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You may have noticed how over the last couple of weeks I've been a bit unwell and also a bit stressed. Well, this week things are finally getting better. The yoga for the lymphatic system helped; blowing bubbles helped; and this week some vivid dreams I had, all about the sea and big waves, have also helped.
Meaningful dreams
I've always been fascinated by dreams. Sometimes they're clearly completely random and have no meaning at all, yet at other times I'm sure our dreams are trying to tell us things. These dreams were trying to tell me something. I'm sure.
Madness
Or perhaps I'm going mad.
After all, I do like to talk to ducks; I spend hours carefully crafting pictures out of baked beans; I try to grow my thoughts and ideas by planting pieces of paper; I've started to align my life with the phases of the moon, and more recently I've taken to having conversations with myself in the mirror.
On reflection, it's entirely possible that I could be going mad...
Learning to go with the flow of life
I spent a good couple of days this week, pondering over my dreams about the sea and browsing dream-interpretation websites for ideas and inspiration, before eventually stumbling upon a piece of writing on medium.com - Living with ease: your way out the the daily struggle.
The piece of writing is all about how life is a continuous flow of events, which we ultimately have no control over. Yet we want so badly to control everything in our lives - and it is this need for control which is the source of our fears and anxieties, not the actual events themselves.
The symbolism in my dreams became clear to me after reading this.
I believe my dreams were telling me that I need to stop worrying, fearing and thinking about things that are beyond my control anyway. I need to instead embrace the sea and those big waves, allowing myself to be taken by the flow of life, trusting that those waves know where to take me. Trusting that I can just sit back and enjoy the ride - a bit like the zen dog in the picture below.
The wondrous wisdom of Edward Monkton
The zen dog picture and quote above is a creation from the amazing mind of Edward Monkton. I love his stuff. His artwork is always quirky and child-like, yet behind the simple appearance often lies a deeply insightful piece of wisdom.
Below is another of my favourite Edward Monkton quotes, which also fits with the theme of 'going with the flow of life' -
The next Edward Monkton creation I want to share is not quite in line with the 'going with the flow' theme - but I want to share it anyway. Because it's brilliant. It's a 5 minute uplifting story about a pig who decides he wants to be happy.
(With all of the crazy and depressing things going on in the world at the moment, it's good to hear a story about a pig, who just wants to be happy!)
The Pig of Happiness
by Edward Monkton
The Pig of Happiness - by Edward Monkton
You shall be free indeed...
Finally, I'd like to share one more quote I was reminded of this week. It's from a small book that I bought when I was about 12 years old from a gift shop in my local town. I've been carrying this book with me almost everywhere I go for the past 25 years or so now. It's my 'lucky' book! The book is Words on Strength and Perseverance and it's a collection of quotes compiled by Helen Exley.
The quote I was reminded of was this one -
"You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want or grief. But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound" - Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931).
The rest of the week
After all of the time I spent musing over my dreams and contemplating over inspirational quotes this week, I didn't have a huge amount of time for a lot else. I did do my usual two PT sessions though, as well as some yoga in the evenings and some short runs in the mornings.
Thankfully my energy levels - which have been massively depleted recently, due to all of the stress and illness - have been gradually picking up again this week. Next week I should be back to full energy and ready to pick up the pace again with the exercising and personal training sessions!
Anxiety tools and resources
If like me, you need to learn to relax, let go and trust in the flow of life, then you may be interested in this free printable PDF list of 39 positive affirmations for anxiety:
Lisa
The same 39 affirmations for anxiety are also available as a printable set of positive affirmation cards:
Lisa
Weekly food diary
This week I have been eating...
Monday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk One cup of black coffee.
Snack: None today.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's tandoori salmon with mixed vegetables.
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. A banana.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's baharat chickpeas, apricot & parsley rice.
Snack: A small bowl of muesli with oat milk.
Tuesday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk Two cups of black coffee.
Snack: One piece of brown toast with butter and marmite.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's baharat chickpeas, apricot & parsley rice.
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. A banana.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's Chicken, mango and lentils with tikka drizzle.
Snack: A small bowl of muesli with oat milk.
Wednesday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk Two cups of black coffee.
Snack: Two boiled eggs with some spinach.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's baharat chickpeas, apricot & parsley rice.
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. A banana. One piece of brown toast with butter and marmite.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's Chicken, mango and lentils with tikka drizzle.
Snack: A small bowl of muesli with oat milk.
Thursday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk Two cups of black coffee.
Snack: Two boiled eggs with some spinach.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's baharat chickpeas, apricot & parsley rice.
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. A banana. One piece of brown toast with butter and marmite.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's crispy chicken, sweetcorn and brown rice.
Snack: A small bowl of muesli with oat milk.
Friday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk One cup of black coffee.
Snack: None today.
Lunch: Two scrambled eggs on one piece of brown, buttered toast, with spinach.
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. A banana.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's crispy chicken, sweetcorn and brown rice.
Snack: A small bowl of muesli with oat milk.
Saturday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk Two or three cups of black coffee throughout the morning.
Snack: None today.
Lunch: Three scrambled eggs on one piece of brown, buttered toast, with spinach.
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. A banana.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's turkey meatballs with roasted veg penne.
Snack: A small bowl of muesli with oat milk.
Sunday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk One cup of black coffee.
Snack: None today.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's Mexican pinto beans and salsa stuffed avocado (one third of a two portion recipe).
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. A bowl of greek yoghurt, with a handful of raspberries and two spoonfuls of grain free granola mix.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's turkey meatballs with roasted veg penne.
Snack: A small bowl of muesli with oat milk.
1. Baharat chickpeas, apricot & parsley rice 2. Chicken, mango & lentils with tikka drizzle 3. Turkey meatballs with roasted veg penne 4. Crispy chicken, sweetcorn & brown rice
Up next: my weight loss journey week 32
Lisa
