Time to catch up...

I’m plunging back into blogging after having been a little quiet in the websphere recently. There has been much going on behind the scenes, many blog posts worth I’m sure, but today I want to start by sharing a bit about how I have been working on nourishment recently (this is  a longer post so make sure you have a cup of something delicious ready as you settle down).

I’ve been taking a good hard look at my life, particularly my physical and emotional health. There was a turning point recently when I realised that I needed to take care of myself much more so than ever before and that this involved some serious changes to my lifestyle. To begin with I looked in great detail at the food I consume and how this serves me. A good friend recommended that I look seriously at eating more raw to help heal my body and give me some of the energy I have been seriously lacking. And so I ventured into my local organic supermarket for the first time and fell in love with the possibilities housed there. Opening up my mind to this way of eating meant I bought a spiraliser (what fun) and a blender to create green smoothies. I discovered the benefits of raw pollen, agave nectar and acai berry powder. I found the most amazing raw snack bars too. 

Through this natural goodness I have even lost some of that craving for sugars. Without realising I have found a fresh approach to creating meals and I am recognising inklings of enthusiasm when I am in the kitchen. I have so much to learn but I am honestly enjoying being a beginner on this food journey.

Connected to this quest of energy I have also been going to bed incredibly early. At first this seemed like a waste of hours to me but that is where my mindset changed also. I cannot continue measuring my days by how much I think I should achieve in them. And so each night I lie there, with the curtains still open so I can watch the sky from bed, listening to audio books ( usually cheesy murder mysteries) until I fall asleep. Add to this the purchase of a memory foam pillow, which is making a huge difference to my ability to sleep, and you have a much more peaceful bedtime routine. I am also listening much more to that need to rest in my everyday. There are days when I can hardly move because I have overdone things or because my body is simply exhausted. I used to carry on regardless, continuing to put the pressure on myself and soak in the pressures from others to continue. Slowly but surely this is changing. I will stop, I will say no. I will just lie down and allow my body to be. It isn’t always easy but I am becoming firmer.

Locket by Liz Lameroux

I’ve also been seeking nourishment for my heart and my spirit. After quite a bit of soul searching I am realising that I need to surround myself more with positive thinkers, and therefore I need to put some distance between myself and the more negative minded, stressed people in my life for a while. For I am sensitive to people’s energies, and take an awful lot upon myself in order to make them feel better and sometimes that energy just seeps in and influences the way I behave. This doesn’t mean ending friendships or believing that life is always hunky dory but it does mean not letting so much in. Searching out the positive wayfarers of my world is infectious and life affirming. I am stocking up on the good stuff.

In line with this I have been poeming until my heart’s content. I’ve  put together a whole stack of poetry books to lose myself in and I start each day with a poem, be it from my books or from the wonderful Writer’s Almanac, which sends a poem out daily by email.  Poetry speaks to me in such an intimate way; I had quite forgotten how understood, how empowered I feel when I read. And of course I have now caught the poem writing bug again and am even considering writing a collection of poems.

And to top off the feel good factor I have been spending time with those gorgeous nieces of mine again. My lovely Summer girl is life itself, with her bursting imagination and endless energy. She makes me really open my eyes to the world. And the younger one, Casey, is finally warming up to me, after crying for months when she sees me! Now there are plenty of cheeky grins and sly glances to take me in when she thinks I am not looking. She reminds me that the relationships that matter, take time and that patience is a practice worth the world.

I leave you with my Smudge cat, my feline teacher ( testing out the memory foam cushion).