Every single experience calls for a holistic approach.  I believe this is absolutely necessary, in my mind and heart, for anything and everything, as we are all unique and holistic individuals.  

None of us are the same.  We are as unique as our finger prints.  There is no part of us that is the same as another.  We may share similarities, as we do as human beings, but we are all so very different.  

Overthinking is something so many of us do.  It can be harmful for our health and wellbeing. Overthinking, worrying and ruminating on things, can lead to stress, anxiety, even depression and other mental health issues. Overthinking can affect our immune system and make us more susceptible to illness. Overthinking can interrupt sleep and affect our energy levels and our mood.  If we live with a health condition that we manage, overthinking can increase symptoms and pain, and it can become a vicious cycle. If we spend all our time in our heads, ruminating and overthinking about everything, we can create a lot of imbalance in our minds and bodies, but there are many things that can help and support us, and I mention just a few ways here.   ​

My beautiful dad gifted me a camera for Christmas.  One of those 'real' cameras that so many of us forget about with our iphones these days!  I've had one on my 'wish list' for ages, feeling a desire to truly 'capture the light' in all the small things.  Yesterday afternoon, I went for a very slow wander around my local streets, and just noticed all the small things, the tiny things, the beautiful things - and came home with photos of many so-called ordinary moments, but extraordinary when you really choose to see the light.    

Most of us know, and feel, that gratitude is a beautiful and supportive thing.  But I wonder how many of us truly practice gratitude in a way that more deeply benefits ourselves, and others - our whole energy and our collective vibration. In these times especially, I know that gratitude is a powerful thing, and especially what I love to practice, which is intentional gratitude.  Let me share a little about what this is and means, and I'd love to encourage you to practice this too and see how it feels for you, in every part of your life.  

It's a new year, and whilst many have been away for a break or a holiday, others of us haven't been, and it hasn't felt quite the restful period we hoped for! For all kinds of reasons, including the obvious ones of rushing home and ending holidays through border closures, and so many personal challenges in peoples lives right now too.  There's a feeling of continued uncertainty, wondering how things are unraveling, here and around the world, and the start of this year hasn't had the uplifting feel we hoped for, and for some, it's been and felt really sad.  Perhaps you've been feeling a little flat, worried or even anxious about things.  Finding it difficult to stay calm within so much that seems unknown and changing in your own life perhaps, and with everything around us.  

I'm writing this journal piece out in my courtyard, very early on a beautiful warm clear morning, and it almost seems as if it's just me and the birds who are awake, and the rest of the city is in a restful (or hungover, perhaps!) slumber.  It's new years day, 1st January 2021, after a very quiet and gentle close to the year.  No big celebration.  No big new year intentions.  I'm a non-drinker these days, so most celebrations are quieter, for me.  I chose to be very low-key and close the door on this year, and just gently open it to the next. Today. I've been finding so much more so, through not only this year, but other times of uncertainty and change over the past years in my life (or perhaps just as I'm getting older!) - how much I savour a quiet and gentle life.  I notice that I make far more conscious and intentional choices, just as a natural way of being now, every day.  Taking things as they come, allowing life to unfold and to evolve as it will, with an acceptance of just what is, and finding ease and calm within it all.  I was reflecting on some of the gentle practices that support me with this, and I thought I'd share some of these thoughts here, as a gentle way to begin your new year.      

Do you call friends and ask how they're doing? Even more so, right now?  It can very overwhelming with so much happening in our world right now. Just as locally, here in our own country, and closer to home, within our own communities, there is violence, mental health issues, illnes, suffering, grief, pain, and so much more.  Along with all the good and beautiful things too. It's all happening every day, very close to home. Even someone you may know. Even a close friend.  Even someone in your family.   

We love to overcomplicate things, don't we.  Like Mindfulness.  It's a word that we hear all the time, and when that happens we can sometimes lose our own undesrtanding and connection to what it means for us. 

Just like anything we choose in our lives, when it feels right and true for us, then we start to naturally embrace it.   In our own way.  

I've often asked people what mindfulness means to them, and they tell me they don't know.  So, I want to share my own simple process of mindfulness, and how I bring this to my every day.   I hope this will feel supportive and encouraging for you.