The Way I See It... Caring

Hey guys! Thank you so much for the positive reaction the posts I have written previously in this series, it is great to know that you care about what I'm writing. Today I'm going to be talking about the definition of caring. This is one of the most important traits for a friend to have and I try to be a caring person. Even though this word is pretty commonly used, it means a lot to me.

According to the dictionary, caring means "displaying kindness and concern for others." This is a pretty good round up of what the word means, but I think that only really covers the surface of the word. It doesn't show the grateful smiles and the real, warm hugs.

Caring, in my opinion, is being concerned for the people you love. It's making sure they're happy as often as possible. It's sitting down with them and just listening to all of their problems. It's taking them seriously  It's giving your best friend a present that relates to an inside joke. It's making sure not to call their step-dad their dad just because they mentioned that it annoys them. It's all the things that people outside of those close relationships would miss. They don't have to be big things but they sure make you feel thought-about. It's the things that make you feel like you're not alone, the things that make you feel like somebody's there for you.

I am lucky to have a lot of people that care about me in my life, but you might not feel that lucky, they are always people to care for you but you just need to open up to them. If you feel alone and you are scared to trust somebody, why not start with somebody who you have never met in your life? An internet friend! You are all very welcome to send me an email telling me your problems or just having a good chat.

I hope you enjoyed this post, thank you so much for reading! Is being a caring friend something you think about often? What do you do to be a caring friend? Tell me in the comments. Until next Friday, byeee.

xxx

Catherine

The Way I See It... Choosing a Positive Attitude

Hey guys! I'm back with another post for my "The Way I See It" series. I'm really enjoying this series so far, I'm back on track and that feels pretty good! Today I'm going to be talking about having a positive attitude and the choice I made to be this way. Let's get into it!

When I was younger, I was not a positive person. I complained all the time, I took things personally and I was just generally not very happy. I guess I just wasn't conscious of how my mind worked and how I could actually choose to be positive. Everybody around me had some degree of negativity (everybody does) but all of it changed thanks to two contestants on MKR called Carly and Tresne who labelled themselves on MKR as "best friends" but are actually married. They didn't tell the public when they were on the show as they wanted to be judged on their cooking instead of their sexuality, no doubt it would have been hard anyway as same-sex marriage is illegal in Australia. Anyway back to the point. They were so positive and I felt so good when I saw them on TV and I really wanted to have that outlook on life. I found out that if I looked at things positively, I felt good and the right people liked being around me. As I mentioned in my last post, psychologists have found that it takes around three months for an action to become a habit, so every time I thought something negative, I stopped myself and turned that thought around and now I'm a generally positive person.

The point of the story is, you don't come right out of your mother going "well that hurt, but I'm so glad I'm out in the world now!" Not quite, haha! You don't have to be positive from the start, you can start right now. For me personally, the internet, specifically the blogging community is filled with positive people who have helped me on my journey, below will be the links of two of the most positive people on the internet you can visit to boost your positivity and generally make you feel happy.

Rainbow-Rose Blossom's blog and YouTube channel! She has been through some very difficult things but she has come out of them with a smile on her face, rainbow hair and a beautiful new name. She radiates positivity and is honestly like a personal life coach!

Marianne's website! This girl is amazing! She posts about mental well-being, physical health and inspirational quotes mainly. She has an enormous heart and is so kind and positive. If I'm feeling unmotivated in any part of my life, I visit her blog and immediately feel better. Keep in mind that she has just launched her new website a couple of weeks ago (congrats again Marianne!) but if you want to check out her previous blog, you won't be disappointed!

Thank you very much for reading this post! Are you a positive person? What do you do to boost you positivity? Tell me in the comments. Thank you again and I'll see you shortly!

xxx

Catherine

The Way I See It... Man In The Mirror

Hey guys! I'm really sorry that I haven't been able to post for a month. I have been super busy with school work as well as dealing with my mental health, it's fair to say I have had WAY too many breakdowns over the month. I did manage to tell a handful of friends about my mental health issues, they have been so lovely and supportive, they are the main reason for me finding a scrap of energy and getting my blog on track again. I think I might write a post about my mental state because I know how supportive and motivating you guys are, it means a lot to me. I would just like to add that my normal posting schedule for The Way I See It will remain the same, Friday at 5:30pm New Zealand Standard Time but I just couldn't wait until Friday.

