Tag: sharing

Blog, thoughts

Family & Friends are So Important!

wbelle
From Pixabay

Friends, Family & Me

I recently did a couple of episodes on Coffee, Wine & Chocolate podcast regarding the importance of friends, and then on family. In the last, I would say, six to seven years I have learned more about myself and those around me. I have accepted my flaws and my negatives because the other parts of me outweigh them and it is just a part of me. Everyone has good and bad sides to them. There is no way to be perfect, so we have to love ourselves for who we are and always work on being better and do better every day.

I have realized in my learning that friends and family are so important. Much more than I ever thought. I am ashamed to say it, but, I was so bad about keeping up with friends and family after I was married and started a family of my own. When going through my separation and divorce, it really hit me. I found out that I didn’t help myself by being available for some and doing things for them that were not appreciated and much worse, were just expected. I did not know about boundaries, how important they are, and that they help relationships be stronger and help with communication, respect and understanding.

So, I am building better relationships now with those I love. I am honest to a fault, at times to the point of probably saying more than I should, but that is who I am. Sometimes I am so honest that I over say or think things which just gets me into trouble by sounding like I don’t know what I am saying. Do you know what I mean? I then get frustrated at myself and my silly emotions take over. Because, once again, that is who I am.

Friends

I have quality friends that I appreciate and try to keep in touch with as much as possible. Some not as often as others, but it is like we just get it. The friends I have made over the years I have mostly lost touch with. We keep up with each other through social media and that is about it. The friends I made in the last five to seven years are very special to me. Mainly because they were with me through my hardest times and my changing in so many ways. They were my support and ones I could go to when I needed a break from my crazy life (as I saw it). I am blessed to have the friends I have.

Family

Then, let’s talk about family. Family is so important to me. While going through my separation and divorce I was with my parents a lot. We went through a lot together during this time. I was finding myself again, trying to understand all I was going through and not making it easy on my parents that were trying to help me through things. There were also my boys. I am sure I have said this before, but, I put up this wall between me and my boys because I was protecting myself and them from more hurt. But I found out later it was just causing more hurt. I did it so that I would not pull them into what their dad and I were going through. I was not going to put him in a bad light with them and I was not going to pretend everything was okay.

I realized too late that it was not the right thing to do. But now we are working on our communication and staying in touch. Not as much as I would like, but they are busy with their own families and lives.

So, my overall point and all I want to share is, to not put family and friends aside. Make sure you stay in touch regularly. Friends can help us daily, just as family. And family members are so important to stay close to. Yes, there are some that you don’t need to stay in touch with for your own sanity, but the rest are so important!

Love you all and stay blessed!

Belle xo

sharing, writing

Brussels and the EDD22

wbelle

An Amazing Event and time!

My partner and I were part of an incredible event this week. The EDD22 where experienced and young entrepreneurs came together to discuss moving forward in a digital world and how to have complete inclusivity for all countries.

My partner, Geoff, was a moderator for the Digital Studio (2) and I was basically there to help him and to take bullet point notes for each session. I must say, it was an impressive two days and a lot went into and behind it.

The event took place in Brussels, surrounded by beautiful structures and land marks. So, not only did we enjoy and learn a lot while at the conference, but we made sure to enjoy some of our beautiful and fun surroundings while there.

Day One

During the conference, in Studio 1, from the first session, we heard how there is an initiative to work with Africa’s green growth and progress, affordability and capital, climate resilience, guaranteed digital and infrastructure and what is called twin transition. Twin transition is meaningful connectivity, greener internet and there are three things it concentrates on. Those three things are accept the circular economy (use, recycle, reuse); impact assessments, minimize by sharing, affordability in connectivity; and wholistic response.

From the second session, we heard about startups and young entrepreneurs. The panel discussed AfriLabs, one of the most growing entrepreneurships; using digital tools to reach the smaller entrepreneurs and smaller financing; the global gateway; software sustainability objects; partnerships being so important; and having a growth place for young entrepreneurs and startups.

The third session dealt with innovations between Europe and Africa. The panel discussed the importance of designing programs, having programs to help entrepreneurs, people who know how to adapt the network, trust and funding, and how feed back from entrepreneurs is so important to listen to.

