Pause.

Pause. That's the word that keeps coming to me as I think about this festive season. 

There's so much busy. More than I wish to remember, more than I wish to have to do. And even as I pause, it feels as though our world is still buzzing around me.  

But still I pause. And in that moment I notice where I am. I take a big nourishing breath in, and take stock of where I am. I notice the little things that pull me back to the present, and steer my thoughts from tasks to moments, from rushing to gratitude, from routine to rhythm.

I notice where I am standing. My connection with the ground, with whatever is under foot. I visualise myself putting down roots and connecting as deep down as I need to go until I reach Mother Earth.

I notice my body and how it's feeling as a whole. I allow myself to notice the parts of my body that may be struggling right now. And I give thanks for them. For the job they're doing, despite strain and perhaps despite my full attention.  

I notice my breath, it's rhythm, it's depth, it's sound. I dwell here with the breath, choosing not to manipulate but to be witness to it's presence today. I notice how with my non-judgement and loving attention it naturally slows, becomes deeper, fuller. For my breath, I give thanks.

I notice what's around me. I see mess, I see food that needs to be cooked, I see a lengthy to-do list and floors that need sweeping. I close my eyes, reminding myself to look deeper. When I open them I see with my heart. I see an abundance of wants met, I see healthy nourishing food ready and waiting, I see a beautiful life being lived fully and a home that while messy is one of peace. 

I place one hand on my heart, the other on my belly. I breathe, visualising my life breath travelling back and forth between the two. I give thanks for love and all that nourishes me in each day.

I pause. And in that moment I notice where I am. I return to my day, with an adjusted rhythm. Remembering who I am, where I am, and all I have to be thankful for. Especially when the world may feels like it's buzzing around me.

xx

Pause and interrupt busy with slow, mindfulness and gratitude, and in doing so, nurture. It's my plan for the next month, and going by how it feels I think it's a good one for me. Will you join me? Elisa x

--

---------------->> My free five-day mindfulness bundle incorporating breath work, journaling + meditation {the tools + rituals I use to cultivate nurture + space for what matters most in my day} will launch in the New Year. More info here, if this sounds like you xx <<----------------

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

Deciding on less and more

I can easily write a lengthy list of what I want more of. For some reason, more seems to strike a chord... and it makes me focus on what I don't have. But when I bring less into the equation, the opposite presents. I find myself dwelling on what I don't need, what I can discard, what I truly need to be happy {and it turns out that's not many things at all}. 

In learning the art of balance and in a bid for clarity, I write my more or less list each year. It begins with a fair bit of thought, but eventually the words just roll onto the page, unfolding into a manifesto of sorts that resonates with my heart. Here it is.

Less screens, more books
Less sugar, more protein
Less procrastination, more meditation
Less talking, more listening
Less worry, more gratitude
Less criticism, more praise
Less fear, more love
Less rushing, more moments
Less doing, more just being

