Interrupt busy with slow

This year started off with the most wondrous of intentions. Intentions to move slowly, be grace, live purposefully, breathe with intention. And I'm not saying I haven't done all those things. To a wonderful extent I have. 

But then along came the chaos. The busy. I'm dubbing it "the scheduled life". When there's so much to be done, and so many commitments that all the moments seem played out in routine. It kills spontaneity. And it turns a slow and mindful rhythm into a routine. And to that mishaps and mess + throw in a tonne of winter colds and coughs. 

I felt it approaching a month or so back. I felt despair. And a whole lot alone and helpless in getting all the things done while carving out the slow, heart-centred rhythm that I need. {I've come to understand that slow and heart-centred is quite simply how I thrive.} 

To some extent, busy cannot be stopped. Maybe, like me, you have three young children. Or maybe, like old me, you have a busy corporate job that works to strict deadlines. It's hard to stop the busy when you simply have so much necessary stuff to be done. 

I've researched this very topic on a personal level for the past 10 years. Rushing and the stress that tagged along with it was making me sick. I needed the antidote to busy and rushing. And I have a conclusion: We need to be okay with some busy. Life simply demands it. But we don't need to become "busy". Busy doesn't need to be our state of being: our sense of self from the minute we open our eyes from sleep to the minute they close again at night. 

So, what to do?

Interrupt busy with slow. That there is my solution. And it's working. For me.

It means slowing down, and taking a dose of mindfulness to heart. But it doesn't mean becoming a constant state of slow and mindful. We can still be mindful and not practise mindfulness every single moment of our waking day. 

I say, begin with a handful of minutes. Or add an extra handful of minutes to your already mindful routine. I'm honestly talking about just a few minutes. And this isn't about setting aside time to be mindful. It's about choosing slow + mindful when your amidst busy. It's about noticing that busy pace, and choosing to interrupt it. 

I fold these mindful rituals into the everyday effortlessly. Because as well as slow and mindful, simplicity {for me} is key. 

RESET YOUR RHYTHM + When I'm running around in the mess that can be mornings with kids, I choose to step away from the chaos, step outside with my cup of tea. I savour those sips, I look to the sky, I breathe. I move slowly. Just for a minute, before joining the mess again. Albeit calmer and more mindful. 

LOOK TO NATURE + When I've had a busy morning or afternoon, I pull the car over by the sea* on my drive home. I step outside {or we step outside, as I almost always have children in tow} to watch the water, taking note of the rhythm the sea is moving to today, breathing deeply and fully, taking in that sea air.  

STEP OUTSIDE + I often choose to eat my lunch outdoors, especially if the sun is shining. I notice the feel of the sun on my face, it's warmth. I pause before eating to just breathe, to give thanks for this moment, my food, the sun's shine. I notice the sky's colour, the patterns of the clouds. I tend to eat slower when I do this. Eat more mindfully. I'm present.

JUST BREATHE + And when I simply can't make make my slow minutes an escape, I just take a minute to tune into my breath. I notice its pace. I listen to the inhalation / the exhalation. I invite myself to breathe deeper and slower than before, and to release that breath fully. I invite myself to move slower. To walk/speak/react at a slower pace. Just for a minute. 

To counteract life's busy, interrupt it. With slow. For me, it works.

xx

Will you give it a go? What activities help you stay centred and mindful in the here and now? I'd love to know. Elisa x

*Of course, not everyone lives close to the sea! But the sky is just as wondrous! Look to the patterns playing out across the sky from home or work, notice how it changes, notice how it's changed an hour later, tune into the rhythms of the sky as you could the sea. Just as expansive, just as mesmerising, ever-changing with the rhythms of life - as are we.     


--------- >> Learn about what's in my free mindfulness activity bundle for embracing slow + mindful, and tuning into the power of your breath here.  

