The first 12 days of January Kindnesses! its a miracle!

Hey everyone, 

for those who have been following me for the last two years, this may be a huge shock to you! But here is the kindnesses for:

JANUARY 2013 (so far...)

January 1: I did a bit of work in the communal garden and did several loads of washing for mum because she wasn't well. I also made all meals today so I didn't have to leave her unattended.

January 2: Today I drove an hour and a half round trip to return a car I borrowed. I also spent 20 minutes on the phone with a friend in distress. I just listened to her as she talked, ranted and sobbed. I made a difference just by being a friend and listening.

January 3: I met up with a few friends I haven't seen in such a long time. I helped out a friend by lending her some sewing patterns. I made a coffee for a visiting friend. I also paid for another friends dinner and drinks because he had bought our tickets to see the movie THE HOBBIT in Gold Class. I also made sure mum had a back-up plan whilst I was out, because she hadn't been very well. I also gave out the second of the TOP SECRET mission books today - this person has asked to remain anonymous!

My favorite quote from the Hobbit movie! :)

the copy of the three books... the first of which i gave away today! :) Exciting!

January 4: I made a special trip to see a friend who had had a car accident yesterday, because they just needed a hug! I also helped mum by carrying her shopping out to the car for her because it was too awkward and heavy for her to do!

January 5: I checked in with my friend who had had they car accident. I also made a coffee for a visiting friend & got up early to clean the house so mum wasn't distressed about visitors in her untidy house. I also made a stand for one of my friendships – I asked hard questions of both of us and was able to move on, friendship intact.

January 6: Today I reminded a friend to take her medications, as we had been talking so long, she had forgotten. I also made the effort to go to some friends farewell, but I was late and managed to miss them.

January 7: I made the effort to visit a friend on her lunch break and I paid for her lunch. I also helped mum out when after shopping for stationary (for the Operation Christmas Child – shoebox appeal – mums getting the stationary now while its cheap), she had to get them to the car and drop them off at one of the co-ordinators houses. Also helped mum finish off some teddy bears she has been making for the shoe boxes too! Mum knitted them but I sewed them up, added the stuffing and added their faces! (some of them look a little ugly – but someone will love them!)

January 8: Today it was too hot to go anywhere so I made an effort to connect to my online community and did my best to support another person doing RAK's everyday of the year (sound familiar?) and I did that by sending them a note of support on their page. You can check this group out here!

I also helped mum – So this past week mum has been blind! I say blind because she has an eye condition called Iritis that mean that occasionally her irises become inflamed! To prevent permanent eye damage she has to dilate her eyes and that means her eyes can't regulate light & sight! So she has to have her eyes covered & be in the dark all the time! This in turn leads her to go stir crazy! I don't blame her, I don't know how I'd cope in the same situation!
Anyway, this time I had a plan though! I have recently gotten some of Matthew Reilly's books on CD which I transferred to my iPhone for mum to listen to so she would have something to do instead of laying in the dark bored out of her mind! So I set the play list up for mum with the book in chronological order (as most books are) and left her be!
I have to state here that my darling mum is not very technologically minded... But after twenty minutes I came back to check on her! She told me she was struggling to get into the book because it seemed to be jumping all over the place! Now for those of you who have read "The Contest" you would appreciate that this is pretty accurate of the story line. So I asked her which part she was up to! When she told me I was a bit surprised but decided to check my iPhone... What I didn't realise when I was putting the play list on for mum is that it was still on Shuffle from when I had used the music on it and she had been listening to bits from all chapters & clips from the book! I couldn't believe I had been so silly, apologised for my stupidity & took the play list off shuffle & she listened to the book for another four hours!
But wait... There's more!
So I had to use my phone and didn't want to inconvenience mums story time so I transferred the book to an old iPod I had laying around and then started the book up again and went & used my phone! I came back about 15minutes later to check on her & she said it seemed to be jumping around again! So this time I went to the iPod immediately! And I had done it again! My iPod was still on shuffle & was giving mum parts of the story she wasn't up to yet! My poor mother! Lol! She was pretty much having an unintentional read-your-own-adventure book read to her! I couldn't believe I had managed to do it to mum twice! I feel like an idiot but sometimes the best intentions don't always go as we plan! At least now I know to check the shuffle playlist option next time! Lol! Oh and mum loved the book, even with all the interesting side lines to it! Lol! Kindness still achieved but this one came with a good chuckle too! :)

