I’m Still Alive… Rebooting the Blog

Hi there. Remember me? It’s been 10 months since I last published here, so I’d forgive you if you had forgotten me.

It’s been an eventful year and there’s lots I could have shared here in that time but between one thing and another, I lost my blogging MOJO. It was actually only when Squarespace sent me an email to say the site had been disabled (the auto-renew subscription cancelled as my card details changed) that I remembered this poor little neglected project.

So, what happened? If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last year, it’s that you can’t do everything, nor should you try. You have to learn to prioritise and writing/blogging simply fell to the bottom of a very long to-do list.

Making Mindfulness Matter

I started the year by taking a Mindfulness course. It was partly a ‘New Year, New You’ resolution but it was slightly more than that; I knew I needed to find a little more balance.

In this hamster wheel we call life we are constantly thinking ahead, plotting, planning. Seldom do we stop. Breathe. Be in the present moment.

We live in a world where multitasking and ‘being busy’ are lauded as some sort of ideal social status. Think about it: how many times do you get the reply ‘Good. Busy!’ when you ask someone how they are?

I am starting to understand the importance of focusing on one thing at a time - being present in the moment and not always rushing ahead to the next thing. I’m not quite there yet but I’m working on it and that’s the main thing.

The other real learning for me has been the power of positive thinking. Our brains are wired to focus on the negative. Instead of thinking about and being thankful for what we have, we are often preoccupied with what we don’t have/what comes next.

Through meditation and mindfulness practice, I am starting to tip the scale somewhat and redress the balance; learning to be happy with my lot. Happy that we have our health. Our family. Friends. A roof over our heads. I could go on…

It’s also helping me to do and achieve more. The real turning point for me was a full day silent retreat, as part of our course at the end of February. Anyone that knows me will know that I am seldom silent. It was challenging but also oddly rejuvenating; like hitting the reset button. I had probably my most productive week in work after that retreat. It was only then that it clicked: ‘there might be something to this mindfulness lark.’

Mindfulness retreat at Drumalis Retreat Centre, Larne, February 2018

I was a bit sceptical to begin with, if I’m honest; I thought it was all a little bit hippy dippy but now, on the other side, I’m a total convert. It’s hard to explain but what I can tell you is that this has helped me greatly, particularly in recent months when there has been more than a little life drama to contend with.

The course I did was the Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) with the wonderful Bridgeen Rea of Immeasurable Minds and I could not recommend it highly enough. Find out more about Bridgeen’s mindfulness and meditation classes here and feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Getting Back to Blogging

I hope to write up a feature following a fantastic trip away to Cork and Waterford earlier this month. The pic above was taken on the beach at Ardmore, just down from the incredible Cliff House Hotel where we finished our trip on the most decadent of highs. There are so many eyehearts for this place, I can’t even begin to tell you now… more on that soon.

I also hope 'himself' will contribute to a few more posts about some great restaurants we’ve been to and some exciting culinary experiences we have coming up too – he’s most definitely the foodie in this house.

And, while we’re talking of houses, we have some big news… we bought our first home yesterday! There’s still a lot of paperwork to get through, so I don’t want to jinx it but it’s all very exciting. Pinterest and Instagram have already become my best friends, so as we get nearer to crossing the threshold, you’ll hopefully see some interiors inspiration and DIY posts here too.

I’m never going to be a fulltime blogger. However, my motivation for starting this project still remains; we are lucky to have the opportunity to see and experience some pretty amazing places and spaces and I’d love to share those with you. So, stay tuned; it hopefully won’t be as long as 10 months until you hear from me again.