#myheartylife | 10 – gratitude| success| beauty

Reflecting weekly on the beauty in every day moments, reasons to be thankful and celebrating small successes with the #myhearty life linky.

I’m grateful for ….
People who share their wisdom and resources to help others find peace, joy and purpose.  I was feeling a bit glum last week in that can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it kind of way.  As an Introvert with a tendency toward anxiety I find comfort and clarity in listening to others talk about the issues I struggle with. From the safety of my own home, with no pressure to interact, I often find the encouragement I need to fine tune my intuition about what I need to do by listening to audio books or podcasts. I downloaded the Stitcher Radio app to my phone last month and it’s like finding a kindred spirit and having a loving friend in your pocket whenever you need one. I no longer need to wait until the evening to unravel with a book (by which time I’m usually too exhausted to concentrate and it feels like work). I can listen to podcasts while I cook, tidy or hang out with the boys. Sometimes I look for a podcast title that is my exact concern. Often it’s enough to know that others struggle too and calms that critical voice that tells me it’s only me that feels like this. Sometimes I can then just accept how I’m feeling like a compassionate friend and stop looking for the fix-it. Often I scroll through episode titles and click on something unconnected to my situation that piques my interest and still find a positive take away from my listening time. My 5 favourite listens from the last couple of weeks have been:

– Oprah’s super soul conversations – talking to the late Maya Angelou about her childhood, her relationship with her Mother and standing up for what you believe in

– The other F word – how personality types deal with anxiety (the other F word, in case you were wondering, is ‘failure’)

– Hand in Hand parenting – how brain science fuels our upset behaviour and how by understanding it, we can create calmer, more contented households and better relationships with our kids.

– The Savvy Psychologist – 5 ways technology is making us anxious (highlighting how on-line communication provides connection and support but reduces our ability to deal with in-person conversations and uncertainty)

– The Life Coach School – being decisive (how staying in the confusion of uncertainty is a decision to stay stuck!)

(illustrated by the inspirational Emily Rutherford @artwithanxiety on Instagram )

I succeeded at …
Using my one child free morning a week to do something that fills me with joy by completing my photography coaching with Shane. Instead of doing a 1 day session he kindly allowed me to split my time across a few weeks so we had some workshop time running through camera basics, an hour bimbling in the gardens with Luca (trust me that was long enough in the freezing cold) and a couple of hours talking processing and editing using Adobe Lightroom.  It was such a relief to learn how to rescue those slightly blurry-but-beautiful snapshots and revive a mediocre picture shot in poor light. I’m excited by the difference this will make to the photos I take and having Shane on hand for further advice when I need it. Here’s an example of original photo on the left and edited version on the right.

I found beauty in …
The snow and watching the boys play out in our small back yard. Euan wasn’t interested in going out during the day and Luca gets too cold as a hat and glove refusing toddler. But after dinner as it was getting dark they suddenly had the urge to play. It was beautiful watching them work together to build a wannabe snowman and help each other when something didn’t work out. It always tugs my heart strings that we don’t have a garden for them but E declared ”I’m glad we have a yard and not a garden so the snow doesn’t get all muddy”. I love the bond these brothers share.

My previous #myheartylife reflections can be found here

I’m linking this post to the supportive and positive blogging community that is #BestBootForward hosted by Kate on Thin Ice and Indigo Wilderness. It’s a weekly linkup for sharing positive celebrations of life, successes through challenge or simply spreading a little cheer.