Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts

09/05/2022

What is missing from your life?

Hi, Thinking Out Loud here :D

Welcome to Mindful Monday Week 15

Here is the link for this week's playlist. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7vEyE5XVCyjdjRSSLw5AWi?si=652213005345471b&pt=40db776b8e3204534e5b4e96aa145dbb

I hope you enjoy listening to it whilst you read, and I hope you find the music relaxing.

If an ad plays during listening to the playlist, please stop reading and wait for the playlist to play again. Hopefully, the playlist will be timed for you to read to the end of this blog post, with maybe one song running over after reading.

Get a drink, maybe even a snack, and find a comfy seat so you can relax. Let go of all worries and enjoy the next five deep breaths. If you have breathing problems, please take an extra mindful moment here. For those joining me in the breathing exercise, breathe out.

Now time for your first deep breath; take one deep breath in through your nose for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. breath out through your mouth for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1.. Breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. And out through for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. Breathe in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. And out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. two more to go; breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. And out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. last one deep breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. And out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. now go back to your regular breathing pattern. I hope you now feel calm and relaxed.

For today's Mindful Monday, I have a question for you.

What is missing from your life?

The answer for everyone will be different. Some might be positive answers, and some might not be; there is no correct or wrong answer to this question. How you answer is based on you and no one else. So I expect no two answers to be the same. That's why I like this question, along with it making us think about what we have and what we maybe don't have.

I haven’t asked this question to make anyone feel sad; so I am sorry in advance if this question has stirred up some sadness; that isn’t my intention.

Here are some ideas of what might be missing.

For some, the thing that is missing might be a job, relationship, money, family members, friends, a holiday, a car, a house of your own, something that you’ve seen in a shop that you can’t stop thinking about and wish you had bought it when you first saw it.

The list is endless, and the possibilities of things that are missing are plenty, but I want you to focus on one thing that is missing. Please try to make your thoughts as positive as possible; I want the missing thing to bring you happiness, joy, and so much love. Say it first to yourself, then say it out loud, and let it be heard.

For me, a big thing that is missing is more Patreons; I would love to grow my platform, to create more blogs like this along with different ones, to let more people see my writing, ultimately to reach more people, and to be at the stage where I can self publish. I hope to do that with the help of Patreon and my Patrons, which I hope is you who is reading this post.

I want to grow what I’m able to do, I want to expand, and I want to learn as I go. I also don’t want to do just one type of writing; I don’t want to be fitted into one typecast, genre or platform.

I see Patreon as a good thing that will continue to grow my skills I know will develop the more I do this. However, I’m not sure how to grow my Patreon other than what I already do, which is talking about it on my socials which seems to not be working.

If you have any suggestions or know how I can grow my Patreon, please let me know; any help is gratefully accepted. While I’m here for those reading this blog on Thinking Out Loud, here is the link for my Patreon page, patreon.com/freyaAhatfield I have different tiers; hopefully, there is a price range that suits everyone.

Now for you reading this blog post, let's see if we can help you get that thing that might be missing from your life. So please leave a comment below about what is missing from your life and hopefully as a community, I hope we can help you find that thing that is missing.

You might be someone who doesn't have anything missing, in which case that is amazing. I am happy that you have everything you need in life, and I can’t wait to be that settled in my career and personal life. I applaud you for getting to this stage of life; it truly is something most of us dream about being able to achieve.

Let's finish with a three-deep breath breather.

Take one deep breath in through your nose for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. breath out through your mouth for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. and out for five 1..2..3..4..5..  hold for 1.. final breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. last breath out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. no hold here you can now go back to your regular breathing pattern.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this week's Mindful Monday. I really do appreciate everyone who takes the time to read them and listens to what I have to say.

Love always

Thinking Out Loud xx :D

Whatever happens, is meant to be.

25/04/2022

Confidence

Hi, Thinking out loud here.

