Little Joys of February

Ah the little Joys of February: the snowdrops and the crocuses....


The shoots coming through the earth, the buds of the blossoms, all poking through the ground...gently shooting out of branches...




...the ground still cold and damp, yet getting ready for  the flowers need growing, soon to be daffodils and then bluebells, the birds nesting, the days more visibly getting longer and the mornings lighter, the birds singin in the early morning...snow and cold winds, meaning cosy fires and warm blankets, chocolate granola and a nice warm tea pot, reading a good book, watching a nice film...

All this is a much needed resting time before spring come: our bodies need a lot of rest at this time of the year we are regenerating our cells and internal organs...so we need to start to purify and detox...toward the end of February I start eating more sprouting things...alfalfa, and salad...

These are all the things I know I must do to stay healthy and balanced-hence happy this month and into the next month:

Take some time today to rest deeply and recharge.

Clear away those emotions that don’t serve me anymore: guilt, fear, anxiety, regret and remorse. Breathe light into and around them and release them like little bubbles.

Clear my calendar of things that don’t serve me anymore.

Take some time to balance heart and head…the water of emotion and inspiration with the logical, learned responses.

Freshen my bedlinen, buy a new pillow,ideally a new mattress...this one is killing me back...but this is another chapter; take an Epsom or a dead sea salt bath this evening to cleanse away dead cells and detox...refresh my energy and get to bed earlier than usual.

I usually go to bed at around 10 pm and get up at around 6.30 am and that I think is a very good thing to do...so often I hear of people staying up so late into the night to work on the computer...I think if we deprive our body of sleep and good fresh nutrients it is like self harm!
More about self harm: over working, getting angry over daily stuff, getting wound up or stressed about trivial things...put things into perspective and all this should just melt away with a great big laughter...I try to think about the other person who brings the anger and directs it to me and others...they are the ones who should let go of it and I can help by letting their anger through me as if I was transparent or made of water or air...and let go....



More self harm: this is more serious: smoking, drinking, taking medicines and drugs...is it necessary? why are we poisoning our body?
I love my body so much I want to take care of it...it is all I have and I live this one life in this body...
I let go of anxiety and breath it all out...
I let go of fear...just ignore it..
if fear and anger or anxiety comes in me...I aknowlwedge it and then try to let go of it...
it is hard...but that is my task...

I admit of self harming in the past....only a bit...when I was in a certain stressful time of my life and there was a certain competition or expectation...I did occasionally hold a herbal or mint cigarette in my hand..it was my shield, an image I was creating and it was all wrong...I did say 'hold' and not smoke, as it was more of the first and only a little of the latter...like I said...more of an image!
I got rid of the silly addiction- luckily I didn't really smoke enough to be that addicted;
I used homeopathy and acupuncture to rid of all my impurities...and yoga


I am lucky that my attitude towards health and nutrition is a healthy one, coming from Italian background...cooking everything fresh, with the most natural and genuine ingredients, cooking as they say here, from scratch!
I am lucky and deeply grateful that my sense of taste and smell makes me only want to have these things and my body naturally refuses junk. This sounds terribly pretentious and snobby but it is part of who I am and how I was brought up...I am thankful for my body and my mind for this and my spirit is thanking me too!


Intermezzo:

The Simple Pleasures I cannot live without (and which I am deeply grateful for)

The smell of fresh herbs, the earth, the sea, flowers, especially roses, lavender and jasmine,
fresh food and especially vegetables freshly picked or fruit...
the Sky, the sunrise and the sunset
the moon and the stars
a wool blanket
a nice warm cardigan
my hair
a smile, especially my daughter's smile
children's laughter
a cup of tea or even better a hot pot of tea and my favourite mug
music for my ears
the song of birds
a beautiful voice singing a beautiful song
the sound of the sea
the sound of the rain and the wind through the trees
trees
the park and especially Greenwich park
any green space
walking and especially walking through green area and spaces
my cat
my house
my window seat
the warmth of people
a good joke
a good story
a good book
 nice paper and a good pen
my hot chocolate (rice dream, honey and organinc cocoa)
a dark chocolate truffle from Montezuma or Booja Booja
a nice photograph
a nice painting
a Japanese garden
a good stretch when I do Yoga
waiting for my pea and veg soup to be ready!
I can go on and on but I will stop here...



I really believe that if I am aiming towards balance and try to cleanse as much on the inside, my soul is also more aware and receptive, my intuition and my senses more open and can receive more from the purest and higher energies...the Earth energies, the Moon and Celestial energies and the guiding Spirits...

So, there is a lot to say about
NOURISHMENT FOR BODY, MIND, HEART & SPIRIT                                          :
Reclaim food as sacred medicine. There is an innate connection between food, the health of your body, and your emotional, mental and spiritual well-being.
In the ancient ways, everything that goes in and on your body is ‘medicine’ – intended to bring healing, vital energy and abundant nourishment. Following the wise ways of our ancestors, true nourishment brings freedom from modern-day struggles with stress, fatigue, addictions, food allergies, and imbalances with eating patterns, energy levels and body image.

I do have a lot of work to do, I know...I have to work on my body, my attitude,I need to be conscious and aware, and I think this is very important; to be able to stay tuned into my needs and remind myself of what I am doing and why.

So here I write a list of what I am grateful for:

I give thanks

Thank you body for supporting me
and thank you mind for supporting my body
Thank you for being created and in return I thank you for giving me the chance to look after myself
Thank you for my loving husband and beautiful and healthy daughter
Thank you for all my friends and family who love me and are there for me.
Thank you to Mother Earth, and all the things I see each day, all the beauty, but also the bad things that make me see the dark side, so that when I see the bright side is even brighter!
For my body and all my organs
My senses
All the things I am able to do and think and make as I do take them for granted and I should not...
Thank you for my food
Thank you for my cosy home
Thank you for my job, which I love
Thank you in general for my good life
For the simple pleasures, and for the bigger pleasures
For all the things I have and the things I would have but choose not to have
for being aware of my limits and needs, yet for liking new challenges in this life
For the children that are part of my life and their parents with whom I weave the blanket of love and cherish each moment!
Thank you for each day and night
For being alive
For being able to say thank you!
Thank you my loving Angels and guiding spirits
Thank you to the Love and healing energies
and the ultimate Divine Love.

Susannah x