In Sessions four, the panel discussed the EU bringing priorities to open and secure internet, being more open to connectivity and making the internet stronger in protection against malwear and censorship. They talked about the importance of digital education and rights for children and women in more friendly technology and understanding. Inclusivity being so important in today’s world.

Session five had a panel discussing connection struggles; tech for democracy and human rights; internet shut downs, India being the number one country last year with 109 shut downs; so many factors shutting down the internet; human rights being limited and key word filtering; and about tools being abused and misused.

Session six was a panel of Spanish speaking women discussing the online gender-based violence and how there needs to be advancing digital rights in Latin America. They talked about having a public campaign of literacy; hope to reposition the topic of gender violence online; work to find out what happens with children online; violence normally found in society is now showing up online; and how sometimes it takes 8 years for a case to get in court.

And this was only the first day! It was filled with so much information and in such a short period of time, but so enlightening. We followed that up the next day with three more sessions.

Day Two

In session seven, the panel discussed digital technologies for inclusive climate and responsive development. They talked about how it took a pandemic to bring out the digital means of communication to the forefront; financial services being important; the role of digital, solution or pollution; ethical and social issues are now environmental issues; developing guidelines for including digital in financial sustainability; mobility services working with public transport; work on biodiversity, destination earth; and blockchain (per Wikipedia: a growing list of records, called blocks, that are securely linked together using cryptography.[1][2][3][4] Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data).

Session eight, the topic was catalyzing young agri-entrepreneurs successes. The panel discussed the importance of starting businesses that use the resources in the area to produce product and providing that product to the local areas. There was a Mango farm and the products they produce and what they plan to do in the future; an organic waste company turning that organic waste into bio-fertilizer; as well as a company called The Market Movers that began providing products to the locals online (a digital platform) that has grown so quickly, starting 10 to 10 thousand and they now reach 500 thousand people by delivery. You could just feel the pride of what they had done.

The last session, session nine, was on tracing textiles and advanced technologies for sustainable value chains. The panel discussed global gateway in textiles for clothing and shoes; the importance of transparency and that it is becoming more available; collaboration across the value chain, facing a lot of problems and complexity but making visible what is invisible; the need to build capacity; and having traceability components.

Needless to say, the information that was shared in the two days we were there, we learned so much and that was just in the studio we were in! There were five topics you could tap into. Those were Digital (where we were), Transport, Climate & Energy, Health, and Education & Research, along with meeting rooms and exhibits you could join.

To learn more you can go to the EDD22 website at: https://eudevdays.eu/programme#anchor-174

While in Brussels

So, while there at the conference, we had to see some sights as well.

We went on a ride of the ferris wheel called The View. It was so great to see all the area in one place!

Then we went to the Grand Place. One of the most beautiful and ornate central squares I have seen yet. I understand that it is extra beautiful at Christmas time with the snow and lights adding to the atmosphere!

We also took in some amazing food, saw the Atomium (picture up top – went inside the structure) and the gorgeous Our Lady of Laeken church. It was all so amazing and I hope we can go again soon.

I look forward to our next journey and where it leads us. 🙂

Belle xo

thoughts

If I Died Tomorrow

wbelle

This is not a cry for help but a cry for love and empathy. We have only one life to live and should live it fully. We should not regret our choices but learn from them. Just don’t learn from them by not giving it your all. All love to those that you love, letting them know as much as possible that you love them and miss them. All help to those that need it, as much as we can. All understanding and empathy, especially to love ones, but to strangers as well.

I wrote the following during a sensitive moment and no, it is not a poem. More like a pouring out of feelings I had to get down and out of my head. I know I am not alone in these feelings so thought I would share.

If I died tomorrow

If I died tomorrow would you care?

If I died tomorrow would you regret not contacting me and staying silent?

Would it make a difference to you if I am not here?

Would you beg for the time back?

Would you cry yourself to sleep?

Would you miss our times together?

The laughs, the hugs, the talks, the smiles and the tears shared?

Would you look at pictures, realizing I was the one taking them, so not many of me to remember? 

We don’t have forever, only a short time together.

Once it’s our time to go, that’s it.

Only memories and pictures to turn to and stories others have to tell.