Welcome to Mindful Monday, week 13

Here is the link for this week's playlist. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6VWdEChsm6hUeQ4FvYlk7H?si=7d6bbd5cbad04265&pt=164c91da2fa84f28b56ce5886d52eea6 I hope you enjoy listening along to it whilst you read, I hope you find the music relaxing. If an ad plays while listening to the playlist, please stop reading and wait for the playlist to play again; hopefully, the playlist will be timed for you reading to the end of this blog post, with maybe one song running over after you have finished reading.

A little side note for today’s post, the playlist this week may not be timed exactly to this post as I have added a little extra to the end, which I haven’t added music for, but please, if you wish, let whatever music continues to play at the end of the playlist, as that will be what you are meant to listen to whilst reading the ending of today's post.

Get a drink, maybe even a snack, and find a comfy seat so you can relax. Let go of all worries and enjoy the next five deep breaths. If you have breathing problems, please take an extra mindful moment here. For those joining me in the breathing exercise, breathe out.

Now time for your first deep breath; take one deep breath in through your nose for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. breath out through your mouth for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1.. Breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. And out through for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. Breathe in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. And out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. two more to go; breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. And out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. last one deep breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. And out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. now go back to your regular breathing pattern. I hope you now feel calm and relaxed.

Confidence

By Freya A Hatfield

Confidence runs through your body,

It floods your veins,

your thoughts,

It encompasses who you are.

Confidence is at the centre of everything we do

It pushes us forwards

Even when we are scared,

It shows us what we are capable of doing

Even when we think we can’t.

Confidence makes us

Bold,

Loud,

Strong,

Stubborn,

Proud,

Brave,

And courageous,

It makes us who we are.

Confidence isn’t always easily found,

So stand tall,

Hold your ground,

And it will always find you,

No matter where you are or what you are doing,

Confidence will always be waiting,

You might think the time isn’t right,

But confidence never waits for time to be on its side,

And neither should you,

There is no better time than right now,

So grab your confidence and fly high,

Don’t let anything or anyone stand in your way,

For you are confidence.

Let's finish with a three-deep breath breather.

Take one deep breath in through your nose for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. breath out through your mouth for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. and out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. final breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. last breath out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. no hold here you can now go back to your regular breathing pattern.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this week's Mindful Monday. I really do appreciate everyone who takes the time to read them and listens to what I have to say.

Love always

Thinking Out Loud xx :D

Be proud, be confident, be you.

This is where the playlist will be almost finished, hopefully, the last song will be coming up to the final few seconds. Again please, if you wish to keep whatever plays next going, do so; also, if you wish to read the rest of this post in silence, that is absolutely fine.

I’m ending this week's blog post differently than my other posts. As it is Anzac Day today in New Zealand and Australia. I would like to take some time to think and remember all of those who fought in WWI and WWII. Who left loved ones and their lives behind, so they could fight for what they hoped and thought would bring a better life, despite not knowing the outcome.

They didn’t know how long they would be away or even if they would be lucky enough to come back home. Their families watched them go, waved goodbye and held on to hope. Some were lucky, but many weren't. Most families had multiple members go to war, and some even fought in both. Husbands, fathers, uncles, brothers, sons, wives, mothers, aunties, sisters, and daughters all helped, not to mention the animals who helped get them from one destination to another. Especially those animals that ultimately lost their lives to war.

Today could be seen as a sad day for families who still mourn the loss of loved ones they never got to meet or for loved ones who remembered the wars so vividly, for those who spoke about it, for those who couldn’t, for those who are no longer with us, and for those last few who were children of the war.

Alternatively, it could be seen as a happy day as we haven’t forgotten any of these people, we may not know them all by name, but the thought of them still remains, what they sacrificed, what they ultimately paid the price with their life, is still very much remembered, treasured, and will never be forgotten; therefore, they intern will never be forgotten.

As these soldiers, nurses, vets and animals all headed off to war, I think they would have hoped that future generations would learn that wars would end their grandparents' and great-grandparents' present and not carry on into our present and future. It might just be human nature or that last bit of wild animal instinct that boils up in some of us.

