What's missing // one word

As I navigated my way through last year with honour as my guiding word, I was so very aware of all that was missing in my days. As well as the rituals, choices and activities I was consciously choosing that honoured my heart, body and mind, of course. But the missing things, they just really stood out. 

Ever so slowly I started adding these back into my life. I wondered how they disappeared in the first place, and saw that it was so easy to bench the things that lifted me up in order to get the day-to-day done. 

But, and this is the best part, when I added those missing things in (hello five minutes solo time sitting at the beach before heading to work; reading and getting immersed in fiction once again; more playing with my girls and scrapping our so-called agenda for a while and letting spontaneity take hold a little more often) I felt so much more alive. 

I felt like I was honouring the true me. And doing this brought me more energy, more time for what I wanted to do and what needed to be done. It bought me closer to my heart. And I found more energy to give.

It's also lead me to this year's word: joy. In fact by late last year, I knew joy was the one. Because all those missing bits equated to adding little sprinklings of more joy back into my days. 

So there it is - a wish, an intention, for joy to be my guide. And with a new little one to join our family mid this year, joy + love are so much in my heart and on my mind right now.

xx

~ Sharing my one word with Maxabella Loves here. 


Have you chosen a guiding word this year? Any wishes, hopes or plans for 2015? xx

A nourishing something

Yesterday I had a conversation about how having a ritual {or a nourishing something that's just for us} that we do each day can be the one thing that keeps us feeling filled, not just going but going happily, with that little bit of extra energy (even when sleep alludes you). Of course, we can go quite wonderfully without that little nourishing rhythm in our day too - but it can make all the difference on some days. 

My time by the sea with my camera, notepad and pen has been a weekly dose of nourishment for me this year. It's most often meant solo time too, before I begin work. And lately it's been just a handful of minutes that it's taken to fill my heart and soul, to recharge and take stock. Perhaps I needed more time in the beginning, but lately it's been so much less - and I think that's because this has become a ritual; helped by the fact that I now effortlessly {no guilt} grant myself this time each week to just be. Just as you get better at something when you practice it, I think you get better at tuning in, letting go, relaxing and reconnecting by creating a weekly/daily space for it too. 

xx

Do you do something each day or weekly that's just for you? Something to nourish your body or heart or soul?

{~ Finally catching up on sharing this year's photo project - weekly images by the sea. Above are images 26-33 and one extra! Elisa x}

What's filling your bucket?

This week I helped out at miss four's kinder, and the topic of conversation on the mat was "What's filling your bucket?" And by that the teacher was referring to what's filling your heart - what makes you feel good about yourself and feel full of love - and what you can do to fill others' buckets - acts of kindness, comfort, friendship. It reminded me of this post. And it also sparked a conversation about what empties our buckets. 

Here were 20 four and five-year-olds openly sharing the words that fill them up, and words that can tear them down. And knowing the difference, and having an understanding of the impact our words and actions can have on others. 

And while this is pretty much my parenting aim - to fill my girls up with love, and help them identify all their emotions, and accept them too - I couldn't be more grateful that my little girl has a teacher who values wellbeing and nurture just as high as other areas of learning. 

It also reminded me that this is a question to reflect on often, and at all ages and stages of life. To identify what's filling me up {nourishing me}, perhaps what I need more of and what I can give more of, and definitely what I could do with less of. 

xx

What are you most grateful for this week? What's filling your bucket?

Solitude here. Again.

I keep coming back here. Three weeks in a row. Alone for 10 minutes, sometimes a little more before the pull of work sees me checking the time and moving on. I always leave feeling recharged.

This stretch of beach is small, and almost always deserted. And I think that's why I'm drawn here - to the solitude; all the while listening to my heart, and the sounds of the wind and sea. 

xx

Do you crave solitude too? 