Don’t waste the time we have by being hung up on your beliefs and hard “headedness”.

My love is so great and given freely.

I need that love in return, just as anyone does. 

So again I ask,

If I died tomorrow, would you care?

Belle xoxo (Dawn)

Diary of Me, Me, writing, topics, sharing

Things I am learning about in me

wbelle
Pixabay

Here I am again to talk about things going on with me

I have had a lot of changes in my life in the last few years. Now that I have been through the emotional changes, things going on around and getting through them, I am now realizing and experiencing physical things and changes. These are the things I am learning about in me.

I have been dealing with hearing loss in my left ear.

Beginning a couple of years ago I noticed something going on with my hearing in my left ear, especially when in the quiet car. It felt blocked and not right. I would turn on the music just so I wouldn’t notice it as much, thinking it was my sinuses draining and causing problems. Finally, I went to the doctor and was referred to an ENT. The ENT could not see a problem so sent me to get a hearing test done to determine if there was something inside. The testing came back mild hearing loss and so he suggested allergy tests to be done to rule out allergies.

This took a whole other turn! I was found to be allergic to basically everything outside plus cats! Allergy shots began. I had them every week for a year until I moved here to London. Now I give myself the shots once every month. However, I still had problems with my hearing in the left ear. It continued to feel like something is blocking it and I can hear movement like sinuses moving inside.

So, once here, I told my doctor about it and they sent me for an audio gram. The same analysis as before was given. Mild hearing loss. But, because I was hearing movement he suggested to my doctor that I be seen by an ENT. When telling my doctor this on my telephone appointment this morning she decided to first get an MRI done on the left ear to rule out a tumor. A tumor?!? Yikes! Okay, no reason getting worried until we get results.

So that is my hearing problems in a nut shell.

Now about my low back, hips, gluts and side of legs, especially the right side.

Before I came to London I was having some low back issues and even though I was getting massages every now and then when I could, the problems seemed to be getting worse. I was referred to Physical Therapy for a time before the pandemic hit and then did the exercises during the pandemic since I could not be seen by my therapist.

Once I came to London, I was being seen by a physiotherapist and continued to have problems and sensitivity in my lower back. She worked with a chiropractor and suggested I be seen by her. I was seen and wow what a change! By the second treatment the sensitivity and pain I had been living with was gone. My lower back was so much better it was astonishing.

I continued to be seen by them both, along with our yoga massage therapist and trainer every week. I felt I was getting stronger until I suddenly started getting pain down the outside of my legs. The right leg was worse than the left and continued to get worse. I finally tried to get in touch with the doctor to find out what I should do.

Over the phone I discussed with the doctor about what was going on (As you see above). She has suggested there may be arthritis in my legs that is causing the pain so is referring me for an x-ray. Once that is ruled out or verified we will go from there to determine treatment.

This is where I am

So, now I am in limbo to know what is going on with me but also moving forward at the same time. At least something is being done to determine what my issues are and then we can move on with treatment. I just feel like since I have reached this age (54) I have so many more issues yet feel more knowing of myself than ever before. The journey continues and I am actually looking ahead and expectant of what will be next in my life.

One thing I am very excited about is I will be flying home to the states in October to see my boys and their families, my parents, my sister, and my friends. My granddaughters will both be turning one year old in October and November. I get there between their birthdays so I can celebrate them while I am there for three weeks. How great is that?!

Belle xo

Diary of Me

Dear Diary July 29, 2021

wbelle

Dear Diary

It is Thursday the 29th of July 2021. I have not talked to my youngest son and family since the 6th of July. My heart is hurting but I am trying to give him space as he said he needed time to process. It is so hard when I love him so much and just want to talk.

I have talked to my oldest and grand daughter this past weekend. It was wonderful seeing them both and having a chance to catch up and see my grand daughter. She is growing so much and so quickly.

I am planning a trip back to the states in October so that I can see everyone and celebrate my grand babies’ birthdays. I am so excited to do this!

Things I am doing to keep active

I am now rearranging my creative room and making space for things to be able to move around and get those creative juices flowing. It has been quite cluttered as of late because I have been doing other things instead of clearing it up.

Ordering some pictures through Kodak online of my grand babies has been fun. It will be for my grand baby board my parents bought me when they found out my sons’ wives were pregnant. I am looking forward to showing it off.

