Mantra for Monday no. 79

A comfort zone is exactly that. A cocoon, a warm fuzzy blanket where nothing unexpected happens and everything goes to plan. There is nothing inherently wrong in enjoying these moments...in fact it could be argued you should enjoy and appreciate their simplicity and embrace them for what they are.

BUT

Also see beyond, the thoughts, feelings and fears that tickle away at the corners of you mind...

What if?

Life is a continual exploration both physical and mental, from the crazy moment we emerge from the warm bubble of our cocoon into the reality of the universe. We are born to live and grow....true life and true growth comes from pushing those boundaries, from taking a tentative step, through embracing and expanding our comfort zone and ultimately enriching our life and the lives of those within it.

What is a Mantra for Monday?

Silent Sunday no. 79

What is my Silent Sunday ?

Inspired in June

June =  half way through the year = crazy!

This month hasn't been so much different to last in terms of its craziness although at least the whole birthday thing is somewhat now in the distance (not that I am wishing it away, just the pressure that accompanied it). I still have a few plans on horizon and achievements to be fulfilled but I'm putting myself under that little bit less pressure now.

It's been an 'up and down' month emotionally, I'm not sure why but I seem to keep beating myself up about at about a lot of things which is frustrating, so I think a little time out is in order. Some kind of meditation retreat may be on the cards, if any of you ever been on a retreat please let me know how it went for you?

So the biggest achievements this month?  Apart from my Tough Mudder (which I have already talked enough about!!) My other little achievement actually happened just last week when I gave my first official presentation in the corporate world to talk about plant based nutrition and healthy baking to a small office group as part of their 'wellness month'. I gave a cooking demo (this recipe if your are curious) and a little talk about me and my blog and then handed out plenty of tasters that I'd prepared just before I arrived. It went really well and I had such a buzz for ages afterwards... I love it when people are so inspired to try something new!

So, now here is June…the best bits! 

Just kinda loved these apples dancing about the bowl

Yet to be blogged...but you will love it! (yes it involved quinoa)

My first fresh figs

Birthday trip in London...beautiful sunlight.

Lovely new snacks to try... choc coated pumpkin was the best!

still on my London trip- no need of explanation ;-)

Vegan buffet cafe with the family- yum!

Experiment with sweet polenta

Yet to try it out but excited to do so!

Choc mint 'smoosh' bars... part of my Wholeplus collection

Setting up my Father's Day card

Twist on the original breakfast cookie using quinoa!!

Loving the coconut water.

First home grown pak choi

I was just in time for vegan pizza day with a sweet version.

Tough Mudder...just emerged from the ice swim

Tough Mudder... Just crossed the finish line!

Come fine me find me here on Instagram!

Mantra for Monday no. 78

Success and failure are not mutually exclusive… You can't have one without the other. 

It is the same with happiness and sadness in life... To fully appreciate embrace, appreciate and encompass happiness you need to have experienced sadness. Life without its extremes would be no life at all.

The quote above came from Bounce, a book I was given as a present a couple of years ago as I began along this mindful journey. It holds a lot of truths for me since my own biggest downfall is the expectation of being to run before I can walk. I know this is crazy, maybe even arrogant to think that should be the case ...but my irrational mind often runs away with itself before I am able to to catch up and give it a good talking to. 

I am getting better at 'failing', I am happy to accept failure that opens new doors and direction for investigation, but the hardest sense of 'failure' is when that doorway is not immediately obvious and you don't know how to move forward. Take a step back and let the possibilities present themselves- that's the part I still need to work at!

What is a Mantra for Monday?

Silent Sunday no. 78

What is my Silent Sunday ?

Mantra for Monday no. 77

Last week when I felt life was getting a little crazy and things felt a little uncontrolled and overwhelming... I needed a sense of grounding so I wrote myself a set of simple rules for 'daily positivity'. Some might sound cliched but for me they are brief and meaningful and allow me time to stop, think and create a more realistic sense of perspective. (The tea quote was just a nice little line I saw and reminded me of my thoughts).

• start every day off with a smile from within
• think of one think to give thanks for last thing at night
• take apple cider vinegar each morning (I've just starting this habit as a trial)
• close you eyes and truly appreciate the first few sips of each cup of tea throughout the day
• feeling down? Do 5 minutes of any form of physical exercise
• boredom or nervous hunger? pour a mug of tea and then see how you feel.

What is a Mantra for Monday?

