Clarity

Last year felt murky, messy and ferocious. I struggled processing emotions, and I held on too long when I could have been letting go. At times it felt like I was submerged, other times fighting to stay afloat, all the while consumed by the necessary and emotion-processing, struggling to be free.

But I got there. Though all that muck. And I broke every rule I had created for myself along the way. And I began thinking that the reason I had arrived at this place of resentment and isolation, was perhaps because of all these "rules" I created in the first place.

Last week, with the kids back at school, I went to the sea solo with a plan to swim. The weather was warm but mild and the humidity high, the sky clouded over and the sea looked murky, messy and ferocious - just like my past year. 

My first thought on arriving was how beautiful the sea is, no matter what mood it shows up in on any given day. 

My second thought? I don't swim on cloud-cover, big-wave days. And then I caught myself touting rules again, and wondered when I made up that one. Time to break it, was my next thought.

And so I dived in. And swam solo for thirty minutes, letting the waves push me back into shore. Letting go of any thoughts I was holding on to. And I felt free. Clear, lighter, supported and free.

And that one swim, despite being a month into the year, felt a lot like me giving myself permission to begin again.

To take charge and see ideas become actions.
To break more rules that, on second thoughts, didn't even serve me that well when they were created.
To write, and actually hit publish.
To freely be me, and to simply just be. 

Clarity. It took jumping into a cold and windy sea to get me there. 

xx

Here's to writing and sharing here much much more! How are you? What are your plans for this year? And are you a rule-breaker? Elisa xx

Autumn reflections + seasonal reads

Oh Autumn! You've been intense. Refreshing so. 

You've taught me about bravery, vulnerability + authenticity. And that's seen me take a chance + embrace change. Ever so gently. Slowly. Slow enough to feel the letting go that change beckons, yet not be swept up + overwhelmed by it's current.

But mostly, this season has reminded me to carve out more time in nature to breathe and be. And in those breaths, I've been reminded why I create. Why I write. Why my heart needs it. Why writing is the key to my balance.

And so, this winter I will take time to delve within. In stillness and in heart. I will take moments of time afforded between mothering and make them mine. From here, I will write. And with my autumn-found courage, I will share. 

xx

As the season changes to winter here I'll be turning to these reads:
- The Way of The Happy Woman* by Sara Avant Stover {inspiration, yoga + gentleness for the season's rhythm}
- Only Love Today* by Rachel Macy Stafford {seasonal reminders + inspiration as I parent with heart}
- And I'll be most likely playing with this Love Notes card deck* by Kris Carr + Lori Portka all year {bringing awareness to my body, self + situations with love}. 

xx

How has this season been for you? Does your rhythm change as the seasons do? Any recommended reads?
I'd love to know. Elisa xx


*affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase these recommendations, a tiny percentage of the price comes back to me.

With a single breath and a heart-focused intention

One week into Feb, 38 days into the new year... And it only now feels like my year is beginning.

We've sent a little one off to prep, a confident and eager miss seven into grade two and my little miss Ruby {now 21 months} is at home navigating our world with me by her side.

I haven't set a pace so far this year. And that's been unsettling for me. I've wanted a rhythm. But instead strived for a heart-centred hum to our days. We've done beautifully in carving out memories and moments this summer. And when all sense of balance has been thrown out, we've paused, breathed, banded together and started again.

Our first few weeks of January were slow and long in the best way. I found myself nourishing and nurturing my three together, but carving out time with each of my girls alone too. There's something about giving all your attention to them individually that sets my heart alight, as though I'm seeing them with new eyes, giving all my love to just one for a few moments. It's really quite hard to explain. 

But today it feels like only now my year is truly beginning, now that school is back, and I can schedule in some time for writing, some time for nurture, time to create and time to be alone. And it turns out that's what I've craved most so far this year. Time alone to write, to breathe, to just be. To reconnect with me.

And so, I've been dwelling on little rituals I can fold effortlessly into my day. Three rounds of salute to the sun in the morning. Ducking out the door for a short morning walk as the sun rises while the rest of the house sleeps. Stepping outside to look at the sky {looking up and giving thanks}. Writing down my blessings. Just writing, anything at all, but mostly for my heart. Reading a few pages of a new book before bed. Reminding myself to breathe, and then breathing and doing absolutely nothing else.  