xx

Will you give the less and more list a go? Do you do a similar exercise, and has it helped you? Love to know your thoughts. Leave me a message or link below or even shoot me an email if you create your own list. I'd love to have a read. Elisa xx 


~~~~~~~~ Love some free prints and affirmations to inspire your everyday? You can leave your email here! Can not wait to send this bundle of mindfulness prints + affirmations to you next month. Elisa xx ~~~~~~~~ 

One word // breathe

Breathe. It's my word for the year. I think it's been calling me for years now. Nine actually. It's sat there humming in the background, drawing me in to learn a little, then letting me adventure elsewhere. 

But now it seems breathe is in my every moment. 

To me, breathe is about creating space. That's space within me. And space in my days for more of what matters most.

Breathe is a reminder to pause in stillness {to breathe and just be}. 

And to be mindful {of my words, thoughts, actions}.

It's about creating space within {and for} myself {so I have more to give}.

It's pausing to give thanks {breathing in grace, breathing out gratitude}.

It's about letting go of fear, and replacing the gaps with love {so much love}. 

A breath is just a moment, but {to me} a breath savoured feels like so much more than that. 

xx

Breathe is a naturally extension of my last year's word, surrender, and it seems that's the way this word caper pans out for me. One leads into the other effortlessly, with stirrings of it mentioned here and there {in writing and conversation} until it's impossible to ignore or call a coincidence. 

So, "breathe" will be my guide. A focus word to set the rhythm for my heart's year; to steer me as I live, learn, grow, thrive. 

xx 

Do you choose a guiding word each year? Do you set intentions? I'd love to know. Elisa x


~ I have a bundle of free mindfulness prints ready to send out at the end of the month, and a meditation mini-ebook coming out mid year. If this interests you, please do sign up for them here xx

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

One word // Surrender

Towards the end of last year it felt like I was given no choice but to surrender. And still I resisted it.

I had big plans for 2015. Bigger than big plans - a return to study, new work commitments and a few personal projects up my sleeve too, and daily blog writing (ha!) 

The universe, of course, had other ideas but did promptly offer me my asked-for serving of big - in the form of our darling Ruby. 2015 was BIG in the best way. 

It pushed me to rediscover myself, but mostly reminded me who I am and who I am striving to be.

I got better at letting go of the big {end} picture, instead focusing on doing what I could with what I had. 

I came to believe that would be enough. That my best is as much as I can do. 

I discovered so much more about trust. And that my intuition is always spot on. 

I learnt to ask. And how to let my heart answer.

I improved at listening. And finally accepted that it's hard for me not to talk.

I realised that people like to help. And I realised that I'm pretty good at helping and supporting myself.

I discovered that in doing less, I am able to give more. And in surrendering to this, I have felt more alive than I ever have.

Almost two weeks ago I caught myself holding my breath. As I exhaled, the word surrender rolled off my tongue. 

I knew immediately it was my one word for this year. My reminder to go slowly, to be present, to be kinder to myself. 

xx

Have you chosen one word to guide your year? Do you set intentions? I'd love to know. Elisa x

~ Sharing my one word with Bron at Maxabella Loves here.

~ I'm excited to be finally putting my meditation training to good use this year. I'll be creating and soon sending out {monthly is the plan!} some free mindful word/photography prints, plus affirmations and journalling/meditation practices and prompts to go with them. If that sounds like your thing, feel free to add your email address via the form here. 

Eight years to calm

Almost eight years ago I was told that part of my destiny was to learn calm. To be calm. Might not sound like such a feat but at the time I had just emerged from severe exhaustion and ever-slowly out of what felt like an all-consuming frantic auto-immune disease and back into health. I was still recovering, and learning so much about my body and what worked and didn't work for me. 

I knew the opposite of calm had got me to that state. I knew I was learning calm. Very slowly. I was better at creating calm. But to be calm? That seemed impossible to me. And being told my destiny involved this invoked tears. Because what was calm anyway? And how? Staying healthy seemed so hard. Tell me how to be calm, I begged. 

Just the thought of having to somehow find calm as a natural state made me much less than calm. But of course, that was the whole point. Calm can't be controlled or manipulated. Calm just is. It can be invited though. And created, and embraced. And the instant this dawned on me, I surrendered - and all at once gave up on pushing myself to be the me I needed to be to remain healthy. 

Instead I focused on what felt happy to me, instead of doing and moving all the time I stayed still and breathed (and it was hard at first), I pulled away from anything that might equal busy which meant learning to say no (and that was especially hard for me). I read a lot, I spoke to a lot of people, I researched, I tried new ways of being/eating/moving and learnt so so much. And most definitely the eight years to this point right now (insert three babies, three house moves and various job changes) have seen me fine-tune my calm-for-me skills. 

