journal doodles

bod pages for this week around my intention to stop the ole fight and flight response that flooded my working days throughout march n april.....   implementing a  self care support package ......yoga good nutrition,sleep, lettin stuff go,smilin n laughing and accessing friends n support.

Gratitude

so love savouring feelings of gratitude and thanks.... a couple of close friends on my mind as they helped me out in the way i reallly needed....heres my bod spread devoted to that gratitude ....

Marrakech Express..........

I am soo grateful for this precious life.......I have such energy and strength at the moment (perhaps the g.p was right about increasing the thyroxine ..and gosh being away from work should have been on the prescription a long time ago..)I've just got back from a 5 day experience of Marrakech...what an interesting place a sort of 'circus of colour, energy ..and game playing and good spirit' loved it .......The cats looked happy and the people did toooo....I didn't feel any of the angst I've experienced in other African Countries....it was a sort of pretend place where even in the crazy hustle bustle I felt an inner 'calm'...I felt 'balanced' 'energetic' and 'content'...I didn't get wrapped up in the crazy haggling and the things that caught my eye where the colours,the hoards of little tajine stalls, the herbs spices and smells of amber, a 'handmade' journal maker in the Soukes ..some remnants of gorgeous coloured textured leather and the bizarre traffic system!

love and gratitude to you across the Universe......

Awwwwww lovely Tam I love this song..its because of Tam and Effy that I started to have an interest in rekindling my love of expression through art journalling and my curent journey with NVC...they probably don't even know that as sooo many folks follow them on the 'intrepid interwebbs' and I am a quiet one listening to what they share,being inspired by their journey...and admiring the courage they display in being soo authentic and often vulnerable. Thankyou guyz

zentangle doodles

enjoyed journalling with a little bit of doodling.

new bod

at last i am starting my new book of days art journal.....and the page around soothing the adult critcal thoughts... by honouring the sweet inner child was a spread ive wanted to comete for a few weeks.....it isn't pretty but is was therapeutic....and between the pages firmly stuk together are a couple of pages of words and journal fodder better out than in......and some intentons for the week ...to have a break,eat well, get some proper focused supervision , and book  me some acupuncture...i so love the point at which i start the week and the pages ill decorate next ....with an Eleanor Roosevelte quote .

arty bits in progress

thanks kat mcbride.....

New BOD started

“You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”

Max Ehrmann

NVC

I have been working my way through the NVC Language for Life book and companion workbook....it sooo helps at times like these to just reflect where i am at...and I am slowly living it ...not perfecting it ..gosh its a slow journey....but I am at an increased awareness stage ..living it and evolving because of it...I've discovered that I really need to spend a lot of time on identifying what i am feeling .. not the why.. not over thinking the situation or analyzing it within my framework of life' experiences..... and just finding the 'word' for how I am feeling is pretty difficult...
Yes I am pretty emotional but I had never been guided as a child to care about myself or articulate how i was feeling and I have a very limited vocabulary of actual words. I recognised that I needed to be able to do this sometime ago and I have use ART to express those feelings .. putting it into words and trying to communicate it to someone else is very hard for me! I am trying not to identify why this is ..but simply acknowledge that this is the way it is for me and that my brain is hard wired that way.... when there is a lot of physical emotion going on and thoughts fall into 'old patterns' few words come out or too many words but non of them have quite 'hit the spot' of being understood by others is very difficult and I understand that that is not all down to me .....we are all unique so hey I'm fine with that and want to work with it.
So I have repeated chapters 2 and now 3 just to refresh and reflect on my experiences to get a perspective on how behaving differently might have helped and to motivate myself to do more.The way I see it is I have been emotionally enslaved to my working life... since forever my personal life too over the years but it is beautiful now, really beautiful (not perfect but beautiful!) however, my working life has always been more give than the meeting of any of my needs...until being ill last year.... so that's stage 1 identified! I am at present working through stage 2 on my way to emotional liberation! and this is an uncomfortable awareness that I am in that rather 'obnoxious stage'..however, I've done enough work on my internal rebellious teenager over the years to not get completely carried away here!I am saying NO it's uncomfortable, it hurts,I feel sad and guilty but it also feels good recognising that this is part of my organic process and that slowly I may get to that final stage of liberation one day (i'm estimating perhaps just in time for retiring!) So I journalled my needs as intentions in my art journal spread around soothing those critical inner voices by telling my sweet little one what was good about her! and all that came as as I walked and walked yesterday ...and there i was thinking i just had to fix it all myself and what an impossibly distressing and stressful experience it was .....I am hopeful this action will bring some ease to the distress.

The following was meaning to me although it's Marshall's poem...I think I get it from a his perspective.. and my own inner perspective ....disappointment in yourself is a tough one to deal with ...i'm a 'self blamer pre dominently' with just a tint of 'blaming others'...for good measure! my Jackals are internal ones.. its a guilty pleasure of mine to blame others........quite nice though .... and i'm practicing on some self talk in my bestest giraffe voice..........
I can handle your telling me
What I did or didn’t do.
And I can handle your interpretations
But please don’t mix the two.
If you want to confuse any issue,
I can tell you how to do it:
Mix together what I do
With how you react to it.
 Tell me you’re disappointed
With the unfinished chores you see,
But calling me “irresponsible”
Is no way to motivate me.
And tell me that you’re feeling hurt
When I say “no” to your advances,
But calling me a frigid man
Won’t increase your future chances.
 Yes, I can handle your telling me
What I did or didn’t do,
And I can handle your interpretations,
But please don’t mix the two. ---MBR

Trouble sleeping......

i am reminded of a lovely song by corrine bailey ray ......but the source of my insomnia isnt a new love or pre occupation with the positive but the all to 'given' of my working life... ...fuelled by the need to process lots of uncomfortable feelings that arise from working in the new nhs... i am trying not to dwell on the feelings and i am working on sifting through the negative self talk and emotions to embody a position that means i can actually bathe in enough positivity and go back into the workplace in a reasonably good frame of mind.....so here i am eventually after giving up on deep breathing and trying to use every meditative strategy possible and i am pleased i managed till 630 in bed ...so with my morning cuppa i will contemplate the meaning of my beautiful life ....breathe deeply and enjoy watching the sun peer through the clouds....and listening to the birds that are singing a song of spring....my cats n boyz are still sleeping but the kettle's boiled ive had my thyroxine and ive enough journal fodder in my head to fill a few pages.....this is my one precious life and i love all of it including the wisdom that will eventually come from taking the rough with the smooth.......

loveliness

Watch "Shine Your Love" on YouTube

i have come to the end of my fantastic staycation......it has been a really precious time in which ive arted scrapbooked created albums seen family and friends and enjoyed some home yoga and walks ....its back to work tomorrow....my head and body are suitably relaxed and i really must keep my intention  to maintain this.....saying no to stress is my choice n i gotta stay focused on saying no and taking a break in the day of potential challenge tomorrow.....lovin this tune shared by cora flora on fbxxxx