And it seems this is where my rituals begin, with a single breath and a heart-focused intention. So here's to the start of a new year, and gratitude with each breath.

xx

How was your January? Do you carve any mindful or nurturing rituals into your mornings/day? I'd love to know. Elisa xx


~ Sending out three digital prints via my newsletter next month! Finally, they are ready!  Plus, some breath-centered mantras and affirmations for you. If you'd like me to send them your way, you can add your email here.

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

Dreaming and beginning

A few weeks ago, and then again last night, I found myself scrolling through job advertisements, pondering roles that looked amazing and that I ticked all the boxes for in terms of experience/skill... but roles I don't actually want and couldn't possibly do right now as a mum to my three girls. So why waste my times reading all those position descriptions? Because dreams. 

I've been dreaming vividly about various roles I could hold, books I could write, websites that could inspire, visions I could create. Dreaming and waiting. And wondering when the time to begin will begin... All the while finding myself so very much in the here and now, consumed with where we are at. Savouring these moments, but unable to stop the dreaming...

Then, in the past few weeks, these three things have happened. 

1. I text a friend the job roles I couldn't apply for but she could; and was reminded that where I am is pretty damn amazing. Mum to three beautiful girls; an abundance of love and beautifully messy days. 

2. While clearing old papers, I found a single scroll tied with pink ribbon. I knew what it was immediately. A wish. One of three wishes. I'd created them seven years and two houses ago, before becoming a mum and after reading a novel about a year of wish making. I opened the scroll and read: "I wish my three beautiful babies into existence." I don't think it's a coincidence that just one scroll and that particular one {my wish come true} was there waiting to be found. And I have no idea what has happened to the other two, or what I wished for.

3. A random memory popped into my thoughts this morning. Fifteen-year-old me hearing about dreams that stayed dreams; and being urged to try all that I wished for. I was sure I'd blogged about it, so looked it up and yes it's here. Turns out I've been back in that place, and almost two years to the date. 

So, this past fortnight I've given myself time to write, when the baby sleeps, at night before bed... whenever the smallest window of time appears. I've let ideas fly, words flow and my heart soar. And I realised there's never a perfect time to begin, there's just now. And so I began once more. 

xx

Do you have a dream? Or, like me, are you forever dreaming? And have you begun? Elisa x


~ A loving thank you to those who have added their email here for the free prints and meditation/mindfulness resources I'll be sending out this year! I'm working on them in between mothering my three beautiful girls and while it's taking much longer than I hoped and promised, I'm choosing to trust time and so excited to soon send you a bundle of love and mindfulness {prints, words and meditation/mindfulness resources} from my heart and inspired by my meditation training and home practices. Elisa 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. 

Big // Joy // & something new

2015 has been BIG! So much learning, so much joy, so much love.

Ruby came into our world mid year, and wow - the joy {my one word for this year} she brought with her! She is the most chilled out, happy baby. I suppose being No.3 she had no choice but to slot into the rhythm we had already created. Her energy has filled us up on love and gratitude. Ruby has redefined our family, completed it and shown us what we knew to be true - that joy is infectious and that with a new little person in our family our love grows, heightens, expands, evolves in the most wondrous way.

This year has thrown a whole lot of change our way, and there's been much transition for all of us - hello new jobs, starting school and kinder for the girls, and of course adjusting to our family of four becoming five. There's been times when I've laughed because the alternative was crying {think everyone with gastro except the eight-week-old baby!} and I've struggled with accepting that I just can't do everything I want to right now. But ultimately we've survived change, and with a whole lot of calm - more than I knew I had in me. I've constantly reminded myself that I've got this and I can support myself and do it well - and those affirmations have made a world of difference to me.

I've twice declared {perhaps demanded} at the end of a year that the following year be slow and gentle, no big changes. Both times the universe has promptly served up bigger than big years. I'm not falling for that lovely little trap again... 

But this past month has seen me declare quite a few times that "Today is cancelled"... meaning all plans I had for this day are now thrown out the window... it might sound dramatic, but the minute I've discarded those plans {the to-do list, and what I felt I should be getting done} I've noticed a shift within me - surrender, acceptance... and I've become kinder to myself. It's reminded me that I have time, and to savour this time despite the day not panning out how I'd hoped. 