January 9: Today I went and visited a friend! When I arrived she was part way through doing the washing up – so I grabbed a tea towel and dried up for her. She was grateful and kept telling me that I didn't have to do it! But I did! I also bought some of mums favourite food to use in dinner because she needed a pick me up with being blind for so long.

January 10: I handed out the 2^nd 365days-of-kindness book to Vandra after she had done a kindness and reported it to me. “I didn't do it to get a book. But thank you” she said!

I also helped my niece and nephew earn their pocket money by giving them jobs to do around our house. I helped my nephew with the weeding and my niece with the sweeping out the back. My nephew dried up the dishes and my niece (who is only four) put out a load of washing – with a little help! To get his daily quota of jobs he also swept the floor in the kitchen, and set the table for dinner.

I also let my nephew play one of his games on my Wii after MONTHS of begging because his Wii had broken.

January 11: today I took mum down to the hospital and waited with her to be seen. I also thanked the doctors that participated in her care. With mums Acute Bilateral Iritis, what usually occurs is that it flares up occasionally and can usually be resolved in about 24 hours. But there have been added complications this time and it hasn't gone away like usual. We are back at the hospital this coming week for more tests! (So please keep us in your thoughts!)

January 12: Well you might think its still around lunchtime how is it that you have already completed your kindness for the day? Well today I actually helped a friend by editing a CV a friend was writing because she just needed a second opinion and some fresh eyes! :) Now this might not be my only kindness today, but its still one! :)

Oh my goodness! Oh My goodness! Can you believe it? I am actually up to date with my kindnesses! Its a miracle!!!! :) hehehe! I hope you enjoy this! :) I am trying to keep up to date with these from now on... life is crazy and unpredictable so don't hold it against me if I fall behind! :) 

I hope you enjoy! 

Luv Daena xxx

TOP SECRET... your mission should you choose to accept it!

Hey everyone,
Well, I have been promising this for months, but here is the final part to the TOP SECRET mission I have been planning for a while. Now for those of you who struggle this Christmas with everything... I wanted to give you something fun to do. This is meant in the spirit of Christmas, of love, joy, generosity and peace. And most importantly the spirit of GIVING! :)

What I would like you to do is find someone who looks like they could use a little kindness from you (that really shouldnt be too hard as its Christmas and pretty much everyone is stressed and could use a little kindness), and find a way to ANONYMOUSLY provide a Random Act of Kindness to them. This is just a little different to the usual kindnesses I do, so I am kind of looking forward to surprising a stranger.

For those of you who remember last year, around Christmas time, my little car broke down in a parking lot and a stranger bought me a bottle of wine. I was so surprised that I just loved that someone would do that for me, particularity around Christmas time when everyone is so busy and stressed about the Christmas celebrations. So i want to "Pay it Forward" but on a global scale.

If you have not seen the movie "Pay it Forward", I highly recommend it! It is a little sad in some points but it is really inspiring and very challenging! But it is an amazing movie none the less! (warning: I wouldn't watch the movie with your kids, until you have seen it first and can decide for yourselves if it is appropriate for them to watch!)

Anyways, I think I am getting a little distracted! woops!

This Christmas I wanted to encourage each and every one of you to do a Random Act of Kindness, and if possible to take a photo of that kindness so I can share it with everyone else here! and we can all see what affect this challenge has had on our world. I say, take a photo because a picture tells a thousand words and they seem to spread like wildfire on the internet (so please only share a photo that you are comfortable sharing on this page or that will eventually end up on Pinterest, Facebook or the like).

If anyone wants some ideas, I have a tonne of them on my Pinterest page here. 

