Courage Compassion Creativity

Hi everyone, I hope you and yours are all dong well in these troubling times.

On Saturday evening we went to the "Confirmation"  of our youngest grandson. We are not Catholic, but our grandsons are being brought up by my daughter-in-law in her Catholic faith, which is absolutely fine with us. Even though I don't attend church I like to think that I live in a Christian way and accept that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, whatever they are. 

I enjoyed the priest's sermon relating to Covid and how we can approach it in other ways other than fear, but to practise courage, compassion and creativity in our daily lives.  Showing compassion to others in our actions, the courage of our beliefs and creativity to find ways to fill our days and to step forward and help others. 

I have been feeling a little low, but I know there is much to be grateful for - good friends, family, health (even while my wrist is broken), time, in fact life and all its glorious seasons and pathways. One of my writer's group members is going through cancer treatment at the moment, so I know I have nothing really to complain about. 

Covid numbers in Western Australia, and Australia in general are very low due to our Government's stance on hard borders with the rest of the world and within Australia itself. However in the back of my mind constantly is my fear that we are just avoiding the inevitable, especially when I hear what is happening overseas and the thousands of new cases every day. . 

I must admit that I have been hibernating and avoiding interactions. It is not good for the mind, body and soul. I must make more opportunities to catch up with family and friends. 

A Chinese saying, which I've always thought rings so true, is:

"It is not what life does to you that is important, but what you do with what life does to you."

In the book I am currently re-reading "Salvation Creek" by Australian writer Susan Duncan (about finding a new life when life has hit you a few hard blows), I read this last night - it seem particularly apt in these times:

"There are huge swags of time. Empty. Waiting for you to fill them. No distractions. That's a gift". 

I've also just finished reading "The Phone Box at the Edge of the World". by Laura Imai Messina - A beautifully crafted story about loss and finding love again and the magic of the wind phone in the phone box in the Bell Gardia Kujira-yama garden which came into existence after the tsunami in Japan in 2011. People come to talk to those who they have lost and it is where Yui and Takeshi meet. Bell Gardia, Japan. 

This book was indeed a gift. 

I think sometimes little messages are sent to us when we need them, if we open our eyes, ears, hearts and minds to receive them. 

If you are struggling like me, this old post of mine might help: Ease your stress by following your passions - I really needed to re-read this post today 

My garden is a joy at the moment. The roses and other garden flowers are blooming. The grape vines are graping, the apricot tree has tiny green apricots all over it, our small quince tree is a mass of flowers, the blueberries are ripening, the tomato plants are flowering and the lemon tree is a mass of yellow. 

Statice

My quince tree is flowering

I do hope you and yours are doing well. Thank you for stopping by. Take whatever you will from my small offering today. Please take care an stay safe. 

You might also like:

Go away winter - October 2016

 October garden - 2018

Ease your stress by following your passions - I really needed to read this post today 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.  

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

All Seasons 

MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf
Sharon's Sovenirs 

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity.
Thankful Thursday 
Der-Natur-Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit
 Month end link up @ Live love craft me

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

What will be your inspiration in 2018?

As my header today says - what will be your inspiration in 2018? Have you a yearning you want to follow? Well if you do, and I am sure you do, you should just follow it! You might be surprised where it might take you.

 

Have you ever attended summer school?

Summer School  at the Stirling Street Arts Centre in my town has just finished. They really have an amazing program of events over the two weeks - arts, writing, physically activities, music, drama, exploring culture, healthy living, workshops for kids, the list goes on. There is something for everyone. 

I've written about Summer School here before - Exploring your creative side - and every year I look forward to seeing the program. The hardest thing for me is narrowing down my list of "I want to do".

The Summer School workshops really are an excellent way to try out something without having to sign up and pay for an extended course, or lay out a lot of money on requirements or membership fees. 

Over the last couple of years I've tried acrylic painting, water colour painting, sketching, paper folding, eco-dyeing, book making, flower arranging, and hand embroidered a Boro bag and I took my grandson to Capoeira classes.

Ease your stress by following your passion in your life

I've been in a funny place of self reflection lately.

My friend Melissa is an occupational therapist who owns Whole Body Wellness Therapy. She specialises in soft tissue treatment with trigger point therapy and has been helping me with a long term shoulder issue and soreness. In the process of working on my shoulder she found that I had a lot of muscle tightness in my neck and back. Melissa asked me what stresses did I have in my life? What did I do for relaxation? What activities did I do where I could totally loose myself in the moment? What did I do for myself? She really had me pondering these questions.