We see it in other parts of the animal kingdom; fights start, and in turn, little wars between different packs occur. The only difference is that they use just what they have on their bodies, no weapons as such, nothing ‘man made’ instead, it’s natural animal evolution.

So I guess what I’m saying is that we need to learn from them, remember not to repeat history, and learn that no good comes from fighting or from wars. Everyone talks and no one listens. We all want the same things freedom, no fighting, yet it creates more fighting, a safer place to live, yet it becomes unsafe.

If history has taught me anything, it is this. People in power, governments more so, will talk till the cows come home, but when it comes to listening, it’s like they have all of a sudden gone deaf. I want us as a globe to remember what these soldiers were fighting for, why they fought, and who they fought for, which ultimately was for a better future.

For a second, put aside the politics, the big egos that, dare I say, were beyond bruised. At the heart of the wars were families, loved ones, children, lives that were taken far too soon, and even some family generations being lost to war. What good did that bring, apart from pain and heartache?

I can’t deny the fact that we will remember them, we will not forget what they fought for, and we should never repeat what their present was, as it doesn’t have to become ours.

To the loved ones past and present, my heart is with you today. I give you strength as you remember those loved ones every day, and I give you pride for knowing how courageous and strong they must have been.

Again thank you for reading this post.

Love Thinking Out Loud

We will remember them, lest we forget.

18/04/2022

Mindful Monday Week 12

Success

Hi, Thinking out loud here.

Welcome to Mindful Monday, week 12

Here is the link for this week's playlist. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0kAyG4nYAv2L8aAN9LrLva?si=ad5272f1f9aa4a42 I hope you enjoy listening along to it whilst you read, and I hope you find the music relaxing. If an ad plays during listening to the playlist, please just pause where you are reading and wait for the playlist to play again, as hopefully the playlist will be timed for you reading to the end of this blog post, with maybe one song running over after you have finished reading.

Success is made in many ways. For some people, it’s making loads of money; for others, it’s simply getting out of bed in the morning, and for many, it’s making ends meet to put a roof over their family and food on the table. When I look at success like this, I notice a few differences, the first one being the people making a lot of money. I think we can all agree that that seems pretty successful. I think we would all like to have a lot of money and be comfy knowing that life will be ok. I know there will be that lingering thought, maybe of knowing it could all be gone at some point, but while it lasts, it’s a pretty good success.

The next is those who find it hard to get out of bed, something many of us take for granted. Still, for some, it can seem like climbing a mountain, not made easy by things they are battling telling them to stay, not to bother getting up, but they do get up despite every bone, muscle and thought in their body wanting and urging them to stay in bed. For them getting out of bed might be the only thing they do that day, and that for them will be a considerable achievement and a massive success. For me and maybe you, it’s as easy as turning on and off a light switch (though dare I say, some winter mornings, I would happily stay in bed until it’s warmer.)

Then we have what I think I can safely say is the majority of people who are just making enough to survive to pay bills, rent, a mortgage and have just enough left over for food. Every bit of that is a success. Maybe some weeks or months, there might be a bit extra money leftover, but it may not be much, but it is an added extra bit of success. This kind of success can be both easy and hard.

If you are doing something you love, then the achievements you make become their own version of being successful. It can be harder to see those small moments if you are doing something just to get by. Other people might see them, but we don’t as ourselves living that life. If this is you, I want you to step back for a moment, look at where you are, how you have got here, and all the things you have achieved up to this point in your life, even if you have to think right back to younger years.

In fact, I want everyone to take a step back from looking at what's happening right now in your life. Look at everything you have done, from learning to walk, talk, dress and wash yourself to being able to feed yourself. Look at you getting through school, even the hard days you got through them, you become stronger, look at high school, if you went on to further education, or went straight into a job, look at what you achieved. So many people will look at your life and wish they’d done theirs as you did with yours.

Now look at you as you are; you are still here; there might have been moments where you thought, I can’t do this anymore, what am I working for, what am I living for. But look at you; you’ve done some pretty amazing things in your life that no one else but you did. No one has done this life thing the way you have done it; that is so successful of you.