--------- >> I have a new instagram account: @ohhelloheart xx

Taking a chance + starting before you're ready

I've realised {in the past couple months} that I find it easy to overlook myself in the day-to-day. And the problem with that - with not carving out minutes of your every day solely for you - is that soon those days become weeks, months and you look back and realise you've made loads of plans + let ideas swirl in your head... and that's where they've stayed. As floating ideas and hand-written plans. In a notepad.

I pretty much woke up to this realisation. Just woke up and thought, that's enough. 

I realised I don't actually believe in myself as much as I think I do.
I realised that taking a chance on me is damn scary.
I realised that I've been waiting for permission to give more of my heart's writing + soul's stirrings a real go. {Permission from who, I'm not quite sure.}
I realised that now's the time. {Actually, now is always the time.}
I realised that I'm very good at talking myself out of taking a chance.
I realised that even the thought of vulnerability cripples me {used to cripple me}.
I realised that living my truth - writing it, sharing it, speaking it - is where I want to be {always}.
I realised I was giving myself the opposite advice I'd give to my beautiful girls.
I realised if I didn't call myself out on this one. Say "that's enough" and actually mean it, I'd be moving in these circles for many years to come. 

And so, I scribbled words down on paper - words + feelings standing in my way. I came up with "taking a chance on me", "trust", "authenticity" + "vulnerability". And I've accepted they're all really good friends, and I no longer want them to be a roadblock in my way.  

So I've been breathing my way forward. 

This past month has been about pulling back, slowing down and breathing with intention. Focusing on what matters most. And that's meant little time for anything that's not mothering my three + nurturing my heart. 

I'm embracing my ideas little by little, and navigating them into existence slowly but surely. And I'm starting before I feel ready. And those little steps I'm taking, it turns out they feel like bounds once you make a few.

xx

Have you taken a chance on yourself lately? Have you started a new project recently? Any lessons on vulnerability you'd like to share? 

With big nourishing breaths + much much love, Elisa x


~~~~~~~~ >> FREE PRINTS + MINDFULNESS BUNDLE: Thank you to all the lovely people who have signed up early before my mindfulness bundle + breathe prints are ready! Thank you for taking a chance on me! I've added a couple simple meditations and the bundle is almost ready to send. You can check out what's included here. Elisa xx

~~~~~~~~ >> NEW INSTAGRAM: I've created a new instagram @ohhelloheart that's solely for my writing, mindfulness + meditation. Love you to come say hi! Elisa X

A year of {learning} surrender

Two whole months and a handful of days into this year and I couldn't keep up. That's after thriving my way through last year. The change in emotion and pace left me unsettled for a long while.  

Change entered here in an abundance, add to that a decent dose of overwhelm, the perfectionist in me coming out to play, cue feelings of failure and then replay that overwhelm... and that pretty much summed up the first six months. Each month felt big, then the next month simply followed suit.

Among all this I wondered just how and when surrender {my guiding word this year} would surface and what it would teach me, because it was feeling far off. 

Each month I seemed to relearn surrender, reset my rhythm, and reprioritise. I felt oh-so-tested. Continually tested. 


And when I look back, I can see I let this feeling keep me away from this space. I'd come back and share, then tell myself that once I got on top of things I'd come back again. But I never really got on top of it. 

I saw surrender as calm, a slower pace and quite frankly me at the top of my game, just like the previous year. I didn't see surrender as "giving up". But, it was only once I threw the towel in on my "big plans" and preconceived ideas on how surrender would pan out this year, that surrender arrived. 

I found new ways of making space and time for breathing; I spent a lot of this year researching, studying and reading all I could on mindfulness; and I rekindled my meditation practices {finding myself meditating in five minute bursts, and amazed at what a few minutes of heart-centred awareness can create}.  

