hensblooms

As the sunset marks the end of the day, symbolising a sense of completion, so the year will come to an end too. After a day full of activity and meaning, a beautiful sunset brings everything to a close, and I hope that the busy year will end with meaning and purpose too.

I hope that we all find the time to destress and unwind. Perhaps, also to find the time to enjoy, relax and take in the breath of amazing sunsets.

Research shows that sunsets have many psychological effects that enhance the long-lasting satisfaction of, in life and physical benefits, and have been proven to relieve stress. This in itself should be reason for us to unwind and take in as much sunsets as possible.

I know that everything is possible if you put your mind to it, so I’m writing here to encourage myself and others as well, to make time to relax, enjoy those sunsets and unwind. “Your focus determines your reality”, a quote by George Lucas. You are where you are in life based on how you think. So, whatever a person dwells on will ultimately become their reality. Your mind is powerful, and your thoughts will direct you.

Wishing you many relaxing thoughts as the year is coming to an end and may you find yourself feeling the happiness and peace as you rejuvenate yourself. Enjoy the festivities and peace and contentment around you too. Happy holidays.

There are many signs signalling that spring has arrived on this side of the world. The sound of chirping birds, the smell of fresh soft scents, butterflies and bumblebees in the air, confirmation that spring is here. There is that definite smell that it is spring. I’m reminded that different plants bloom at different times of the year, and that there will be the constant shift of floral scents.

So, just like these plants, we too as people are blooming at different stages of life. Are you living life in full bloom, are you living with hope and purpose, with imagination and vision that honours the earth and one another? Blooming season could be different for each one of us.

Some say that late bloomers become good at managing their own expectations, handling setbacks, and accredit this to why late bloomers are happier and more successful than their peers who enjoyed early success. So, they also believe that later in life, early achievers find out that things don’t always go as planned, and that they aren’t prepared for life’s struggles.Then there’s also the topic that late bloomers naturally develop skills needed to find calmness and choose to keep exploring, learning, listening and observing what works and what does not. I don’t believe age or when you bloom matters but that our uniqueness and striving to constantly wanting to bloom, will allow us to bloom. 

I’m encouraged to stay curious and wish this curiosity for others too and I believe it will help us to grow and will lead to the blooming stages of our lives that I hope to be authentic and unique to each of us. Keep on blooming!

Shifting gears from one season to the other reminders everywhere, I have to embrace change, a change is coming

Feeling a bit gloomy with thoughts that change is inevitable, yet also necessary, a change is coming

Nothing is promised and much to do, time to get out there, accept the whirlwind of change, a change is coming

Relentless as efforts will yield with a promise to shed light, key to growth and happiness, a change is coming

Do those adventures to set the pulse raising, a change is coming

Constantly modifying and adapting to life, as efforts will yield, a change is coming

Applying those essential differences, bring along many uncertainties, but also brings along hope, a change is coming

Change is here!

I read an advertisement “Satisfy your curiosity and discover the locked content you’ve been missing out on”.  I was reminded of this advertisement whilst reading a book I had on my bookshelf for many years and realised that I missed out on reading valuable content. I had no interest in reading this book before, and to my surprise, I enjoyed reading every bit of it and learned so much as well.

“Curiosity killed the cat” is a proverb used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation. It also implies that being curious can sometimes lead to danger or misfortune. The original form of the proverb, now rarely used, was “Care killed the cat”. Then, also Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. The first mention including “satisfaction” dates back to 1912. The altered meaning: While curiosity may harm you, the satisfaction of finding knowledge/the truth is worth it. Wikipedia.

I’ve included in my goals to be persistently curious, curious to learn, and to find satisfaction in the knowledge. I hope that I will also continue to show that inquisitive interest in others, to show care and hopefully contribute to making my immediate “world” a better place.

Stay curious…

I wrote about that special ingredient called love before and I wrote about neighbourly love too. I suppose there’s much to write about love. Wikipedia explains  love –  “Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure”

Today, I want to bring your attention to the power to love, the authority to love, and the choices to love one another.  Sometimes our choices to love are made unconsciously, and yet it brought about a lifetime of contentment and happiness. The question arises then, If I applied love once, should it not be enough? Love does not work this way, to love, you must consciously continue to do so. How do we keep caring and keep loving? 

I recall that when my daughter was much younger, we would say to one another I love you and I would say I love you more and she would reply saying I love you to infinity and beyond, making her the “winner” of loving me more.  We all have the power to love and today I want to encourage us all to use our powers and implement love. To have that eagerness to love one another more, to overcome hate and negativity by overshadowing it with positive emotional love.

Thinking you are more important makes you inappropriate and takes away love.

Sometimes life can be likened to that storm that struck violently and unexpectedly. With the cost of living increasing daily and your income not, it could feel like we are stuck in that unexpected storm. It most certainly can be difficult to stay positive, but perhaps this is a time to remind yourself about the saying, “the greater the storm the brighter your rainbow”.  

Recently, I was annoyed with a couple in front of me in the grocery queue.  They were adding up every single item in their very jam-packed trolley and putting them down one by one to be scanned by the cashier and asking for the total after each item before adding the next. This seemed like it went on forever, and I was in a hurry and allowed this to add to my aggravation. It took me a while to realised that they are scanning each item before adding the next because they were not sure if they had the funds to pay for all the goods. This was confirmed as I witnessed their sigh of relief as they eventually unpacked the very last item from their trolley and managed to pay for it all.  Eventually it was my turn to pay for my goods, shockingly it cost much more than what I thought it would be and much more than what I budgeted for. In this instance I learned a big lesson, and wished that I showed less irritation, and rather more compassion and kindness.

So, when tempers flare or life’s storms loom, and we allow our temperaments to increase, this can negatively affect our health and relationships too. It helps to remember that you can choose your reaction.

“Stay strong there’s a rainbow after every storm”

I’m also aware that storms can go on forever, or rather it can feel that way, and this is when we must find that beauty in the storm. Or in times of these storms, instead of adding to the misery, be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.

Most living things need oxygen to survive, humans get the oxygen they need by breathing through their nose and mouth into their lungs. There are different kinds of breathing that require a slightly different process to allow inspiration and expiration.

Many people use their breathing to help promote relaxation and reduce stress. Yoga breathing involves rhythmic pattern to help focus the mind inward, whilst Pilates focuses the breath outward to the physical body. Breathing is also important in singing and I’m reminded of the hymn “Breathe on me, breath of God” words written by Edwin Hatch, and hymn composed by Robert Jackson. This hymn has been placed in hundreds of hymnals, the tune is almost like breathing itself and very uplifting too. 

1.  Breathe on me, Breath of God, fill me with life anew, that I may love the way you love, and do what you would do.

2 Breathe on me, Breath of God, until my heart is pure, until my will is one with yours, to do and to endure.

3 Breathe on me, Breath of God, so shall I never die, but live with you the perfect life for all eternity.

There are clearly different techniques of breathing and also different ways to purposefully live our lives. Fortunately, we have the power to deliberately change our own breathing and the way we choose to live.

As we become conscious of our breathing and how important it is to breath, so I wish that we become conscious in living, caring, and loving one another too.