Alive and well...

Hello my lovely blog followers. I have so much to tell you and not a lot of time... 

For those of you who follow my page on Facebook you may already know...

 I did a 2 & a half month trip around the world and had an amazing experience that I am so very grateful for!

 Sadly I had limited access to internet and mainly it was to let my loved ones know I was alright and had arrived safely at my next destination! So I didn't have much time to keep you all posted on the blog! I tried to keep Facebook updated but I have been terribly remiss in blogging! 

So this is my HUGE apology! Sorry for dropping off the face of the blogosphere for a whopping 6 months! 

If you are wondering if I have been keeping up with my kindnesses... You betcha! :) I feel like that is a part of me now... And I'm hoping to do it again next year! Last year I was a LOT more prepared for getting you to see all my kindnesses before the end Of the year... This year... Not so much! I feel like all of this year I have been running behind! 

So much has happened to me this year on a personal level that I have been struggling to do much on a regular basis! Or specifically anything additional like blogging on a regular basis! 

My wonderful sister Vandra has stepped up and helped me out with the Facebook page particularly when I was on my Trip as I never knew when I would have internet access! Thank you so very much V!!! :) 

I have had so much love and support for this year of kindnesses and on my round the world trip! I am so grateful for you all! 

I hope I haven't let anyone down! Because you are all capable of such amazing acts of kindness!!! If you ever need a 365days of kindness buddy... I'm here! :) 

Anyways, I hope you are all prepared for the Christmas season! I hope you are all surrounded by love & kindness on Christmas Day (or for those like us... The three days over Christmas)! :) 

For those of you who celebrated the solstice last night... Happy summer solstice (in the Southern Hemisphere) and winter solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere)! Hope you have a happy & blessed time of year! 

For those who do not celebrate or do not believe... I wish you love and kindness and a lovely end to the year! 

Thanks for the last few years worth of support!!! You are all amazing! :) x

Luv Daena

Hello my lovelies...

Hello my lovely people,
How are you all? I hope you are all well!
So last you saw of my posts was that it was my birthday. I had a wonderful birthday celebration and was thoroughly spoilt! Thank you to everyone who sent messages and birthday wishes! :) It was grately appreciated.

So there are several things coming up for me, and some of them are things that I may need YOUR help with. As of this time next week I will be in hospital having surgery. And the doctors have warned me that it could take a little while to get everything back up and running. But that I should be well recovered in 6 weeks time... which is good because in 8 weeks I am leaving on my round the world trip! :)

As I am not sure I will have regular access to internet connection whilst I am jet setting about, I am actually looking for someone to keep the page on Facebook and this blog going! It would only be for a couple of months. But if anyone is interested to be a "Guest Blogger" on this page, let me know. I am looking for someone who is willing to undertake a month or two of doing a kindness everyday... like I do but in miniature. :) I am not sure yet, what this will look like or how it will work, but if you are interested... please let me know! :) You can send a private message to act_positive@hotmail.com or contact me through the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/365daysOfKindness

My round the world trip was paid off, amazingly, yesterday. So excited about all the places I will get to visit again and some that I will see for the first time! :) I leave Perth, Western Australia (my home town) on the 30th... so its all very exciting and a little nerve racking! Not long now.

So some awesome stuff has happened in the world of kindness this week with the launch of the Thankyou Waters expanding range! So those who have read last years Kindnesses (and if you could read this years ones... it is also in there), Thankyou Water is a product which is helping people all over the world! :) If you want to see what i mean, check out the video. 



The most exciting part is that they are branching out into food and body care... which will provide food and hygeine to those who need it most. One of the best bits about that is that you dont have to go out of your way to give to charity, as of this week the two major AUSTRALIAN supermarkets have agreed to provide the Thankyou Product range in their stores, which means you can buy them whilst you are doing your weekly shopping. And the lives that will change as a result is amazing! :)  It encourages me that we can make a difference in a HUGE way by doing something so very simple! 

For those of you in other countries, perhaps you could contact Thankyou.co and get information or something to start your own version in your own country. Its an idea at least?!

For those who have been hanging out for news on my Kindnesses this year (Feb to now), i'm afraid you will have to wait a little longer for them. I decided that i wanted to finish putting last years kindnesses in the album (as i have a dedicated scrap book album - like year 1 of this project). I did however have a slight glitch. Every night I write ten or more blessings about the day and then I add what I have been doing for 365days at the end. Every night I write the date and year so I can put them online at a later stage. My little glitch came when I was writing the kindnesses into my album, which is all based on 2012 and I was careful for the first ten or so entries in the album to make sure the date was right. But the next 30 days or so I completely was acting on auto pilot and wrote 2013... so i'm hoping not too many people notice as they read the books! lol!

