Like her name signifies ‘beautiful’ so do her blog post refresh you with positivity, inspiration and extra vigour for life.

Her words soothe in a friendly, motherly way. In Bella, I’ve found a like-minded kindred. Whenever I visit her corner, I come away nodding in agreement, the thought pattern, the quotes, and inspiring posts resonate with me. She makes me see parts of me in a different reflection.

Dear Bella, thank you for granting this interview into parts of your personal world

Bits of Me, Myself and I

www.thoughtsnlifeblog.com. My name is Bella, I live in a London suburb in the UK. I am a university graduate with a BSC Hons in Computer Science. I graduated many years ago, just when the internet started. I worked as system analyst doing both programming and business requirements in my early years of work. Over the years I have worked in many industries. I am now known as Business Analyst (BA). Well, I would say I morphed into it over time.

From 2014 to 2016 I took an unexpected career break when my mother had a second heart attack. A year prior, she had triple heart by-pass surgery. The second heart attack was treated with medicines, which slowed her heart rate, meaning, that she could have had a complete heart block. Luckily, we don’t follow Doctors orders entirely and we had stopped taking medications. Anyway, we landed in the hospital again, three weeks later at Easter time. Mum came out of hospital over seven days later with a dual pacemaker. Life after the pacemaker meant we had to adapt to a new normal. Well, the combination of several health issues, heart issue and another operation, and the fact the bottom half of her heart is 100% reliant on the pacemaker, is our new normal. Nevertheless, life is good, she is a trooper. As she started to recover, we started to do volunteer work again and I started my wordpress.com blog.

I had almost given up going back to my job as a BA because there was no way I would be able to find a part-time job in that. To cut a long story short, I asked my old boss and I landed a part time job at the end of July 2016, after two years of not working. Now, if that is not the law of attraction and the power of good wishes then what is? We are still adjusting to it all, as no one day is the same with Mum, but all is good with the new normal.

I have an older brother, a sister in law and two nieces. Life is busy for all so we don’t see them as much as mum would like. My father passed away at a young age, mum was only 48, my brother had only started to work and I was in my final year of university. That is, our immediate unit, but of course, we have extended family.

My outlook on life, well life experiences shape our outlook on life. However, my outlook on life has always been simple “be good, be kind, be nice, be sweet, be bold, be brave, be compassionate, be uncomplicated, be humble, be wise, be open, be honest, be prepared to learn as we don’t know everything, be detached and observe, don’t take to heart what others do, never deliberately hurt another and always have self-respect, and always, always, always do the right thing -always” “Integrity is doing the right thing when no-one is watching – unknown author”. People will knock us down and we have to take it as a test of my character that has come to make me better. Let me always be good even if they wish to hate me; for I have to answer to myself, my character, my world view, my god, my karma, and my parents. Therefore, I do my best to live a good honest and royal life – royal in character not in material possession. Life is tough, but never lose your smile or your character just to fit into that which is wrong. Gandhi said something like “Have the courage to walk in the opposite direction of the crowd if the crowd is going in the wrong direction”.

Life, since my father passed away, has been a huge struggle, not one year of grace, and the test came harder and faster.

I am grateful, that my mum introduced me to Raja Yoga Meditation at the age of 10 years. Raja Yoga Meditation is taught by the Brahma Kumaris globally. It has taught me that we are immortal souls (a tiny point of light) and our original qualities are love, peace, wisdom, purity and Joy. When we act out of anger, lust, ego, attachment, greed –aka ALGAE, we are not being true to our original qualities of the soul. Meditation and powerful positive thoughts have helped me in my life and helped me to see there is a benefit in everything, even the most painful of things.

Therefore, I say, be good, just be good and do what is right – even when no one is watching. Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, for your own self no one else, for your peaceful sleep at the time. So when judgement day comes, and it does come, you know that you will be judged fairly for you have lived with honour and grace. And if you are judged you will be able to accept for you know yourself well enough to accept your errors. So my outlook on life is this, and I honestly have had these feelings for my entire life, well I remember having such thoughts at the age of four. If I dislike anything, then I dislike the lack of honesty and integrity.

I would like to share this YouTube video by Maya Angelou, she expresses so eloquently a beautiful an outlook on life that I resonate with.

Snippets of My Blog

The purpose of my blog and why I blog is to: 

1) To share meditations, positive thoughts, affirmation, gratitude, to inspire me and anyone else interested.

I believe if we change our thoughts we change our life. We are happy or sad because of how we think and what we get stuck in.

I share my experiences, my experiments, what inspires me and motivates me, and what I need to hear to improve myself.

I post from the heart and what is buzzing around in my head, my journal, or what I have just read.