Or here are 16 awesome photos of Kindnesses that have been done. I love these so very much but be warned... they may make you cry! My sister asked me to include this warning, after she was in tears after about the 5th one! :)

Also, if you want to encourage others to "Pay it Forward" then you can check out the blog by Thumba-Lea where she made special tags that you can print out and pass on (they are at the very end of the blog post)! :) Such an awesome idea! :) Also she has some awesome ideas for this Kindess challenge! :)

Oh, I forgot my favorite part! As an added incentive to get your stories and kindness photos back BEFORE Christmas, I am going to give the first three people the book "The Magic" by Rhonda Byrne. If you read the previous post you know how big an impact it has had on me, and I wanted to pass on the blessing it has been in my life. I know there are people from all over the world reading this blog,

I wanted to also give away a couple of the "The Power of Kindness" however, the books have not arrived in time, they may arrive in the new year (so might have to do something like this again). One of the reasons I have sort of been stalling...

So... where was I? oh, yes! If you can send me a copy of your photo, and a little story (to go with it), and your address (privately only) so that I can sent the books to you (if you want one... if not, that's cool too)! I look forward to how awesome this will be, not to mention fun!!! If you email me at act_positive@hotmail.com or contact me through the Facebook page (I can accept private messages with the Facebook Page!), we can get these photo coming! :) So very excited! :) 


I love that there are people from all over the world on this blog, and I look forward to seeing the global impact this challenge has on us all! And to getting to know my readers a little more... yes... I'm looking at you! ;)

I am planning on doing this photo Random Act of Kindness too... but I wont include my name in the book incentive part of this TOP SECRET mission... after all I already own the books! :) lol! But they are so awesome I have to share them with you all! :D

So Good luck! The last photos, to go in the book incentive challenge will be on Christmas Eve! I know that sounds a little Crazy, because it is so busy for all of us, but I think that we will all look forward to the joy we bought to others over the weeks leading up to Christmas! I will send the books out after Christmas so that they should arrive sometime in the new year (for more exotic locations, it could take a while... I don't really know what postal services are like in very many countries... so fingers crossed!). I am more than happy to keep receiving photos after that if you find you were too busy to send them to me before Christmas! :)


I look forward to hearing from you all soon,
Luv Daena xxx

p.s. If you want to hear another inspiring story of how kindness at Christmas made the world of difference, i suggest you check out this Bloggess post!  it made me cry with hope and joy! :) Maybe next year we can do something like this!? let me know if you are keen! :) xx

Gratitude...

Hey everyone,
One thing I wanted to talk about before the end of this year is Gratitude.

For my friends and followers in the US, you have just had Thanksgiving, a special time where you think of all the things you are grateful for.

In Australia we don't have such a day, and I thought this December, in the lead up to Christmas, was the perfect time to think and talk about gratitude.

This year I have truly discovered the importance of gratitude. I have to start by telling you about how I came to this little epiphany. One day when I was shopping, I came across a book. This book was called "The Magic" by Rhonda Byrne, and its not what you may think it is. For my Christian friends who started to freak out at the word of "magic", I need to clarify that this book is about gratitude and how through gratitude we start to see things like we were when we were kids, where the world was magical and all things were possible. It talks about the 'magic' of gratitude.

This book has had a wonderful impact on me. "The Magic" acts like a 28 day work book to help you get out of a negative head-space and encourage you to see the world filled with possibilities. It is 28days so that it becomes a good habit. It goes through various religious scriptures and discusses them alongside quotes from theologists, thinkers, writers, philosophers, historians, presidents, songwriters, poets, journalists, anthropologists, business men & women, emperors, physicists, activists, teachers, coaches, artists and famous personalities

I started doing this in March, and you may be curious as to why it has taken me this long to share it with you, but i have shared it with my family and some friends to see the impact it has on them before i shared it with my online community. Some of you may have already read this book and done the activities, and if you have I would love to hear how its made a change in your lives! I am now happy to share it with you and some of the great things that have happened that have been "magical" to me.

