Embrace the Ocean's Lessons for a Calmer Life
Come summer or winter, you know where to find me—at the beach.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
The Cicada’s are louder this morning
I welcome the first day of 2025 not by the sound of the alarm, or the coffee machine that has an auto cleaning mechanism that scares the bejeezus out of us in the middle of the night, but by the sound of the Cicadas, which according to the encyclopedia, varies between a: the weather (well it’s pretty effin hot in Sydney today) and b: their mating season ritual, so in fact, these delicate little creatures of the male kind have woken me due to their persistence to procreate. Did I mention they were extremely loud this morning? And no, I’m not nursing a post new year celebration hangover and my ears are not ringing, I feel completely awake and if I had to take a breathalyser, It would probably come up as having .000001% of alcohol in my system, but nothing to get worried about. And it’s too early to move out from under the freshly laundered sheets in my oh-so-comfy bed. So husband has delivered the prescribed second latte, the cat has been fed and the dog has curled up for yet another mid-morning snooze and I am awake, like really awake listening to the Cicadas.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Friends come and go and come and go
I hear the ping of the messages’ arrival on my phone. It’s 5:45 am, fifteen minutes before my set alarm, but I already know who the message’s sender is. Madam Z is an insomniac and most days is found watching the sunrise at the nearby beach amongst the hard-core joggers and dog walkers. She listened intently the day I revealed my love of the ocean because ever since then, she has sent me a beach photo (almost daily) that lights up my bleary eyes even on the coldest winter days.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
A is for Attitude that governs (my) 2024.
As you are aware by now, it’s about observations for yours truly. Keeping my eyes open, eavesdropping and generally trying to look inconspicuous as I stare is what I can say hand-on-heart motivates me to understand the world. 2024 started with a nice glass of bubbly amongst a lovely group of friends as we watched the fireworks on the telly. Thanking my lucky stars I made it through what I considered 2023 to be an ‘annus horribilis’ year (although there were some great moments, like meeting new people and being able to realign and reverse priorities) generally speaking, wars, inflation, high-interest rates, bullying, not enough time to read and weather patterns resembling Armageddon meant that 2024 couldn’t come soon enough. January first welcomed an attitudinal change. While I don’t have a crystal ball to predict any future, there have been some (funny) observations of late that I believe will perhaps influence some key elements that I’ll interpret as a benchmark moving forward.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
5 ways to get happy
5 ways to get happy
Published : Sylvia Jimenez
2023 rules according to me
The ball dropped, the gong went off, the clock struck midnight. 2023 was born under a sky of crackers, hugs, kisses, smooches and well-wishers (those who were awake at least) who welcomed the new year with (I hope) the anticipation of better things to come. My very own FB post read a summerised version of the below.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
How having a Beta Reader has made me a Better Reader
To all those writers, journo’s, bloggers, vloggers, poets, laureates, composers and so forth, you would understand that the joy of writing, while creative and intuitive is somewhat an isolated process. We draft and redraft. Edit, sub edit, antagonise, get caught up on, rewrite and finally, when we are ready for our writing to emerge from our subconscious and the conscious world (where all great ideas form), having not only Alpha readers but a Beta Reader is better for the creative process.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Mentors – make the connection.
This blog post isn’t about the importance of acquiring a mentor; there are several excellent articles written about the importance of a good mentor; I am concentrating on my experience and connection with two people who have and still mentor me to this day.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Why holidays make you lose your mind…metaphorically speaking
‘Have you lost your mind?’ was one of the poignant comments my mother would say to me as a child when I did something wrong and many decades later, I say the same. Prominently this is referring to getting sunburnt to a crisp on the first day of the Summer Vacay. And Vacays are for blue skies, bikinis and bathing; it’s a BBB in Byron Bay.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
I've finished writing a book: how I'm keeping myself busy in between querying
Daunting, fighting imposter syndrome, ecstatic, excited, tense, optimistic and reconciled that whatever happens, happens! But I won’t be sitting on my laurels. One of the aspects of falling into the writing rabbit hole was that time did fly by until my novel was completed (a few drafts and many edits later). For my close friends reading this, I apologise for my incognito state; I was simply obsessing over getting it finished, and as you know me well…a deadline is still a deadline! Hence, the best advice given by my mentor and writing communities is to start writing the next one.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Receiving a postcard was the best thing that happened to me today
Greetings from lockdown!
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
It started with an 80s mix tape...
…and a Covid project that propelled me to pull out every single photo album and take out each photograph on a lockdown infused Sunday afternoon. The idea is to scan each and every pic so that it’s forever captured digitally. This will probably take years I know, but pausing at images, some I didn’t even remember, tested my long term memory to categorise scenarios into chronological order. Thank goodness for one of my besties. She just looks at an image and knows exactly when it occurred. She is now my official curator of memories!
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
An open letter to my offspring
To the millennials and the something i-generation, I’m (we are all) learning from you.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Make every minute count
I was sitting on an open top bus in London January 2020 when I took this photo. At the time I didn’t know what the billboard was advertising, however, the message resonated with me. LIke a call from the universe, we had stopped at a set of traffic lights and it yelled out to take a look. Was it in anticipation of what was about to come? We had heard some reports of a virus spreading in China, but in January, Australia was on fire. Literally. Naturally, our attention was focussed on what was happening back home.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Let's talk about attitude...not age.
The other day I was driving my youngest to school and we happened to change the radio station, one which I don’t usually listen to, not because I’m not the ‘demographic’, rather, the announcers and their banter just don’t resonate with me. However the selection of tunes is great, my son enjoys it, so I left it on.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Change the mind, you'll change the world.
Before I begin, let me just outline that while I’m not a clinical expert in the field of psychology or an advocate for violence, I do want to point out that dealing with the bully in the 80s was a lot easier than it is now. And I really feel for those kids who have to deal with the issue that seems to be repeated with every generation.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Has the current pandemic forced us to compartmentalise even more?
Look at your to-do list, admit it, you’ve ticked a lot of boxes…
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
No FOMO for FOMO
Today ends the first week of officially working from home. And I feel fortunate that the organisation I work for, gave us this option, in order to keep ourselves and everyone around us safe. In our home, the kiddos have access to online learning, I’ve structured a pretty good work plan and the cat is happy that she gets to stay indoors. I know some people find having to stay indoors against their will (introverts no need to put down your book), but I’m going to relish this time!
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
In recognition of International Women's Day 2020
I’ve been flicking through photos of my youth of late. And as I give thanks to all of the strong women in history and in my own family, one in particular is my mum. I was (and still am her everything) She endured a not-so-happy childhood, a not-so-happy relationship with her parents and a not-so-happy first marriage. But in every photo we have together, I’m in her arms, she’s smiling, And whilst we are conscious of giving thanks to our mothers for their support, I’m giving thanks on this day for the strength that was instilled in me from a very early age. Strong women are predominant in our family (and as such, I’ve also married into a family with strong women).
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
The power of the collaborative voice
Today I received a lovely email from our local mayor. Well it wasn’t just directed at me, of course I was part of a consortium, but a part of it I was. A little while ago I was reminded of a survey that I was asked to partake. The survey requested my support to oppose a potential change to a ferry service along the shores of one of our many rivers. Now if you live in Sydney, you would have rode at least once, the ferry into the city. It’s a lovely mode of transport, especially on a warm spring day. Clinical papers have proven the effects of fresh air and water having a positive impact in lowering stress levels as well as clearing sinuses, and increasing the overall well-being of the psyche. It was with this thinking that for the first time, I lent my email address, I entered my personal details and took the time to oppose the suggestion cut to the now privatised ferry service
Published: Sylvia Jimenez