Anyways, Thank you all for your continued love and support! I always appreciate your words of encouragement and enthusiasm.

Much love to you all,
Luv Daena x

Happy Birthday to me - Happy Anniversary to Kindness

Hey everyone,

Its my birthday today... which means it is a bit of an anniversary to this project and to its predecessor Project 25. It was on my birthday in 2009 that I asked my friends to go about doing kind deeds for my during the year (end date was June 25, 2010). We had about 35 Kindnesses completed and over 300 people interested in the project. It was of course 6 months after this project that I started 365days of kindness, because I had realized if I wanted to make a difference I had to lead by example. And its 2 and a half years later that I am still trying to inspire you all to do kind acts for those in your community.

So today, for my birthday, for me, please do a kind deed for another person! If you want to share it you can. Facebook has messages, here has comments. I love to hear from you all. It can be as simple as a kind word to a stranger, a smile, some money left for a stranger to find, a hot meal to someone who needs it, a hug for a person who lives alone, make a cup of tea for your mother (I do this all the time... she loves it!), cook a meal for your friends, give a stranger a bunch of flowers (or a single flower - a bunch could make lots of peoples day better), make someone laugh (good clean silly jokes are awesome)... really the more you want to do, the better. Kindness is a way to make your day better too! :)  I would wish you a happy birthday too... but apparently that is just a little weird! So, I hope you have a wonderful "Daena Day" (As some of my friends call it). I have been enjoying a nice warm snuggly sleep in and later I will do a kind deed for someone else! :)

Much love,
Daena x
(p.s. I turn 28 today... wow time flies when you are having fun!)

Life... its what happens when you are busy making other plans

Hello my lovelies,

So you may think I must of sustained an injury or something for me not to update you for 2 WHOLE MONTHS! But I assure you I am alive and well!

Somethings that have changed since I last wrote... the number one thing is Sleep! So many of you know I am a Chronic Insomniac. Well I have made several life style changes and have managed to achieve the miraculous... I am sleeping! Sleep, you might think is pretty under-rated, but from a person who went for about 6 years with a maximum of 4 hours sleep a night (average - sometimes less sometimes more), I consider sleep a jewel. Having said that sleep is actually taking up a lot of my time. Its like my body wants me to get back all that missing sleep in a few weeks. I didn't realize how much time I would be missing by actually sleeping. However, mum likes to remind me that at least I don't need as much time because my brain is more active and I achieve things now in half the time that I used too. So its a blessing to sleep but I'm still adjusting to the reality of it.

The exciting news is my round-the-world trip is now paid for! YAY! I leave for the first leg of my trip which is Canada on the 30th of September! Exciting! So many friends and places to visit! :) I just cant wait... but i have to! :) 

On the family front, I have been supporting my sister, V, as best I can. Recently the company she was working for went into Voluntary Administration, here in Australia, and as of today (10th of June) the company has had to ceased trading. My sister (and all her fellow co-workers/bosses/management etc) have had the last few weeks from hell. They have been trying to assure customers and support those on the same level/above them. But effectually as of today my darling sister is without a job, one that she loved with a passion. There is nothing I could do for her, apart from support her, love her, encourage her, and organize her (okay my OCD is coming out again). I just want to wish all of those from my sisters company all the love, support and kindness this little blogger can muster. You all did a spectacular job for the last 15 years! Thank you from the bottom of my scrap-booking heart!

Some of you already know, if you follow 365days of Kindness on Facebook, that in the last few weeks 3 of my friends have lost loved ones. Some have been fast and shocking, others slow and painful. I have spent a fair amount of time with my friends doing my best to support them. Be it drinks and distractions, or late night Facebook chats. Thank you (God/universe/mother/spirit), for such extra-ordinary lives that these amazing people lived. May they all Rest in Peace.