And so this year I've accepted that I'm not as good at surrender as I first thought... I've accepted that it's more than okay to schedule slow {and all that will create slow within my day}... I found myself adding meditate, write and walk to the top of my to-do list. Before all the shoulds and musts. And it turns out prioritising surrender moments is not just about mindfulness and creating a gentle kinder rhythm, but about nurturing my soul. xx

How are you? Did you choose a guiding word this year? What did it teach you, and will you choose one for next year too? 

~ I have a bundle of free mindfulness prints ready to send out, and a meditation mini-ebook coming out mid year. You can sign up for them here xx

Ruby // sixteen weeks later

Our darling baby girl arrived in a whirlwind 16 weeks ago now. It felt as though the wait to this point in the pregnancy had been so very long; the last weeks drawn out with a mixture of exhaustion, stress, soreness and anticipation. 

On Ruby's day I spent the morning and then later in the afternoon with a new feeling, a shift within me - a knowing that our time was soon; and as though cradling me in support the universe saw that five friends sent messages of love and support in those 24 hours before labour began. 

The two days prior I spent in quiet anticipation - making time for reading, yoga, meditation; turning away from social media, walking solo and slowly, and finding myself in conversations that spoke of beauty, wonder, divine timing and support. I felt grateful and ridiculously tired. I thanked and praised my body for growing my baby and supporting us both. I slept a lot. 

That night I went to bed before our two girls. My exhaustion had reached a higher level and it felt like I had no choice but to stop, rest and sleep. In bed I placed a hand on my heart and one on my belly and I tried so hard to hold onto the feeling of my baby girl within me and send her my love. I meditated and drifted into sleep. 

A few hours later our journey to each other began. And after just three hours of intense labour she was safe in my arms. I birthed our baby girl surrounded by my husband and four amazing, strong, calm, confident and loving women. I felt supported and loved. For this, and to them, I am forever grateful. 

In those three hours of labour I heard "You've got this!" from four different people - said with confidence in me, my baby and my body. It became my mantra. And it's stayed with me these past four months. It's stirred a quiet confidence within me. A trust I've never felt before. A trust in the part of me that is home: heart & soul.

And so for the past four months I've lived in a little cocoon with our Ruby - doing what needs to be done, and little extra. I've thought about writing sooner, tried twice but then retreated back to the busyness of loving my three babes. It's a beautiful space, right here right now... and I haven't wanted to venture further til now. I didn't give myself this time or space or allow myself to feel this joy in the early days with the other two girls. And I'm oh so grateful I have this time round. Part of me wants to stay here, and another part of me is ready to emerge, calling me to write again. Slowly, slowly.   

xxxx 

~ A big thank you so so much too for the beautiful messages of congratulations, love and support I have received on the arrival of our baby girl when I shared the news on facebook and instagram, So very grateful. Elisa xx 

Head & heart

I've been missing writing, and perplexed because perhaps for the first time in two and a half years I have felt unable to
write for here. For this space that's become an extension of my heart.

Despite my feet-on-the-ground and mindful intentions, my head went skyward - thinking, thinking, dreaming a little and unable to make a decision. Because, of course, the decision was not for my head at all, but for my heart. Funny that.

And when I checked in with my heart, it whispered find your joy. And that's where I've been. Finding my joy which
turns out is mostly just being, writing and creating from my heart (hello new prints, and an amazing new vision board), practicing yoga, talking and playing with my girls, time with family, reading fiction and neglecting my
facebook page.

And while the past two weeks my energy has returned, it does feel a lot like I had to step back a few paces in order
to move ahead.

xx 

What's bringing you joy today? 

Hello fear

And here we go again... right when I thought I had faced so much fear head-on already this year, and surfaced relatively unscathed, stronger for sure, with new learnings, new insight, a lighter mind and brighter outlook... there it was again. 

Fear. Consuming me with what could be. Not what was. Not what is. But what could be. Which most certainly would never be. But...

I've decided in a moment of fear it feels there's no easy way to short-circuit that fear cycle, but there always is.... and it certainly becomes easier as preconceived ideas are broken down and coping strategies learnt in the process.