Yesterday I cancelled plans (because rushing doesn't agree with me), a fortnight ago I booked into yoga classes again for this term (because I know my body, heart and mind will thrive in that one hour) and last week after setting up various creative pursuits for the kids I decided it was what I needed too and spent an hour drawing and painting. For the past three months I've been reading books and more books (on to my fifth) and for the past five days I have turned my meditating-whenever-I get-a-free-chance-habit into a nightly rhythm for as long as my mind, heart and body choose (sometimes five minutes, sometimes twenty). 

And today while I walked in the sunshine I wondered how my energy could feel so good when I'm on broken nightly sleep thanks to my beautiful teething almost-five month old baby. My answer to myself is this sense of nurture and self that's come from my investment in calm pursuits. Suddenly all the little things I've taught myself over eight years have come together. And I'm sure it's not one of them, but all of them. And I suddenly realised I'm doing more than okay. And I think I'm coming close to working out this calm caper. Well, for me anyway.

xx

How do you do calm? And any book recommendations?
  

15 minutes

Just minutes I was gone but it felt like an hour before I looked up, remembered where I was, that I was being waited for and that I should check the time.

The sea was rough and energetic, green, blue and white in places and scattered with rocking boats. The cooler than usual wind kept catching me by surprise.

I watched the scene from behind my camera just as much as without it. And I caught myself breathing deeper, walking slower and noticing wonder every step along the way. 

xx
Ever noticed how just minutes of doing something you love, being somewhere you love and being fully present feels so very much longer? And leaves you feeling renewed and oh-so-alive?

~ 15 minutes alone by the sea. Twice. Images 18 & 19 in my by the sea series xx

>> Interested in receiving my free mindfulness prints and "breathe" meditation eBook? I can't wait to soon send them your way. You can sign up for them here. <<   　

No matter the weather

No matter the weather this is where I want to be.

No matter if I'm admiring calm turquoise waters or witnessing a dark sea with rolling waves.

Whichever is the rhythm of the day, being here nourishes me.

Reminds me that every day brings change, and to embrace it.

Reminds me to breathe. And exhale fully. And to give thanks.

It reminds me to look for beauty in the ordinary. Because it's always there. And here.

xx


Do you look for beauty in your everyday? x

The only way to give the best of me to those I love

I keep coming back to this Paolo Coelho quote: "Life has many ways of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.”

It’s been my past month, and I’ve stressed my way through it.

Silly because I know better, because I have plenty of strategies to counteract that stress/anxiety cycle, and silly because I know that my body doesn’t one bit like the rushing I’ve made it endure.

It took a late-night conversation two nights ago to remind me of what I already know to be true. And to remind me of my body’s wisdom and my ability to heal, grow and evolve.

Today I sat in meditation – and I felt all the parts of me that have been scrambling around these past weeks float back to where they belong.

Those moments of meditation were filled with the noise of two busy and beautiful little girls singing and dancing and throwing a tea party for themselves, but as I breathed fully, as I exhaled, and I tuned into the core of me, for the first time in too long I reconnected with the presence, energy and stillness that resides within me.

Tonight I will give thanks, and tomorrow I will meditate again. And I remind myself that choosing to nurture my body and soul is the only way to give the best of me to those I love.

xx

Do you make nurture a priority each day? And what is nuture for you? I'd love to know 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

Finding stillness in nature

As the weather cools down here, I feel more and more drawn to the outdoors.

Normally the cold would draw me indoors, but I've been tuning in to this calling and heading outside more than ever this past fortnight.

Mornings see me stop for a minute {or three} of stillness as I step outside and look with wonder to the sky. This morning ritual {a mini-meditation} is steeped in gratitude - giving thanks and welcoming a new day before it has truly begun.

Weekends have seen our little family explore nature together, as we live and love our way through the list.

Miss three and I walked through bush on our adventure yesterday. At first she held my hand tight, looking up at glimpses of the sky through the tall trees. Then she began to run ahead and twist and turn in excitement: "It's a real forest mummy, and so many ways we can go!"

Earlier in the week {on a rare solo outing} I stopped my car at the edge of a tree plantation and stood among the trees alone, witnessing the sunlight dancing through the branches and noticing the stillness and gentle breeze brushing through the leaves.

In the stillness, I gave thanks that I allowed myself ten minutes to just be. In the silence, I was reminded how stepping into nature can nurture us, bring much-needed clarity and invite us to relax, recharge and reconnect.

xx

{This week I'm grateful for nature, and the abundance that is close by. For clarity, dreams and taking chances. I've been posting weekly on gratitude for more than 52 weeks now - somehow that little milestone passed a few weeks back without me noticing til now. What an amazing journey it's been! Elisa x}

~ Linking with Maxabella's 52 Weeks of Grateful and Rachel's Finding Joy x

Rituals {in the morning}

A morning ritual is something I have always sought out.

My perfect morning begins with an affirmation, followed by yoga, then breakfast and a hot cup of lemon tea. It's full of calm, gentle and slow.

It rarely happens. The last time I was pregnant with my second child. She's now 18 months.

Instead I squeeze in glimpses of that morning. A little each day. In-between rushed and chaos.