~ This time alone by the sea {and capturing it in photos} began as a way of putting my guiding word for this year (honour) into practice. It's become a ritual and incredibly nourishing for me. The photos above (images 23, 24 and 25/52) are all taken at the same time of day over three weeks. Elisa x

Nurture and need

There's washing to be done. Clothes to fold and sort. Beds to be made. Emails to be sent. Words to be written. Groceries to be bought. And yet here we began our day. Because today the sky looked magical, and I was just so sure the sea would be much the same. And yes it was. The sea and sky met with the calmest of blues. And were greeted by full deep freeing breaths by me, and excited shouts of "I see the water" from miss two. Because sometimes nurture just has to come before what needs to be done. And sometimes it turns out that nurture is your most important need. 

xx

~ photo 20/52 in my by the sea series x {photos 18 & 19 yet to be posted!}

Disconnected ~ 12/52

On a Friday I work just a minute's walk from the beach. Last Friday in particular I knew my body and heart were calling for me to set a little time aside, to be by the water and just be, to write for me and focus on my highest priorities. But I decided on the responsible option of working for three hours and spending twenty minutes for me by the sea afterwards. 

The universe had other ideas. As I sat down to work, my laptop took forever to boot up. Then my mobile phone reception went dead - in a place where I always have full reception. Finally my laptop was up and running, but I couldn't connect to the wireless internet. A few more attempts, and 30 minutes later I was online and ready to write. Then I popped my USB into the laptop and the laptop found nothing. I tried again, and again. Nothing. I persisted with the work, doing as much as I could without access to the files I needed, and then finally I gave up.

And trusted that working perhaps wasn't what I was meant to be doing at that very moment. I packed up and walked to the beach. I lay down, closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of the birds and water. But after I while I could only hear the quiet rhythm of my breath. 

Later I checked my phone - full reception. Sometimes I think the universe has a way of forcing us in the direction we deep down know we're meant to be. I see now how much I needed that disconnection from technology on that day, to reconnect fully with the essence of me.

xx

Any messages from the universe headed your way lately?

{This image is part of my photo project "by the sea" series for this year ~ a place I come to stop and just be, and to honour me. More by the sea posts here.}  

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?

Alone ~ 10/52

We escaped routine for the weekend and headed here. Forty-eight hours or more of just us. And not a thought about work. It was refreshing, filled with brilliant sunshine, and time to just be. Before we left I decided on waking up a little earlier each morning to go for a walk alone. That sounded like perfection and bliss to me... but both mornings my little ones were up early and eager to join. But later in the day, thirty minutes of solo time came my way. Along the beach I walked, alone with my thoughts to take in big fresh breaths and watch the water's rhythm play out behind these wild irises. A good reminder to prioritise {and trust there will be} time to honour and restore me.  

xx

{More photos from our weekend here}

Do you seek time alone to just be too?

Then and now ~ 8/52

A little late in getting this one up. Last week went from crazy to crazier... I headed to a beach I would drive to often when I first got my license at 18. There used to be a jetty here, but it's long gone now. For some reason I thought I'd see the magic here I saw then. But that wasn't the case. An overcast and windy day, and a week of busy and doing my very best to let go of what I can't control may have dampened the view a little... but sitting looking out at the sea, even if for just a few moments, reminded me to breathe. And that was probably what I needed to remember most last week.

xx

Are you doing a 52 project or daily project of some type this year? If so, I'd love to know. I'm rather grateful I chose this photo project to keep me centred on my guiding word this year xx

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

Because now is good enough a time

I read this quote the other day...

 

"It's a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready. I have this feeling that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any." ~ Hugh Laurie

And it resonated with me or perhaps dawned on me. Whatever it did I actually stopped what I was doing. Walked away. I stopped to just be. To journal. And let clarity arrive.

 

Here's what I realised.

1. I've put two big dreams (they're actually connected - can't have one without the other) on hold for the past year. Because, in my defence, other opportunities crept up. But also because... maybe I'm not ready, or maybe it's just not the right time, or what if I do all that work and then it's just not good enough, what if nobody likes what I've created ... you get the picture.