So on that note I'm not going to berate myself about the fact that I wanted to make wishes for the New Year before December 31st, that I wanted to cement my one word for next year, to meditate on my goals and dreams and to recreate my vision board... Instead I'm surrendering - perhaps my biggest lesson this year {one I'm still learning}, trusting that time will present, and choosing to savour now - including it's messiness and incomplete plans.

xx

Wishing you a wonder-filled end to 2015, and some time to slow, reflect and set your intentions for 2016! May your year be marvellous and happy!

Biggest thanks too for the comments and messages here and on instagram during my blog hiatus - I am so grateful for the support. 

Oh and here's the SOMETHING NEW! >> While the loose plan for my next few days is some journalling and family time, I'm excited to get back to the blog and to this year send out some FREE mindfulness-inspired word/photography prints I am creating {each with individual affirmations, and instructions on how to best print them} - if that sounds like your thing, there's a sign-up on the sidebar, with the first print to be sent out before the end of January. Elisa xx  

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?
  

No coincidence

Before I gave birth to Ruby, I noticed my body calling me to slow. And the week before her birth, slow was just about all I could do. And I chose {what I felt at the time was a conscious decision} to stay present with my baby and maintain as much of that slow for her first few weeks. 

But that slow has lasted so much longer. Almost four months in, and I'm just emerging. In slow, I found myself meditating before sleep, waking to practise yoga before the baby fed and reading so so many books. And I found that when rushing presented itself {hello school mornings} I could deal with it much more effortlessly than before. 

I have found myself so full on love, and with so much love to give. And that boundless love has surprised me so much. Not that it wasn't there before, but because it seems here more often, and love is my first response so often right now. And because it's shown me a second time what I know to be true - that when another baby comes into your world, that love we share as a family evolves - expands, increases, heightens, grows stronger with every experience we share. 

Today I picked up Sara Avant Stover's The Way of The Happy Woman, which I find myself doing as the season's change. And I realised that my desire and need these past few months to retreat from the world, nurture my nest, and write just for me were in line with winter's calling. And my readiness to write for here again, to venture our with friends and be outdoors has arrived just as spring emerges. And I'd say it's no coincidence at all.

xx  

Have you read The Way of The Happy Woman? And do you find yourself moving with nature's rhythms too? 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 

Almost

It's a funny feeling being here. So hard to describe. Yet when you mention it to someone who's been here too they just know the feeling, and without a description. It's being in a space of waiting yet a space of readiness. A space in-between. An almost.

It's a wanting to force time to move faster.
It's knowing surrender is the only answer.
It's understanding this is so much bigger than me.
It's wondering. Wondering about time, how events will unravel, about you, about the four of us becoming five. 
And it's craving. Craving that sweet explosion of love I will feel when you first enter my arms. 

38 weeks. So close. So very close. For now I breathe and send love to you, little one. And I embrace this moment; this feeling, us here and now. Knowing that despite living this almost feeling three times now, this will be my last.

xx

Big breaths, no tears

Big breaths have been taken this past week.

Because I'm trying my very best to get in some full nurturing breaths and create some extra comfort for me and room in this fast growing belly for baby.

Because focusing on my breath reminds me to slow.

Because I can't seem to schedule a yoga class this pregnancy, despite plenty of trying. And breathing is my favourite part of yoga.

Because we let go of our little girl that little bit extra this week and watched her dance on into her prep classroom, eager as ever for school to begin. There were no tears from her, and no tears from me but the letting go certainly stung a little.

Big breaths too because seeing her off to school saw me consumed by anxiety at the very last minute. Because what if I hadn't given her enough, shown her enough, taught her enough, been there enough... so many what ifs filled my head one sleepless night. And then early in the morning sleep finally arrived, as I comforted myself in the thought that I probably wasn't alone in feeling this way and remembered I've loved her as much as my whole heart can love, and isn't love always enough?

