Wild Swim Climping - May 2019

I last took to the water back at the end of October 2018, in the slightly chilly waters of Devon.  This year's first swim happened later than I've ever swum before; I'm usually in sometime in April or at least the beginning of May, but for some reason this year, I just didn't get my act together.

It was a warm day, with a bustling breeze, and as is often the case, although inland there were clear blue skies, down on the south coast, there was a slight haze, as if someone was gently blowing smoke across the sun.  As usual, the beach was busier just by the car park, but a ten minute walk along the path and we had an entire stretch to ourselves.  The tide was out at it's furthest point and was on the turn. the beach stretched out before me like a lunar landscape, ripples of white sand trailing like dancing ribbons between the groynes. I took off my shoes and picked my way across the pebbles, then onto the sand, heading for the nearest tidal pool.  Warm and soft.  Hard, compact sand.  Gently the waves picked at my toes, scaling my foot with each successive roll.  Breathe.  Ions.  Happiness.

I lay on the sand for a while, just watching the waves curling in on themselves, the breeze creating a lace-edged trim as each wave hit the sand.  No putting it off any longer and worried that the cold water would defeat me, I just catapulted myself into the water, running into the ankle-high waves, and nearly tripping over, hopping and stuttering over unseen rocks beneath the surface.  It wasn't quite the elegant entrance I'd been dreaming of!!!  Moving along the beach I found a rock free patch and once I was knee high, I just dunked myself in.  It was cold, but not that breath holding, ouch inducing cold that usually marks my first swim of the year.  I struck out for the horizon, turning after a few strokes to look back at the beach.  Empty apart from a dog walker.  Lying on my back, my feet to the sky, I watched the light bounce and careen off the breaking waves.  Above, a lone seagull called and soared, curious as to what was happening below.  I can lie floating quite happily for some time, but the tips of my fingers began to go numb, so I struck out for the shore.  I'm always sad to walk away from a swim, the antidote of course, is to plan the next one.  The endorphin high from a wild open water swim is addictive.  The only cure is more of the same.

Reasons to be Cheerful

 

I've been doing my 'Reasons to be Cheerful' posts for a while now and thought I'd explain where they came from. There has been some research done in America that reveals that if we spend just a few minutes at the end of the day reflecting on things that have gone well, on the positive aspects of the day, rather than the negative, then we deal better in the long term with stress and anxiety.
They learned from their research that thinking about positive events in a systematic way can be healthy and suggest that instead of ruminating about negative things, we try to ‘savour’ - relive, enjoy, and share - the positive events of your day.

It’s a habit that doesn’t come naturally however, warn the experts. As humans, an evolutionary survival mechanism leads us to instinctively pay closer attention to all things negative - potential risks and threats.

But the ‘three good things’ intervention can help to overcome that, say Bono and Glomb, who conducted an experiment to prove the effects of the rule. “After three weeks, stress levels and mental and physical complaints declined by small but significant amounts. Moreover, on days when participants focused on good things, they were better able to switch off stressful job-related thoughts in the evening at home.”

“Sharing positive events with others creates connections between people and bonds them with one another, further reducing evening stress,” add the researchers.

“Ultimately, this also improves sleep, which our ongoing research suggests leads to greater alertness and better mood - which in turn leads to more positive things happening the next day.”
Participants in the study also noted that they felt more productive and creative at work after trying out the ‘three good things’ rule.

So - with all these good reasons to focus on the positive, what's stopping you....? From the very small things to the big events, relish them all.   Here's my three things from last weekend...

                      

1.  The late afternoon sunshine slanting across the garden.  The soil warm from the day's rays, the raspberries plump and round, sliding easily from their anchor.  The warm, sharp explosion of taste in my mouth and a memory that is awakened by the taste and smell - I'm a small child in my Grandad's allotment, sneaking raspberries from the canes and eating them quietly in his warm, wood smelling shed. There is a moment, fleeting, of pure unadulterated childlike happiness.

2. To pick the last of the summer produce.  Reaching high up into the branches of the fig tree, feeling the soft fruit under my fingers; twisting the ripe apples from their boughs and feeling their comforting heavy weight in my hands.

3.  The waves on the pebbles, swooshing and cackling, back and forth.  The sun, warm on my face and limbs.

                     

Mulberry's Spring Campaign

Sigh...Fashion Week has yet again highlighted one of my favourite designers - Mulberry.  Their new Spring collection has me once again, drooling.  The other thing that I love is their new ad with Cressida Bonas.  It makes me feel happy.  It's spring-like and I love it.  Here it is...

Happy Monday everyone...

Reasons to be Cheerful

 

1. Driving to work, tired and slightly dreading the very long day I knew I had ahead; as I turned the corner towards the common to see low-lying mist shrouding the grass.  The early morning sun perforated it like tiny stars and it was so breathtakingly beautiful I was instantly glad I had been out early enough to catch it, like a very unexpected gift.

2.  During a Sunday afternoon ramble, to find not just ONE haul of goodies, but TWO!  Sweet, sweet blackberries from the hedgerow that popped satisfyingly with juice when you bit into them, and the shiniest, most polished conkers I've managed to find for years; they were dropping off the tree to my feet as I walked by.

3.  To light a candle that I'd forgotten I had!  Bought in the summer along with a perfume with the same scent, once lit it instantly transported me back to those lazy, hot days in the South of France.

Being Mindful

Mindful: (adjective) attentive, always heedful

It's been a buzz word for a while now, mindfulness. I first came across the concept of 'mindfulness' a few years ago when I was looking for a way to relax and switch off; in the course of that search I took a meditation class with a wonderful Buddhist monk.  Amongst other things, he taught me to look at the moment; to stop looking ahead, or indeed behind and back, and to be completely focused on the moment; to pay attention to the now.  Sometimes easier said than done, but it's a practice that enhances the joy of the here and now.  I've been reminded of the need to be mindful in this past week as my family received some fairly devastating news and as I process and digest this news I'm trying not to race ahead, catastrophising and pre-empting a situation that may not arise.  Again easier said than done.  However, in the face of a situation that cannot be erased and with the future of someone I love so open to uncertainty, I find myself needing to be mindful.  Wanting to be mindful. Needing to remind myself that the only moment that counts is the now.  Not my fears for the future, but the pleasures of the present;  for each moment is just that - a gift, a present, and we should not dare to waste it. 

So, with this thought in mind, during the last few days I've been taking care to be present in the moment and to find happiness in the small things, the small moments;  sharing laughter and meals with close friends; the beauty of flowers growing in my garden; warm comforting baths.  For every moment that brings sadness, there is the equivalent moment of joy and pleasure.    These are some of the things that have given me pleasure in my more heedful moments this week:

{hydrangeas, a gift from a friend; sweet smelling roses from my garden}

{aromatherapy candle, just lighting it each night feels like a mindful moment}

"The truth is my love
that days of sadness will come,
but I’ll come through them."  

Haiku, Tyler Knott Gregson

What do you do when life hits you with a curve-ball?  How do you stay in the moment?  I'd love to hear...

Sunshine and happiness

They say it's the small things that matter.. Today these small things are tipping my happiness scales..

1. Hot sun warming my tired limbs

2. The grasses in the meadow bending and nodding happily in the breeze

3. The smell of suncream reminding me of holidays past