xx

There Are Good Men Too

Dear Lovely Ones,

It’s many thanks to a lovely lady by the name of Melissa Hocking that I find myself creating this piece. It’s not easy, sometimes, being female in this big world of ours. Recent events have had a global impact probably more so with the social media platforms we have now. What’s apparent, and this is thanks to Melissa, is that most of this has been focused on the sadder element of human relations. It’s a pretty bad situation to be sexually harassed and I don’t believe there is one woman on the planet who hasn’t been subjected to it: some on a regular basis. Equally there must be many genuine men out there who are having a bad time at the moment as they might feel like the world’s female population hates them for simply being male.

Anyway, I’d like to take a moment to focus publicly on some of the men in my life who have been a positive and uplifting influence on me rather than the countless who haven’t. I’d rather do that than remember all the bad times. So here we go:

Firstly, there is my dad, who was encouraging to all of us regardless of our gender. His idea was that we could all grow up and be independent and happy adults. No matter what course my life has taken he has been there to support whatever decision and direction. As the eldest he wanted me to “go live my life and be happy”. I kinda think I am really, don’t you? 😊

My darling beautiful man is a constant gift to me. He’s someone who has been the biggest surprise in my life. As we’ve gotten to know each other more I understand why I was attracted to him in the first place. His smile on that first day still beams at me each morning, afternoon and evening. His consideration of me is like no other, sometimes I’ve had to shake my head and stop so I can take in what a big beautiful and gentle heart he has. I am fortunate that I recognised, in time, the happiness I would have bringing him to my side. He believes in me totally and is a great influence on me continuing with my music career when I feel a little sad about things.

The more I sat and thought about it, the more men who came to mind who had been a significantly positive influence on my life. In fact, amongst all the negative men I’d crossed paths with were more lovely men than I had first thought. These men all respected me for my knowledge and character rather than any physical attribute. They understood and practiced social etiquette and professional boundaries. I learnt much from these professional colleagues and mentors and owe them much for the time they freely gave so that I could move forward. What makes these men special is that they are on the rarer side of common. They see the world in a special way and have a broader view of what really matters. I think it’s rather cool that I can remember these significant men more than those who hurt or harassed me. I feel blessed and fortunate to have had them in my life.

Melissa is right, we could all put our thinking caps on and come up with a #truementoo story. We all must have at least one positive male in our life: even if it’s the postie or the butcher or someone we might see occasionally. I think it’s time we celebrated the men in our lives who have made up for all the a-holes who have tried to bring us down.

Lots of love

Susan xx

Sometimes we need to say "Yes"

Here I am, one year on from the day I arrived in my new city and state. On this day last year I'd finally arrived after a gruelling weekend of final cleaning and finding new homes for my furniture. Up to that point I'd not really taken in the enormity of what I was about to pursue. New state, new city, new man, new home were all awaiting me. Now I've made it to one year in my new home with my new man and I couldn't be happier. He took a chance on me and for that I'm really grateful. Sometimes we need to let ourselves be rescued so we can give ourselves another chance. Sometimes we simply need to say "yes".