Sunshine

Sunshine blogger award

What a treat and honour to be invited by my fellow blogger Mary O’Connor at the lovely blog Life is Full of Sweet Spots,  to participate in this sunshine award. I so enjoyed Mary’s post on her nomination, check it out here.

So Rule 1. Link back to your nominator: Life is Full of Sweet Spots blogger Mary O’Connor.

Rule 2. Display the image, as you see to the left. Sunshine carries so many connotations – energy, life, brightness and light. Here it seems to be represented by the deep yellow of the flower and by the delightful blue sky.

Rule 3. List ten random things about yourself…I’m stumped! But following Mary’s lead, I allowed my mind to wander through all the links to sunshine that cropped up in my mind. Unsurprisingly, the first batch were songs, poems or images that mean a lot to me or that have made an impression on me throughout life. The rest are random and started to spin out as I went along. So, here goes….

ONE: A wonderful Poem by Irish poet Louis McNiece. Sunlight on the Garden

This poem starts sad but reminds us that no matter what happens, nature is there. Here’s a link to a post I did on the poem, with some photos from our garden in winter.

TWO: Sunshine on my Shoulders by John Denver

The simplicity of this song belies its strong message, like many John Denver songs. Perhaps somewhat misunderstood and under appreciated as a singer songwriter, John Denver has been a favourite of mine since schooldays. This youtube video with wonderful images was compiled by Greg gts.

THREE: We have been loving the unusually long sunny spell in Ireland and the UK for most of July. Getting used to it! No doubt it will end soon and we’ll be brought back down to earth.

FOUR: My favourite destination is Greece and the very sunny island of Antiparos. Though enjoyable times were spent way back in the eighties with my husband to be, the more recent trips with our daughters were absolutely delightful. Retirement, bucket list, walk there….who knows?!

FIVE: Can’t wait for the Avatar sequels as I was totally carried away by the first movie. My all time favourite is DUNE though, Arakis, desert planet, spice….

SIX: Blogging has become such a wonderfully social event for me. I love the opportunity to get to know fellow bloggers and read their brilliant posts. Ten links coming up soon….

SEVEN: Blown away by the courage and creativity of people I’ve encountered during my work in mental health recovery, some of whom will be on my nominee list below.

EIGHT: Rollo May has gripped my interest of late, especially his work on the search for ourselves through claiming our freedom and by making meaning, learning how to allow ourselves to shine.

NINE: Hooked on Anthropology since 1997 when I took it as a subsidiary module, loved it so much I had to change my degree pathway.

TEN: The Sun Up image in the Australian Aboriginal Flag.

Australian Aboriginal Flag

Thanks for dropping by and taking time to look through the post. Now please check out my friends and nominees at the following blogs:

Social Bridge

Beyond Meds

Matrignosis

Zen and the Art of Tightrope Walking

Bell Night

Folio and Ink

Roz Morris

Mommy Mystic

Zen Mandala

Chasing Avian Voices

Thanks and enjoy your blog tour 🙂