Also recently I attended a workshop for carers at the South West Womens Health & Information Centre where I met many women who were in caring roles whether it be caring for an elderly parent, a sick partner, or a disabled child. Part of the day was a beginners Eco-dyeing workshop with Jane Flower from Folios and Fibre which was a lot of fun and something I'd like to do more of. After a delicious lunch there was a talk focused around carers. One thing that came out of the discussion was the importance of making time for ourselves.  

Beautiful silk scarves we made dyed with eucalyptus leaves

You might notice there is a common theme running over these two separate situations .... making time for ourselves where we can loose ourselves in our passions. If we give ourselves this space, and we are happier in ourselves, we can be more able to cope with stress and the challenges that life puts our way. 

This could be as easy as just going for a walk. Recently I went bush-walking with photography friend and she opened up to me that she had recently had what she called a "melt-down", brought on by the stresses in her and her partner's life over the past 6-12 months. This stress had manifested itself in both physical and emotional ways. She had closeted herself away, but she had found that walking, whether it was walking along the beach or through the bush near her home had been very beneficial in starting to pull her life back together. 

   
It's amazing where life might intervene in times of stress. I know of a couple of instances in my life where I actually sustained accidental physical injuries that forced me to "take time out" -  in one instance for 6 weeks, and the other for 2-3 months. I knew these unforeseen accidents was life telling me to slow down. 

I know as I get older I feeling like I am less able to manage stressful situations. Do you feel like that? Perhaps now not dealing regularly with stress as I did when I was working, I am not practising managing those stress levels. Or perhaps it is just part of my aging process. 

When my physio friend asked me what stress I had, I thought it was absurd that I should have any stress - I am retired for goodness sake! In April 2015 I thankfully left a job which was extremely stressful emotionally, both the work load and certain people that I was working with. It was not a happy environment and I was very stressed. I was ecstatic to leave this work place, take early retirement and give myself time to explore things I wanted to try creatively - through my photography particularly. 

So when I was asked what I do for myself where I can totally loose myself in the moment - I answered immediately - my photography. Indeed when my father was very sick in hospital in 2014 my photography was my solace that I would turn to. 

We all have stress in one form or another. Sometimes we are so wound up in our lives that we don't recognise that others are also going through issues in theirs. It got me to pondering a few questions.

What do you do to help lower your stress levels?
How does stress manifest in you?
Do you have a passion that you don't make time for? 
Are you lacking inspiration? 
Is there something that is blocking you from indulging in your passions? 
Is fear of failure something that blocks you from moving forward?

We shouldn't see indulging our passions as selfishness. This time can really be of benefit to us both mentally and physically. I saw this quote today from Anne Frank:

What are your passions? Do they help you overcome or deal with stress? Different things work for different people. Here are a few suggestions.

• Dancing
• Listening to music
• Playing a musical instrument
• Flower arranging - if you have ever watching an Ikebana demonstration - the art of Japanese flower arranging - you will know what I mean -  Harmony through flowers
• Reading
• Bush walking
• Bike riding
• Walking on the beach
• Yoga 
• Painting
• Craft - join a craft group and meet new people
• Start a new project
• Attend a summer school class - look for one in your area
• Sewing
• Photography
• Cooking
• Writing - hook into a web-site that has writing prompts to get you going
• Golf 
• Fishing

These are just a few ideas. I am sure there are many more. Perhaps you could add to this list in your comments.

You might also find this blog post interesting from life coach Marthe at The Freedom Experiment blog - 17 tips on how to invite passion and inspiration back into your life

A little bit of me time indulgence and fun

To finish today I also wanted to share with you the story of the little brown honey-eater that nested in our garden. I blogged about her here - Go away winter
We first saw her two tiny eggs on 9 October, the chicks on 21 October, and yesterday 30 October, we saw one baby bird sitting on the edge of the nest. The other one had already flown. His mother was flitting about chirping and encouraging him to fly. He sat there quivering and I could see his tiny heart beating against his chest. He just wasn't ready. So he went back into the nest for a nap. This morning when I crept by to look he had flown. I had so much enjoyed seeing the unfolding story of this little bird family. 

It represented to me the promise of new beginnings and the courage to take that first step towards flying.

Today is the last day of October. Here is some gorgeousness happening in my garden.

What is happening in your corner of the world? Perhaps you'd like to share in the comments how you minimise stress in your life. 
What are you going to do for yourself this week? I'm going to start going to Pilates classes on Wednesday morning. For a healthy mind we also need a healthy body. 

