Tag Archives: challenges

And I’m Feeling Good……………..

Diets, Life Stressors, , ,

Maybe I should be singing this line? Mmmmm, maybe not as I couldn’t carry a note in a bucket !

Anyway, I am feeling sooooooo good. Took positive steps to do something to lose a bit of weight, had a catch up with a good friend I have not seen in a while and bought a lovely new RED lipstick when I was out shopping with one of my lovely daughters. What more could a girlie (okay middle aged woman) ask for?

Oh, except the ladies at the make-up counter were absolutely brilliant and we had a real hoot while spending some( not too much) money. And, also had a lot of laughs with some lovely people at the slimming club. And, found some common ground with the lady in the coffee shop…………..You getting the picture?

I wanted to have a good day to-day and I DID. It could have gone the other way at several of points throughout the day, but I chose the positive and the calm. I am writing this down as much for my benefit as anyone else. Hopefully the next time my shoulders slump due to the weight of the world pressing down on me I will think of this lovely day and cast the blackness aside.

Choose your mood.

It’s a New Year So I Resolve To……………………

Diets, Life Stressors, ,

Mmmmmm, so many options; lose weight, spend more time with my family, spend more time with my friends, spend less money.

The New Year gives us a chance to wipe the slate clean, start afresh and leave the failed resolutions of 2014 far behind. But why deal with life’s challenges in yearly chunks? Why hang on to our “failures” for even a moment longer than we need to process what it is we need to take from them to learn and move on?

I want to wake up each day with a determination to do the best I am capable of for that day; not a week, a fortnight or a month, just that day.

I want to give no energy whatsoever to the toxic, joy-sapping individuals that have occupied too much valuable head-space in the past, but concentrate instead on people and events that lighten my soul and reinforce how truly beautiful life can be. Even writing this down is helping me lose weight; the awful, all-consuming weight of a heavy heart.

See, I’m smiling now.

An Early Morning Dip…( In the Sea!!)

Life Stressors, ,

Okay, so I have always loved being beside the sea, watching the tides come and go, acknowledging its raw power and yet, simultaneously, its ability to soothe and give perspective to life.

So, when I found myself in the privileged position of staying in a cottage right on the edge of the sea, I pledged to fulfill one of my “bucket-list” ambitions, a very early morning skinny dip!

Well of course I had made sure I could not be seen! Really, what do you take me for?? And.. yes, it is December and it would freeze the tatties off you when you are fully clothed, but I had made a promise to myself and there was no going back. Welllll now………………

That’s where the “dream” ends and the bloody nightmare begins! When you see these gorgeous women stride confidently into the waves they are NOT walking on the razor-sharp stones in this bay, so I kept my nice comfy slippers on( sponge filled ones). They are also NOT getting into water so cold it would strip the flesh from your bones! I had intended to walk into about mid-thigh height. Unfortunately as soon as the water hit my knees shock took over. I tried to yell but no sound came out; my legs started to shake and I was jumping around like a maniac. Meanwhile my nice spongy slippers had filled with water and, yes, you guessed, I lost my balance, falling ass over tit and going completely under the waves.

Dear God almighty!! Never have I felt anything like it, so cold it was painful. Even when I got into the hot shower, in an attempt to get feeling back into my legs, the skin prickled and stung.

What a tit! Bollocks to bucket lists! I don’t think they are supposed to kill you.

Mind you, if it hadn’t been me, and it had been caught on film, I think I may have just died laughing.

We All Need Perspective.

Life Stressors, work-life balance, , ,

It’s all about perspective isn’t it. I had been feeling a bit out of sorts all day, tense and stressing about things way outside my control, when I had a call from a good friend.

My friend was bringing me up to date with a fairly big “issue” in their life and it has been an on-going situation for quite some time now, one still without resolution. Suddenly, my own problems melted away, put firmly back where they belong, into the ” Do Not Bother Even With” box.

I am ashamed it took another’s misfortune to make me see this, but I have spent a lot of time on my own this last week and I have become isolated from the lives of those I love and care about. I desperately needed some “Me Time”, some peace and to catch up on sleep. But perhaps I have been greedy. It’s hard to know when you have had too much of a good thing, but maybe when it starts to cause more angst than relief, you have reached your limit.

I am now looking forward to getting back to the everyday stresses of life, with less time for navel-gazing and worrying about the ifs, buts and maybes of life.

As my sadly deceased father-in-law used to say, “If your Granny had a “wotsit” she’d be your Grandad”.

“The Storms of Life”

Life Stressors,

A friend of mine recently sent me the following quote.

You will not be the same after the storms of life:

You will be stronger, wiser and more alive than ever before.

Bryant McGill

What a lovely thought and something to hang on to through those tough times. I believe the first line to be completely and undeniably true.

Sadly, I question the second. I believe you are different, but as for “stronger” that depends on your definition of the word. Sometimes, to prevent future “storms”, or just to protect our souls, we create shields around ourselves, keeping others at a distance; all in an effort to ensure calm seas in our lives. When you have suffered terribly isn’t it natural to try your best to make sure it never happens again? But is that strength, or a loss of innocence and of trust?

However, I now think of some of the people I have mentioned throughout my various blogs, and I look back to the quote. Truly, Mr McGill must have met some of them when he wrote this; he must have known the amazing “strength” they all have in common, listened to their wisdom and been buoyed by the amount of life  in them.

They have survived the storms, but, more importantly, retained their humanity and compassion; remaining open to those storms yet to come.