I suppose I should get onto what the post is actually about now, haha! Today I'm going to be talking about making the world a better place by starting with yourself. I was inspired to write about this by Michael Jackson's song Man in The Mirror and Gandhi's quote "Be the change you wish to see in the world". Let's get into it!

I thought about the song and the quote and realised that it is very easy to get caught up in complaining about things you see other people do when you do them as well, I know I do this! This is unfair and, let's face it, it isn't very nice being called a hypocrite, no matter how true it may be!

Because of my realisation, I decided that I would make another golden rule. That rule is that before I open my mouth to complain, I will check if I do that thing (so basically check yourself before you wreck yourself, haha). I encourage you to join me on having this golden rule, psychologists say that it takes about three months for an action to become a habit so I will be reminding myself to remember my rule.

I hope you have enjoyed this post as much I have enjoyed writing it! Will you be joining me on being less of a hypocrite over the next three months? What are some of your golden rules for life? Tell me in the comments! Thank you again for reading, I will see you on Friday!

xxx

Catherine

The Way I See It... Photography

Hey guys! The other I was thinking about photography and what it means to me and I thought it would make a really cool addition to this series. Photography is definitely something I'm passionate and that's something I want to share with you. This post may get a bit poetic (aka I will ramble) but I feel like I'm in wonderland when I take photos so I suppose it's a reflection of how I feel.

Photography, according to the dictionary is "the art or practice of taking and processing photos". I suppose that capture what it is but to me, it is the thoughts that run through my head and the feeling I get when I'm taking photos.

Nature is probably my favourite thing to photograph. It is beautiful, whether or not we care. A flower blooms whether we are watching or not. The sun shines whether we are there to love it or not. I believe we can learn a lot from nature which is one of the reasons I love capturing that. When I take a beautiful photo, it hits me that every little part of nature is beautiful. It's hard sometimes to think about the little things that make up a beautiful, huge something that influences us so much but photography opens my eyes to that and I am so grateful.

Another thing that I love about photography is that I feel so free when I'm doing it. Being out there in the world, alone is something that I find so magical. I feel like my problems dissolve in the soft breeze and it's just me, the camera and the beauty. Something washes over me and tells me that I am safe, a feeling I don't get all that often.

I have been asked by Marianne over at Don't Burst My Bubble (she is lovely, definitely check her out) to do a post on photography tips, I have been trying really hard to squeeze something worthwhile out of my brain but it's proving difficult. Hang in there I promise I'm trying! Until I post that post, here is a tip, don't take it too seriously! Just go out there and enjoy yourself, the love will show up in your photos.

Thank you all for reading this post and until next Friday (at 5:00 pm New Zealand Standard Time)... The way I see it... photography is beautiful and magical. Goodbye (drops mic).

xxx

Catherine

A New Beginning

Hey guys! I have been away for quite a while, haven't I! I think I've been away for about two months. In the first month, I was stuck in a rut. I went to blog and nothing worth writing could escape my mind. My blogging life was turning into a The Fault In Our Stars quote, "my thoughts are stars I can not fathom into constellations". Ideas for posts buzzed around my mind but I could get them out in words. In the second month, I was house sitting with my family. The was no internet or TV. I know that I could have written post offline but having no internet doesn't exactly help when you're stuck in a rut. I decided what I needed was something new in my blog to give me back that excitement I get from blogging. I had been tossing around the idea of a new series before I got blogger's block but now I know the details of the series so today, I want to tell you about those details!

So this series will be called "The Way I See It...". It will be about my opinion on anything. What I really like about this series is that it leaves the subject quite open. I can write about anything that I feel inspired to write about. I have already got so many ideas up my sleeve and since it's a wide range series, you guys will still be getting a lot of the same kind of posts.

I will be posting every Friday at 1700 (5:00pm) New Zealand Standard Time (GMT+12:00). I'm having this series scheduled so that you can rely on the post being there every week at that time. I have always loved schedules on other blogs because I know that I can make myself some tea and read a new blog post, it's so relaxing and hopefully you can have that experience too.

I am really excited to get back into blogging and I can already tell you that today will be spend writing this month's posts and catching up on all the posts I missed, it's going to be a good day. Wish me luck with this series!

xxx

Catherine