Banksias are flowering in our bushland now

 Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
 

Mosaic Monday 
Life Thru the Lens 

Lifestyle Fifty Monday Linkup 
Our World Tuesday
Through My Lens 
Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Worth Casing Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday
The Weekly Postcard

Finding myself - 50 plus plus

I nearly decided not to post this...but then I thought....someone else might be going through the same feelings...so why not put it out there so they know they are not alone.

Do you sometimes find yourselves in a down period, when you know you should be happy, but for some reason you cannot put your finger on, you are not?

Regular readers to my blog might know that I was "offered" redundancy/early retirement back in April 2015. I wasn't enjoying my workplace where I had been for the last nearly fifteen years, so I gratefully welcomed this change to my life as it meant that I could have more time to explore more creative areas of my life. 



Life has been so busy since then....
Along with the usual family activities.....there has more time to walk in the mornings, I've attended a couple of art workshops (as well as running 2 photography workshops), lunches with friends, photographed a new cook book, danced in a couple of Flamenco shows, enjoyed two camping trips, tried new recipes (I recently started going to Spanish cooking lessons), spent time photographing wildflowers and I volunteer on Friday mornings in our local primary school library.

I won a photography competition "Against the Light" in September, met some wonderful people while being involved in photographing for the book "Ferguson Valley Plated" , walked with and interviewed volunteers on the Bibbulmum Track for a magazine article (coming out soon in Go Camping magazine), and had some of my photography displayed in a Spanish themed art exhibition at the Bunbury Regional Art Galleries. 

 August and September were very busy for me taking photos, in conjunction with another photographer, for the cookbook Ferguson Valley Plated. This is the first cookbook I had photographed and I felt very grateful for this great opportunity to gain experience and learn more, given to me by Kim from Peppermint Lane Lodge in the Ferguson Valley. Thank you Kim.

At the same time I was attending rehearsals three times a week for our Flamenco production "Ole" plus extra practice at home every day - well most days :).  I have been doing Flamenco for the past three and a half years, and finally this year I think I am starting to "get it" thanks to the patience of my teacher and fellow members of Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company in Bunbury. Which goes to show you can learn a new dance style even at my age with no dancing background!  I blogged about our show here - Ole-Celebrating 25 years of Flamenco

Here's a pic from our Flamenco and Tapas Soiree at the Bunbury Regional Art Galleries on Sunday afternoon 25 October.  

The day after the "Ole" production in September I received notification that I won the "Against the Light" photographic competition run by the WA Photographic Federation. I was completely overcome with emotion. Below you can see my photo on the front cover of the book, plus also our Spanish dance program and one of my pages from the cookbook.  You can see more on the WAPF web page - Against the Light_WINNERS

Over this time I felt that life was running too fast. In fact I blogged about it way back in June before life really sped up! - Is Life Running too Fast? 
"I'm loving this time I have been given to fly free, to explore new things, to find out who I really am. To step outside the square of retirement and to be open to the possibilities. To be true to myself."

 Reading back over my post I certainly have been busy with opportunities that have come my way, but I don't know if I have quite found my new path. I wish the right one would hurry up and stand up! 

Now all the froth and bubble of life has simmered down what now? I find myself with my days stretching before me, and I am not always enjoying my own time I have to do my own thing. We don't have to be happy all the time do we? 
 

I am actually feeling low even though I have no need to be. I have a wonderful husband, family and friends, and I belong to very supportive writing, photography and dancing groups. I have health, food on the table, a comfortable house, and the time and dollars to do whatever I want with my days (within reason). We are planning my husband's retirement at the end of the year, and two trips away next year. 

So there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON for feeling like I am. I KNOW I have much to be GRATEFUL and THANKFUL for. 

Last rose - against the light

Do you ever feel low for no reason? I don't know why it is. Perhaps I don't feel as useful as I did in the past. Perhaps it is the fact that I am fast approaching my next major "zero" birthday next month. Perhaps I feel like life is passing me by way too quickly and I still have so many things to do.  Perhaps I feel like I haven't achieved anything or made a difference in my life. When I read back over my year I know this is silly. 

 I know it won't last. I will get over it. And life will be fine again. It is not that I don't have personal projects to be working on. They are scattered all over my computer desk.

Sometimes I think we just need to give ourselves space and permission to take time out in the garden with a cup of tea and a good book. Or just sit and ponder where we are at in life, what makes us happy and fulfilled, and what we need to move forward.
 
I need to take my own advice. And I know this feeling won't last and I'll pick myself up again.