I have really struggled with remaining positive in my life. I don't know how far back you have read these blogs so I don't know if you remember that both my parents have different disabilities. My dad has a rare brain disease called CerebralAmyloidAngiopathy which affects the white matter of his brain and has consequently led to him developing Frontotemporal Dementia.  My mum on the other hand has spinal damage and after several surgeries to help, things have gotten worse not better. And as such I have had to take on the role of Full-Time Carer for my mum. My dad is in high-care in a nursing home which we visit regularly. Both parents also have diabetes, so pain management and BSL management are two things as a carer i have to balance.

These realities have not changed. But my outlook towards them since reading "The Magic" has.

I wake up every morning and thank God/the universe that I woke up at all.

I also wake up and am grateful for even the smallest bit of sleep I had because a few years ago I was diagnosed with Insomnia and any sleep is precious.

I am grateful that I still have both my parents, because even though they aren't in peak physical/mental condition they still encourage me to be the best I can be.

I am grateful for the love and generosity they both bestow on me because they still can.

I am truly grateful for my sister, brother-in-law and their kids, because they remind me that I am loved. And that my life is sometimes very simple because I don't have to worry about kids, work times, school times, sport times, mortgages, etc.

I am grateful for my sister & Brother-in-law because they also look after mum when I need a break, or have other commitments.

I am grateful for my best friend, Tanya, because no matter how many times I share the same issues and troubles, she listens and provides suggestions. She doesn't judge me for some of the choices I have made along the way. She also encourages me to be apart of big volunteering events (shes the one who got me into Telethon and Relay for Life), and encourages my health & fitness (she started a netball team that I now play in) and she supports me when I struggle in the simplest ways.

My adoptive aunts are two women who I am grateful for. Both of them have supported me financially in the past with bills and unexpected travel expenses. Without them I would have drowned under financial pressures. Not to mention their love and support of mum and I.

I am grateful for all those people in my life who listen to me, encourage me to be positive, who listen when I am at breaking point and who stand with me, when I feel like I will fall.

I am truely blessed that I have 365days-of-kindness to focus on, because it continues to surprise and encrouage me to make a difference in the world.

I am truly happy that I look at this Blog and see how many people check it out in one day, how my exploits are travelling across the world, how I get excited when people "Like" the 365days-of-kindness Facebook Page (can you believe im at 79 "likers"? AWESOME!)

I am grateful that my attitude to money has changed because saving has become a priority and luxuries (that honestly, i don't really NEED) have to come second. I am no longer ashamed of how my money comes to me because I used to think that people would look down on me if they knew that I was paid by the government through Centrelink (the welfare agency in Australia). I earn my money, I am not a "dole bludger", as I have been called in the past.

I am grateful that i have the ability to look after mum because of Centrelink and that we have such a supportive agency in Australia.

Every day I sit down and write 10 things I am most grateful for in the day. Sometimes I write more than ten (because I just can't leave out any of those awesome things). I also record my kindness for that day after all my blessings. It looks kind of like this...

This is a photo taken from my Gratitude journal! Sorry about the quality, and the terrible handwriting! :) lol!

My life has not changed greatly. But there are a few things that have. I am now debt free. I owed about $3000 to family and I have finally paid that back (the majority of the money i have paid back since March!) and still have managed to save money ready for next year when i have an international wedding to attend. I am excited as its 5 years since i have been debt free!

Also, when I wake up in the morning I am no longer afraid to face the day. I used to wake up and be afraid of the "next disaster" to befall our family! But I now wake up and think of the good things I have before me, not the possibility of horrors. To me these are the miracles I have gotten out of the book.

I am so grateful for my life, my passions, my family, my friends, my communities, and people like you who read this and are inspired to do kind things in the world! :) Kindness and gratitude make the world a better place, even if its just our perception of it! :)

Thank you for reading this blog. I hope you get as much out of it as I do. It is a motivation that keeps me going on hard days. Brightening someone else's day also brightens your own! 

Have a wonderful day,
Luv Daena x

p.s. If you want to get a copy of "The Magic" and live in Australia - they are the cheapest ($10AUD) at Target! :) Or you can check out this link to the book depository (FREE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING! yay).