Category Archives: Uncategorized

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Dad’s lessons and jokes

Dads…. We may respect them, appreciate them, get annoyed by them, or laugh at their jokes. However one thing is for sure: We wouldn’t be who we are without them. And so often their jokes turn out to be some of life’s most important lessons…

One of my dad’s favourite songs was about a friend…

Once when he heard this song on the radio, he said: “Like with friends, do not be in a rush selecting a life partner… Take your chosen one up a high mountain with you… And if he survives your sense of humour, bring him home – I’ll have a look…” 😉

Funnily enough, we lived in a flat part of the country with not a single hill in sight…. 😂😂😂

Father and Daughter

What was the best advice you ever got from your dad?

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Is Your Relationship Naughty or Nice?

Santa’s making his list of who’s been naughty and who’s been nice this year. Will you find you or your partner on the naughty or the nice list? Check out OneLove Foundation’s naughty and nice lists to find out!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The Nice List

1. You accept and love your partner for who they are, including their quirky qualities!

2. You don’t make jokes at your partner’s expense and you can have constructive conversations if something is bothering you in the relationship.

3. You trust your partner and don’t get suspicious of what they’re doing when you’re not around.

4. You and your partner make relationship decisions together with neither person feeling like they have no say.

5. Your relationship doesn’t feel like an emotional roller coaster. You keep your cool when you argue, drink, or get upset.

6. You and your partner are both happy with the amount of time you spend together and the amount of time you spent apart. You have your own life outside of your relationship and can balance a love life and a personal life.

7. If there’s a problem in the relationship, you and your partner can have a constructive conversation about it without fear of retaliation.

8. Your friends and family like your partner and your partner encourages you to maintain healthy relationships with these very important people in your life.

9. Your partner respects your decisions. They don’t tell you or make subtle hints about what you can do, what to eat or wear, and who you should talk to or be friends with.

10. You know your relationship is making you a better, happier person. You have no doubts about whether or not it’s right for you.

Photo by Timur Weber on Pexels.com

The Naughty List

1. Your partner tries to hide or change you instead of accepting you for who you really are. Your partner makes you feel like you need to change to keep them satisfied.

2. Your partner nitpicks and criticizes you more than you’d like.

3. Your partner is always wondering or worrying about what you’re doing when you’re not together.

4. Your partner is the one calling all the shots and you feel like you need to follow along to keep the peace.

5. Your partner wants all of your time, but you want a little more time to yourself. You don’t bother talking to them about it because you know they will overreact or, if you do bring it up, they lash out at you or make you feel guilty for wanting some time apart.

6. Your partner makes you feel responsible for their happiness or success.

7. Your partner makes you wonder if you’re the problem in the relationship and they blame you for everything.

8. Your partner doesn’t get along with your friends and family.

9. Your partner tries to control what you do, who you spend time with, and who you talk to. They’ll tell you an outfit doesn’t look good so you change, ask you not to talk to someone they perceive as a “threat,” or tell you what parties you can go to.

10. Your partner is belligerent and out of control when they drink.

If you find yourself thinking, “that’s my relationship” after reading this naughty list, start the New Year by addressing this and seek professional help if needed.

Photo by Timur Weber on Pexels.com

Credit: OneLove Foundation

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Afghanistan – Soviet Vietnam 1.0 and US Vietnam 2.0…

Afghanistan, once described as the Soviet Union’s Vietnam, became Vietnam 2.0 for the US…. Another unwinnable war with lessons never learnt….

Otrazhenie

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Afghanistan
1984-1986

“When I was drafted into the army in April 1984, I was a nineteen-year-old  boy. The club where they took us was a distribution centre. Officers came there from various military units and picked out the soldiers they wanted. My fate was decided in one minute. A young officer came up to me and asked, “Do you want to serve in the commandos, the Blue Berets?”  Of course I agreed. Two hours later I was on a plane to Uzbekistan (a Soviet republic in Central Asia), where our training base was located.

During the flight, I learned most of the soldiers from this base were sent to Afghanistan. I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t surprised. At that point I didn’t care anymore because I understood that it is impossible to change anything. ‘To serve in the Soviet army is the honourable duty of Soviet citizens” –…

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Never fear to be YOU…

“Understand: you are one of a kind. Your character traits are a kind of chemical mix that will never be repeated in history. There are ideas unique to you, a specific rhythm and perspective that are your strengths, not your weaknesses. You must not be afraid of your uniqueness and you must care less and less what people think of you.”