I've just read Annabel Candy's blog post - The Happiness Project Review on her blog Get In the Hot Spot. She has listed great 23 tips for happiness from Gretchen Rubin's book. It seems like I'm not the only one after all! I've enjoyed scrolling through Annabel's blog this morning. There is lots of inspiration to find there, especially under Lifestyle & Wellbeing. 
52 Exercises: How One Woman Dared to Deal With a Mid-Life Crisis

Katchy Marris has some fabulous tips for finding yourself over on her blog - Fifty Shades of Age - Finding Ourselves

Jo Castro's Lifestyle Fifty is a fabulous blog which talks about a range of issues for us Over50s. Jo says "I write Lifestyle Fifty to help empower older women like me to be have fun, make a difference, stay healthy, remain stylish and be happy."

Sadly soon I won't be in that age bracket - Oh there I go again! 

Tea in the garden with my mother's 1950's tea cups.

 But do you understand where I am coming from? Do you ever feel like that? What did you do about it? I would love to hear from you in the comments. 

 You might like to look at this stunning photographic series - Reflections of the Past - by Tom Hussey. The photos show an elderly person looking pensively at the reflection of his/her younger self in the mirror.
Are you surprised sometimes when you look in the mirror and expect to see your younger self? Do you still feel like your younger self? Where did all those years go?

And thank you so much for reading my ramblings today. I'm off to my Spanish cooking class. Tonight we are making Paella and Sangria. Here is our fabulous cooking teacher, my new Spanish friend, Montse - making a new life for herself and her family in a new country. 

 Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

Mosaic Monday  
Lifestyle Fifty Monday Linkup 
Our World Tuesday
Through My Lens 
Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Worth Casing Wednesday
What's It Wednesday
 

 

Is life running too fast?

Do you find sometimes that life seems to be running a little too fast? This is what seems to be happening to me at the moment. It has only been two months since I took redundancy (early retirement) from my day job (wow that went by quick!), and I wonder how I ever had time to work. I distinctly remember that first day of my "retirement", as I watched all the workday people in their cars going to work while I was taking a lovely morning walk along the river. I couldn't help smiling to myself - the feeling of freedom from work was so sweet. But then at times the days seemed to loom empty before me. I even said to my lunch-girl-friends that not going to work was a little isolating... But now it seems other things have come into my life to fill the space. I have so many thoughts of things I want to do, new things to try, and lists of things to do, sometimes I feel pulled in many directions at once. And I still haven't decluttered my house! How easily that has moved down the list! 

 So I have decided to give myself a little blogging break this week, and just bring to you a short post, a snapshot of my world this past month. 

Welcoming new beginnings

It has been an emotional six weeks. A time of great change with the passing of my darling father. I never imagined that this is where we would be when we went off travelling and exploring through the Pilbara in early July.  I keep going back over the last few weeks and trying to fathom how we got from there to here. I have felt that someone else has been in control of my life...it certainly wasn't me.  As John Lennon wisely said....."life is what happens while you are making other plans".

During this time my camera has been my solace and I have kept up my 365 Project as I work my way through what life has thrown my way.  Amazingly those wintery images are around the time of my Dad's passing.

Please click on "read more" to keeping reading and seeing more!

sharing a special post - Every Time I Fall Back

I just wanted to share with you this very beautiful post from Markus - one of my on-line blog contacts - Tea Cup In the Garden - click on the link to go to "Every Time I Fall Back" -   Teacup in the Garden

You will probably need to click on the translate button to read Markus' beautiful poem. Then take a little time to scroll through his posts about the beautiful country home they are restoring.

Every Time I Fall Back by Markus

Laughing, I walk through rustling leaves and know that this too will pass away someday laugh. But not now.

I sit on a bench and know that someday I'll sit there anymore. But not now.

I breathe the scent of lavender and verblühtem know that I will someday no longer smell. But not now.

Amazed, I look at the colors of the world and know that someday everything will be black and white. But not now.

With an open heart, I love a friend and know that our path will separate at some point. But not now.

With all the strength I cling to life and know that I will release it sometime. But not now.


So I go the routes that are before me and stay in the places of my heart a little longer. Eventually everything will be remembered. But not now. Now it is reality. Take Care, Mark

Life's path

A lot of changes have been going on in our lives lately, and we were talking today about how we plan the path we would like to take in life, but life doesn't always go to our plan. Sometimes our plan and path changes, and we either fight against the change or adapt to it. 

We all have challenges that we are given. And I am often reminded of something I read somewhere once -

"it is not the challenges that life throws in front of you that are important but how you deal with them".

In the process we meet and are inspired and helped by new people that come into our lives at that particular time. 

Then today I saw on the wall in a health worker's office this saying -

The Will of God will never send you to a place where the Grace of God will not protect you.

May you all have the strength to face the challenges that are set before you.