Be proud of yourself for what you've done, for what you continue to do. Everything you achieve is a success. Your breathing, your heart is beating, and you are living. If you have bigger plans than what you are currently living, start living your dreams, don’t wait for the perfect time. It is never more perfect to start than right now, so stop waiting and start living your dream.

If you are already living your dream, don’t stop, don’t take it for granted and always be thankful for the success you have and that you have made. There will always be people watching you, wishing that they could be living your life. Show them that it’s possible to live the life you live. But don’t fool them into it being easy, as we all know that it takes a lot of work and time to get to where you are.

If we show and share our success, teach and let people learn from us, the world, I think, would be a much kinder place. A lighter and happier place, teaching people that anything in this life is possible, that we don’t have to work for big company giants, we can work for ourselves, we don’t have to work for the government. We can decide our own hours; we can determine when we have our weekend, when we go on holiday, or when we want a week off here and there because we can, we don’t have to let a boss know or book in time not to be working. Success to me is, having your own hours and being your own boss; this is my meaning of success, and this is my dream and what I’m working towards.

I know you will have your version of success, I would love for you to share your success(es) in the comments and share what you are working towards, no matter how big or small they may seem to you. To anyone reading them, they could be that thing that sparks what they have wanted to do but been putting off.

Please know that no success is too small or big. If you managed to get out of bed, I want to celebrate that with you. If you’ve just made another million, I want to celebrate that with you. Or if you’ve been able to pay rent, your mortgage, bills and put food on the table, I want to celebrate that with you. Whatever you have achieved this year, the past month, week or day, I want to celebrate every bit of that success with you because it all deserves to be celebrated. And always celebrate those little wins that get you through every day.

Let's finish with a three-deep breath breather.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this week's Mindful Monday. I really do appreciate everyone who takes the time to read them and listens to what I have to say.

Love always

Thinking Out Loud xx :D

Let your success grow daily, and celebrate every little win you achieve.

11/04/2022

Mindful Monday Week 11

Enough

Hi, Thinking Out Loud here :D

Welcome to Mindful Monday Week 11

Here is the link for this week’s playlist. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/27QOy94eYMW2DSWtyyJTSs?si=0d5004ad01df4283 I hope you enjoy this listen along whilst you are reading. A little reminder that if an ad plays for those of us who don’t have Spotify premium, please pause reading and wait for the ad to finish as I try to time the playlist to the blog post.

This week is a bit of a long post.

Get a drink, maybe even a snack, and find a comfy seat to relax. Let go of all worries and enjoy the next five deep breaths. If you have breathing problems, please take an extra mindful moment here. For those joining me in the breathing exercise, breathe out.

Over the years, I have learned that some people will always try to make you feel like you aren’t enough for one reason or another. Still, the thing to know is that they are probably insecure about themselves, so to make them feel better, they are projecting that onto other people, but know that you are and will always be enough. So whether other people think you are or not, you believe in yourself, and you believe that you are enough because I also believe that you are enough.

I have had a few instances where people have made me feel like I wasn’t enough as being just who I was, but those moments have taught me that I am enough as I am, and I don’t need to change or be cooler. Here are a few of those memories. I don’t hold on to them anymore, but I am using them as an example for today’s blog post.

I was probably around the age of nine going on ten when a friend told me that another friend said I wasn’t cool enough to have a designer Jane Norman bag (which was the bee’s knees in the early 2000s) like every other girl in my year group had the bag. For a second, it made me feel sad and like I wasn’t enough (I must add she wasn’t a popular girl, we didn’t have popular groups at my primary school.) But then I realised pretty quickly that I didn’t actually care what my friend had said to me about what this other girl had told her, as I was proud of my new bag; it made me feel grown-up and not like one of the youngest in my year group which I was, the only downside to having a birthday in the summer holidays. However, I knew that I wouldn’t be at that school for much longer as I was moving to NZ in a few months.

