#motivationmonday

Today's quote comes from Quote of the Month from letterGIRL on Etsy.  I signed up to received monthly motivational quotes at the end of last year.  It's wonderful to get home after another frantic work trip overseas and receive a little gift of inspiration and motivation in the mail.  You might have noticed that a lot of the quotes that I share are around reminders to slow down and focus on the beauty of life.  This is a personal reminder and challenge for me, to remember to take time to notice the moments in life, not just focus on the end results.  To remember myself and those around me, and put them first, not just what I do.  It's a challenge to be present in the moment every day, but when I find that I am, I am relaxed, I am at peace and I truly am at my most creative, loving best.  Funny then that I have to strive to remember it ;-)

#motivationmonday - wine

I don't think it's any secret that I love wine... especially as I have a blog largely devoted to it.  It's more than just the liquid itself though, it's the ritual that comes with it for me.  Wine for me is a way of life.  I always use a good glass.  I always drink it slowly.  I always enjoy smelling it, looking and the colour and swirling it in the glass.  And I love drinking it with friends and catching up with what's happening in their world.  I think the ritual I've built around drinking wine serves as a reminder to me to slow down, to breathe, to enjoy a moment and unwind.  That's not something that's always easy to do in this hectic world, so finding ways to incorporate it into my life is wonderful.

Cheers

#motivationmonday - shine

Sometimes you just need a little pick me up.  Something to make you smile.  Something to help you get through the day - or in my case nearly 30 hours of travel.  These sneakers do that. They are sparkly and shiny.  They are super comfy.  They just make me happy every time I put them on.  They are kind of like the clothing equivalent of comfort food. Something that just makes you feel good about yourself and your day.  Like fat pants but awesome cause you feel great in them.

my week

It's been busy.  I've been catching up.  My secrets to coping.... sparkly shoes that I can run in, tea from a beautiful cup, sunshine... and pooches.  Got to have puppy cuddles.

Hope you week is going well.

#motivationmonday - beauty is everywhere

Today I don't offer up motivational words by someone else.  Instead I offer up this picture of a sunset taken in Pasekuda, Sri Lanka last week while I was on holidays.  For me it's a reminder that there is beauty every where around me - I just need to look for it.  It's a reminder to embrace the moments of life - not just when I'm on holidays in paradise, but every day.  

Here's to looking for the beauty and joy in life each day this week.

abandoned

There is something haunting about the images in this blog post.  What was once significant and a monument of achievement, or celebration of effort and work lies abandoned and desolate.  Makes you really think about the monuments (real or otherwise) that we build in our own lives and what they will look like in years to come.

PS - that photo above... well that's Sigiriya in Sri Lanka.  An abandoned fortress of a kingdom long gone.  

pondering as I'm wandering

I've been in Sri Lanka for about a week now.  It's not my first time here and it won't be my last.  But in the journey I'm on in this season I am finding that it is speaking to me in a deeper way than it has in past visits.

I found myself traveling about 2 hours by van this week from Nilaveli to Pasekudah in the north east.  This is an area that is still largely untouched by development - although that is rapidly changing - due to the war, and then the tsunami.  People here have lived a different life to that of those in Colombo.  A simpler life.  A harder life.  A life with greater joy.  A life with greater sorrow.  As I read that back it sounds a little like the start of a bad novel, but I don't mean it to be.  What I think I mean is that life here seems to be one of stark contrasts.  Contrasts that are becoming more apparent as the area opens up for development.

As I traveled the coastal road I was struck by the incongruity of new hotel developments on picturesque beaches side by side with rural shacks - barely some mud brick walls and thatch roof.  One building is a temple to all that the tourist worships - a view, a cocktail, a pool - a sanctuary to unwind and get away from it all.  The other represents a fisherman and his family who work long hours through the night to catch enough fish to sell and make a small income on.  One if full of mod cons - aircon, tv's, internet, you name it it's there.  The other has no mod cons, no aircon, no washers & driers, no car.  Yet side by side they share the same view, the same beach, the same world. One is filled with people who are desperate to escape the rat race and find serenity.  The other is filled with people who are living, surviving, and doing the best they can to raise a family.  Both have laughter and tears - at different times and for different reasons.  I wonder what those families think?  Do they look with envy or pity?  Does the excess make sense?  Is it something they aspire to or can't comprehend?  What will this do to their world?  Will it improve it with opportunities, or will it destroy the community life they now know?

I make no judgements on either side here.  I don't think there is a right or wrong way to live.  Or that a perfect solution to developing economies and communities exists.  I does have me pondering though...  How do you do the right thing by the people living in these locations?  What is the right thing?  Does any of this matter?  I don't have the answers.  But I will watch this transition and journey over time.  Surely there are life lessons for us all in the midst of it.

life is a journey - but not always a cliche

It's been a while since I've written a post about what I'm thinking.  At the beginning of this year I was determined that I would stick to a schedule of blogging and be more deliberate in writing and creating this blog, but after a month or so of inspiration I began to struggle.  I think I realised, just in time, that if I did keep to a schedule of writing deliberately every week the blog would be in danger of becoming filled with content created out of process and commitment to a schedule rather than something that contains thoughts from my heart, a sharing of my life, and my random thoughts.  So I paused.  I remained committed to the small things - #motivationmonday.  And I waited.  I waited for inspiration.  I waited for life to happen.  I waited for time to think.  I don't think I'm ready to really come out of this place of waiting, but life is going on around me and there are things I'm becoming aware of.  Thoughts are going through my head as I travel.  Conversations with friends, old and new, are challenging me to look at life differently.  I find myself wanting to share, but with half-formed thoughts.  Will you indulge me and let me share them with you as I go?  Imperfect as they may be?

#motivationmonday - rewards of the simple life

As I travel through Sri Lanka I am once again reminded how we often place value in the wrong things in life.  Material possessions, career progression, houses, wealth and security... not one of these things brings happiness or joy.  A cool breeze on a hot day, a refreshing dip in a cool ocean, a meal shared with friends all bring richer rewards and happy memories.