I hope you had a good break over the Easter period. I certainly did, and I was reflecting on this after my meditation practice this morning, considering what had made it such a welcome and restorative break. Here are some of my thoughts….
First up, I was ready for this time away to suit myself. I was not sleepy tired, it was a deeper tiredness and I was feeling a little jaded. Do you know what I mean? Easter was quite late this year, so it seems a while since our last holiday. I was also very much ready for sun and a vitamin D shot (lack of vitamin D can make us feel tired and down, as well as leaving us with a weakened immune system), and goodness me, we did well for sun this weekend! I love the sun, so very much appreciated the warmth and the light.
I like to take long weekend at Easter, so that I have plenty of time to fit things in. I had a good mix of social time and quiet times. As an only child I do like some space to myself, where I can potter about and think, or not think, as the mood takes me. I also had some lovely trips out, and caught up with some work and home jobs that I’ve not had time to sort out, including having a good spring clean. The combination of the still time, completing tasks, being out in nature and clearing out the day to day rubbish that has collected since the new year felt rejuvenated has given me the space, energy and creativity to move forwards. This is so important. Here are a couple of examples.
Sadly, I’m losing a couple of people who have been important to Inside Out and Acanthus, firstly Susan who has helped me with admin for many years is retiring at the end of the month, and we are losing one of our regular hirers at Acanthus as she moves onto a new adventures. I needed to think clearly about both these events, the impact and the opportunity they have given for change, but was struggling to make clear decisions to be honest. We had a great day of maintenance at our Acanthus studio (thank you hubby and Mum for your help 🙂 ). Mum and I did a deep clean, throwing out a car full of rubbish, whilst Phil started the mammoth task of changing some of our many lights to low energy fittings and draft proofed doors and key holes. This led to a positive shift in energy. It gave me the space to think about what needed to be done, I’m a big believer that a cluttered room = a cluttered mind. I also realised that I needed to let go of the people I was trying to hold onto, nothing stays the same. The result has been that almost immediately new people have contacted me about using our Acanthus studio, and our new admin person is now all set up and ready to go (more on this later!).
The second big energy shift that I’ve noticed is in my lesson planning. I have a plan I need to do for something new to me and I was finding it a challenge to organise my ideas and get something on paper that looked like a plan I could actually teach. Being outside, in the sunshine, walking on the beach and in the Dales inspired me, opened up my creative channels again. How can you not be inspired by Spring?! Upshot was, that whilst on one of my walks I honed in on what I really wanted to get across in this session, and how I wanted to do that. The plan flowed effortlessly then, just needs practising and snagging now. Hooray – what a weight off my mind that is! All work and no play made Isabel a dull girl…on every level.
Never feel bad about having a break and indulging in some self care, you’ll come back rejuvenated and focused. I believe we all need space to give us clarity and play time to inspire.
I’d love to know if you’ve had any insights from a spring clean or a trip out 🙂