Robert Greene

Photo by Jou00e3o Gabriel Amorim Antunes on Pexels.com
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DO’s and DON’Ts of losing a job

I published this post 5 years ago and decided to reblog it today as so many people around the world are losing their jobs and struggling financially now. Do not despair – there are always options out there. Give yourself the time and space to identify them, rethink your priorities and refocus on the positive aspects of your life. Take care and stay well.

Otrazhenie

Have you ever lost your job or do you know someone who lost their job?

I was in my teens when my dad lost his job. He was not fired, he was not made redundant. Simply the state research institute he was working in vanished one day after perestroika, leaving over 2,000 employees unemployed with no redundancy payments, no unemployment benefits, no support. Nothing, absolutely nothing at all…

There were hardly any other jobs around at that time. Factories were closing one after another. Those who managed somehow to keep their jobs were often forced to take unpaid leave for 2-3 days a week or were not paid at all for months and months and months… They kept getting monthly payslips without pay.

“We’ll be OK”, my dad said, shrugging his shoulders and putting away his business suit, “I’ll find some work”.

Dad started his career  in one of the deepest…

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What daughters need from dads…

Princess1

When fathers treat their daughters well, this relationship becomes one of the most cherished for their daughters. It often shapes their daughter’s lives, making them more resilient, giving them permanent armour for the rest of their lives. A father holds the keys to his daughter’s feminine identity, her sense of self-worth, and her future relationships.

Girls need fathers to make them feel like a princess: cared about, loved, safe and secure. To feel very special. Feeling like a princess is not about looking super-beautiful, being showered in expensive gifts, being spoilt, avoiding doing chores around the house, being rude and disrespectful to others. It is more about how girls feel inside: their self-esteem, self-acceptance, self-love.

From infancy, girls draw conclusions about what men are like from the men in their life. If there is a father (or a male in her life who takes a father role), that man becomes her guidepost for what to expect of men.

Spend quality time with your daughter. Do things she enjoys doing. Play with her. Give her hugs and share laughs.

Celebrate her mind. Read to your little girl. Be interested in what she is learning in school. Pay attention to her interests and be sincerely curious to learn what she knows about them. Share interesting things about your work and your hobbies with her.

Go to her events whether it is sport, dancing or musical theatre. She needs you there as a witness to her talents, her efforts, and her achievements.

Tell her she’s beautiful and the most precious gift in your life. Look at her with admiration. This will be one of the building blocks for her self-esteem.

Treat all women the way you want your daughter to be treated someday. Take care with what you say about women and never ever tell or laugh at a sexist joke. Your daughter is listening. Your attitude about women is part of the attitude she is developing about herself.

Treat her the way you want her future partner to treat her. The way you interact with your daughter is what she becomes used to when relating to a man. Treat her with respect, dignity, care and affection and she will expect to be treated that way by other men in her life.

Be the kind of man you want your daughter to marry one day. Make no mistake; you are the model for manhood your daughter is likely to look for when she starts to date. If you want her to find a man who is caring, faithful, honest and hardworking, who knows how to have fun, who uses money wisely and who doesn’t abuse people, drugs, or alcohol, then you need to be that kind of man. It is not what you say that counts, but what you do.

And then no matter what obstacles she will encounter in her life, the bullies she will meet, the nasty things she will be told, she won’t care because she will know deep in her heart that she is a very special, intelligent and beautiful person no matter what.

Girl

Behind every happy daughter is a truly amazing dad!

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Lighthouse

lighthouse 1Image  from imanikingblog.com

She stands high upon the bluff
a silhouette of one
lonely on the shore
It’s what she’s always done.

She is a lonely beacon
that beckons all to come
unnoticed by the multitudes
but cared about by some.

An angel to the sailors
on a bleak and stormy night,
the savior to the ships at sea
on a foggy night…

Visit the Reluctant Poet blog to read this wonderful poem written by Charles Robert Lindholm and always keep your light shining…

The Reluctant Poet

THE LOVER OF THE LIGHT - ON THE BLUFF 60 PERCENT
By Charles Robert Lindholm

She stands high upon the bluff

a silhouette of one

lonely on the shore

It’s what she’s always done

She is a lonely beacon

that beckons all to come

unnoticed by the multitudes

but cared about by some

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Free your mind from worries, negative thoughts and nonstop thinking

Peace

Try to calm your mind when you feel agitated. Mentally, take a step back and watch your mind, as if looking at someone else’s mind.Try to watch your thoughts during the day, as if they are not yours, without being sucked into them. Become conscious of the fact that you are watching your thoughts.

Enjoy your inner peace.

THE END

From Look within you