Appreciation of now, and taking it all in.

Last night I dreamt about my Mum.  I don't often dream about her, but today I realised it's 22 years since she died in July 1993 at just 54 years old.
In my dream she was lying in bed talking to me, she said her arms were aching.  I asked her why? She said, "I have no one to hold.  Arms were meant to wrap around those you love."
I woke up and  though I was glad to have "seen" her I was sad that her arms ached.
Yesterday I spoke to Andrew about wanting to walk long distances, using my legs to walk miles and miles to experience the landscape and natural world on foot as that is what legs are for!
And then there's my hands...
I love to feel the texture of  bark on trees, I love to feel the cool earth on my hands as I pull the weeds from my veggie patch and I love the feeling of wool running through my fingers against the cool, metal seriousness of my crochet hook.
Our limbs, our eyes, our sense of smell, taste and touch, paying attention to their experiences is crucial to our well-being.  The more technological and "advanced" we become the further away we get from being human in the most fundamental and in my mind crucial of ways.
I'm not anti-advancements in science and technology, but we should make time for the basics, and actually what I feel is the most important aspects of being human.
To feel and be present in the world,  to just walk in nature without multi-tasking.   Taking in all that surrounds you and reminding yourself that this is it so make the most of appreciating and being part of the natural world surrounding you. Have a wonderful Friday everyone!  Love, Kathleen x
"To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour." - From Auguries of Innocence by William Blake

Laughter, life and the great outdoors.

For those who know me well it won't be news to read that humour plays a big part in my life - I believe laughter is an essential aspect of being human.  Every day I observe my life trundling along in all it's wondrous, fluctuating, madness and in between the serious stuff I sneak a peek at the more colourful, bizarre and uplifting opportunities for laughter, joy and appreciation of all that life has to offer.
Many comedians use their observations of the world to share their humorous view of all that surrounds them. But how long can this continue when we're not looking up any more?
Walking along the street,  or in the hairdressers, at the cinema for goodness sake and on the bus, no matter where I go I view the tops of heads. Seriously, I'm becoming an expert in trichology.
The studying of scalps, hair lines and hats is not because I'm abnormally tall for a 47 year old woman, but with heads tilted forward and the important job of checking phones now apparently an option of life or death , everyone and their dog (almost) has forgotten to look up and make eye contact with their fellow human. We can share our concerns, our laughter and joy with a passer by with a smile or a glance no words exchanged as we simply observe the same scenarios and share the experience of being in the same place at the same time.
Sadly this is something of a rarity these days. We're distracted by someone sending us a photo from 1000 miles away, when right in front of us a red squirrel has leapt and scurried across our path, or as the sun sets on our horizon we miss it as we're trawling through the filtered images by our, "friend" on Instagram.
This weekend friends spoke to me about the Scottish poet, songwriter and humorist Ivor Cutler (1923-2006) as they were sure I'd appreciate his work - and they were right!
His humour is so clever.
It can be dark at times (as is life) but his ability to observe his world back then, mixed with a tad of creative license is nothing short of genius.  I'm sure his humour will appeal to many, none more than those brought up in rural Scotland from the 40's onwards.
The flash backs to a life lived free from the intrusive clutter of today's TV's/iphones/smart phones and all things computery.
Bliss!
Look up from your computer screens and smart phones and let the outside world inspire you creatively today!  Before you do...GOOGLE Ivor Cutler and have a listen to some of his work!
"Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh."  W. H. Auden

Expressing yourself out of depression

Musicians express themselves through their music, artists with their brush strokes, writers craft and weave their words to release their emotional bundle; what about you?
How do you share with your loved ones and the world what you're really feeling? Who do you share your emotional truths with?  Who hears the plight of your broken heart as it reluctantly beats clinging onto a sadness long ago buried away from the sight of others?
When I hear the expression,
"I suffer from bouts of depression."  I think, how wonderfully intelligent we are -  isn't it fantastic that our body and mind recognises something isn't right, and gives us the, "nudge" that now is the time to address this horrible feeling?
The first place to start is by simply speaking up - admitting to yourself first and then sharing with others who love and care about you that you're not feeling good is the most important first step.
Only then can you start your journey back from depression.
So then, why not quietly make the decision today to stop putting a brave face on it and start being more honest about all that you're feeling?  And by this I mean, the good feelings, the bad and the ugly!  We are all capable of experiencing the whole spectrum of emotions, but how many of us are prepared to express the whole range?!  Culturally it's not encouraged to be emotionally honest, but our bodies know differently - burying our feelings makes us unwell.  Make a start on constructively expressing your feelings today and know that by doing so you're doing yourself a great favour - you might just find yourself emerging from that tunnel of depression far sooner than you'd anticipated.
With love,
Kathleen x
“Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.” ― Sigmund Freud