Still Tired

Well the biopsy has really taken it out of me, along with a lot of blood. I'm still feeling run down, want to just get into bed and sleep for about sixteen hours. Unfortunately there's work needs doing and the next two weekends are going to be rammed as well so it's unlikely I'll get any respite.

I feel I am improving , but not as fast as I would like.

The staff at the Freeman have been brilliant, and I know I can drop by any time I want. Work have been extremely supportive, so I'm not under any unnecessary pressure.

Anyway that's the boring stuff out the way. The weather is still excellent although it's been a bit gray today. I do have a lot of great stuff coming up , just need to rest when I can so I can be 100% when I need to be. I have recieved encouragement from around the world , and that's one of the great things about the internet, a few words from someone can really lift your spirits, and ever you can say and share something nice you should do, because it lifts both of you.

I do like positive stuff, and positive attitudes, that show that people care for each other , and sometimes that can be as little as saying hello.

The River

Anyway tomorrow is the 4th of July, American Independence Day , and that means I have a song for this post from one the many Bruce Springsteen albums I love , The River.

I really didn't know what I was going to put in this post, and thought I might get ten words out, but was also thinking that I hadn't done a post this month. Well now I have, and I'm feeling good , but I will be in bed soon. Hope you have all had a great day and are looking forward to an even better weekend.

Amazon 90

Over the weekend I bought a Google Chromecast. While the concept is clever it doesn't really give me anything extra to my viewing experience, and took an age to set up, was invisible to my iPad and then on day 2 I had to reset it up again, so against my better judgement I decided to return it. I packaged it up and when through Amazon's return process and first they offer an instant refund, and an option called Collect+ where they offer "alternative" collection points where you can drop the item off.

This turned out to be my local Nisa store which opens at 6 am so I went round and dropped it off. I'm sorry to bypass the Post Office in this way but because of working hours I couldn't drop the package off at my local Post Office til Saturday.

On my may back I got talking to to a 90 year old ex railwayman (original from Byker) , who was eulogising about being out enjoying early mornings and gushing with positivity , and really great old guy, and he's the reason I chose the Kinks song for this post.

So this morning I've had a lift from the old and the new, so that is a fantastic way to start the week, which bodes well for a brilliant week ahead. I hope yours is going to be as good as mine.

Share and Be Positive

Woke up from some dream and there was something in it on how good life can be when you are positive and smiling and share things with others. That thing you share may be your smile, good news, knowledge or something you think people will will like. And it gives you a lift when you give things and people take things and then later do the same thing to you.

Building relationships like that means that people can be there when things maybe aren't has good for you, and they will know that you are probably there to help them as well.

I've not done any posts about happiness and positivity recently , but it is something that we should always maintain in our lives otherwise we will basically be miserable. I always look for the good, the positives in situations , as it's so easy to find faults. Remember faults are there to be dealt with , while good things are there to be savoured and enjoyed.

Key looking for the good, share and open up with people, and I hope sunshine fills your day.

Oh by the way, and example of this is that on Sunday I started using Runkeeper. Two of my good friends at work Neil and Lee said Endomondo was better as it was more configurable, and they use it on a daily basis, so it's only a small thing but it shows they think about me and it makes you feel more connected.

Have a great day. And I think "Love It When You Call" by The Feeling is a fantastic upbeat song which always makes me happy, and I love it when my friends call.

Walking On Sunshine

Yes I know it's pouring down , wet , cold and dark here , but it's always sunshining somewhere and it always will come back to you. For some reason this phrase has been going through my head. It's not that I'm a great fan of Katrina and The Waves, but I am a great fan of being positive and looking for the positives in situations and I know a lot of people who feel the same way as me, and they do really help to inspire me to write things like this.

Nothing comes to you for free, and you may have to work for things, but if you lay some foundations in one way or another then you will benefit from them eventually. It may be as simple as reading a book, planting some seeds , helping someone out or sending off that job application, any of those things can create a result that would not have happened if you had not taken that first step.

Anyway just sending out good wishes and positive thoughts to all my friends around the world , some having good times, some not quite as good , but all will benefit from their own positive actions.

As I say if you're feeling slightly down , pick up a phone and call a friend, watch a film , listen to some music , read some poetry. It will lift your spirit. I've included a song from my favourite Nazareth album for you to enjoy, just for you.....

I'm going to bed soon so all of you have a brilliant night,

Pain and Being Positive

Today I had to make a doctors appointment, however a lot of things were thrown in my way which seemed to be making me miss it. First of all my bus was late followed by trains. But while I was thinking this may go wrong , I thought as long as it's not too late I can do it.

I got into Newcastle and walked across town to catch a bus which I jumped on, but as I was walking to my seat a car pulled out in front of the bus, causing him to slam on. I was thrown backwards , but managed to catch a hold of a pole and steady myself with a my right leg , rather too hard resulting in a jarring pain in my right leg, I informed the driver and said I'd report the incident just in case , and told him to do the same. It wasn't his fauldt and it could have been much worse.