Sometimes I just say the affirmation. Other times I wake to my two gorgeous girls sleeping beside me, and holding them and watching them as they sleep is meditation enough.

Then there are the mornings where I get woken by a three year old who is screaming and pointing to the window: "Mummy wake up! Look quick! Look outside, it's the morning! See the sun is up Mama!"

Or it's miss 18 months tugging on my fingers pulling at me as fiercely as she can. I take her hand and she leads me to the fridge, a smile on her face.

These times {and most mornings} I find myself bounding out of bed before I want to. My body startled from sleepy to active in a matter of seconds. Bounding to make the three rounds of breakfasts my hungry little people require.

The only real constant on those mornings is sitting {sometimes standing} to eat breakfast. A good healthy one that I give thanks for before my first bite.

It's usually mid-morning by the time I think to stretch or practise a little yoga, and sometimes afternoon before I get that cup of tea. And rarely is it drunk hot.

But lately I've been stepping outside once my girls start their breakfast and taking in a few slow and full breaths of fresh air. My eyes gaze at the sky, witness it's colour and contrast and give thanks for this new day.

Just a minute outside is all it takes for me to reconnect, still and just be. And that bit of calm, gentle and slow right there, that's ritual enough for me for now.

xx

 

{Gratitude for mornings with my girls - however they may go. For breakfast - and the one I've shared and one I'll be sharing with close family this Easter long weekend. For single whole minutes of stillness and meditation in my day. Elisa x}

~ Linking with two grateful communities: Maxabella's 52 Weeks of Grateful and Rachel's Finding Joy.

Do you have a morning ritual? What are you most grateful for this week?

 

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?

Where I need to be

I was sick and stressed {and stressed because I was sick} when I first found yoga.

It’s funny how that cycle played out. Stress was one of a few factors making me sick. And the more unwell I became the more I stressed about it, and the worse it grew.

Truth is ... I thought I was healthy {because I "looked" that way}. But a cocktail of rushed, little exercise and wheat-heavy food choices lead to a fast-tracked use-by date inside me. 

Eventually I snapped, and decided there had to be a way out. And a way forward that involved listening to my body {which had manifested this mess in the first place} instead of medicating it.

And that’s when yoga {and many other things – diet, natural therapies, meditation, slowing down...} came into play. 

I didn’t want to go to my first class. I thought yoga was what healthy people did. And I knew I was far from that at that very moment. But my mum dragged me along anyway. And then told the teacher I didn’t want to be there. 

And the teacher smiled, and said, “You’re exactly where you need to be right now.” She knew something I didn’t know. I knew I liked her confidence. 

And so began my journey into yoga, and learning to trust the universe and follow the path my heart chooses. And that path has led me to here {to my blog space I love} and it to motherhood and to studying meditation, and to writing from my heart {and having the confidence to publish it}. 

Today, in my morning yoga class I noticed the gentleness that becomes me when I practise each pose.

I tune into my body.

I feel grateful for my body.

I feel grateful for the very moment I am in.

I forget that I'm sharing the room with another 10 people.

I witness where I am at today, and I accept that.

I honour my body, encouraging it into every sequence but never asking it to stretch further than it can on this day.

I do nothing extra. In my one-point-five hours of yoga, I do just yoga. Nothing extra, nothing else. And that is enough. 

I breathe. Fully. And slowly. And I feel refreshed.


It took me a long time to get to here. Six years, and each time I practise yoga I learn something new.

And what I’ve learnt most is those lessons in yoga have become lessons in life. They’ve changed the way I think and feel. Changed the way I choose to be. And in gentleness, I’ve landed right where I need to be.

xx

~ Grateful for yoga, and the many lessons learnt {and those still to learn} along the way. Linking with Maxabella for Kidspot’s 52 Weeks of Grateful over here. x

What are you most grateful for? And do you love yoga too?

 

Alone

 

 

After months of little alone time, I grabbed a couple hours last week.

 

And it created space {in my head, heart and soul}. Space for me. To think {for just me}. To be. To walk alone, and at my own pace.

 

I hadn't realised I needed it, until it arrived.

 

This week I found myself alone again. And then I consciously decided to create a little more space, just for me.

 

And in that two hours of time alone, I let my head stop spinning {by waiting patiently for it to rest}. I gathered my thoughts, goals, dreams and words. And created a plan.

And I found clarity and energy and goals redefined. 

I decided on what I most want. {And I decided to let a couple things go}.

 

I saw my dreams {and they looked like they just might soon be a reality}.

I meditated. And listened to my heart.
 
I gave thanks for the parts of me that never change: an eternal optimist, a heart that loves to love, a body that heals, a mind that dreams and a soul that believes in today just as much as tomorrow.

xx

 

What are you most grateful for this week?

 

{Grateful for two hours to alone to reconnect, recharge and for the clarity it brought my way. ~ Linking with Maxabella & Kidspot's 52 Weeks of Grateful and Rachel's Finding Joy xx}

 



In flight

 

Today was parenting chaos.

 

After dinner when I went to put the rubbish in the bin outside I finally breathed a full deep breath. 

