A walk refreshes not only your mind and body but also your perspectives on anything. Sitting down too long and working on something can, at times, cause a block or murky feelings. Just taking a small break and walking will totally refresh everything. If you have never tried it, why not do it next time?
Stay hydrated
Keeping yourself hydrated with water throughout the day makes you function better than usual. Staying in a tropical country such as Singapore, it is essential to keep yourself hydrated. Lack of water gets your energy levels depleted and tired. If drinking plain water is boring, try new ways to keep yourself hydrated. An example would be adding lemons to your drinking water or consuming fruits. When adding new items to your diet it is always best to do it slowly so that your body is given time to get used to it.
Focus on Positivity
We always have a choice on what we can focus on. You would have heard many times that whatever we focus on, that will grow. Whenever you feel anxious and get pushed to think or have negative thoughts, turn it back to positive thoughts. One way is to take consistent conscious breaths to clear your mind and thoughts. At times, when negative thoughts hit you, stop whatever you are doing and take a short walk. It will help you clear your mind, and thoughts and will refresh you (point number 1).
Our mental health is our responsibility. Do not blame anyone for the condition of our mental health. Take ownership and be responsible for our health. Slowly introduce new things to your life to move away from negativity. It can be a small effort – but it matters.
Another year will be over soon. We will be welcoming another new year soon. Anything new offers us an opportunity to look at things from a new perspective. I write journals or reflections daily. For the coming new year, 2022, I have purchased a planner and a Pursebook from Mori. Mori is a women-run business, giving opportunities for women to earn a living while supporting their families.
(This is a re-post. Will be continuing the “Wisdom Gem series” for every Friday. This was part of series of “wisdom” handouts that was created in the past for my retail customers and my students.)
“Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate”. ~ Zhuangzi
Reflection by Esther Go with the flow! That will be the best advice that one needs to have in any given situation. Resistance is going to make things worse for an individual and the people surrounding him. Rather than going against, “flow” into any circumstance and be at ease. It is better to “flow” and accept the moments. Once we have learnt how to live our lives in that way, nothing can dampen our spirits and the life we live.
(This is a re-post. Will be continuing the “Wisdom Gem series” for every Friday. This was part of series of “wisdom” handouts that was created in the past for my retail customers and my students.)
“When you look at a field of dandelions, You can either see a hundred weeds or a hundred wishes”. ~ Unknown ~
Reflection by Esther How we view life or a particular situation is entirely up to us. No one can change the way we think of something unless we ourselves allow it to happen. Rather than looking at something, someone or a situation as negative and a hindrance, why don’t we step aside and look at ways on how we can learn or benefit from it. We all have to remember that anything negative that is taking place in our life is not permanent. Everything will pass at ease if we allow our thoughts to change accordingly. We must always see every situation in our life an opportunity to advance further. We must never let a bad situation drive us to darkness, depression and negativity.
Each of us must try to get active for 30-45 minutes each day. There are many ways to get active indoors. Some of the ways will be through qigong, tai chi, yoga, meditation, home exercise types of equipment such as the treadmill, etc.
The lesser things you have, the more positive energy flows in. Are there things that need cleaning/clearing at your surroundings, closets, kitchen cabinets, etc.? When you are focused on cleaning/clearing, it will relieve you from the stress.
Focus on hobbies that increase your creativity. When your creativity levels are high, there is no place for stress and negativity. There are many online options available.
Spend more time with the plants and feel connected and grounded to nature. Some things you can consider is to grow a new type of plant, repot an existing plant or redecorating your garden space.
Are you feeling angry and stressed? You can always write out your thoughts and feelings in a journal. By doing that, not only you are releasing all anxiety to the paper, you are lightening the load from yourself.
With all the panic buying and stockpiling, this can be a bit challenging. Let’s be creative and create simple dishes or bake new items to try.
9. House Improvement Works
You can consider repainting your home or doing some simple home improvement works. And if you are intending to paint walls, why not use the stencils and get creative?