This time I tackled fear with these thoughts: Just breathe. Take one step at a time. Be in the now.

And the thing is, there's no fear in my right now. Not one bit. And fearing what could be... well, when I put it like that, it does seems kind of futile.

So here's to making plans but not forcing time, to living moments as they present, to remembering to breathe when unsettling emotions strike, and to knowing that dealing with them will only make you stronger.

xx

How do you deal with fear? Has fear {or facing fears} been on your mind?

By the sea ~ 7/52

I always remember my mum surprising us on drives home and stopping the car at a random park she knew was on the way.
We'd always ask: "Why are we stopping? Mum, where are we?"
Always surprised. Even though she did it quite often.
Then off we'd go to play and explore.
I loved the spontaneity of it. And the sense of adventure too.

I swore to myself a long time ago I would be spontaneous just like that for my girls.
We'd already visited the beach once this week to watch the waves, but this time was out of the ordinary, a last-minute split-second decision while I was preparing dinner. Dinner could wait I decided, then grabbed a towel, my camera and two changes of dresses for my little princesses.

I sat on the sand and watched them - squeals of excitement as they ran in the water, splashed each other and gathered a collection of shells to display on the sand.
And it felt good to let go of routine and shoulds and musts, to slow and to stop, to watch my girls just be.

xx

Are you spontaneous? The more I let go and savour moments, I feel like spontaneity is something I'm learning to love xx

By the sea ~ 6/52

{This morning} A beachside walk in the already-hot morning sun; miss four with her camera ready endeavouring to capture every bit of blue sky and blue sea she could see; miss two protesting at her lack of a camera; together watching the light reflect off a still sea from the lookout; then off to the farmers' market we went... x 

Daisy chains & I spy

The summer holidays have come to an end yet that relaxed, time-is-ours feeling is still lingering.

I'll do anything to keep it going, although the four-year-old pre-school routine might do a good job at squashing that in the coming weeks...

The plan? To carve out parts of our every week {and moments of our days} where simplicity is our only practice.

The past week there's been a whole lot of making daisy chains, pushing swings, building blocks, dipping out feet in the sea and games of "I spy" on car trips.

And in those little moments with my girls it feels as though I see clearer, truly listen, my heart expands and time lasts that bit longer.... here's to creating more of that.

xx

Any ideas for keeping that holiday feeling an everyday one? x

Working, working...

I'm working working working right now. And while I do love what I do, there's a part of me that knows {and believes} that this time of the year isn't meant to be the rushed chaos it often turns out to be.

To me, the rhythm of summer is meant to be about play, and family, being together and slowing down to take in sun-shining days (although the sun hasn't been out and about that much around here lately), for spending time soaking up my girls, for winding down after the school year, for taking stock and looking back at all that's happened - all that we've achieved together and individually - and taking it in. A time for slowing to the point of noticing where we are, how far we've come and enjoying time to just be.

I want that. And by the water (no matter the weather, and with my girls) is where I truly want to be right now.

But I'm plodding along steadily, getting items ticked off my work to do list, meeting deadlines and counting down til December 20. Because that's when I'm putting myself on enforced annual leave for a week or so. That's when that slowing and internal rhythm will surface strongest. In the meantime, it's a mixture of slow and fast, but with just enough slow to nourish my body, mind and heart and see me through.

xx

Are you rushing to get things done before the holidays? At which point in the lead up to Christmas, do you let yourself truly slow down? xx


>> If you live in Melbourne, check out the giveaway over on my facebook page - you could win a photoshoot with the gorgeous and very talented Laura at Perla Photography + a CD of images from the day + one print of your choice from With Grace & Eve shop - just by liking our pages and sharing the giveaway post. If you're interested, see  details on Wednesday's facebook post here.

