Fridays, when I'm home from work, I am lucky enough to be able to take George on a nice big walk in the morning. Dulwich Park and Brockwell Park are currently my favourite haunts. Normally I'd walk around with earphones in, listening to podcasts and thinking about stuff, but the last couple of weeks I've decided to 'unplug' when I walk George. I realised that I wasn't taking any of the beauty of the park in one day when I looked up from my phone and saw George running around the grass as happy as could be. Dogs can really teach you a thing or two about being in the moment! So I decided to put the phone away and just walk and enjoy the surroundings. Really observe what was around me and take it all in. This simple exercise in mindfulness has made all the difference to my mood and outlook for the day. This morning, for example, I stopped to look at a big beautiful tree near the Dulwich boating lake and what I thought was some green moss on the trunk turned out to be a green parakeet squeezing out of a hole in the tree trunk! I was so taken aback from this sight. The little bird joined another parakeet on a nearby branch and the seemed to share a couple of kisses (though they were probably just eating breakfast!) whilst I stood underneath them with my jaw on the floor. Walking away I thought how lucky I am to be able to enjoy such beautiful natural settings. London parks, you rule!
2. Pu Ehr Tea
Ever the faithful mint green tea afficionado, I rarely go a day without a cup of the fresh greeny goodness. And then came Pu-Ehr tea, and now my loyalties are in question. I was attracted to this tea due to the fact that it's fermented and therefore great for digestion, but the taste is so sublime I can sense an obsession forming. It is touted to have lots of health benefits, from aiding digestion to slimming, blood sugar regulation, improving circulation and even lowering cholesterol! I haven't looked into the research behind any of these claims but I did notice an improvement in my digestion. You can purchase the tea in tea bags (Dragonfly stock these), loose leaf (Solaris brand is lovely) or as little 'cakes' which you pop into a tea pot and can re-infuse up to 3 times. Just make sure you don't brew it for too long: 3-4 minutes is ideal. I've experienced slight nausea when I've made it too strong but maybe I'm just a wuss.
3. Five Minute Journal
Seriously, this little thing is the nuts.
You can flip through the journal and read the science behind the theory on their website, but basically it's a journaling exercise which asks you to dedicate 5 minutes when you wake up in the morning to focus on your intentions for the day and 5 minutes in the evening before going to bed to reflect on the day you've had.
Morning Routine:
List 3 things you are grateful for.
List 3 things that would make today great.
Write an affirmation about yourself.
Bedtime Routine:
List 3 amazing things that happened to you today.
Write down one thing which would have made today better.
I first heard about the Five Minute Journal on a podcast and thought it sounded interesting but never really pursued the idea. Last month, when I found myself in quite a funk, the Five Minute Journal idea popped up again on my internet and I decided to look into it and give it a try for one week. You can purchase the journal online or just write it yourself in a notebook, which is what I did. I'm not going to lie, the first week or so I struggled to think about things I was grateful for or what amazing things had happened that day - I was that much in a funk that my mind was just focusing on the negative. But I started with simple things and slowly was struggling to actually limit myself to 3 things to list! It's been a few weeks now and I am not joking when I say it has already made a huge impact on my life. By intentionally focusing on the positive aspects of your day, you start to actually shift into a positive mindset throughout the whole of the day. I have certainly noticed that since starting the journal I have felt less inclined to badmouth people or generally be a grumpyguts. It's also made me more conscious and aware of what I would like to achieve. And the amazing consequence of starting this 5 minute journal is that it has reignited my desire to journal. I have started writing again - after nearly a 10 year hiatus - and find that it really helps re-arrange my thoughts and get a clearer understanding as to what is going on in my head. It's been truly amazing and I plan on purchasing one of these babies for everyone I know!
They have recently launched an iphone app and hopefully will have an Android one soon. Although in my opinion nothing beats putting pen to paper.
4. Spotify "Soundtrack to my Youth" playlist.
It all started a few weeks ago, when driving home from a friend's birthday dinner, we ended up blasting old Pearl Jam songs in the car and singing along at the top of our lungs with the windows rolled down, cruising through London at night.
The next day I just had to watch "Singles," one of my all-time favourite films, and one that I must have watched a million times when I lived in Mississippi at age 17. The grunge soundtrack brought back so many memories, that the next day I decided to put a playlist together of all my favourite songs of that time. I ended up falling down a rabbit-hole of music and memories from my late teens and early twenties, re-discovering bands I'd completely forgotten about like Deus, Dub War, Bush, Screaming Trees, Veruca Salt, Incubus and Cake, amongst the grunge classics of Alice in Chains, Temple of the Dog, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Listening to this playlist has unlocked so many great feelings and memories: from my first summer holiday with my girlfriends after high school, to living in Vienna and my uni days living with my brother in Baker Street. I was so excited to rediscover 'My Favourite Things' by Incubus again yesterday whilst waiting for a train at Clapham Junction that I failed to notice my train arriving on the platform and then leaving (without me). DOH! Who needs a time machine when you have music, ay?
I'll leave you with a lovely photo my friend Laura took of Andrew and I at her birthday dinner. Happy Friday, everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment