An Affectionate Touch

16/01/2025

Here's some beautiful photos from the first bit of 2025 - I was so incredibly lucky to see some dolphins in the bay on an early morning walk recently. It was such an amazing suprise and I'm still buzzing about it!

No dolphins in the photos though 🐬

Much love to everyone, and may your new year be filled with all the things that make you smile and bring you joy 💙

*these pics are from two separate days, the dolphins were on the colourful sky and ferris wheel day.

Also if you're contacting me to book an appointment, a detailed text is the best way to contact me during 2025. Please be patient if I take a while to reply.

Text: 0414 035 906

Enjoy your year!

06/02/2024

Day 7 ~ February 6 ~ Education

We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.
~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Reflection
Knowledge strengthens your conviction and deepens your understanding and acceptance. A complete education teaches how to live by the principles which benefit us and the people around us.

Affirmation
One who has been educated well, has not only acquired knowledge and the ability to reason, but has learned to listen and to seek understanding, has learned that character matters. Today I know that education is peacebuilding by another name.

Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace

Daily Action
Learn about the power of nonviolence by educating yourself. Read an article, periodical or book; watch a video on a subject that relates to nonviolence. Learn about human rights, diversity, ecology, history, politics, forgiveness, spirituality, peace studies, biographies of heroes and more. Share what you have learned with someone else.

Action for Teens
War is born from ignorance. Today, try to learn something new about nonviolence.

Action for Children
Read a book today on the topic of peace (or have someone read it to you).

Quotes
Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war. ~ Maria Montessori

Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world.
~ Nelson Mandela

more about the season of nonviolence: https://www.gandhifoundation.ca/season-for-nonviolence.html

06/02/2024

05/02/2024

Day 6 ~ February 5 ~ Simplicity

Live simply so that others may simply live. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Wealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants.
~ Esther De Wall

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
~ Leonardo Da Vinci

Reflection
To simplify is to invite peacefulness into your life. If we dare let go of our possessions and the will to control and dominate, we will cultivate a deeper spirit of peace within us because we can accept the present moment as a gift. By simplifying our lives, dropping less important activities and 'things', we allow more time for what matters most.

Affirmation
Our lives can become cluttered with stuff, with stimulation and activities that are at best enjoyable and at worst, distractions that push the essential from center to the periphery. Today I take steps to simplify my life.

Daily Action
In this modern world we live in, our lives and schedules are often filled to overflowing. We rush to get everything done and we often feel impatient with ourselves and others as a result. Write down three ways you can simplify your life and put at least one of them into practice today. Give away something you have not used in the past year.

Action for Teens
Drama makes our lives more complicated. Think of ways to free your self from drama. Practice one of these ways today.

Action for Children
Clean up the clutter in your bedroom today.

Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace

Quotes
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. ~ Hans Hofmann

Grant me daily the grace of gratitude, to be thankful for all my many gifts, and so be freed from artificial needs, that I might lead a joyful, simple life.
~ Edward Hays

more about the season of nonviolence: https://www.gandhifoundation.ca/season-for-nonviolence.html
Art: Ananya Verma, age 16, United Arab Emirates

04/02/2024

Day 5 ~ February 4 ~ Believing

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Reflection
Our beliefs shape our lives. Believe that you have all the resources you need to move your life in the direction of peace, happiness and nonviolence. Believe that you can be peaceful all day.

Affirmation
If we believe that how we treat ourselves, each other, and the planet makes a difference, how must that belief inform our thoughts, our words, and our actions? Today I understand what it means to live my beliefs.

Daily Action
List some of the beliefs you carry that impact your life. Write what you believe about nonviolence. Find a way to act upon that belief today.

Action for Teens
Peace is a possibility. Believing in that possibility can make it happen. Keep peace in mind as you move through your day.

Action for Children
Finish this sentence with something good that you believe about yourself. I am ______________.

Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace

Quotes
To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

I believe in a world that works for everyone. ~ Tom T Hall

Most people who accomplish anything, whether in relationships, business, sports, knowledge, or anything else, do so because they first believe that they can do it. ~ Rita Chester

find out more about the season of non violence: https://www.gandhifoundation.ca/season-for-nonviolence.html

Art: Ana Raluca Mandita, age 19, Romani

04/02/2024

Via a beautiful person who doesn't like to be tagged in public posts ❤️

Art - Sweatpants and coffee

03/02/2024

Day 4 ~ February 3 ~ Caring

Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. ~ Leo Buscaglia

Reflection
Real caring is not just what we say, but what we do. Care inspires and gently reassures us. Lending us a feeling of security and support, it reinforces our connection with others. Not only is it one of the best things we can do for our health, but it feels good — whether we're giving or receiving it. ~Doc Childre and Howard Martin

Affirmation
Our lives are a sacred trust, therefore I tend to my body, mind, spirit, and all my relations with respect and love. Today I hold it as an honour and a privilege to take care of this life I have been given.

Daily Action
Make a list of at least five ways that you can take better care of yourself, physically and or mentally. Practice at least one today.
Demonstrate your care for others by valuing their well-being and acting with attention to their needs.

Action for Teens
To truly care for others, you must first truly care for yourself. Today, think of ways you can better care for yourself. Practice at least one of those ideas today.
Action for Children
Make a list or tell your parent three ways you care for yourself.

Quotes

I feel the capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest significance. ~ Pablo Casals

A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside. ~ Denis Waitley

more information about the season of nonviolence: https://www.gandhifoundation.ca/season-for-nonviolence.html

and a photo from my friend's rose garden, because caring isn't limited to other humans.