The importance of self care

Happy Mental Health Week... ;0)

Hello Dear Friend,

Welcome to another Sunday. I hope you had a good week. Mine was not too bad, apart from a mix up with my medications which has left me a little discombobulated - fyi I do not recommend a 5 day cold turkey withdrawal from any meds. Off to Boots the Chemists today to hopefully beg some tablets out of them. Then off to collect some baby plants from a friend for our allotment.

Any hoo, this week has been quite quiet for me. I am still trying to get my story written for the last assignment of this years Open University course.

The main theme popping up this week was self care. I attended the Sarah Fletcher NLP/MBraining workshop on Friday, did any of you sign up? It was a whistle stop tour of how NLP/MBraining can help you be not only a better person, but also a better listener and communicator. Her NLP training has gone onto my wish list of courses to save up for. (Am I the only one who does that?) One quote Sarah used struck me

Its not what you see,
But how you feel it

Rumi

It reminded me, again, of the need to take into account our own reactions to the world, to people and situations, before we are able to see those same things from someone else’s point of view.

Mental Health Awareness Week

Here in the UK this week is Mental Health Awareness Week, 9-15th May, and Kathryn Koromilas is running 7 Days of Mindfulness with Marcus Aurelius via The Stoic Salon.

Kathryn says:

If you find it hard to create a space for quiet and presence, Marcus Aurelius is for you. His Meditations are brief notes written to encourage himself to focus, to pay attention, to be mindful. 

I'll send you one email every morning (UK time) with a prompt from Marcus Aurelius's Meditations and an invitation to spend some time journaling. 

I have mentioned Stoicism before now, and if you have not idea what it is about or are a little curious, this is a great place to start. You can work through the prompts by yourself or there is a community which can support you. Either way it should be a gentle way to add a little self care and mindfulness into your day.

Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash

Hal Elrod - Harnessing the Power of Nature

Hal is the mind behind Miracle Morning, a way to approach your day with a more positive outlook. There is a link below if you are interested. This podcast episode is all about connecting with nature whilst meditating and the benefits involved. He is unabashedly enthusiastic about life, just to give you a heads up.

Time Management for Creatives

This weeks newsletter from Sheryl Garratt via The Creative Life was all about being kind towards yourself and managing your own expectations of how much you can get done, and your priorities list. It is aimed at creative business people, but really it is applicable advice for all of us. It is a long read, but there are lots of nuggets of wisdom scattered throughout.

The bunnies and bears now have their own page on Instagram @tracyoknits

Little Bits of Self Care

This week I have tried to increase my self care, yes I know, don’t talk about the meds…
The first was a bunch of flowers from Bloom and Wild a luxury, but so worth it. Their flowers really are wonderful, and they last for ages. Top Tip: if you sign up for a subscription it lowers the cost. ;0)

I have taken to turning the radio station to Radio 2 instead of Radio 4 while I am in the car. So if you see me out and about looking like a loon, its probably because I am singing along to the songs. It really lifts my mood.

With a view to tidying up my online presence I have finally stopped hiding behind the Yarnsmith branding and claimed my space on the world wide web. Over this year everything, except these letters will be migrating to tracyo.co.uk

Also the Bunnies and Bears now have their own Instagram account… (don’t ask) they can be found at @tracyoknits

This week, look after yourselves, take some time to do something that really makes you feel happy or at peace with the world.

Until next time, as ever, may your angels and guides watch over you and protect you until we meet again.

Love and Light,

Tracy

Things catching my eye this week:

Links:

Meditations on Meditations with Marcus Aurelius and The Stoic Salon

Hal Elrod Podcast - Harnessing the Power of Nature episode

MiracleMorning.com

The Creative Life - Time Management for Creatives

Anything in bold and underlined is a link to the relevant article or web page. None are affiliate links, just things I hope benefit you, or to people whom I admire and have worked with in the past.