Hi everyone,
I had the most amazing weekend last weekend.
I started my weekend off with a gorgeous early morning swim at Palm Cove with some friends. I got there a little early and went for a walk along the beach and watched the sun rise. As it was rising I did some Tibetian Rites (http://www.mkprojects.com/pf_TibetanRites.htm – this is just one site I have found, there are many) and then sat on the sand and took some deep breaths to enjoy where I was. Post swim during our conversation a friend was wanting to find a new home for his herbs as he is moving into a unit so I was the lucky one who now has some gorgeous new herbs to take care of.
I was then planning on coming home and getting stuck into my list of things to do as I had a ‘free’ weekend and thought what a great opportunity to make some head way on my list of things to achieve. It was such gorgeous weather though so I decided to abort that idea and lay in my hammock and decide what my weekend would look like. This is a rare thing so to make sure I didn’t waste it it also became a Facebook free weekend. This allowed me to simply enjoy where I was at the time and not flick through the feed at random moments when I waiting for something, as I sometimes tend to do.
I then decided my first stop would be the market! To find myself a delicious coconut, to complement the gorgeous weather! My 30th birthday is coming up soon so I then felt that some new birthday togs were in order, as I am heading away on a 5 day hike near the beach in WA (I have a secret fettish for swimmers). So off I trotted to explore my options….I came away with some that I love! The rest of my weekend involved some beautiful walks in nature, hanging out with my partner, some therapeutic cleaning, chats with old friends that were enjoyed in the afternoon sun and not pushed for time and a fantastic sunset on Sunday evening shared with friends.
I went to a talk by Dr Peter Dingle a couple of months ago and following his talk decided to buy one of his books called The Gratitude Guide. While I was away in Thailand doing my pranayama course I was noting down what I was grateful for at the end of each day. It was an excellent exercise to ensure that was spending the majority of my thoughts on all the good that is in my life. The more we focus on what we are grateful for the more we connect those neural pathways in our brain – enhancing the positive in our lives and bringing in more positive! Try it. Get yourself a gratitude diary and each night just before you go to sleep spend 5 minutes writing down all that you are grateful for, or at least 3 things.
I have a lot to be grateful for at the moment and am really excited about the next 3 weeks and beyond.
I am leaving tonight on a plane to Western Australia where I will be seeing my brother and little niece whom I haven’t seen for 8months – my niece is the sweetest little person ever! Come Monday morning I am going to begin my 5 day hike along the Margaret River coastline – the Cape to Cape walk. I just loving getting out in to the wilderness and enjoying a life of simplicity.
All of my family are coming to visit when I return and we are going to hire a house up north and spend a week hanging out. My dad was 60 last year and we didn’t really get to celebrate it and I’m 30 this year so it’s a excuse to enjoy being together and build sandcastles with my little niece on the beach.
I have just finished up working for someone else as a Naturopath so this will give me more time to focus on my own business. An exciting leap of faith! I can’t wait to have time to put my ideas in to action!
I received some raw chocolate blocks/base ingredients to create raw chocolate, from a friends company in the USA (http://yourdecadentwellness.com/chocolate/) which I simply can’t wait to make!
I best be off and hop on my plane!! Have a beautiful weekend and remember to focus on what you are grateful for each evening.
Check out this short TedTalk for some extra info on mindfulness and meditation and how it can create more happiness in your world (http://www.ted.com/talks/andy_puddicombe_all_it_takes_is_10_mindful_minutes.html)
Janelle.