 

2. Worse than being on hold I haven't even started. Haven't even taken the first step. I've just let my dream sit up in my head in dreamland and swirl around with no destination, no timeline, no real agenda. No starting point.

 

3. I write more than 5000 words each month for publications. Other people's publications. Yes that's my job as a freelance writer, yes that's what I love doing, and yes that's my career... But I don't give my own writing the same time of day and space or credit. Yes those other words are paid work, yes I enjoy writing them, but the other writing - well if I'm honest that's where my heart lies... and that just has to deserve a little more attention.  Somewhere in my week. Somehow...

 

And so instead of wondering, instead of trying to create a plan, action list or timeline.. I just started. Just like that. No holding back. I just opened a new journal and I wrote. And then wrote some more... 

 

The words came easily, the ideas kept bouncing and I felt free. Finally, I was doing it. No matter about an ending point, no matter about being good enough. Just letting my heart take the lead.

 

Because there's no perfect time and now is good enough a time.

 

It feels wonderful to simply begin.

 

xx

Anything you've been putting on hold? Any new dreams or plans you've recently begun? x

By the sea ~ 3/52

By the sea this week was actually in the sea. And it was the best part of my week.

With two littlies in two, swimming pretty much means sandcastles, standing in the shallows or catching the waves as they crash at our feet on the sand.

But this week we were joined by my sister and her man, and I {a little hesitantly} asked if they could look after the girls while I swam. It was refreshing, nourishing and incredibly freeing. And afterwards I realised it's been almost five years since I properly swam in the sea.   

xx


When was the last time you swam in the sea? x

By The Sea ~ 1/52

This first week of January is not at all how I envisioned it. The plan was to laze away hot summer mornings at the beach with my two girls, picnic lunches, afternoon siestas and then cleaning up the trail of sand that always makes its way home with us...

But instead it's been crashing waves and overcast days. And still I feel called to the sea.

Today as I watched the waves pelt the sand I got been thinking about my guiding word - honour - and simple ways I could make it more part of my moments, minutes, days and weeks.

And then I realised I was already doing it. Sitting by the water, witnessing its rhythm {and my internal rhythm}. Taking time out here to just breathe, to honour where I'm at.

I'm always mesmerised by the water's view - no matter the sea's temperament. So here begins a photo a week savouring the rhythm of the sea.

xx

One word: Honour

I stewed over my guiding word for 2014. At first I thought it would be intention. But out of nowhere, and then appearing seemingly everywhere, came the word honour.

And then I realised to honour {my heart, my body, my emotions, my creativity, my soul} was my intention.

I want a year that's filled with more slow, more savouring and more leading from my heart. More finding the rhythm of nurture that works best for me, making that my days, and moving with intention from there. Which really is more of this year, minus the moments where I came a little unstuck...  

But honour tells me it was in those moments I learnt my greatest lessons, and walked away a stronger version of me.

Honour is where I want to lead from {a sense of honouring what's right at any given time for me}, follow from {honouring my heart's direction} and from where I will connect with all the parts of a happy and whole me {honouring my body, heart and mind with my choices, activities and time}.

My word is most definitely inspired by my reading of the book, The Way of the Happy Woman. Every word of Sara's resonates with me.

But it also stems from a lesson I know well. Honour {and witness} are a big part of the yoga I practise. Perhaps even the part of yoga I am called to the most right now. In my weekly classes, our teacher reminds us to honour our bodies, and honour where we're at and what we can do on this given day - remembering that our limits {needs, flexibility/balance, emotions, desires} change from day to day.

And so as I move through a sequence and after, I honour and witness my body, thoughts and emotions. And with that comes acceptance, sometimes insight, always presence. But first comes honour.

So this honouring - keeping it as my guide in all I set out to do and achieve - it feels most right for me now. And it feels as though I chose it as much as it chose me.

xx

~ Sharing my one word with Maxabella Loves here xx

Have you chosen one word to guide your 2014? x