I learned that I didn’t need to be cool enough to have the bag; I had it, and that was enough for me. It didn’t matter what anyone said to me because it wouldn’t make me stop using it or even take it back to the shop. I can’t remember if the other girl had the bag or not, so I can’t say if she was jealous of me having it and her not having it. What I can say is, I continued to be happy and ‘cool’ enough to have the bag like most kids around the UK at the time and when I moved to NZ, I was the only kid at my school with the bag, so the little comment that had been said in England didn’t matter.

At my new school in NZ, there was a moment when I again felt that I was not enough. It was my first day, and it had been a few months since I had been in a school environment, so it was a little scary, and I knew the curriculum would be different, which it was utterly foreign to what I had learnt in the past six or so years. I got placed next to two girls; one was from England, and one wasn’t; they were obviously best friends; I didn’t want to encroach on their friendship by any means. But I got placed next to them, through no fault of my own but the teachers. I sat down at my desk, which was entirely different from the tables I was used to. I started my work, and the girl I was sitting next to was like, “oh, my friend thinks you should move your desk” I was obviously a bit baffled as to what she was saying, so her friend came and parted my desk, so there was a decent gap between my table and their two tables. I hadn’t had anything like this happen before. I hadn’t ever been told to move my table and chair; I hadn’t ever been told to not sit next to anyone. I have no idea why they wanted me to move and sit on my own, on my first day, in a new school, and in a new country. It’s safe to say that that day, I felt not only alone, in fact, isolated, but like I again wasn’t enough. They didn’t know me, and I didn’t know them. From this, I learnt not everyone is in favour of the new kid. A year before this, I had been the one to take a new kid under my wing, she needed a friend, and I was the one who made her my friend.

But I was enough when another girl who was a year below me and the girls who had so kindly moved my desk. It was a mixed class of yr 5&6 (which, again, I hadn’t been in a mixed class of year groups before.) She came to me and said, “would you like to sit next to my friend and me,” to which I said, “yes, please” those few words meant a lot to me and showed that I was enough.

Another time I was made to feel not enough was when I was at a friend’s house in NZ. It was a year or two after we had moved, and she had another friend over who I was in the same year as; my friend was a year below us. I’ll be honest, I knew of this other girl, but I didn’t really know her, and she didn’t know me. I had had a nice time playing with them and had thought they’d had a nice time playing with me. So the next time I went to my friend’s house, she was like, “oh, my friend said she didn’t like you,” and again, that made me feel like I wasn’t enough. Still, truth be told, this other girl didn’t know me, hadn’t taken the time to know me. We were in different classes and a different friend group, so again I learned pretty quickly that she had no ground to judge who I was, just like I had no ground to judge who she was. However, I was starting to think that she was someone I didn’t want to know.

I don’t expect everyone in life to like me, and I certainly don’t go through life with such a big ego thinking that everyone I’m walking past should like me. But I would rather and do deserve for the person who has said it to own up first. Everyone deserves to hear it from the sayer and not the teller; it’s simple courtesy and human decency.

It isn’t nice feeling like you aren’t enough, but all of these lessons have taught me that I’m not enough for everyone, and that’s ok. I don’t want to be enough for everyone. But I am enough for those I love, care about, and myself, and that’s enough for me. Just like you are enough for your loved ones and those you care about, you might not be for everyone, and that’s ok. We don’t need everyone’s approval; we, in fact, don’t need anyone’s approval but our own because if we are enough for ourselves, then that is pretty damn good.

Let’s finish with a three-deep breath breather.

Take one deep breath in through your nose for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. breath out through your mouth for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. and out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. final breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. last breath out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. no hold here you can now go back to your regular breathing pattern.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this week’s Mindful Monday. I really do appreciate everyone who takes the time to read them and listens to what I have to say.

Love always

Thinking Out Loud xx :D

You are always enough.

09/05/2022

Mindful Monday Week 15

What is missing from your life?

25/04/2022

Mindful Monday Week 13

Confidence

18/04/2022

Mindful Monday Week 12

Success

11/04/2022

Mindful Monday Week 11