More big breaths to come this next week as miss three sets off for kindergarten. And with both my babes busy learning and having fun for five hours one day a week I plan on carving out a little time each morning before I get stuck into work that involves breathing, and pretty much nothing else. A few minutes where it's just me, the sound of the waves, time to just be and time to connect with baby. Creating space to slow, to tune in, to love. Creating space and joy.

xx

Wishing you nurturing breaths this week, and the next. Has this week been filled with starting something new for you too? x

~ Love that my hubby captured this image of me and my big girl on her first school morning. We had plenty of smiling photos. And then when I thought he had stopped snapping, she turned to me with a big hug: "Today is soooo exciting Mummy." 

Gratitude

As winter dances it's way into our days, time by the sea almost certainly equates to windy, cold and sprayed by water from crashing waves... 

This week I arrived early enough in the morning to surprise myself, and stayed long enough to watch the sky's colours change majestically. All the while the sea remained its dark and moody self. 

I was reminded of the many changes happening here right now, some inevitable, others chosen... and I kept thinking just how easily I could get swept up and rocked into a rhythm of looking ahead at what most likely will be, at changes expected... how easily I could be filled with anticipation, so much so that the here and now isn't fully felt at all. I can feel the pull in that direction right now... but that's very much not where I want to be. 

And so I witness the changes, and give thanks for what is... for the love I have to give, and the love I readily receive; for full nurturing breaths; for minutes alone by the sea; for little feet that run, dance, tip-toe, stomp and follow me along the floorboards; for the sound of laughter that graces our house every single day. 

I choose to not be swept up with anticipation, instead to honour the now and these very moments, all the while trusting in the next.

xx

{So very many reasons I love the practice of gratitude - it brings me back to my core - to the essence of me; it keeps me mindful; it reminds me to stop and just be; it reminds how my happiness almost always comes from the simplest things; and it always shows me beauty and wonder in the everyday. Elisa xx} 

{Images 22/52 in my by the sea series.} 

What are you most grateful for today?

On my mind...

Too many thoughts racing through this head of mine. 

...I keep wondering why I still can't work out what I want to be when I grow up...

...I keep thinking how a less than 48-hour escape from routine {this past weekend} brought so much joy, so much wonder, so much of just us and felt like so much time.

...I keep dwelling on all the years I spent striving for perfection. And how long it took me to accept that I'm not perfect, never will be, and not meant to be either. It's such a relief to surrender from that never-ending struggle. I'm grateful to accept I'm imperfect and discover that's more than okay.  

...I keep remembering a little girl lacking confidence and scared to speak up. Then I see my little girl {four years old} full of confidence, singing her words, asserting herself and naming her emotions as she goes. And I'm so grateful she's not that little me. 

...I keep hearing the word joy. It's become my guiding word/emotion these past few days.

Too many thoughts racing through this head of mine.... So I think I'll just surrender from my thoughts and listen to my heart.

xx

What's on your mind? Please tell me you still don't know what you want to be when you grow up...

Finally here

This summer's been what I least expected. Ups and downs. Fast and slow. Filled with contrast. But I suppose that's more than summer - that's living, learning, surviving, celebrating. That's life.

Half way through the season and finally the summer weather {read heatwave} has arrived.
And finally it feels I've arrived too - thriving in body, mind and soul.

This summer has equalled...
More time at the beach with my girls than ever before.
Realigning myself with priorities, rhythms and intentions that speak to my heart.
Finding pockets of slow to see me through bursts of relentless and busy {but grateful for} work.
Redefining healthy once more.
Learning and relearning.
Affirming, journaling and meditating.
Gaining new insight. And ideas.
Buying more books than I can read right now.
Carving out pockets of time to be alone and just be.
Choosing more. And choosing less.
Making parts of each day a holiday, when true holidays just can't happen right now.

And it feels like all these changes have been a long time coming.
But today I realised while the timing was gradual it was also perfect, and it's left me looking at a better {healthier, stronger} me.

xx

What makes you a better you? x

Missing. Lately.

 

I've been missing in action at With Grace & Eve lately.... Right when I thought I'd found a relaxed mindful rhythm of heart centred moments...when I'd found my balance... mother guilt and fear crept up on me.                       

 

I almost immediately intentionally pulled back to centre in on me - my emotional wellbeing - and to reassess, to slow further, to find my clarity and to release the guilt and fear that weren't serving me one bit well.

