Reasons to be grateful
Another week has passed and suddenly the sun is shining. When I look back on my week, I really do appreciate all the resources that I have available to tap into. Which I hope to share over the next few weeks.
As our real life situation still brings us lots of alarming news. I have decided to start this week with the wins of the week, because if we can celebrate what we have, it will help to keep us feel a little more safe and positive.
My on-line gratitude journal looks a little like this:-
I participated in a beautiful Zen practise via zoom, called planting healthy seeds. Yoga is my personal saviour in self care. It does make me feel truly blessed.
Following on, the need for self-care and nurturing, I made a couple of my favourite vegetarian recipes. Pesto and a chilli, cooking is a great distractor and a tasty outcome.
My treat this week, was this lovely bunch of daffodils. It is that lovely time of year, when we can enjoy these pretty vibrant flowers. They are like flowers of hope that Spring is nearly here. To me the colour yellow represents all things cheerful, happy, warm and positive.
One very wet morning when we contemplated an early morning walk, we were joined by a pair of Goshawks, who did the most amazing flying display for us. I really do find them such graceful creatures. It also reminded us both of Mabel from the amazing book, H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, which we both read several years ago. We are so incredibly fortunate to have so many of these beautiful birds flying so abundantly in the wild on this island. On that same walk, it was a winning moment when my husband produced a bar of chocolate from his jacket pocket. Just as I was contemplating my next puddle and mentally working out how long it would be before we got home, when I could wrap myself around a hot cup of coffee.
Exercise, good deep sleep and nourishing food are the most valuable components of self care at the moment. A day without a walk is hard, however, once again, I must remind myself that Spring will be here.
My book share this week, Zen, The Art of Simple Living - Shunmyo Masuno This book goes nicely with my first Gratitude of the week. I love this little book. It has such a feel good factor, it adds calm to my life and is also very easy to dip in and out of.
Podcasts are definitely my thing of the moment, I personally send out a massive high five to everyone who has produced one. They are such a great uplift, (once you give yourself permission to listen).
As I may have mentioned, I do follow lots of inspiration females via email newsletter. This week I had the opportunity to listen to one of @Hannah Wallace Finding Grace interviews. I started following Hannah in the first Lockdown, She is such an uplifting lady and this week she was interviewing @Lucy Sheridan - Comparison Coach. The UK’s only Comparison Coach. I highly recommend a listen if you have the chance. I think I may be following someone else :-) It was both fascinating and reassuring to hear her interview. I have enjoyed listening to several of the Finding Grace series of podcasts. All incredibly inspirational.
People are vital to our well-being, however as we can’t realistically keep being on Zoom/Face time Podcasts are excellent. As we are all such creatures of habit and love all things familiar, we can perhaps use this time to surround ourselves with our favourite things, that will hopefully help us with the psychological side of the next few weeks/months ahead.
A little bit like Desert Island Discs (Radio4). What would your top 10 favourite items be if you were designing a personal self help bag for your own desert island, music, books, etc How would yours look?
Other feel good factors this week have been Winter Watch BBC2 @8pm, presented by Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin which is being broadcast from the New Forest and is very enriching to watch. Animals are always in survival mode, especially in the winter, which pulls on my heart strings, but I am also pleased that they are so resilient.
I hope you have enjoyed this weeks read.
Thank you for reading. Until next time. Stay safe.
Jules xx
I am also on Instagram elementsofhappinessIOW