As I sit here writing this I am at a window in my creative room where I can see all going on down our street. I observe the people coming and going and the cars, trucks and vans that go by. It is a pleasant quiet road we live on, except for when school is in session. We have a couple of parks near by that we take our dog walking in and get our exercise daily.

My Thoughts for the Day

My thoughts for the day are to see the positive side to everything, smile and say hello to anyone passing by, and enjoy life as much as you can. We are given one life and I have learned that I am where I am for a reason. I may not understand right now why, or what I am here for, but there is always a reason for everything. I am blessed to be alive and to live every day the best that I can.

Until the next time,

Love Belle xoxo

Diary of Me, writing

Diary of Me

wbelle
Pixabay

I have decided to write on here like this is my diary. A section of my blog will now be my diary. I will use it so I can share things I am going through daily and to show others that I am a human just like everyone else and have my faults.

Some background

I have been on this blog space for a while. I started it to share things and get my head straight while going through my separation and divorce. During that time I have written a lot, made friends, been through counseling and learned a lot about myself and those around me and in my life.

Things I learned about myself

I learned so many things about myself, how I handle things, what needs to improve and what needs to stop being done. I learned that I am a very sensitive person. Feeling others’ feelings and emotions, as well as taking on those feelings and emotions as mine. Not only that, but that my heart is invested a lot in my relationships. To the point I let things hurt me a lot easier than some would.

Learning about boundaries and how they help in relationships was new. They are also difficult to put into place with those I love after I have never had them. Making myself available at all times for those I love was also a problem. I fed into others that I was always going to answer or be there immediately and do things for them. That had to stop for me to be happy. For I was making others happy without making myself happy. Don’t get me wrong, I love making people happy. I feel it is my calling. But I was doing it without thinking of myself in the long run.

So, now that I am trying to work with these changes for myself and others, it is causing some push back from those I love. I am praying that all will work out for us all in the end and just wish it would be now instead of later. But, we cannot control these things unfortunately.

More things I learned

I also realized that I was handling things all wrong in my marriage, my relationship with my boys and with myself.

My marriage

When you deal with certain things over and over throughout your marriage as well as reacting to them eventually in the wrong way, they add up. Little by little you lose trust and faith. We both changed because of it and I couldn’t live that way anymore.

I now know it was a good move for him and me. He knows why he is the way he is and why he got worse over the years. His knowledge can now help and be a blessing to others. I now know why I reacted to it, how I reacted to it badly, and changed over that time as well. It is not where we planned to be in this time of our lives, but we are where we are.

My boys

During the time of the separation and divorce I did not help my relationship with my boys. The way I dealt with things was to “protect” myself and them by not sharing what I was going through and what I was doing/dealing with. Basically cutting myself off from them. I did this because I was afraid I would say the wrong thing about their father to them (you never want to turn your children against their other parent no matter what you are going through). I also didn’t think they should be pulled into our problems and feel they had to take sides. Yes, I realize this was wrong now. As they say, “Hind sight is 20/20.”

Unfortunately I feel they are still holding this against me as well as upset about my life decision to move to London and marry a man they don’t know and feel has taken their mother away. They have dealt with it negatively, to the point they now don’t communicate with me unless I reach out to them first. I know they want me there close so I can share in their babies growing and in their lives. And that is why I have tried to stay in close contact with FaceTime every couple of weeks and messaging to check on them. Family is important to me and even though I am here away from them and my family, it is so important to stay in touch, show support, and love one another.

My boys are my heart and I really want the communication back and the closeness we used to share back. I just want them to see we can make it work with me here and them there. I am planning on going back to the states in October so I can celebrate the girls’ first birthdays. No, I won’t be able to be there on their birthdays but in the middle so I can celebrate them both. They mean the world to me.

Myself

I was not handling things well during the separation and divorce and knew I needed help, someone to talk to. I finally decided to seek out counseling. Two years after our first separation I finally found someone to get that from. Trying online counseling first did not work for me. I knew I needed someone to meet with face to face. The first counselor just disappeared without a word. The second one was my saving grace. She helped me through so much in understanding myself, things I was going through, how to deal with anxiety/head thoughts/emotions, and how to put things back in place for me to be happy with me. I found out I had gone deep into unhappiness even though it showed differently in how I was around others.

