Tag: writing

Reflecting: It’s okay not to be okay

This is normally the hour on a Sunday when I press publish on my weekly book review, however this week I am going to take a break from that series. Last week was tinged with a visit from an old foe, and so I found myself binge watching ITV’s Poirot in between work and gardening, to distract myself from my own mind; and I ashamedly didn’t pick up a single book. As my husband affectionately puts it, “I am not life-ing very well”. In the interest of self-care I will not berate myself too much, and will instead say that we all need a break sometimes, even from the things that bring us joy. After all, forcing yourself to do something you love is a very good way to make it a mundane chore. So, I am going to take this post as a moment to remind you to look after yourself. We all need to wallow sometimes, to give ourselves time to process, to refocus, to heal. I have found my mental health rolls in cycles, and every now and then I need what I refer to as a ‘reset week’. These weeks often come when I have let the stress pressure cooker sit on the hob for too long without releasing steam. A somewhat laboured metaphor that probably came to mind as I was thinking of my Nani’s cooking earlier today, but it gets the point across, my pressure cooker was about to explode. I needed a week where I wasn’t straining to do certain activities, outside of those vital to living; wash, breathe, brush your teeth, put pants in the washing machine, go to work, et cetera. I won’t say the old foe has completely departed but I can keep an eye on him and will continue to look after myself in the meantime.

In the absence of reading, I turned myself to a task that I have been putting off for some time, and that was sorting and editing the photos I have taken so far this year. I picked up my camera in January after a hiatus to focus on other things in life, and I do wonder why I ever put it down. Experimenting with a new lens, I have been out and about at exploring the wildlife (predominantly birds) at National Trust and WWT centres, as well as across my home county of Gloucestershire. I have compiled a selection of my favourite photos from this year so far, I hope you enjoy!

All photographs on this website are copyrighted by Maya Richards (Maya Emily Photography). Any use of these images, including but not limited to reproduction, distribution, display, or alteration, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission from the copyright holder. 

I hope you have a good week!

Happy Living ❤

Book Review – 365 Days of Happiness

365 Days of Happiness

If, in this strangest of years, you are finding yourself fighting against the tsunami of negativity, suffering, and bleakness, that Covid has unleashed upon the world, then it’s time to prescribe yourself a healthy dose of positivity.

Jacqueline Pirtle’s ‘365 Days of Happiness’ is a wonderful collection of positive anecdotes, written by someone who wants to bring the joy she has found to her readers. Jacqueline, aka FreakyHealer, is the perfect representation of positive energy, a free spirit who uses her gifts of understanding and empathy to enrich the lives of her clients and readers. Born in Switzerland and now living in the Unites States, Jacqueline has spent her life travelling, experiencing, and learning, and those lessons she now passes onto us through her workshops and writings. ‘365 Days Of Happiness’ can be read in two ways; you can delve into a tidal wave of positivity and consume the entire book in a sitting or two, or you can take a page a day and spread the positivity out over a year. As someone with the attention span of a fruit fly I find the latter technique harder to stick to. I prefer to settle down and consume a book with the same vigour I would a cup of tea, or a doughnut. 

When first scanning through the pages my eyes were caught by the words ‘energy’ and ‘imagine’, and more exclamation marks than I have used in my life to date. I’ll admit I was skeptical, I have never been one to countenance energy, spirit, and soul, that isn’t to say I don’t believe in it, but I am someone driven more by rationale. Perhaps, deep down inside me, there is a curiosity, though that is another post for another time. Despite the difference in the spiritual beliefs between myself and the author, I am able to appreciate the book for what it is, positive. I have come to realise that, whether you believe in life-energy, souls, a capacious worldly power beyond our understanding, or whether you are a fact-driven realist, there is no reason not to read this book. I found the pages that contradicted my own world-view encouraged me to debate with myself. They challenged my beliefs, my cynicism, and encouraged me to look beyond what I perceive as positivity. 

How do you pour your coffee or tea?

I am going to take a real safe guess here, and say that you pour it very determinedly into a cup, instead of kind-of-sort-of point the stream of coffee or tea at the cup and loosely hit or miss the cup. Some of you might even go all out and choose a cup you really like, or have a ritual for pouring your tea into a very nice cup. Either way, your focus is on pouring into the cup without spilling or wasting it. 

I invite you to do the same with your energy, love, compassion, and your light. 

Focus yourself to pour your energy without spilling or wasting!

The cup can be yourself, someone, or something else, or even better, choose many someones and somethings you really love, are passionate about, and feel good to you. Then – very precisely – start to pour your energy, love, compassion, and light into it. Enjoy the goodness you co-create with that someone or something. 

Fill it and don’t spill it!

Jacqueline Pirtle, Day 230

This passage was my favourite, and not just because I love tea, but because of what Jacqueline has expressed, do not waste your energy. Now, Jacqueline may be talking more about spiritual energy, but I think the fundamental lesson is one we could all do with adopting, focus on what makes you happy. My mind is drawn to Marie Kondo’s philosophy of de-cluttering, keep what brings you joy and discard the rest. Sarah Knight then applied this philosophy in her book, The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k, to the worries and jargon that litter our minds, and how we can apply Marie’s techniques to clearing out our brain-boxes. Although these three woman may seem to be on different journeys, I guarantee that we can draw it back to that fundamental lesson; don’t waste time and space on anything, or anyone, that does not bring you joy. Be picky, be precise, it is your life.

If you want to try Jacqueline’s ‘365 Days of Happiness’ then it is available through Amazon. If you want to read more about Jacqueline, and her fascinating journey, then visit her website.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Happy Living,

Maya