 

That pulling back was really a letting go. And a reminder to do what needed to be done, and do nothing extra. A releasing of old patterns, to create time and space for new.

Clarity came and showed me what was missing. Slowly.

 

I craved the written word, and particularly that which I'd read before. So I read the same words, but gained new insight.

 

 I wrote just for me. I created new affirmations. And silently and repetitively I affirmed: "My best is good enough."

 

And I spent the solo minutes my day afforded me in stillness, drawn to meditation and realigning myself with the power of my breath. 

 

And after two birthday celebrations (now we have a little miss two and little miss four!) this past two months I have felt the need to hold my babies close a little more each day.     
 

As I slowed, it felt as though time was affording me more heart moments. But less I wanted to share.     
 

I gave myself a mindful project, to ground and centre with two little girls in tow. I stepped outside at about the same time each day for seven days to take photos at the same place. Minutes of just being with my girls, in awareness, mindful of moments and the power of presence all at once.

And I've missed this space but the lesson has been in the missing. It's made me notice what's missing from my days, and it's shown me once again the freedom and presence that comes from honouring where I'm at. And the wonder that comes from making space for new and change.

   

xx

 

Has anything been missing from your days of late? And does that affirmation {"My best is good enough"} resonate with you? When I shared it on facebook, it was reassuring to know it was something others felt they needed too. Elisa x

 

When one door closes...

The past four years have been full of doors closing, doors opening and me spending a while searching for said doors.

This past month I saw two doors open, and one close just as quickly as it opened.

It threw me a bit. Until I remembered the time I spent wondering and waiting for open doors last year.

That's when I deciding on letting it go. Choosing surrender. And trust.

I've learnt that time won't move any faster no matter how much I push.

I've learnt to trust in my abilities and to believe in opportunities. And to remind myself of that when self-doubt creeps in.   

 I've learnt to take a step in the direction of making my own dreams come true. 

And I've learnt to trust that when one door closes another will eventually open. At the perfect time.

xx

Do you believe when one door closes another opens?

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.

Five senses {with heart & gratitude}

A week away from home {just the four of us} came at the perfect time.

 

This past week I've been so much more aware of my thoughts, time, body, emotions and my senses. Omitting work, relaxing all routines and forgetting your mobile phone charger will help you do that rather well.

 

In this week of just us, I took the time to note down my senses - those that resonated with my heart.

{See}
My girls playing together - already the best of friends.
Amazing changes in the almost-night sky.
Looking back at the past year - and how beautifully we have all grown.

My littlest girl selecting the tiniest of daisies {her favourite flowers} to share with me.

{Hear}
Laughter from my three loves: it's the sound of wonder, family and memories being made.
The wind rushing through the trees {and hearing not much else} as we walked together in the early mornings.
New words from little miss two-in-four-days {and my favourite of her words - "love vuuuu".}

{Touch}
The little hand holding mine on early morning walks.
Kissing scraped knees better and getting cuddles in return.
Lying my head on my husband's chest at the end of the day {and giving thanks for the life we have created}.

{Taste}
Soy chai lattes.
Omelets packed with baby spinach, red capsicum and garlic.
Lemon {on almost everything it will go on}.

{Smell}
Rain in the air.
Vanilla-scented candles.
Tea {this week: lemon, peppermint and chai}.

xx

What has your heart sensed this week? And what are you most grateful for today?

 

This week I've found it's in my mindful moments and quiet refection that gratitude {and inspiration} has spoken loudest. Elisa x

{Linking with the gratitude community at 52 Weeks of Grateful here}

Light and shade

 

Bright sun-filled days have graced us this past week, only to be replaced with the shade of clouds and rain the next day.

I can't help but notice the contrast, and how each helps you appreciate the other.

As we walked in the late afternoon light earlier in the week, I snapped images, gave thanks for the sun, watched my girls play and began to notice life was feeling lighter too.

Soon though I found myself reflecting {dwelling a little} on the shadows of the past month.

And it was then I remembered the more I tune into my heart the more easily that shade transforms itself to light.

xx

~ Gratitude this week for the wonder in light and the strength that comes after the shade. Elisa x {Joining the gratitude community here.}

What are you most grateful for today? x