I had lost myself and was finding me again. Yes, I have changed a lot. I am still me, but better. Better in my understanding of myself and others. Better about how I deal with things (yet still learning). Growing and learning more and more every day. To some it may feel like I am not the person they knew before, and that is true. I have changed. Getting to be better than I have been and growing into a person that continues to love as much as she did before, yet even more. I love life and want to enjoy it to the best of my ability. Living life in a negative light is not for me and I plan on making a difference before I die. I want to be a positive light in this world.

So here I am

I now live in London from the state of Georgia. Surrounded by love from my partner, friends, five cats and a dog. I talk to my parents weekly and keep in touch with my sister, as well as my boys and their families.

Now that I have shared a bit of background about myself and where I am, I will continue to share here in my diary. There is a lot more, but these are the basics to bring you up to where I am now. It is more for me, but if someone benefits from my ramblings and sharing, all the better!

So until the next time…

Belle xoxo

writing, poetry

That Very Thing

wbelle
Pixabay

That very thing that you thought you would never do

The thing you thought would never happen, not ever to you

That thing you avoided and denied could come into your life

The one thing you swore never ever would cause you strife

It happened and it will again because you are only human

We all experience it at one level or another

Sometimes it’s harsh and at others quite barely there

Yet it is part of life so we know both the ups and the downs

So we know the happy times and the sad times

We have to experience one to know the other

Just like there are so many different people in this world

If we were all the same, what a boring world it would be!

So get out there and live your life to the fullest

Know that there will be ups and downs

Live and learn and keep going

Life is an adventure and is so worth living!

Thankful

Life, Just Wow!

wbelle
Woman Dancing on empty road with red scarf – Pixabay

In Just A Second

I witnessed an accident last night first hand. As I was sitting outside my house, beside my new fire pit, listening and watching a friend’s Live. I live beside a somewhat busy road in a town on the northeastern side of Georgia near I-85. People drive to fast down this road all the time. It is full of curvy twists and turns throughout and the speed varies from forty-five to fifty-five depending on the area you come to. In my area, it is supposed to be forty-five.

There have been several one-car accidents in this one particular curve. Not many have been reported. They are usually cars going too fast that run off the road and they start back up and drive on. On occasion though there will be a bad one. This was one of those occasions.

As I was sitting by my fire pit, I heard a vehicle coming down the road which sounded as if it was going too fast. I thought in my head it should really slow down or it might have an accident. Then as it came into view I saw a black truck. It came around the curve, hit the edge of my grass (which by the way is the top of a hill down to my lawn), he tried to overcompensate, to the left, then once again to the right, throwing the truck sideways into the trees across the street, smashing hard.

It took me a second to register what had actually happened. I then jumped up, scrolled out of the Live, into my phone, dialed 911, and was talking to a dispatcher who in turn connected me to the dispatcher to my county. Within, I think, less than five minutes the ambulance was out here. Then the other emergency vehicles such as police and fire trucks were here.

In the meantime, a few people that live in the neighborhood behind the trees he hit came around to make sure he was okay while I was on the phone and others started pulling over to make sure if help was needed. He slid out of the truck and as soon as the guys in the ambulance were out, they had him in the ambulance checking him out.

Life Can Change So Quickly

It’s amazing how quickly life can change within minutes. Here I was sitting quietly beside my fire pit enjoying my friends Live and suddenly someone almost lost his life for going too fast around a curve right in front of my eyes.

My point is, yes be cautious and know your limits. But also, enjoy life. Tell those you love that you love them, make sure they know it. Do the things you want to do, try the things you want to try, don’t wait for things to happen, make them happen. Go for it! You may never get the chance again. One of my favorite sayings is Live, Laugh, Love!

My Challenge To You

Know this, with each negative, there is a positive.

So as my challenge to you, do me a favor. As you end your day, think back and for each bad or negative thing that was in your day, think about the good or positive thing that happened to replace it.

I love you all my friends.

Belle xo

Mental Health, Podcast

Hello Again!

wbelle
white and pink hello you card
Photo by Claire Morgan on Pexels.com

Let Me Tell You What’s Up!