Do you still have old books stored away? It will be a good time to get them to re-read. If your nearby library is closed, you can also consider reading the electronic version of books.
12. Origami
A standard size paper of 75 x 75mm and you can make amazing crafts. It is a fantastic activity for the whole family. But do take note that origami paper comes in several sizes.
Daily, all of us are receiving news of the coronavirus and how the numbers are increasing around the world. While this is no easy news to digest, this is also not the time to discriminate against a group of people and/or country. In this difficult time, all of us must be calm and positive. We should make a point to turn all negative energy into positive energy through prayers, compassion and thoughtfulness.
Below are various articles on suggestions as to how we can better manage the current crisis. Let us all come together as one united family to assist each other in this difficult time.
Amid “darkness” and confusion over the virus, there is still hope…and every single hope begins with each one of us.
“There is a saying in Tibetan, ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.’ No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.” ~ Dalai Lama ~
“When you look at a field of dandelions, You can either see a hundred weeds or a hundred wishes”. ~ Unknown
Reflection by Esther
How we view life or a particular situation is entirely up to us. No one can change the way we think of something unless we ourselves allow it to happen. Rather than looking at something, someone or a situation as negative and a hindrance, why don’t we step aside and look at ways on how we can learn or benefit from it. We all have to remember that anything negative that is taking place in our life is not permanent. Everything will pass at ease if we allow our thoughts to change accordingly. We must always see every situation in our life an opportunity to advance further. We must never let a bad situation drive us to darkness, depression and negativity.
(This was part of series of “wisdom” handouts I created in the past for my retail customers and my students.)
My workplace is located at a University Campus. During late June and July, the scene of the University grounds changes to that of graduation, plenty of posing for photos in the graduation gowns, with friends and family, happy moments, etc. Graduation or other words, upgrading to the next level is not only restricted to students who are studying. It is also applicable to all of us too. In our daily life, we are always learning – learning from experiences, relationships, emotions, feelings and more. Therefore, should we not be graduating too? Yes! Definitely.
Just like how a student goes through his difficulties in his education term, we too experience that in our daily life. Each day, we become newer and wiser with our experiences. We also must celebrate our graduation from our good old self to our better self. Past mistakes, regrets and negative attributes – who does not have it? On and off we need to reflect upon our past self and congratulate our new self…
If we do this regularly, we would have plenty of reasons to love our new self and embrace new beginnings (or openings) in our life…
If you are looking for a different way to motivate and inspire yourself on a monthly basis, you can see whether monthly downloadable calendars will do the work for you. I have found the monthly calendars recently and am sharing with all. I do like it as each month there is a different theme.
It has been a long time since I posted something. Today I want to share on my favourite after lunch tea, Earl Grey. I know not all are tea fanatics or have special love for tea only. I do not drink coffee. I love tea. Not all teas are my favourite. Among the teas I consume, Earl Grey is one of my favourite, stress-reliever tea. It works well for me as “pick-me up” after a tired day or “wake-me up” while drowsy in sleep…
My first love with Earl Grey happened when I went to dine in at a restaurant and requested them for Green Tea. The restaurant did not have any green tea tea and they offered me as a substitute Earl Grey tea. I took it, as it was my habit to take tea after my lunch. What they offered me was Sir Thomas Lipton Earl Grey Tea. The first sip and I was in love with the tea. I started hunting for the same brand but it was hard to get that as usually that brand is sold to F&B outlets in bulk (I was told by one supermarket retail person). I bought Dilmah Earl Grey instead. It is serving me well. Lately, I wanted to try another brand Earl Grey and I bought Taylors of Harrogate. Taylors of Harrogate tea is fantastic too!
Quite some time back, I made my Taylors Dilmah Tea at work and one of my colleagues came around looking for the person who is drinking Earl Grey. The fragrance has floated quite a distance and she found me and asked me of the brand. Now, she loves Taylors of Harrogate Earl Grey.
There are plenty of articles and blog posts on Earl Grey benefits. I am just listing two posts on Earl Grey.
