Am I more positive than before I went on the retreat? Hugely.
Am I healthier? Undoubtedly.
Am I slimmer? Yes, by 5lbs.
Am I happier? Yes, I am
Thank you Katrina, Carolyn, Mo, Lorna, Donald and Sally!
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Am I more positive than before I went on the retreat? Hugely. Am I healthier? Undoubtedly. Am I slimmer? Yes, by 5lbs. Am I happier? Yes, I am Thank you Katrina, Carolyn, Mo, Lorna, Donald and Sally!
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 I'm supposing (my word for 2017) that it's ok with you if I take an extended blog break.... I love this image. It is from another Christmas card. It seems to me to capture something very moving about friendship, especially womens' friendships, and about the way I feel about the friends I have made here.  I'm so grateful for your friendship, kindness and support.
I will continue with the occasional post for a bit, just to stay in touch....I do intend to be back - just not sure when :-) .... a new life. As we all are in one way or another. The Guardian newspaper runs a series of articles called Widower of The Parish by a man whose wife has died....He says 'Once you have accepted that the life you had is unrecoverable, you might just be able to create a new one that isn't just simply the old one but sadder.' This item from Christina Rasmussen's blog struck a chord with me, particularly as I am going on a train journey soon. Sometimes I listen to these meditations and find them helpful. Snippets from a conversation or a song can resonate - 'One day I'll fly away, leave all this to yesterday.' which I thought of when I flew to Berlin. 2016 will always be for me the year that my husband Barry died, the hardest year I ever had, and much of it felt like wading through treacle. In slow motion. Exhausting. I like this little being from a Christmas card - Just how I feel of late..a bit fragile, wobbly, but still upright! Here's to wobbling on :-)  Good-bye to the tinsel..  Hello to the tulips.  OK I know it's a bit early in the year to get serious, after all it's not even the Twelfth Day of Christmas yet. (It's a bit early for Easter too but there were Hot Cross Buns on sale in the supermarket today! Truly!) Seth Godin's recent post chimes so well with my reading lately that I just have to share it with you. I have been re-reading Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves To Death (1986) and watching a YouTube video of the same man at the beginning of the internet age in Six Questions On Technology. It is 45 minutes long and I found it worth listening to, but if you want the short version (haha Seth) go to 42 minutes I realise that one of his questions - and you know I like a good question - has stayed with me and influenced me quite a bit in my search for a simpler life. It is: What is the problem to which this technolgy is the solution?  Poppy, are you listening to me?  This was my favourite photograph from Berlin (mostly they were terrible, of which more later).  Since I came home I have been drinking ginger tea the way it was served to me in a little florist/cafe in Schoeneberg. The kind of place where you could go with your notebook and pen and sit for an hour. An array of candles, amaryllis and Christmas foliage, inside and out on the pavement, a few tables, a good choice of coffees and teas. I expected a sachet of ginger tea, but was served a beautiful bowl - no handle - good to warm your hands on on a freezing day - with strips of fresh ginger in the bottom, and in another small dish on the side a generous amount of beautiful creamy honey.  The work of moments. I won't be going back to sachets. My word for 2017 has been difficult to find. Here are some I've considered: energy, vitality, wellness, well-being, autonomy, flourish (a close second),permission, and others, but I have settled on Supposing... As in Supposing it is ok to say no Supposing it is alright to admit I am sad just now Supposing it is alright to be happy when I am not being sad Supposing I'm allowed to buy this for myself Supposing it is alright to not do this, or that Supposing it is ok just to be myself Supposing I choose not to believe that Supposing the sky wouldn't fall in if I.. Supposing... If I choose to look at my worries and anxieties and sorrow in this way it seems to me I give myself options and open up new possibilities. Have you chosen a word to guide and inspire you through this new year? I found myself starting the day, and the year, with 30 minutes of yoga on a site I chanced upon and bookmarked ages ago. The name of this first class is Ease Into It. I like Adriene's chat. She says things like - Keep it playful. Make it your own here. To each his own. Maybe try.. Drop into this moment for yourself. A nice experience that feels good. Be honest with yourself. All rather good ways to start a yoga session, and to start a new year I thought. May 2017 bring you good things! Easy does it.... |
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