Redefining slow

Two months ago I poured my heart out into a piece of writing on finding slow, now part of the ebook, Heart Centred Living. I wrote about my journey of sorts to slowing down, finding mindfulness and reconnecting with my heart.

I hoped my words would capture and share slow as it is for me - the rhythm that I know my heart and body move to best.

Yesterday I read back my words, and I got thinking about my current days, my gratitude practice, the rituals I follow ....

And that slowing down is a rhythm I continue to redefine and relearn as I grow, and find new ways of expressing mindfulness, heart and creativity in my days.

xx

{An excerpt from my piece: Finding Slow. Or the Rhythm of my Heart}

In slow, I have learnt to just be. To sit in silence. To meditate.  To allow myself to surrender. Even if it’s for just one minute each day.

In slow, I have learnt trust. I will get there in the end.

In slow, I have learnt to listen to my heart as well as my head.

In slow, I have learnt to listen to my body – and discovered all the aspects of health that resonate with me.

In slow, I have learnt that healing is possible. And that it’s never too late for change.

In slow, I have learnt that your slow is different to mine. And it’s about honouring ourselves, as much as each other.

In slow, I have learnt that I can always move slower. And that I can in fact handle doses of fast; before returning to the slow that is the rhythm of my heart.

xx

~ You can download the free ebook Heart Centred Living {edited by Deb @ Home Life Simplified} here, featuring 18 writers all sharing from their hearts. Elisa x

Choose

When I woke yesterday one word was on my mind... choose.

Choose your day.
Choose how you spend your time.
Choose your emotions.
Choose your words.
Choose your destination.
Choose to breathe.
Choose to see love.
Choose to be love.
Choose to write.
Choose to read.
Choose to share.
Choose to sit in silence.
Choose to dance.
Choose to witness this very moment.
Choose calm.

All in a choice.
One I have.
One I choose to give thanks for.

xx

{Yesterday I chose play over work, I chose peppermint tea and splashing in the water at the beach with my girls. I chose to look to the sky with wonder in my eyes. I chose to ask for help, and to give thanks for it. I chose to meditate, to journal and to practise yoga. I chose to turn my phone on silent. Today I will choose to remind myself to breathe. And to just be. Elisa x}

What do you choose?

This is life

After weeks of taking things intentionally back a step, and letting our unscripted days unfold in the gentlest ways, the pace of our days has gained a momentum quicker than I hoped.

I'm fitting in work hours in almost all my spare moments. And I'm squeezing in just enough time for work to be grateful that this work is being offered to me, and to be grateful for all the minutes of my days that are spent doing things I love with the people I love and letting my soul shine.

Our week of slow, family time {and my lack of a mobile phone and internet connection for four days} offered so much clarity, but also left me with questions and decisions to make.

Some are made, some I'm letting unfold slowly, gradually, in time. It's taking a whole lot of mindpower and trust to surrender control. But I am. Slowly.

And I keep telling myself that this is life: sometimes crazily busy, always emotion-filled, and slow and mindful at other times. And I remind myself each and every moment is part of a rhythm. And it's about creating pockets in each day that are filled with the rhythms I dance to best.

xx

{Image above captured while lying in the grass watching my two little loves dance and explore. Elisa x} 

How are the rhythms of your days of late? And what are you most grateful for today? x

~ Linking with the 52 Weeks of Grateful at Kylie's, and the Weekend Rewind at Maxabella's.

Stop. And Surrender.

Right when I didn't think my days could get any busier this past week they did.

And with that busyness I displayed some of my least favourite traits of overwhelmed and frustration.

I keep reminding myself to feel it and let it go.

But sometimes it doesn't happen that effortlessly though.

And so I whisper to myself: a little less thinking, a little more surrendering. And: this too shall pass.

Then I step outside. And look up at the sky.

It's shown me all its emotions too this week: stormy, overcast, illuminated by sunset, blue and sunshine filled, cloud scattered and grey.

And it's in that one minute that I step outside, surrender becomes me.