Next off we got to Byker Bridge and there was a major accident requiring the bridge to be closed off and the bus to be redirected. I phoned the surgery and told them the situation that I may be late. Amazingly the redirection only added ten minutes to the journey and the doctor's surgery was running ten minutes late so it all worked out OK, and I need to go back in two weeks to have some minor surgery.

So basically I kept thinking positively throughout this and eventually in all worked out. So even when things seem to conspire against you , keep going and the chances are you will get a good result. Although after an early start I'm going to go to bed early tonight. So have a good evening everybody and keep being positive.

Oh and I watched the first two episodes of Yonderland, and it is very good. Made me laugh several times.

Sonic Wonders

Some of my favourite mood music are three albums I own by Beaver and Krause. I was intrigued to find a TED talk by Bernie Krause, and thought I would give it a try because the name sounded familiar. Bernie is a very very engaging speaker and gives and absorbing talk on the sounds of our world and how they can indicate the health or otherwise of localised ecosystems.

The talk had bme spellbound and have one of his albums playing at the moment, and it's amazing how much peace the sounds of the natural world can give you, whether it's for relaxation , meditation or otherwise. The music of the natural world.

I know this post is going to sound all new age, but I do believe it is far better to work together and in harmony than to try and further your aims through aggression. I love the sound and feel of rain as well as sunshine, I think that snow is wonderful and am happy in most sorts of weather.

Wonderful Sonics

Anyway I've included the talk, please do watch and maybe leave a comment. I was talking to a businessman on the train and he had never heard of TED but was extremely interested in what I told him and said he would check it out when he had biked home from Newcastle.

This is the start of my weekend which is a precursor to a week that will see me in London and Brighton, so I may or may not be active on here, but we shall see. Have a fantastic weekend and keep on being inspired and positive,

Be Nice

The Second Coming

Last year I read a book called The Second Coming by John Niven , which posited that Jesus had to come back and win X-Factor to save the world . It's a great book, funny but with a lot of serious points to make, and worth a read by anyone.


When he came back Jesus had a simple mission statement "Be Nice":


It's easy to do that , generally you can be nice to people , smile , talk with people , offer help , accept help , give and take encouragement. It's easy to do.



There are situations which will test this, and yes they are sometimes exasperating to deal with , but by always keeping positive you will find the strength to get you through.

One thing I've found with Facebook is that I have made some fantastic friends from unexpected places and walks of life who have pointed me in good directions.

So I live my life to never regret anything , never to put off anything you can do , especially if it's talking and meeting friends and loved ones, always look for the positives - it makes life interesting and fun, and be yourself.

So please go out today and "Be Nice" , it will make you and someone elses day much, much better.

Can Negativity Be A Positive Experience?

I feel that I'm getting like a stuck record , but woke up early and this phrase  / posit came to mind. The sayings "Some people are only happy when they're miserable" and "A pessimist is never disappointed" come to mind ,  and given the success of Eastenders ,Coronation Street and Emmerdale you can see why . People enjoy at least seeing and sometimes causing other peoples misery .

Comedy is very close to tragedy , the old banana skin joke requires (literally) a fall guy. It's difficult to come up with comedy that doesn't involve someone elses misfortune or putting them down.

Anyway it's back to my previous post , where a negative statement would be "don't cross the road without looking , you might get knocked down by a car" , whereas a positive statement would be "Look before you cross the road" . Possible pitfalls are implied , but don't need explicitly stating, if they do , your subject is in need of help.

The word STOP is actually a positive statement , it is telling you to take an action, which is probably for your own good and will at least allow you to take stock of the situation.

However really I cannot see negativity as being a positive experience , in any circumstances. Yes be prepared , yes be sensible , but always stay positive, and that will keep you spirits up and keep you happy as a bonus side effect. Anyway I promise my next post will be technology or music related and not full of my cod philosophising and analysis.

Positivity

I don't know if it's a real word , but if it isn't it certainly should be. And it certainly is a way towards finding true happiness, if someone is positive they cannot be miserable. I was watching a TED talk about creative genius today and learned quite a lot from it , one of which is to seize the moment when something comes into your head . And this is what happened with this post. I hadn't thought about posting but something just sparked it off. This is the talk , it's about twenty minutes from Elizabeth Gilbert where she talks about coping with the success of "Eat , Pray, Love"


It is amazing how some people can always put a negative spin on great success. Great success should be celebrated. It's irrelevant whether you do it again , firstly you HAVE done it , secondly it gives you something to aim for in the future and you can always say I did that. Having a success like that you make the rest if your life something to be enjoyed.

I would love to write a book , but as yet haven't come up with an idea , maybe one day I will , I certainly have a long way to go and have no intention of taking my foot of the pedal for many years yet.

Anyway basically if there are setbacks learn from them , go on further and just do better next time , and when you do succeed , enjoy the moment and you will have set your marker for the next time.