Tags
acheivements, awareness, changes, chemical free, contentment, creating a better life, End of another year, happiness, happy, Health, healthy living, home, life, natural living, no preservatives, November, quiet time, real food, stroke
Wow, another year nearly closing as the end of November draws near. What happened to 2016 as it flew right past us! The familiar vibe of Christmas is beginning to take shape once again and in a little over 6 weeks we will be saying farewell to another year on this earth.
Usually I would have ticked off a list of goals I wanted to achieve but as I look back on this past year I realise that I actually did slow down a lot this year. I feel this year that I didn’t rush, but sorted through a lot of things as they arose calmly while letting go of what no longer served us and that lesson gave me the clear insight of how I want to live the rest of my life…
From that perspective, I feel that I have been more settled this year, both at work and at home. Now 20 months into my new job, my work life has settled down enough for it not to be a day to day stress of newness, but also now I can focus on working out what it is I really want to be doing and even if that means making a few more changes for the better, I feel confident in doing so. But generally I am enjoying the contentment we are feeling right now. Both Bill and I are noticing how familiar and easy our commutes to and from work are now and as we drive around our beautiful little community it no longer feels new, in fact it definitely feels like ‘home.‘
So, what did go well this year? I know my health has improved. In fact, both mine and my husbands health have improved after his diagnosis of having had a stroke shocked us into changing our diets and begin a lifelong journey of learning about real food. My thirst for finding good nutritional food is now a growing passion. There is still room for improvement but we are on the right path, trying to buy local fruit and veggies and avoid less processed foods. I am absolutely loving this new path and definitely feeling the benefits. We have learnt the important lesson of the big food industries who are hell bent on hiding chemicals, carcinogens and preservatives in our foods creating illness across the globe and not blinking an eyelid. Learning about this deception has been an eyeopener and one I will continue to research and share as my passion for eating real food becomes my new way of life. Our only way forward to protecting our own health and the health of our children is to shop organically, buy home grown or better still as I am doing, learn to grow your own.
I have recently found a fabulous Australian company who sources only natural & certified organic hair, beauty & healthy living products. I am one of their newest fans. You can find them here if you are interested in taking care of your skin and health and want to reduce the chemicals entering your body. (I can swear by their deodorant, totally natural and totally amazing!)
http://www.nourishedlife.com.au/
I have had a few bouts of vertigo this year which was a new health challenge for me. It seems to affect me when I am feeling stressed and my shoulder and neck muscles are super tight so its been a challenge to keep this at bay but as I am learning to take better care of myself I try to notice when my body is tightening up and stretch it out before it becomes chronic which then leads to the vertigo. This is not always easy to do when weeks are busy, however, I think this now needs to be an ongoing management promise I must make sure I keep. I am learning to get up from my desk at work more regularly when I have been sitting too long and go out and stretch, even a couple of minutes a couple of times a day is making a difference and walking a bit more, walking is so important, particularly for those of us who sit all day long. I already know what I want to focus more on next year, gratefulness and time for me, to ensure that I do keep stresses away and take the time to meditate, breathe and have some quiet time among the rush of our modern lives.
As I get older,
I am learning,
there is much value in quiet time
each day…
Its also time to regenerate a new habit to take into next year or maybe its a habit I had let go of recently as doubt or worry crept in. I have been accused a few times in my life of being ‘too cheery‘ or’too positive‘, and even though I normally laugh it off as I know its the only way forward, its hard not to get caught up in some of the negativity which infiltrates our lives on a daily basis. I have at times, particularly at work, doubted my abilities and fed into the negativity which makes you doubt yourself and give your power away, so its time to restock what I am filling my mind with and make sure I am creating a prosperous year ahead for us, one of love, abundance, joy, appreciation and laughter, for these feelings are the only ones which will propel your life forward…