I stop, see, hear, feel. I witness the sky and I witness myself.

Then I give thanks.

It's just a minute. And that minute is my antidote to busy and rushed.

xx

{Yesterday I stopped twice to look to the sky and surrender my thoughts, once at home, the other at the beach. The sky and the waves were mesmerising. This minute of sky watching was my inspiration for this print. It's become a ritual in my days. Elisa x}

How do you slow down and surrender on the busiest of weeks? And do you look to the sky?

In the planning



We've been making plans.

Some little {and mostly spontaneous too}: a walk in the forest, a drive down the coast, going somewhere new...

But some are bigger. A holiday for our little family of four. Day trips and weekends away.
We're finding even more places to explore. And instead of our usual thinking {and wondering} about when the time might be right to go there, we're just doing it.

That means mixing up routines a little, and as that happens I'm witnessing the rhythm of our days move from bursts of fast to pockets of slow {and that's okay}.

Time feels full of so much wonder and joy when we make it ours. And for the first time in a long while, it feels like we're getting more time {together} too.

xx

{Grateful for the new discoveries we're sharing and time spent together. We're working our way through our little list quite nicely. I checked in with it yesterday and smiled at all the memories we've made. And of course, after a week of slow and nothing new, this week has been big with lashings of chaos thrown in. Because life can. And because I needed the reminder that things come and go, but gratitude remains steady if I choose it. Elisa x}

~ Joining late with the 52 Weeks of Grateful at here.


What are you most grateful for today? x

 

Inward

I thought it was just me that was turning inward lately. But after chatting online with my friend Julie, I'm thinking there may be more to it. An energy shift of late...  perhaps the change of season to winter here.

It's calling me to pull back, retreat, reconnect, ground. To go slowly. To settle right where I am. And to enjoy where I'm at. To not move forward. To stay still for a while. And a while longer.

Whatever it is, I'm going with it. Writing for myself. Reconnecting with the printed word. Getting out of bed slowly, and going to bed earlier. Meditating whenever my girls allow. Taking notice of all the good around me, and then giving thanks for it out loud.

xx


{Grateful for slow days, winter walks with my girls, yesterday's laughter and the weekend to come filled with family. Elisa xx}

{Also I'm excited and grateful to mail out the first of my prints in the last couple weeks! So excited to think of them inspiring others and in people's homes. Oh, and this month the code inspire20 will take 20 per cent off all my prints here too xx} 

~ Linking with the gratitude community at 52 Weeks of Grateful x

Have you been turning inward of late? And what are you most grateful for right now? x

Out of balance

I had a post ready to go about balancing work and motherhood and my thoughts and feelings as I walked out the door to work...

And then this week happened and it's thrown me. I had the balance of mixing work (from home two days a week) plus study and mothering down pat when it was just one cherub to love and care for each day. But with two cherubs and one point five days a week of paid work I seem to be a little lost.

I've got to-do lists longer than I want to share. And this week I've combined adrenalin-racing spurts of rushed with mindful and still pockets of slow. And I feel like I'm doing a little of everything but not a lot of anything. I do feel like I'm doing these little things well, except maybe the housework...

And this balance curve ball has got me thinking. A lot.
About what I really want.
About what makes my heart sing.
About keeping myself in balance.
About living a life I love.
About what needs to be done. And what really doesn't.
About how I spend my time.
About disconnecting. To reconnect.
About what I can achieve now. And what I can trust there will be time to achieve later.

As I drove home tonight and reached our street I looked up at my favourite tree pausing to watch how its branches play out against the sky, and that's when I realised that sometimes balance needs to get mucked up and turned upside down and tossed about. Just so you can refind balance. Reconnect. Make changes. Start again.

xx

{Grateful for the clarity that came out of a lack of balance, and for work opportunities but mostly for the days I get to spend at home with my girls. Elisa x}

~ Linking with the gratitude community at the 52 Weeks of Grateful

Do you reassess balance? And what's making you most grateful this week? x

Embracing change {seeing colour}

This year I made a wish for one thing. One big thing. But I didn't give my wish clarity. I did give it my heart.

The universe has responded with lashings of support and an abundance of wishful wonder. So much so it gave me four things in response to my one wish. Four things piled on top of each other and alongside each other and fighting for moments all at the same time.

And it's left me feeling oh-so-grateful, refreshed, excited and dizzy and cloudy-headed at the same time. So, I find myself seeking clarity and re-introducing myself to slow lately.

It's as though when the season changed to Autumn, a shift occurred within me and around me too.

And so I've retreated to nature {with my camera} these past weeks to walk in the grass, feel the leaves, really notice the colours around me and look up through the tree branches, but mostly to find clarity and embrace change. Miss three has collected leaves in every colour she could find. And it feels as though the changing colours of those Autumn leaves are telling me my story.

xx

{Gratitude for wishes come true, clarity, change embraced and seeing Autumn colour. Joining the gratitude community at Maxabella's 52 Weeks of Grateful. Elisa x}

Have you made a wish lately? What are you most grateful for this week?

The Art of Gratitude

When I began writing weekly gratitude posts the idea of posting for 52 weeks scared me. I didn't think I could do it. And I didn't think I did gratitude well.

I was grateful. But for the big things mostly. And when I needed to be. It was something I was working on. Gratitude wasn't a mindset for me. But that's what it's become.

My first real lesson in gratitude came eight years ago when my health was suffering and I was desperately eliminating foods from my diet and cursing my body for the pain I was in every day.

During that time {although I always believed I would find healthy again} I realised I was much less than grateful for my body and not at all grateful for the {lack of} food choices I now had.

My amazing health practitioner suggested my body may  {most definitely would} digest food more easily if I gave thanks for it first. If I was grateful for food. This was an awakening of sorts for me - I realised that I often mindlessly ate, and I simply expected food to be available.

Slowly and mindfully, I changed that attitude. I began by eating my food slowly {one bite at a time}, and really tasting it. I gave thanks before I ate - offering gratitude not just for the food itself but for the nourishment it would bring to my body. I began to cook more mindfully too - conscious of choosing seasonal produce, conscious of the way I cooked my food and I became more adventurous with my cooking style as I steered myself toward whole foods, fresh foods and less grains.

And while this is probably where my gratitude journey began, it took taking part in the 52 Weeks of Grateful for gratitude to align with my heart.

Gratitude has moved from practise to habit to almost effortless. It's taken time. But it's now part of how I think.

And I've come to believe that gratitude is in every moment of every day. If we choose to look for it.

xx


Do you practise gratitude? What are you most grateful for today?

{Linking with the 52 Weeks of Grateful. I've posted and linked up for more than 52 weeks now. Each week I love reading the grateful posts. I've discovered such wonderful blogs and learnt so much about gratitude from this beautiful community over here. For that, I'm grateful xx}

{Oh and I'm creating a gratitude blog roll. So if you're a blogger who posts on gratitude or we've met via the 52 Weeks of Grateful, please let me know in the comments below or via Facebook. I'd love to add you to my list. Elisa xx}

A reminder {for myself}

Walk slowly. {You will still get there in the end}.

Breathe deeply. {And let it all out}.

Notice when your day is rushed. {Then stop and be still}.

Meditate each day. {Even for just a minute}.

Tune in to your heart. {Love yourself}.

Spend time in nature. {Take your shoes off, and connect with the Earth beneath you}.

Stomp, dance, walk, stretch, run, skip. {Let your body move}.

Find one thing to be grateful for each day. {And give thanks}.

Really look at the world around you. {Choose to see love}.

xx

{After last week and its challenges, this reminder I wrote for myself at the start of the year has been on my mind xx}


What's on your mind? Anything you need to remind yourself of right now?