Take Time

How often do you take time to be thoughtful and quiet?

To breathe and be in nature?

Do you start your day slowly, even when busy? 

We like to spend our mornings gently waking - reading to each other, writing, sometimes singing, making breakfast and taking time to leisurely eat and digest our food before we begin our day.

We choose to live in the slow lane, from where we observe others rushing through their days, often stressed and with a need to fill every moment doing what they consider to be meaningful. 

We feel no guilt in being lazy and happily sit around chatting instead of doing what we loosely planned to do. You may think it's procrastination, but we prefer to think of it as "going with the flow". There is more to life than filling your days with stuff, working hard, keeping up with your neighbours and it's not until you get off that treadmill that you can see for yourself just how great life can be.

Part of the process for us in slowing down was to write more, although it wasn't something we did intentionally, it just happened. We have both always enjoyed writing and have kept numerous notebooks full of all sorts of weird and wonderful lists, drawings, recipes and snippets of our family life.

At the moment, we have several notebooks on the go, all for different purposes...there are to-do lists, gratitude lists, quotes, books, films and music to remember. As well as plans, ideas, dreams and even short stories. It all gives us so much joy.

We realise that not everyone is into this kind of stuff, but we do know taking the time to write or by keeping a journal, makes a big difference to your life. From our experience here at Cotna, it seems a lot of the young volunteers are already into journaling and we love it!

A good place to start if you feel the need to slow down would be with Mind Cards...

 

Lili Sinclair-Williams is a Cognitive Hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner.

She has created her LSW Mind Cards to help folks become more mindful of thoughts and feelings, encouraging people to focus on the present and achieve a positive outlook. 

How to use:

Each day select a card at random and take the action stated on the card. Building the habit of making positive choices each day will help you lead a more fulfilling and happier life.

What you get:

45 individually designed cards with round corners presented in a beautiful lidded box. The cards are split across the following 5 categories:

Kindness - Random acts of kindness not only help to boost your mood but can also make the recipients' day. Each Kindness card has a different action you can take designed to offer kindness towards the outside world.

Ritual - Building rituals into your daily life can be incredibly beneficial to your wellbeing. They can help you to slow down and connect with your actions in a world in which we are so used to racing through everything we do. Each Ritual card has a different short activity which can be turned into a ritual that can be incorporated into your daily routine.

Gratitude - Make time to stop and appreciate what makes you happy. Gratitude cards will remind you to look out for the little things daily in order to create greater overall happiness. Each card holds a different gratitude exercise to action daily.

Journal - Journalling is an incredibly powerful way to reflect on how you are living and what you could be doing differently to be more fulfilled. The Journal cards offer up a number of questions to help you dig deep and figure out what changes you might need to make, if any. When the same card is selected a second time, think about whether you can answer the question in the same way or what might have changed in your life that affects a new answer.

Reflection - Take 10 minutes of your day to reflect on the quote on your chosen card. Focus on how they apply to your life in the present and how you can use the meaning behind the words to better yourself and your life. When the same card is selected a second time, reflect on any changes you might have in your response dependent on where you are in the present moment.

We take notebooks with us wherever we go.

There is something so peaceful in writing your thoughts down and taking time to re-read them.

Click on this link if you would like to receive the Relaxation Download for free with your purchase of Mind Cards.

Use the discount code: freelaxation

Enjoy!

Kay and Sime xx