The last few weeks have seen me musing here about some basic and essential human values.…respect, kindness, patience and honesty.
And as I consider those values, I choose to apply them to myself and tell you that over the coming few weeks, I am taking a wee breather from regular musings here.
Thinking about this past year I recognise that I am tired and needing a pause.
A number of life events have happened simultaneously – elder Nearest and Dearest leaving home for uni, a global pandemic with associated lockdowns, and becoming peri-menopausal.
That has felt a bit of a triple whammy.
Being honest with myself, I see that I am very weary and cannot keep going at normal pace.
Being kind to myself, I see that stepping back is OK. Kindness right now means having more space in my diary and less clutter in my head.
Add to all that the fact that I have been working as a life coach for 8 years, and have blogged almost every week during that time.
That is a lot of content.
The final piece for me is that the school term has ended and the school summer holidays have begun. I am aware that you might not live by school terms, and this does not affect you. ‘Summer’ to you means a couple of weeks’ holiday perhaps, and maybe warmer evenings, but no other major changes.
I get that.
But in this house, for only another couple of years, we remain at the mercy of the school year. And I am acutely conscious of how precious these weeks are with both Nearest-and-Dearest around before they fly the nest completely.
And so, summer ‘s here and the time is right…
…to take a wee breather from writing new content here each week.
(I think in song lyrics – a wee blast of Mick and David’s version if you are so inclined…HOW COOL does David Bowie look in this video…takes me right back to being a teenager)
I love to write. And I love that you read my musings, and share them and they encourage and challenge you.
But it is also OK to stop for a wee breather as both brain and soul are very weary.
So for these next summer weeks until the end of August, I am going to redirect you to some of my previous musings on subjects that I believe and hope warrant further reflection.
It has been a tough old year. And therefore it makes sense to take some time over the summer (whatever that means for you) to consider important aspects of your life. We will consider our relationships, what boundaries we have in place, the importance of making good choices, and the benefits of decluttering house and soul together.
I hope that these reflections and encouragements bring you some fodder for your own soul – to reflect, review and reassess what is important, who you are, and how to move forward.
As a first step, understanding Habits that breed good character and good practices is a wonderful framework to start with.
The Seven Habits and why they are so powerful.
This is the series I wrote based on The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Dr Stephen Covey. It remains – from my perspective – an incredibly powerful book on character development and leadership. So many of the habits listed bring real growth and transformation to our lives, be it in our personal or work relationships.
You can read the series starting here.
Enjoy revisiting these habits, and take some time this week to consider which would make the biggest difference to your life.
How will you live that out?