For me personally, Funerals are always hard. I have been to dozens of funerals in my lifetime, but since Dad has been sick, funerals have taken on a life of their own. It is hard when you are constantly being told that your dad is going to die soon, to then see someone not have to suffer in such a long drawn out manner. The first time, we were told Dad wouldn't live until Christmas, and that was in 2007 while I was living in England finishing my undergraduate degree. Dad has a major brain disease that is very rare ( 20,000 people world wide have Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy) and every few months/years he has a major turn for the worse. He has been so good for some time now, so we are almost living on a razors edge waiting for another bad turn. In other words, we go through cycles of grief regularly, and sometimes I find it hard when I see my friends families, where they are able to grieve and move on. They dont have to wait for the painful end of their fathers life's. To be honest there is often a jealousy that comes with it, and then a deep guilt as a result for wishing a death on anybody. I need to clarify my dad's life is a miracle, the doctors are continually baffled by him, and I cherish every moment I have with him. But there is such emotions at funerals that are often hard to handle. I love my friends deeply and am always grateful that I can support them in any way. I just wanted to explain to others this is one of the other reasons I have been offline recently. It is because I want to be a positive role model, not someone who acts without thought. But I thought it was important to share that it is okay to feel different than others. I mean i have talked to other families of Dementia patients (one of dads disease side effects is Fronto-Temperal Demential), and when I talk to them and explain how I have felt, they are almost relieved that they aren't the only ones to feel like that. I hope honesty helps someone else in a situation similar to mine, just so you know you aren't crazy.

Life has such an interesting way of reminding us what is and what isn't important. Family, friends, my communities and our world, are so profoundly important to me. Kindness is so important. I have seen how people react around shock, change and grief. It has been hard to witness how rudely, violently and badly people react to it. But I am continually reminded to be kind to unkind people, because they need it the most. It is often really hard to do this... particularly to those who are rude to you when you are most fragile!

I had the funniest experience with a drive through lady recently. She was rude and dismissive when she took our order, so I made the effort to yell "Have a wonderful day" through our window to her as we were about to leave. Now I don't know if it made much of a difference to her, but I know that our car full of people, burst into laughter. The upset she had caused us in her interaction with us was made better by a little kindness. If you want to bring kindness to your own life, start by bringing kindness to others. It makes a massive difference!

Anyway, I am still doing my kindnesses. Every night now, I write it in my gratitude journal! I keep writing all the things I am grateful for, particularly the things I can do for other people, and others have done for me. I am so blessed that I to be able to share these stories with you all!

I wanted to say thank you for those of you who keep checking this page even when things have been in stasis for a couple months. You are wonderful! You keep encouraging me to write more! Thank you!

Much love to you all,
Luv Daena x

Facebook... 100 likes

So for many of you, you have been following this blog for a while, but it has only been for a year or so that I have been hosting a Facebook page too! The aim for my Facebook page was to make people laugh, smile, think & be inspired to be kinder to themselves and others! :)
In the last day or so, we have hit a milestone at the Facebook page, that I wanted to share here!

We have 100 likes! :) yay!

I am so very grateful for the support & enthusiasm of all of you! You have encouraged me to keep going with this little project and your support makes me want to keep posting! :) my aim has only ever been to show others how simple it is to be kind, how easy & and how inexpensive it is to act with kindness to
make our world a better place! And you have shared your own stories & shown me other inspiring stories that also make what I do feel right in so many more ways! So Thank you! Thank you very much! :)

Luv Daena x

Ps. The photo is a screen shot of the page & the pages milestone! :)

Im alive and kicking in some cases literally

Hey everyone,
you are probably wondering if i have fallen off the planet, of gotten lost in my own town, or something rather drastic, but im here to assure you i am still alive... and still going with my kindnesses. I just wanted to let you know i have been continuing with my kindnesses even if I'm behind posting the monthly kindnesses or weekly, or daily for that matter. SO many plans to be organised! Well they go out the window when you are so engaged with everyday life.

Anyways, part of the reason i have only been on this blog occasionally recently is there have been a few family health issues. Mum had to have another round of surgery, this time for what i love to call "routine mantainence" but she thinks i make her sound like a computer, and she apparently "isn't one"... much to my amusement (mainly because she had to clarify)! Things didn't quite go to plan, but things are slowly (and i mean SLOWLY!) getting back to normal.

My dad had a fall at his nursing home recently, and while he is not injured (apart from a sore bum apparently) it has shaking his confidence a lot, and ours a little too. Dad has been our miracle man for so long, that when he shows fragility, its kind of scarey.


I have been working in the communal garden at our set of units and have recently planted, a peach tree, thyme, basil, carrots, and keep my mint, parsely, rosemary and a crazy pumpkin (literally took over the garden) and chilli bush. My kindnesses have included giving some of our crazy pumkin plant's big pumkins to different neighbours to enjoy, after it tried to take over the pathways to all the houses. We have already got 6 pumpkins off it and its producing more by the day!! I have been helping one of the elderly residents with her planting and pruning, and she has been teaching me so much about gardening, so its a win for both of us really!

