Monday Mottos

Life is hard enough without the enemy of unnecessary worry, thoughts and memories. But letting go of these things is hard and I myself am working on this in order to create more forward momentum in my life this year. By living more in the moment, clearing my mind of unwanted thoughts and tackling everything with a much better attitude, this year I hope I can change for the better 🙂 

“These mountains you are carrying, you were only meant to climb” –Najwa Zebian 

Interesting quote that reminds me of both the good Drs who do exactly this and the bad who only look at tests and typical ‘normal ranges’ and don’t treat you as a person and individual case. 

“Death is not the enemy sir, Indifference is!

You treat a disease, you win, you lose.

You treat a person, I guarantee you, you’ll win, no matter what the outcome.”- Patch Adams

Expectations


In life most people are always expecting something. Whether it’s what will happen next in their day, or whether that new pill they’re on is going to work or not. We expect things because predicting outcomes gives us something to aim towards. It usually goes hand in hand with how optimistic or pessimistic we are in general too. Sometimes people think that expecting the worse can be a good thing because you’ll only end up meeting that expectation or being pleasantly surprised. But surely it’s better to approach things with more confidence therefore creating a path along the way that will ultimately lead to the more positive outcome you’re expecting.
But what happens when things don’t meet our expectations? I’ve dealt with this myself and it’s something I’ve been trying to come to terms with recently after realising that not reaching my own expectations was affecting me more than I ever knew. I always had a very clear idea of where I would be in my career by now but unfortunately my health set me back and the level I have achieved isn’t what I always expected it would be. Whilst I have accepted that now, disappointment is something you have to go through when you have made an expectation for yourself. You also face other people’s expectations too. For me I also had other people’s same high expectations which created a lot of guilt and shame. But that is why we must live for ourselves and make sure that we have pride and happiness no matter what we achieve or don’t, without worrying that everyone around us is pleased with everything we do or don’t. 
You wont always meet expectations and neither will the things around you in your life but you can learn to live with expectations and be more kind and reasonable to yourself along the way.

Monday Mottos

Small steps and small changes to your life, routine and habits will make a difference to your wellbeing, it just takes time. This sweet proverb sums it up.

“Little by little, a little becomes a lot.” –Tanzanian Proverb

Wellness Wednesdays Returns!!

I am sooooooooo sorry! Could I have been more rubbish lately?!

Actually…not doing my regular posts was for a good reason- I am busy doing! For the past few weeks, yes of course there have been bad days, painful days and sad moments, but more importantly I have been busy being proactive in my life!

My work is picking up, with online sales of my artwork coming in steadily- no its not a massive amount but its good and its constant and that makes me very happy! I’m spreading the word through social media and reaching out to companies and individuals. And I’m venturing into the world sometimes too…how very brash of me!

Even if you get rejection, putting yourself out there can do wonders for your self esteem. Being busy promoting my business and therefore promoting me and the fact that I am good at something has made me feel so much more confident. I used to shy away from opportunities that would be too challenging or that meant I had to go out of my way to do something- but now I’m going out of my way all the time- for me! And it’s good!

I urge you all to take a chance on something today- to embrace what you’re good at and open it up to the world. You may be rubbish at lots of things, you may feel rubbish lots of the time, but you aren’t rubbish! You are great!

Wellness Wednesdays

Tidying your surroundings and organising your living space can clear your mind and remove some unnecessary stresses.

Sitting looking around at the paperwork everywhere, dog hair covered cushions and bags of shopping not yet put away does nothing for my wellbeing! It gets me down. Our house needs a lot of work until we can decorate and make it all nice, but a good tidy and clean can make a whole lot of difference to how I feel about things.

It takes a lot of energy to do the full load of housework and de-cluttering but doing it room by room or bit by bit gradually clears away stress from my mind and gives me that all important sense of achievement that is always good for me.

So maybe you don’t have time to sit down and relax to up your wellness levels today. Maybe your list of household chores is too big. But trust me, once you get going on the cleaning (thats the hardest part!) you’ll find yourself feeling better and better and you can put your feet up and have that herbal tea afterwards!

Wellness Wednesdays

Todays focus is the power of music.

As a musician perhaps I’m a bit biased but who doesn’t love music? Theres something for everyone, and something for every occasion.

Music has been a part of every kind of time in my life- the happy times and the bad. And its power never fails. Writing music for me is hugely therapeutic and something everyone should try. Learning an instrument or just singing along or tapping your feet to something can really make you feel a part of something. And simply listening to music can do this too.

Sometimes music lets you be sad…it lets you cry and wallow and makes you feel comforted and understood in your sorrow. At one of the worst points in my life a particular song that i would play super loudly whilst laying on the floor and soaking it in was Tori Amos ‘I can’t see New York’. Dramatic music makes you feel small…it puts things in perspective.

On the flip side, there are some songs that fill me with joy for the happy memories associated with them. Our wedding first dance, songs by bands that me and friends once went to see and childhood favourites.

It’s not always the most highly acclaimed well made music that can make you feel something special either. Something to dance to, relieve stress and laugh with is equally important. My pick here would be the Spice Girls. This music reminds me of being a child, it’s easy to listen to, you don’t have to think and you can just go wild. Cheesy? Hell yeah! But so what? Snobbery holds no place in music. It’s not about it’s technical merits but the way it makes you feel.

So whether you feel the need to indulge in your sadness or you want to cheer up and de-stress, music plays an important part in life. You can take it seriously, or not, but whatever you do, FEEL.

Great recipe for digestion!

Wouldnt normally post about my cooking but tonight I didn’t want a big dinner and had been waiting to try to recreate a canapé had at a wedding recently. And it was yum!!! Fairly healthy too and of course Gluten Free!

 

Really very easy- a fig cut in half with a blob of goats cheese, wrapped in prosciutto and fried with a teeny bit of olive oil. Placed onto some spinach leaves with a pesto lemon and olive oil dressing!

I am a new fan of figs- they are great for your digestive system and versatile, working in both sweet and savoury dishes.

You don’t have to make this but it is really good and sorry for bragging but it looked and felt so gourmet that I had to share it!!

Belated Wellness!

I seem to be a day late with everything this week! As Wellness Wednesdays was a bust I have some wellness for you this evening in the form of a motivational poem. Written on the spot so certainly no masterpiece! Enjoy!

When I feel blue, which most of the time I do,

I try to give my mind, a dose of something new.

I’ve tried learning to yodel,

I’ve tried to write a book,

I’ve tried a change of scenery

To brighten my outlook.

There’s always something to be done

to stop a downward spiral.

To turn the sadness in your eyes

into a rising smile.

So when the bad thoughts come and your insides feel churned up

Try your hand at something new and you could change your luck.

A BIG hug to everyone who needs one- life can be tough but we should always keep on going. Interrupting bad thoughts with just doing something is the first step!

Cuteness in spite of pain!

I wanted to share with you a lovely shop on etsy.com based in Ireland, that makes plush cuddly toys in all the regular cute shapes, but also in the shapes of some of our troublesome body parts! This link is to the uterus ‘plushie’ and it would just be such a moment of joy to receive this after an endo op or just as a gift from someone who knew you were suffering. Hey I might even buy one for myself! They also do a thyroid one which I would also love in my collection (which hasn’t started yet but I have a feeling it will!) Theres many other body parts and organs too and I just think its a unique and lovely idea! Please have a look and share 🙂

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/222102777/uterus-plushie-plush-soft-toy-kawaii?ref=shop_home_active_5