Not conscious of the fact that I hadn't exhaled fully all day til that point.
As I turned to walk back in the house I heard my husband's voice and two happy toddlers. 

And without really thinking I sat down {flopped} on the front step. And let myself stop. 

The day was still hot. {But the sun long gone}. 

Rain was falling intermittently. I heard it hit the tin roof. And dot the pavement.
I watched as raindrops landed on my outstretched legs. And later on my palms. {Like tears splattering all over me}. 

I welcomed the rain's touch, cool and refreshing {when the day had felt heated, stretched and burdened too}. 

I closed my eyes. And listened to the rain, the wind rushing through the trees, the birds singing like it was a new day. 

I breathed. {Long full breaths}. I imagined my breath filling my whole body. Bathing me in calm. Relaxing a little more with each exhalation. Feeling lighter with each new breath I let in. 

When I opened my eyes I saw a solo bird in flight. 

It ducked and weaved through the air, up and down, up and then spiralling down before gliding up high into the sky with strength, grace and renewed energy. 

And in it's dance, I saw my year: at first moving back and forth but not ahead, then dipping down, gathering my strength, learning and reflecting; before resurfacing with grace, joy, wonder and eagerness. Resurfacing with energy to reach higher places, to achieve new things, to make memories, to chase dreams {and make them happen too}.

 

xx

 

It's been a big year here. Have you stopped to look back {reflect} on your year too?

Effortlessly

Gratitude has become more natural, rather than scheduled now. I like it this way. It's effortlessly part of my week.

I'm thinking gratitude most days, but always at the end of the week I'm counting my blessings and noticing all I have to be grateful for. And I love that there's always something {and normally so much}.

Last week I missed the 52 Weeks of Grateful link up. My littlest girl clung to me like a koala for almost four days, teething and miserable.

Reaching for my laptop was out of the question. Actually it was impossible. Even pouring soy milk on my cereal turned out to be a hard task. But despite being so needed and not getting to publish the posts I craved to write, gratitude kept popping up in my heart and on my mind.

Reflecting on gratitude is a little like meditation for me. It slows me down, grounds me and makes me more mindful of my power to choose my day and how the moments play out.

But what I love most is how gratitude has become a part of my days. Effortlessly.

It's got me thinking about all the other rituals {past and present} I want to be part of my every day.

Salutes to the sun in the morning. Meditation each evening. Time stopping to look up at the sky and to notice the trees' leaves. Journaling - pen and paper style. Walking after dinner. Reading fiction books - even just a couple of pages each day.

It's got me thinking about how what starts as a scheduled practise can become more of a ritual and then turn into something that feels natural so easily.

It's got me thinking how the smallest changes can make the biggest impacts on our days.

xx

Any rituals you want to introduce to your days? Do you practise gratitude? x

In the morning

For the first time in 18 months I woke up naturally {when my body saw fit}.

For the first time in 18 months I woke up past 7am {and the sun was shining}.

For the first time in 18 months I woke up to the sound of birds {no alarm in the form of a baby crying or a toddler calling for mum}.

And I felt new, refreshed, whole and alive {in the morning}.

For the first time in 18 months. 

And I'm pretty sure I smiled.

Then I stretched gently and closed my eyes and rolled a mantra around in my head.

I took some deep releasing breaths, and I gave thanks {for sleep, my body, the sun filtering into my room and the quiet}.

I gave thanks for this very time, this moment awake {and not needed}.

And I got thinking about my ideal morning {waking when my body wants to, morning yoga, a brisk walk, a nourishing breakfast, drinking tea outside in the sun...}

And I thought about the last time my ideal morning passed {two years ago maybe}

Today it felt like that nurturing ideal was at least part possible, that one day soon it may all be possible again. 

And then I remembered all the days it could have been {pre-motherhood} and the choices I had made and alarms I had set instead. 

I pondered what had been and dwelled on what could be.

And lying there, I made a decision to start my days differently {with an affirmation and a little morning yoga too}. 

Then I closed my eyes and cuddled closer to the two little girls sharing my bed. 

Elisa xx

How does your ideal morning go? Any tips for a refreshing start to the day with littlies in tow?

Calling me

On the coldest of winter days, when the wind is fierce, waves are crashing and the air is icy, I feel most called to the ocean.

Mostly I sit {and stare}, then walk {and wonder, let go, listen, feel, wish and dream}.

And I feel a little calmer just by being there {as I look out at the waves and up to the sky}.

Watching the water reminds me that the universe is big {so much bigger than whatever worry I may be nursing, so much bigger than my little world}.

And it reminds me that every single moment and every single day is different {we're always on the eve of something new}.

I leave {knowing I will return} with a feeling of refreshed and alive running through my heart.

Elisa xx

{My winter beach obsession has rubbed off on little miss two who asks to see the water every time we get into the car. When we're there, she holds me close and points to the waves, sky, sand and birds, proclaiming them all "Wow!". And lately when we go to leave, shes says "Wait mum, stop. We listen to waves". We close our eyes, she listens to the waves and I listen to her xx}

Do you retreat to nature to reconnect?