Call me old fashioned but...

I have no idea why this blog post happened, it is just a few thoughts that have been rattling around in my head this past week, tired of drama, jealousy and gossip and fearing for humanity as a whole...my inner Victorian school mistress may have had a hand in writing this...so for what it's worth here it is...

Call me old fashioned but I love the memories from when I was a child and everyone in the street knowing everyone else, which actually was quite nice and meant that each person looked out for everyone else, even if it meant your parents finding out you had been naughty because a neighbour had seen you do it.  It was a sense of community.

Now it seems that we need to actually live in other people's drama, from Big Brother - which I know you are all going to throw things at me when I say, why?  why would I want to watch a group of attention seeking wannabes arguing, throwing tantrums and generally being divas? to the whole host of 'reality' shows that we now get  (I use the word reality in the loosest sense because I am dang sure there isn't anything real about it) the latest advert I saw was a group of fake tan twenty somethings on a beach with all their ex partners thrown into the mix seemingly to cause drama so that we could watch it all - what?

Why do we want to live other people's lives?  Why surround yourself with the drama that other people create?  I don't have an explanation to be honest.

I will admit I have done my fair share of listening to gossip, but experience (and old age...) have taught me that it really isn't worth it.  Gossip is very rarely the truth and is a bit like the chinese whispers game, what started out as being vaguely based on what actually happened by the time it has gotten to even the second person it has been added to or the story twisted (intentionally or not).  At the end of the day we don't gossip about nice things do we?  Even if someone is doing well the tendancy is not to chat to friends about how well so and so is doing, the reality is that it turns to jealous gossip instead.

We do have a current trend of ridiculing others, the media and facebook putting out photos of celebrities or the popular 'Walmart shoppers' because they are over weight or spotty or like to wear whatever the heck they like to even if it isn't something you think they should -  speaking as someone who was a fashionable teenager in the eighties...(still harbouring a love of ra ra skirts) what right do we have to judge them?

I know I am making sweeping statements and there are some very lovely people out there (even some that watch Jeremy Kyle...don't even get me started on that programme) but how about we all start living our own lives?

Leave behind the tittle tattle and the "he said, she said" playground talk and LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE TO THE FULLEST.

I don't actually personally care what you wear, what you look like or what TV shows you watch to be honest (I love detective shows with dead bodies in so who am I to judge?) I just think it's sad that we seem to enjoy watching others fail or behave badly.

Call me old fashioned (and I am pretty sure most of you will) but I hate swearing, personally I don't do it, I don't think it is becoming of a lady nor do I like it when men swear in front of me either - yep I am pretty Victorian.  I do yearn for the days of gentlemen behaving like well..gentlemen and ladies being ladies.  Oh I don't really want to go back to the days of no central heating or hot water and using an outside loo but you get my drift.  I like a gentleman to hold the door open for me or offer to carry my shopping (thankfully I have a husband that does that).    Yes I do agree that we have the right to behave however we want to but there is something about a young girl going out on a Friday night with the sole intention of getting hammered, throwing up and ending up unconscious in the gutter that I just don't understand.   I am not saying I don't like to have fun or that I haven't had my fair share of drunken nights (and days...I was a Young Farmer for six years and probably drank enough Southern Comfort to last me a life time) but I what happened to dignity and self respect?

Let's focus on who we are, what we want to achieve and how we treat ourselves and others around us. Stop the gossip, start saying hello to people you meet on the street, congratulate those that have done well, support those that are struggling but without all the drama.

Walk away from drama, all it does is feed negativity - it is YOUR life - live it with love, passion, self respect and a smile ♥

Pleasing people, getting it right and restoring woodland walks

You cannot please all of the people all of the time - FACT.

Even if you put on the best event ever, make the most amazing record (how old am I or am I that old that vinyl is now fashionable again?), cook a delicious meal or write a ground breaking awe inspiring book - there will still be that one person (or two) that won't like it, will pick holes in it or write a bad review, that as they say 'is life'.