Mum and i have also realised how much "stuff" we have... its quite amazing how much "stuff" you accumulate on a day to day basis, or on a yearly basis. So we have decided to start going through things and giving away what we can and throwing away what we cant. We are shredding and then giving the paper shreddings to pet stores or to my sister for her chooks, the first lots been used in the garden as more mulch.  We gave my sister and brother-in-law a bookcase today. It was hilarious because my brother-in-law and neighbour (who is ex-navy) were attaching the bookcase to the back of the car... lets just say the tears of laughter were running down my leg(jk). It was very funny.
We have also already filled up our rubbish bin to make sure that we are getting rid of as much as possible. We have been giving old clothes to people we know can use them (if they cant use them, then they pass it on). And there is soooooooo much more. Mum tires easily, so i have been keeping her plied with tea and cookies (for those who saw my recent photo of the over cook i did a couple of weeks ago... well you know what I'm talking about). It is very slow going, but its will mean that we have more time for people and less time for "stuff"... well that's the theory anyways.

I did a kindness recently that was one of my favorites. I was on my way to pick up some junk food for mum for dinner (while this was a kindness... its wasn't the only one), and i decided that i would buy dinner for the car behind me. I am blessed to have money! its not much but its enough that i can do nice things for other people and not be too worried about what happens next in terms of budget. For a long time, there was no-one behind me in the drive thru line, i was almost at the window to pay when this car pulled in behind me, with two young guy in it. I don't know who they are or what they even ate, but i asked the guy behind the counter if i could pay for the car behind me and he looked at me funny, but said sure. So I did. I got my food and drove away. I love the idea that the guys in the car behind me would have been confused but happy and that they may have done something similar for someone else... but in truth i don't know... and i never will! That's what made this one so fun! A sneaky act of Kindness... or more acurately a Random Act of Kindness. It was so simple. I didn't know kindness could be that simple, but it was. Seriously... you should try it. Its awesome! :)

On a really exciting note, I am currently planning a round the world trip! Its going to be awesome! im going to Canada (Edmonton), USA(Washington, NYC & Boston), Ireland (Dublin), England (Hull & London), Wales (Holyhead & Cardiff), France (Paris), Germany (Colgne), Italy (Rome) and Egypt (Cairo - with a 8 day tour down the Nile)! I am so very excited that the planning is going so well and i have friends & family in a lot of those places and I will get to see them again! I am so very blessed too, not many get the opportunity to travel as often as I have. If you live in any of these locations, let me know about the "must see" things I simply cant miss....

Okay... what else? i have no idea. So much has been happening that i don't know if i am here or there! But i keep my kindnesses going, as should you. Making a cup of tea or coffee for a neighbour (doesn't cost much), helping to carry a heavy load for another (its free), smiling at a complete stranger for no reason (it makes you feel good too). So many simple ways you can be kind.

Anyways, much love,
Daena

p.s the "literal kicking" comes because i am back at Karate. Last year I wasn't well enough to go very often, but i love going and I love teaching people how to protect themselves. We teach that in a dangerous situation you should run first, and only when you can't run do you stay and fight. But we want you to be prepared for both. So a lot of what we do is fitness... so you can run fast! :) I love it, and the teacher has been teaching me for almost 20 years (he's no spring chicken - but can still beat me at any competition... so lets hope he doesn't see that comment! lol). I recently got my lifetime membership (oh that is SCAREY... apparently i'm no spring chicken either! lol!).  And if you are trying to figure out my age... didn't you know its rude to ask a lady her age?! lol! however if i give it to you freely... well thats a whole other kettle of fish! *Coughs* 27 *coughs*. ;)

Questions and answers - Golden Pen Magazine.

Hey everyone,

I have just entered myself into an awesome competition that could have this project in the Golden Pen Magazine and their website. They are talking about the importance of passion. If you know anyone else who is worthy of this please share this link with them, or nominate them yourself! http://goldenpen.com.au/2013/03/are-you-going-to-be-one-of-the-top-100-most-passionate-people/

I have just had to answer 4 very interesting questions about my passion, Kindness! If I don't get through to the final stage I will share my answers with you. 

One of the editors wrote on Facebook about what they are looking for... "

I am looking for 100 people who know what they are passionate about? Are you one of them? If you have a burning passion and you can say, 'yes, that's me', then comment below and tell us what it is that pushes all your buttons, gets you hot under the collar about and that you are willing to dedicate your life to..."

What can I say, I have a passion for kindness. I think it is important to share these awesome opportunities too! I hope you have a passion in your life that keeps you motivated and enthusiastic about life. This project is mine! :)

Much love, I hope you are all doing well,  

Luv Daena x