Being so focused on my podcast and content for it, I have been very slack in my content here. I have a hard time seeing how people do all the things and don’t burn out!! Seeing folks that do writing, podcasting, YouTube, all media, etc., I don’t get it. I mean, ALL THE THINGS, along with family and sometimes even a full-time job! How the heck do they do it????

And here is little ole me, with my ADD self trying my hardest just to focus on getting my content done for my podcast and not get lost in the social media as I try to put the content on that social media for my podcast! Haha!

But Why Go From Blog To Podcast?

Maybe it would help if I explained a little bit better about how and why I decided to start doing a podcast.

As all of my reader friends pretty much know, I started writing my blog to get me through some rough times. A lot of us start blogs for this reason. Some for other reasons, like a live journal, or a calendar to keep tabs on ourselves, etc. Mine was to share things I was going through, get them out of my head, and maybe have others going through the same thing join me in understanding. Not to bash anyone or to get revenge. It was for my own peace of mind and relief from thoughts. And wow did it help! And the people and friends I have met have been wonderful!

So, in the last six months, since I arrived home a few days early from my trip to London because of the emergency of COVID-19, I have gone through many ups and downs, in not only emotions but happenings, thoughts, decisions, and experiences.

Emotions, Happenings & Thoughts

Like so many, I have gone through a multitude of emotions because of Covid-19. It started with the anxiety of having to decide to come home a few days early from my trip and be self-quarantined for fourteen days by myself. My parents graciously got me the things I would need initially and left them in the house so that once I was home that evening I would have them immediately. Then, over the next two weeks I had two close friends and my parents (again, bless them) check on me and bring me things voluntarily and when needed. I continued on past those fourteen days being uneasy and not knowing what to expect with this virus pandemic.

Believing I would be okay but worried about others I love, I was getting restless and falling into the negative thoughts. Not working, so I was trying to determine what to do to keep myself busy, continued to attend my counseling online, and do regular exercise so that I would not become lazy and depressed. Feeling and seeing all the hate and anger stemming from the social distancing and the worry people were going through, along with media hyping up certain things to raise anxiety, I was determined to find something I could do to help bring some positivity and light into the world if just a little bit.

My decision to lend my voice into the positivity mode

Once I realized I couldn’t do the singing that I love on a regular basis during this virus social distancing and quarantine time, I had to figure out some way to use this voice of mine. I was given this gift for a reason. So, after thinking long and hard about it, I decided to start a podcast. Why not, I thought! If it doesn’t work out I haven’t lost out on anything. But if I don’t try, I definitely might lose out on reaching someone or changing someone’s life in some way. Even my own. So, I started my journey with my podcast Coffee, Wine, & Chocolate. It released on August 17th with the trailer and then August 24th was the first full episode. Starting off slow and steady with short episodes, and I will eventually have a little longer ones with interviews but hopefully not much longer. It seems people like the short and sweet ones! Ha!

I have gotten some really good feed back so far. I have received two reviews and a few ratings. So, if you have listened to my podcast, if you would please take a few minutes to write a quick review, it would be much appreciated and helps others find me! 🙂

And if you haven’t had a chance to listen yet, please check it out. It is Coffee, Wine, & Chocolate. Found on every podcast player you prefer. The apple player link is in the title above. If you look it up in Google it is in Google podcasts, listen notes, buzzsprout, podchaser, and so many more!

Thank you my dear friends, readers and listeners! Have a blessed, happy positive day! And if it’s been a hard one today, think of one positive thing that has made you smile today or that you are thankful for today. And know there is at least one. For every negative there is always a positive.

I love you all!

Belle xo

Thought Of The Day

Thought for the Day

wbelle

*Quote by Robyn Conley Downs

**Picture by me on one of my daily walks 🙂

My thought for today is to find the strength you need to share your message.  There are people out there that need to hear what you have to share, for they are going through what you have gone through and need to know they are not alone.  So, have the courage to speak up.  You have those that care for you and know your story.  They are behind you showing their support so that you can help others.

I know this is easier said than done at times.  Boy, do I know this! But to share is to help others and it gives great joy to be able to do this.

Have a great day!

Belle xo