Silent Sunday no. 77

What is my Silent Sunday ?

Mantra for Monday no. 76

This is so very true to me and something that I come up against time and time again that stalls my action.

I remember a few years back how I wouldn't join the ladies squash club because I didn't think I was good enough at playing squash...yet all the time knowing that a squash club was exactly the place that you go to learn to be better. The irony is crazy yet I still stalled on joining for a good few months.

This is so closely related to the idea of the 'perfect moment' or 'when i'm good enough' and my drive to be as good as can be in all aspects of my life, as positive as that may seem often serves to prevent me from starting at all. 

mabtStarting means being open to failure and the potential manifestation of weakness...yet ultimately failure and weakness is the only true path to growth and strength.

What is a Mantra for Monday?

Silent Sunday no. 76

What is my Silent Sunday ?

Mantra for Monday no. 75

I. DID. IT!!   I completed my Tough Mudder...... smiling faces all round :-)

What surprises me most was that I'm not too sore afterwards...winner!  Ok, well my knees were pretty painful yesterday and I wrapped packs of peas round them for a few hours, but that was expected since I am prone to pain in my knees and there was an awful lot of trail running!! But where is the muscle soreness?...nowhere to be seen!

I'm so glad I achieved it. For me the mental challenge was the biggest feat I had to overcome, swathes of self doubt crept in right up until the day itself. In terms of fitness I was more than ready (most apparent in hindsight which has given me a big confidence boost) and if I'm honest I didn't find too many of the obstacles as physically challenging as I was anticipating....see how much I over analyse and big things up to epic proportions in my mind!!

Anyway, for giggles, here is a short video shot of me trying to climb 'Everest' the slippery half pipe wall...bear in mind I had just run 12 miles and 20 obstacles when this was shot... see the gritted teeth...then the splat....oh so so close ;-)

What is a Mantra for Monday?

Silent Sunday no.75

What is my Silent Sunday ?

Mantra for Monday no. 74

This weeks Mantra is a direct extract from Leo Babauta's recently published 'Little Book of Contentment' (Freely downloadable from Zen Habits). My search for 'contentment' is a continuous learning curve and this little book speaks many simple truths. Upon reading this book, my Mantra is one of the key concepts that I took away to work with, and one which I struggle with most.

"Instead of internalizing failure as an indicator that we are not trustworthy or not sufficient, we need to learn that failure is just an external event. Sure, we were involved with that event, but it’s like throwing a ball toward a hoop — if we miss, does that mean we are horrible people? No, it just means we need to adjust the way we throw the ball. Perhaps move closer. Maybe throw underhand if that’s more successful. Get a ladder. Make the hoop bigger. Find someone to help. There are no rules in this game — we can figure out ways to make ourselves succeed. Failure is simply an indicator that something in our method needs to be changed. "

What is a Mantra for Monday?

Silent Sunday no. 74

What is my Silent Sunday ?

Inspired in May

May has now come and gone. Crazy. It's all been a bit much really.

Whilst this month should have been one of the most positive in my life so far, it's all felt somewhat overwhelming which has marred my ability to enjoy the moments in between…the moments that mean everything!

This month saw my 30th birthday and also saw the launch of my Wholeplus business… two huge milestones on my life. My birthday came and went in barely the blink of an eye as I felt so engulfed in being 'busy', so much so that I have yet to formally celebrate it with my family.

All experiences are there to be learnt from and built upon, and I had a wakeup call and a few moments of realisation in that time. My goals for the forthcoming year? To learn the art of relaxation, the ability to take time out, and the reasoning not to sweat the small stuff.  

All is good. Life is good and I have everything I could ever want at my finger tips…it's all in my control. 

Run with it! Catch me if you can...

See you in June!

love the pineapple peeler and spiraliser

lots of quinoa cookies

milestone reached

old photo albums...the day I was 

the melon cake was fun!

my first ever tofu and GF pizza at a vegan restaurant

lots of bowls like this!

experiments with almond paste... 3 ingredient cookies

julienning to the max!

lots of watermelon concoctions

watermelon coconut coolers

so cute...my cousins new puppy!

My dad's camera collection made me smile 

My first attempt at rice paper wraps....hmmm need practice!

Hot air ballon on a beautiful early morning run

Absolutely loving my oatmeal bakes at the moment!!

Ha ha- more photo album perusal...I always loved cameras!

Birthday girl!!

This month in pictures. You can follow my Instagram here! (i'd love to see you)