Last weekend, a good friend and I visited Blackpool Zoo. It was a glorious summer’s day and we had a great time. Here are so photos from the day:
Blog soon,
Antony
Up until recently I’ve had a Ford Fiesta on PCP. I was coming to the end of my PCP deal. It was time to either buy the car or return it and get another. So I went into the car dealership to see what was available and got a shock.
Car prices, have really rocketed up. As have PCP deals. The car dealership wanted an extra £140 a month for my next car. We are already in a cost of living crisis, I simply couldn’t afford another new car, either to buy one or on PCP. So I thanked them for their time and had to rethink what I was going to do.
I decided to get a secondhand car, a cheap run around with a small loan. I searched and searched for a car in my price range. Various garages told me the same story: Lots of other people are doing the same thing. The cars in my price range were being sold the same day they arrived at the car sales garages.
Luckily, Papa had spotted this (photo left) mini at a local garage and it was in my price range. I took it for a test drive and decided to purchase it. So here we are ladies, gentlemen and others, my new old car. I’ve named him Nathan.
Blog soon,
Antony
I was speaking with a good friend recently about that wonderful emotion Joy. I thought we all knew what joy was, how it feels and what would bring us more joy in our lives, but I was wrong. So let’s go over it.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary Joy is defined as:
For me what distinguishes joy from happiness, is its spontaneity. You never know when it is going to come along, but when it does, you instantly recognise it for what it is.
Joy can come in the most mundane experiences, or it can appear in new and exciting experiences.
Joy only appears when you are enjoying yourself and the feeling is impossible to force. It either comes or it doesn’t. You either feel it or you don’t. You can create the perfect circumstances for joy to occur and it doesn’t show up. You can recreate experiences that have previously experienced joy in and nothing.
But when it does show up – oh boy – it is so much more than happiness. It is elation. It is smiling from ear to ear. It is a high of endorphins, better than any rush you’d get from drugs. It fills your heart, your head, your entire body with excitement, pleasure and a desire to keep doing what you’re doing. It feels incredible.
I love joy. How could anyone not? And while we can’t guarantee that joy will show up, we can do things to make it more likely to happen. These include:
What struck me, talking with my friend, was that we can get too bogged down with the day-to-day life challenges, that we completely forget that joy exists. We forget it exists and therefore forget to go off in search of joy.
So here’s a gentle reminder, to anyone out there who needs it: Look out for joy each day. And try to create opportunities for joy to show up for you.
Blog soon,
Antony
Yesterday was my 39th birthday. I had a quiet meal with family.
I usually love celebrating my birthday, but this year I was bothered by intrusive thoughts.
Thoughts like:
I spent the day combatting and challenging these thoughts. It was exhausting. I know these thoughts were triggered by my birthday.
So here’s hoping, my 40th birthday will be better.
Write soon,
Antony
Antony Simpson - Author, Blogger, Nurse & Witch.
Author of nine books.
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