Of course, not all might feel the same way as I do about Earl Grey Tea. But if you do have a special love for Earl Grey Tea, welcome to my club! Even if you are not a tea lover, thank you for taking time to read this post. For those who have not tried Earl Grey before, perhaps you should make an effort to do so. Who knows you too might find a new love with Earl Grey tea?
Today I celebrate my entrance into this world (that is my birthday). I take this time to wish anyone celebrating their birthdays on this day and for the month of January. And of course, wishing “Happy Birthday” to myself too! 🙂
Most importantly, I thank everyone (including the “Big Boss”, the Creator) who has and will be part of my life always…
Why wait for the world or someone to celebrate your existence? Always be in the celebration mood – and what else is better than each one of us to celebrate ourselves, our purpose and our living? When we truly understand and appreciate ourselves and our existence it will be easy to find and see beauty all around us. Nothing in the world is perfect – including us. I do not believe in waiting for something to be “perfect” to celebrate. It is important to celebrate when there are imperfections too. After all, each one of us is unique. Each one of us possesses certain qualities due to various reasons, according to our life purpose and/or life path.
Therefore, do not wait for a special occasion to celebrate yourself…you can begin now and you can do it on a daily basis…
“A child is born on that day, and at that hour when the celestial rays are in mathematical harmony with his individual Karma. His horoscope is a challenging portrait, revealing his unalterable past and its probable future result. But the natal chart can be rightly interpreted only by men of intuitive wisdom – These are few…” ~ Sri Yukteswar Giri ~
Why do I compare my life to a dandelion? I am sure that there many other things out there than just dandelions? Yes! Definitely. A dandelion brings out feelings of freedom, emotional release and more. It is more like a “release” feature than to hold.
“A look at the life cycle of a dandelion including wind-aided seed dispersal. Once fertilisation has taken place the plant will produce seeds. Plants such as dandelions often use wind to transport seeds. Each dandelion seed comes with its own individual parachute. This device works very well and only a slight wind will carry seeds high into the sky. As there are so many adult plants in one place there is no space for the next generation of plants to grow. The dandelion therefore needs the wind to carry the seeds far away. New plants are formed and the whole process starts again.”
Website, “Flower Meaning.com” describes dandelions and its symbolism beautifully.
The common and humble Dandelion has a surprising amount of different meanings. The Dandelion means:
Healing from emotional pain and physical injury alike
Intelligence, especially in an emotional and spiritual sense
The warmth and power of the rising sun
Surviving through all challenges and difficulties
Long lasting happiness and youthful joy
Getting your wish fulfilled
Since the Dandelion can thrive in difficult conditions, it is no wonder that people say the flower symbolizes the ability to rise above life’s challenges.”
And no wonder I prefer dandelions!
I have encountered and survived many difficulties in my life. I am at my present stage of my life here because of my hard work. There were no short cuts offered to me. All was with hard work sprinkled with determination and courage. After surviving so many ordeals in my life, on and off I feel lack of self-worth and self-confidence. I realise feelings of self-love and self-worth has to continue in any person as long as one lives. You cannot put a brake on those. Over the years, there were many occasions when my determination and courage was tested. I managed to get through those. The one thing I failed in the past is to take good care of myself! I took care of others, their needs and their future – but I did not do anything for myself specially and thoughtfully. At the same time, I know that it is no use blaming others. The truth is that I should not blame anyone for the negative feelings or emotions I have created in my life.
A quote by Nicole Bailey-Williams puts it beautifully,
“I was a dandelion puff…Some saw the beauty in me and stooped quietly to admire my innocence. Others saw the potential of what I could do for them, so they uprooted me, seeking to shape me around their needs. They blew at my head, scattering my hair from the roots, changing me to suit them. Yet still others saw me as something that was unworthy and needed to be erased.”
I also found a beautiful YouTube video of the life cycle of a dandelion by Neil Bromhall. View it to enjoy the transformation.
In addition, there is more information on dandelions at Building Beautiful Souls website by Bernadette King
Blog by Esther Neela M. 