Author: Sarah

Everyday contentment

A hailstorm engulfed the woods.

I walked, partially sheltered by

the bare branches,

cocooned, warm in my coat as

the hailstones drummed on my head.

It passed over, the last balls of ice

bounced off my hair as

I put my hood down.

I emerged into sunshine,

a cool fresh breeze,

and contentment.

You can always find contentment if you walk far enough!

Winter trees

First attempt at collagraph printmaking. The printing plate is made of card, which I then cut with a stanley knife and ripped to make the tree trunks. The foreground is a collage of ripped bits of card and scrunched up masking tape. Then I inked up the plate and this was the result. Now I want to do more!

Home

I lived away,

for too long.

Leaving after a visit,

or passing by

on the train

or on the motorway,

I would press my nose

to the window

letting the silhouettes

of the mountains

fill me up,

cricking my neck

for that final glimpse

as I headed north.

There were hills there, too,

but they weren’t my hills.

Now I am back home

for good.

Judgment

Imagine
turning certainty
and judgment
into wondering,
into curiosity.
How then 
would you see
this world?

I joined a really interesting coach training course this week, all about releasing judgment.

I thought it would be a good one for me to do, because sometimes I can be very judgemental. The current political climate does not bring out the best in me!

It is so easy to slip into a judging mind-set, comfortable even. It means I don’t have to think, to put myself into another’s shoes, to feel the discomfort of acknowledging that maybe someone else’s opinions are just as valid as mine. To assume that I know why they say what they say, why they do what they do.

And then there are self-judgment, comparison, self-criticism. For as much as I judge other people I also judge myself, and my work.

Two things really struck me:

Comparison

Instead of comparing myself with others, how about looking back at how I was at a point in the past, or how I would like to be in the future? So instead of looking at the blogger with thousands of followers and feeling discouraged, not good enough, I look back to a year ago when I had less than 10 followers and I realise how far I’ve come. Or I imagine a future where lots of people read my blog and I work out how to get to that point and then take the steps to get there.

Judgment

Instead of thinking I know why something is as it is, I could be open and curious instead.

Ultimately, judging is just part of being human. I can just notice that I am doing it and let it go. Another one of those under the category ‘simple but not easy’!

What do you think? Do you have any tips for releasing judgement?

Get more Life In The Fresh Air! Subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your e-mail address with the site owner and MailChimp to receive marketing, updates, and other e-mails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those e-mails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

The spaces in between

The train to Manchester was busy.

Next to me, leaning against the window and not making eye contact, a man with a backpack. He kept his backpack and his coat on all the way. He hunched uncomfortably on the seat, moving constantly; cracking his knuckles, jiggling his legs, sighing, yawning.

The train took its time, and I distracted myself with my phone. Both of us would rather be anywhere but here, squashed into a train with strangers.

The kind of train journey that doesn’t have space, physically or mentally.

–

This one does. This train, from Manchester to Norwich, is blissfully empty. Hours of countryside pass by; tunnels, rivers, mountains, woods. I barricade myself into my seat, coat on the chair next to me, bag in front, daring anyone to sit next to me. My own little cocoon.

Then the journey works it’s magic.

The rocking of the train, eyes relaxing over the long views, grey skies giving way to silver, then blue, then back to grey.

The train sings nothing to do, nothing to do, nothing to do.

Space

To think

To relax

To breathe

To dream.

Ideas appear, then drop behind. Contentment spreads.

Ideas reappear, then blossom. The future appears more fluid, more malleable.

And all I have to do is sit here and be transported.

How rare it is to find this space, the space in between. Between departing and arriving, between dreaming and becoming, between beginning and end.

The space where possibilies expand with the horizon, where new futures can be envisioned and old bonds can drop away.

My most audacious goals seem possible

And yet isn’t all life lived in this space, really?

How good we are at distracting ourselves from it, filling our lives up with busyness.

As the land flattens out and the towns get closer together, I start to weave my dreams into reality, mapping out actions for the coming months. Dreaming into doing, breathing thoughts into life.

The train arrives. I depart into the cold night air.

_

I would like to find ways of inhabiting this in between space more often, instead of leaving it to chance.

How do you find the time and space to reconnect with your dreams and to plan for your future?

Get more Life In The Fresh Air! Subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your e-mail address with the site owner and MailChimp to receive marketing, updates, and other e-mails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those e-mails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.