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
Embrace the naked, my experience at the Onsen.
Sitting naked in front of strangers was not on my bucket list or my yearly activity-to-do for 2024 leading into 2025. Still, the power of shedding layers, enveloped by water has a certain thrill when we jump out of our comfort zone. The ancient Egyptians did it, and so did the Greeks, Romans and Mesopotamians. Scandinavians do ‘Sauna.’ Folks from Türkiye have perfected it and the Japanese are still doing it. Nothing screams ‘Vulnerable’ like baring your breasts or making sure your Punani is perfectly coiffed for people who don’t care. Yes, that’s right, don’t care. When you bare all at a Japanese Onsen or an Ottoman Hamman experience no one cares what you look like, so why should you?
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
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
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
A little distraction...
I've never had a dog before. We were a family of felines. My grandfather always kept cats to help with the rodents and birds around the hens and the vegetable patch. So when our puppy came along, admittedly I didn't have a clue. Also, although he is 'our' puppy, the men in the family sold me the idea of having a puppy as being 'their' puppy. But with me working from home and everyone else out the door at work and school, the responsibility of caring, training and feeding ultimately fell onto me.
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
'There is nothing unusual about that...'
On a Saturday afternoon, on the grounds of a very nice art gallery in the middle of New South Wales Wine Region, we found a rather large uninhabited spot of grass. It was manicured, soft and had very little contact with anything heavier that a bird, until we arrived.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Turning 50 equals feeling fabulous
For the first time, I had a party, not just any party, but a house par-tay! I thought if we are still stuck in Covid purgatory and it’s hard to organise anything due to social distancing, then we may as well bring the folk to us. In my last post I talked about attitude and age, my part-ay was testament to that. My lounge room served as a dance floor while the kitchen was the makeshift bar. I was asked how I felt, and my answer rolled off my tongue quite easily… fantastic! We part-ayed better than people half our age. And while phones were present only for the camera use, no one sat in a corner checking their socials. Instead, Great catering, great conversation made way for a great atmosphere. And as my friends and family sang me happy birthday, I felt that 50 is fabulous! I have a voice that is heard, a mind in which to conceptualise and the motivation to be grateful each and every day!
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
Dear ISO, I’m running out of time…
I am now moving into my seventh week of working from home ISOlation. And I’m loving it, but not loving it. I’ll admit to missing the buzz of interacting with colleagues in the office. I miss not being able to go on long drives and excursions for the day. I miss not being able to meet up for walks at the beach or coffee with friends. I miss that my retail outlets are closed and I can’t just wander in for a look. I miss that the cinemas are closed, that I missed out on the French Film festival, international concerts, the ballet, the opera. I miss visiting the art gallery. I miss seeing my siblings and extended family. When it boils down, it’s the personal contact that Maslow so highly regarded as essential to our human well being that is missing right now.
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 the words of Charlie Brown - Good Grief!
We all know what’s going on in the world right now, I won’t use this forum to add yet another level of paranoia. Yesterday I put a 24 hour ban on any news broadcast, I refused to engage in any CV discussion and refrained from social media crazy. Even though new and updating messages are ultimately affecting our everyday life, there is one quote that resonates at the moment, and it’s from my friend Charlie Brown.
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
Wheelfulness, it's a visual of calm
I ask the question: “How does this image make you feel?”
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
Is December 26 our only day of rest?
Christmas in our part of the world tends to begin on December 1st. Work is gearing up for Christmas, the shop windows are dressed with baubles and lights, heck I even heard a Christmas Carol whilst tearing down the aisles on December 7. And after all that is the joyous time of Christmas and the family gatherings have ceased, the food coma surpassed and reflections on the past 12 months, December 26 seems to be the only day of rest. For on December 27, the machine starts once again. This morning December 26, 2019 I’ve allowed myself to simply rest, not feeling one iota that the dishwasher needs unpacking or that anyone in the household wants breakfast, yes, they can get it themselves.
Published: Sylvia Jimenez
The Arty Farty Retreat, everyone needs a little creative outlet...
I think this will be my shortest blog entry ever. Imagine a group of friends together, getting creative. That’s my existence today. Today we are painting, drawing, writing, we’re getting the creative juices flowing. How important for our psyche to just let it all hang out. I’m not sure we allow ourselves the liberty of simply letting ourselves to rest or to speak to our creative selves, everyone is so goddamn busy. Today I’ll keep my observation to a minimum, because I’m getting busy getting creative…
Published: Sylvia Jimenez