When was the last time you felt utter bliss in your life?
When did you stop and think, "Wow, this is my life, this is what I have created".
Can you remember moments of bliss in your life?
A few weekends ago it was a glorious sunny day, I had a friend staying and we all "chilled out" outside. It was glorious and it was then that I thought this is "bliss".
We are all so rushed off our feet we often forget those amazing blissful moments in our lives and don't stop to be thoughtful and enjoy the moment.
Last weekend I was in Larg's in Scotland on a mindfulness retreat run by Catherine Brannan, here we were encouraged to do everything mindfully, from walking on the beach, to eating breakfast in the woods, to cooking, washing up and breathing in a mindful way. It was the first time I'd done mindfulness and it made me realise how much of this I do in my life already. I love to walk on my own focusing on my steps, to go swimming focusing on my strokes and to sit on my own eating breakfast savouring the taste. I'd never really thought of it as mindfulness, just my little moments of bliss where I recharge and reenergise myself.
When I go on holiday to the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales I love body boarding. I stand in the sea and watch "tick, tock, tick tock" just like the Guiness ad, waiting for the perfect wave.
So I've started to think of moments of bliss in my life that have stuck with me and have given me that "magical tingle" - these moments are the ones defining my business for the future as I want to have as much bliss in my life as possible. Who wouldn't?
When did you last feel bliss?
Let me give you examples of the things that make me feel like this to see what inspires you;
1)hanging out the washing on the line - yep I know you're thinking "really" but if I'm hanging out the washing on the line it means I am home, the weather is nice and I am in my garden. A small moment of bliss.
2) Sitting in my garden listening to the birds (preferably early in the morning or late at night when no one is around and there is no traffic).
3) Star gazing - my husband and I often get the sun loungers out on clear nights and lie watching the stars. We wrap up in blankets and depending on the time of year hats, gloves and thermals - and lie watching the sky. We always see shooting stars. Its even better on holiday on the Llyn Peninsula with no light pollution.
4) Walks down the lanes in the early morning or of an evening when everyone is in their homes. Saturday nights are often the quietest. I love doing it on Christmas Day too.
5) Going for mystery tours along the one track lanes where I live in our Landrover - finding secret spots and beautiful magical places.
6) Baking and cooking at my own pace.
7) The moment after a declutter and clean of the house when my home looks like a photo from a magazine.
8) Browsing my local bookstore Booka in Oswestry www.bookabookshop.co.uk and sitting and drinking tea and eating big slabs of home made cake.
9) Having a magnificent massage at one of my favourite places - The Scented Garden in Chester where I've been going for over 17 years - www.scented-garden.co.uk - or at the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel spa - www.lakevyrnwy.com
10) Nights at the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel and walks around the lake, its one of my magical places and was lucky enough to run some team days there in my previous life.
Then there are my blissful moments imbedded in my memory which we often forget but now I like to remind myself of them;
11) My wedding day at Gwydir Castle - writing this has reminded me to go and visit again soon. www.gwydircastle.co.uk
12) Malta particularly the Upper Baraka Gardens where my husband proposed to me, www.maltainfoguide.com/upper-barakka-gardens
13) The Eden Project in Cornwall - I was very privileged to have been invited to attend a course there to give feedback and assess it. It meant I got to see behind the scenes at the Project and got to experience the domes at night, including meeting a shaman and witnessing a wonderful acrobatic display from their inside, hot air ballon. Just thinking about it makes my heart swell. www.edenproject.com
14) Going to the Bach Flower Remedies Centre in Oxfordshire - just thinking about it makes me sparkle, stepping into this place gave me such an intense feeling, which I feel just thinking about it. www.bachcentre.com
15) Attending the Mindfulness in Nature weekend in Larg's - www.yesyourentireself.com
I could go on and on. Can you think of your moments of bliss?
I'll be honest it is only since I've started my new life and my new business that I've reconnected with this and it's taken me months to rediscover myself, my passions, and what I adore in life. We all get lost in the day to day. We rush from one thing to another. We never stop to be mindful and to have "blissful" moments. I think for women especially we can lose our identities - mother, lover, wife, sister, daughter, carer, partner, bread-winner, house keeper, cook, peace keeper... - and thats without your work identity.
So stop for a moment, breathe and find a moment of bliss. It might only be small, but try to remember your moments of bliss.
Let me know if you find them.
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