And you aren't ever going to please everyone, the same as I don't like everything.   Each person is individual, each person has their own tastes and own views, some just choose to moan about things more than others...

Even the 'rich and famous' don't always get it right.  I have noticed that two of my favourite TV cooks - the Hairy Bikers launched an online diet club...and each time they post about it on facebook it gets a heck of a lot of negative responses and reviews.  Although I have to admit...the bikers doing diet food does not compute bless 'em.

I love to eat out in restaurants and cafes...you wouldn't have guessed would you? ;-)  And I love using Trip Advisor to write reviews and also to read up about hotels before I book them or restaurants before I use them.  Even the most amazing place that has hundreds of positive reviews will always have a few bad ones, those guests that had a lumpy pillow or the wrong colour bed spread.   I use my judgement and if the place has lots of positive reviews I take the odd bad one as just a grumpy person that had a bad day.  Obviously if the place has lots of negative reviews especially about cleanliness or bad service then I avoid it - you do have to use your common sense.

As an author (oooh how grown up do I sound?) and someone who regularly co-hosts rituals and workshops it is a constant fear that not everyone will like your book or go away from a ritual or workshop happy and content and to be honest I don't think I will ever stop worrying about it.

I have been holed up indoors for a while feeling a bit poorly and sorry for myself and I guess that's when the worries start to creep in too.  However this morning I visited the Queen Elizabeth Country Park to collect the key for the Forest Annexe that we will be using for our workshop on Sunday and it was a beautiful visit.  The sun was shining and I rambled for a while through the woods - breathtakingly pretty, fresh air, birds singing and all was right with my little world.   I have to also say that the staff at the QEP have been amazingly helpful and so friendly, very lovely people.

Back home from my woodland adventure (via their cafe for a very nice latte) I am reminded that the Goddess does move in mysterious ways and even being poorly is a lesson that sometimes we do need to take time out but it doesn't pay to sit and mope for too long - there is a BEAUTIFUL world out there and just spending a short while connecting with nature restores your spirit and soul.

I won't always get things right...but I will try my hardest...

Rocking my warriorness...

Yesterday was AMAZING...totally and utterly.

I spent the day with some lovely like minded souls at a Shamanic Workshop run by the awesome (his favourite word) Rich Lister - energy worker, Shaman practitioner, Leach, Yogi and Heroic, huge Viking type.

We journeyed, we worked with spirit guides, we drummed, we learnt an Apache Smudge ceremony in fact we learnt huge amounts of information...still processing...and we broke freakin arrows with our throats...yep I know... MAD but it brought out our inner warriors and I am still buzzing from the energy today (OK my throat might be a little bit sore this morning too...but I am a warrior I can cope).

Yes I know I am a witch, what the 'eck am I doing going to a shamanic workshop?  Well...firstly I love to learn new things, secondly I know Rich and wanted to work with him again because he is such a fantastic teacher and you know what?  So many of the shamanic practices cross over into the Craft as well, the hedgeriding I work with is basically a shamanic journey, we all smudge - although I learnt some new ways of smudging yesterday and a whole different approach to it and it is incredibly spiritual (there are loads of other reasons but I think you get the idea).

I went looking forward to doing some journeying and a bit of drumming...I came home with a WHOLE lot more.  New experiences, new ways of practising, new ideas and a total sense of release, a clearing of mental and emotional blockages that I had been holding onto and did I mention I broke an arrow with my throat?  A general feeling of awesomeness (another Lister word) positive energy and the notion that I can take on the whole world with my new found warriorness (possibly a made up word).  Added to that I got to spend the day sitting on a wild boar skin...so cool.

Rich can be found on his website www.theherosoul.com or on facebook www.facebook.com/bjarkherosoul

He will be running other shamanic workshops, he also runs drum making workshops (which I did back in February see here for my blog about it), look out also for fire walking coming soon and he also provides shamanic healing sessions and all sorts of other interesting and exciting things...go check it out...