gemisht

It’s that time of the week again. Time to start the week off with a laugh and hopefully set the tone for the rest of the week. I doubt that will work, but it has to be worth a try doesn’t it??? Check out what my fellow Malarkers have on offer too – Moe, Mark, Michael and Grimm.

So this week, as well as making you smile, I would like to help you look after your wellbeing whilst sitting in front of the computer. I guarantee if you read this at least once a day, you will not suffer from a sore neck after spending too long in front of the screen. Well, either that or your muscles will seize up completely and you won’t be able to move for about a month.

OK now you’ve done your exercises, here is a link to check out on how to get rid of “stuff” – its probably not what you think so click on that and have a look – I guarantee at least one of them will make you laugh.

Enjoy your week and I hope that at least one of them has made you smile, and preferably laugh.

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This week’s offering is something quick due to me being slightly distracted by exams. I received this via email this week and, just to prove my weird sense of humour, it made me laugh. Make sure you have the sound turned up when you watch it. Enjoy  and have a great week – hopefully if you can start it with a smile and maybe a laugh, it will continue that way.
Once you’re done here, visit my fellow malarkers in ~m, Moe and Mark

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It’s been said that you don’t know someone, or know their life, until you walk a mile in their shoes. And until we do that, we really have no idea what goes on in another person’s life, every day. Sure, for those of us who blog, Twitter and have Facebook accounts, we do reveal parts of our lives. But only part, not the whole. To judge someone from what we know of them from their blog, their tweets and what they put on Facebook is misguided at best and at worst, potentially very hurtful for the person concerned.

What if we decide to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes? What if the day we decide to do that isn’t a day that they have to contend with cleaning fecal murals off walls, meltdown week before an IVIG infusion, visiting a dear friend every day to support them in their health battle, bendy wrists and other joints which make everything difficult, coping with grief that leaves them speechless, coping with the challenges that single parenting brings and many other challenges that each of us face each and every day – the big things, things that can make us stop in our tracks, draw breath and wonder how we will cope for even another 5 minutes, let alone another day, week, month or year. If none of those big things happen while we walk in someone else’s shoes, do we really know them? I don’t think so.

We are all individuals and we all have had different lives and experiences that make us who we are. For many of us, previous circumstances shape how we respond in certain situations. For me, if either of my kids have problems at school I may seem quick to jump in but only because I know that sitting back and waiting as I have done before only makes situations worse. You may judge me on how quickly I act, but you don’t know the heartache I have watched my kids endure because I waited. Similarly, we don’t know what shapes others and their lives so none of us should judge. Sadly though, some do and when those thoughts are voiced it can have a huge impact on the person that they are aimed at.

Each of us is entitled to our opinions and to make decisions which affect our lives and our families the way we want. Others may not agree with those decisions or opinions, but that doesn’t mean that what we do is “wrong”. To judge others without really knowing and understanding them is wrong.

Next time you sit in judgement of someone, remember they did not appoint you as their jury. Unless they have asked for your opinion, then please keep it to yourself. Chances are, even when you are asked for your opinion, you don’t have all the facts, you aren’t that person and you weren’t living their life so your opinion will most probably be biased based on your experience.

Maybe I’m a dreamer, but wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to worry so much about what people think of us and whether they will voice those opinions or not, especially the negative ones. It seems that generally we are all much quicker to voice the negatives rather than the positives. Instead of kicking someone when they’re down, try and offer them a hand to pull them up. It might just make their day.

I have one exam on Tuesday and two on Wednesday (exam timetable from hell!!!) I know there are lots of you waiting to see photos from our trip, I promise I will post them as soon as I can after the exam on Wednesday. Sorry to keep you waiting.

Edit – A few of you have asked if this post is in response to a comment or something that I have received – it isn’t. It is in response to many comments I have read on other blogs that are very judgmental and also posts by other bloggers about comments and emails that they have received. Thank you for your concern for me though

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3 countries in 7 days will do that to me.

Hubby and I had the opportunity to travel to China for work, so we jumped at it. We also managed to squeeze in some time in Hong Kong and Macau.

Three amazing countries, but really one. Hong Kong and Macau are both Chinese territories but they are run as Special Administrative Regions (SAR). Despite being Chinese territories, travel between them is still international, with customs and immigration to be cleared each time.

They all have so much in common, but so many differences at the same time.

We started off in Shanghai – what an amazing city that is. Words really don’t do it justice. It’s big, its loud, it’s busy and the people. OMG the people. There are 18 million people registered as living in Shanghai but there are a lot of people who work there that are registered as living elsewhere in China, which means the population can be as high as 21-2 million. That’s the whole population of Australia in one city. I struggle to really grasp the concept of so many people in one place. It is also beautiful and I am still feeling entranced by it. I would go back there in a moment if the opportunity arose again. Fingers crossed it will.

We then travelled to Hong Kong which is another amazing place. Still busy, but not nearly as many people as Shanghai and being a passenger in a taxi there isn’t nearly as scary as in Shanghai. The traffic is a little more “disciplined”. There is so much there to see and do that there is no way we could cram enough in in the time that we had there. Again, I would go back in a heartbeat. There is an amazing mix of Chinese and English culture and architecture. And possibly one of the most beautiful cities at night.

Macau is different again. It has a lot of Portugese influence, in the food (Portugese tarts to die for) and the architecture in the old part. It is also aiming to become the next Las Vegas. The casinos are amazing. Think of Las Vegas and that is what the Cotai Strip in Macau is becoming. The buildings are huge, the lighting on the building and inside is amazing and the sounds of a very flamboyant city was something to behold.

The 7 days went too fast, with so much to discover. We were busy every day and the pace was hectic. But I wouldn’t have had it any other way. On top of the exhaustion from the busy schedule, we flew home overnight from Hong Kong and sleeping on planes is not something I am good at. Never have been, and I’m sure I never will be. This is where the struggling comes in. I have been feeling like a stunned mullet from the time we got off the plane on Monday and trying desperately to catch up on missed sleep and overcome the 3 hour time difference. After my first decent night’s sleep last night, I have been feeling a little better today but still struggling and very foggy-brained.

I have so many photos to share and I haven’t been able to concentrate enough to download them from the camera and upload them. I have just over 600 to go through and sort the good from the bad and the just plain ugly ones. I promise I will post them soon and more about what we did and what we saw whilst away. I can’t wait to share the photos that I took with my new toy.

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