Finally, I want to challenge myself and the reader, to live a wider life, not to be stuck with this materialistic world, to be characterful and simple in your desires, for that is all that matters.

2) I blog to improve my writing, editing, and proofreading. I am the worst writer, I just don’t have the patience to edit or proofread. Even after a year of blogging my mistakes are painful. There is some improvement.

3) I blog to learn new skills and new technology.

4) I blog that, maybe one day when my writing improves, and I have a topic, maybe I might write a book. Or something?

My Thoughts About The Blogging Phenomenon & My Journey So Far

In all honesty, I am not sure what I thinking about blogging in general. It is most definitely massive, global phenomenon. I think anyone can blog even if the niche is taken, you can still blog because no-one will express what you want to express, the way you do.

I love blogging for the global community spirit and the friends I have made. I love blogging because I see and learn from other bloggers who write so beautifully, it leaves me inspired.

Blogging is challenging me in different and good ways. It has opened my world and my eyes to many things that may be, I might never have thought about or contemplated. It forces me to improve, to research and just keep growing.

Blogging is a major part of my life now, and I love it and all my new global friends. I am hooked.

There are a few posts that I would like to share with you all, from my blog. I believe this selection gives you a little bit of preview of what I share on my blog, and the topics dear to me.

Thoughts and Life: https://thoughtsnlifeblog.com/2016/04/24/thoughts-and-life/
This blog post was an introduction to by blog written in April 2016, it was the post that gained me some of my first followers. It effectively was my ‘About’ page as a blog as it seemed no-one was reading my about page.

Meditation: https://thoughtsnlifeblog.com/2016/12/26/6meditation-a-retreat/
Intentions: https://thoughtsnlifeblog.com/2016/05/18/daily-intentions/
Insult: https://thoughtsnlifeblog.com/2016/03/14/its-just-an-insult/
Karma: https://thoughtsnlifeblog.com/2016/09/08/regret-repent-karma/
Peace: https://thoughtsnlifeblog.com/2016/10/06/instruments-of-peace/
Peace: https://thoughtsnlifeblog.com/2016/11/16/let-me-share-peace-with-the-world-each-and-every-day/
Journaling: https://thoughtsnlifeblog.com/2016/05/15/the-power-of-journaling/
Questions~: https://thoughtsnlifeblog.com/2016/08/25/questions-questions-what-is-lifes-what-is-lifes-purpose/
Soul: https://thoughtsnlifeblog.com/2016/08/30/i-the-soul-am-a-point-of-immortal-light/

How I keep Motivated

I believe it with all my heart that if we “ Change our thoughts and we Change our life”, and that the change starts with me.

“be the change you want to see in the world” – Gandhi

One day the human race will be in harmony for we would have all learned to change our negatives into positives. To be kind and loving to all. If my little blog can assist in making us more peaceful, harmonious, and contented in our lives… This is what motivates me to blog.

My Challenging Moments and A Word To Others

Everything! I am trigger happy – I click publish so quickly, it is hard for me to sit on a post and proofread it. I suffer writer’s block always. I feel that my post are the same and that I am repeating myself, and then I get stuck what to write about.

Even after a year of blogging, I find it so very, very, very hard. However, the word “impossible say’s I’m Possible”. So I carry on!

If you have something to share then share it with the world. But, don’t be fooled, part time is harder than an employed job! You gotta love it to be motivated.

Spend A Day With Me

I work three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I volunteer two mornings a week with my mum, that is Tuesday and Thursday at the Brahma Kumaris. Saturday and Sunday are for everything else and socializing. Blogging does take a huge amount of my time because I find it so hard. I love to cook, though I am not the best (well my mum is an awesome cook), I love to keep a clean house. I used to like gardening and this year I am trying to find the passion again. I meditate daily in the morning and evening. I read daily and Journal daily. As for exercising well, I need to improve on that front.

Photos: The garden has been worked on, but it still looks like a tip to the unwise. I don’t like photos of myself, but I guess it is long overdue, so here is a very bad selfie of me, Bella the author of www.thoughtsnlifeblog.com

Going Forward

I started this blog randomly and spontaneously without a clue. Therefore, I have to say, I am clueless here, how does one get an article published, paid for or free? I would love some advice from those who know how to. I think it would be rather nice to publish something that is not on my blog.

In terms of the next steps for my blog, well I just need to be more consistent, to have a schedule, to have blogs written in advance and improving my proofreading. I am just a year old I blogging and I am more experience, but I am still learning and improving.

To close, I would like to thank Jacqueline for all her love and support on my blogging journey. From my first blogging party to my first interview, thank you so much, Jacqueline.