Walled Garden Of The Soul

8 Christmas Quotes To Warm Your Heart

Christmas

Christmas is such a special time of the year - but it's not all about the presents and tinsel, there's so much more - family, love, togetherness, joy, simple pleasures shared. The birth of Christ, the spirit of Christmas, the specialness of a day where we pause to remember how blessed we are before a new year begins.

A few reminders about what Christmas is all about.....

8 Things To Leave Behind In 2020

Some wonderful words of wisdom about leaving our unhealthy habits behind in 2020 and starting afresh in 2021

Things I'm Leaving Behind In 2020

I came across a wonderful Facebook page called Authentic Soul Care by Lea Grove. On it she shared some wonderful words of wisdom about leaving our unhealthy habits behind in 2020 and starting afresh in 2021 - I just had to share them here.

7 Quotes About Friendship

7 beautiful quotes about the importance of friendship.

Friendship

We all need at least one true friend. Finding those special people who become our "tribe" is what brings us joy. Knowing who to hold tightly, and who to release because they don't have our best interests at heart, is the key to maintaining trust and connection.

Choose your friends wisely.....

7 Quotes about the being content with what we have - without comparison or envy.

Contentment

Contentment comes from living simply, from gratitude for what you have, and from distancing yourself from envy and comparison.

Our world wants us to always be wanting more, instead of grasping and discontent, we need to appreciate all that we already have and give thanks every day for the blessings in our life.

Have you thought about what you're grateful for today?

Forgiveness

Forgiveness clears the heart and the head - it gives us the permission we need to move forward with our lives - despite what may have happened, or who may have hurt us.

Forgiveness is a choice, and the power lies within us to choose peace over resentment and bitterness.

Choose Wisely....

What is true abundance? It's about seeing all that you already have and realizing that it is often more than you need.

What Does Abundance Really Mean?

It seems that in today's world we're all looking for an abundant life. I was thinking about what a rich and meaningful word "abundance" is......and then I got to thinking how the meaning of "abundance" changes depending on your world view and what you consider to be important in life. For some it's all about earning a big salary and being rich, for others it's about living a full and fruitful life, and that ties in with how you define "full and fruitful" - because some people seem to need more than others to feel a sense of contentment with what they have.

3 choices that lead to contentment - Live Simply, Love Generously, and Learn Constantly.

What Are The Basics for Living Contentedly?

As I learn to embrace the second half of life, I find the secret to being truly content often involves coming back to the basics. I think we complicate our world far too much and we need to redefine what is important so that we can find contentment in where we are today, rather than always looking for what's coming next that will finally make us happy.

These three choices are intrinsic to finding contentment in Midlife:

True beauty comes from within - not our superficial outer appearance, but from living with authenticity and integrity.

Finding The Gift Of Self-Acceptance

Accepting the changes that come with age is a challenge for a lot of women. As I move through the second half of life I hear women around me bemoaning the demise of their youthful looks, the advent of "laugh lines", and the relentless onslaught of menopause with all its associated issues.

What I've come to realize is that you can put a lot of time and effort into fighting the ageing process and trying to pretend you're still thirty, or you can redefine beauty. I don't find a botox-ed, primped, preened and makeup laden older woman particularly beautiful. Yet, when I see a vibrant woman living in her own identity and investing in the lives of those around her, I am always brought up short in admiration, and I'm often a little envious.

Sometimes You Just Need A Pajama Day

In this busy world we live in I think it's good to admit that you're a little tired of it all sometimes and to stop, breathe, and smell a rose or two.

When Your Get Up And Go Has Gone

Most of the time I'm an "up and at 'em" kind of gal. I go to work when I need to, I don't take sick days unless I'm on my death bed, I turn up when I say I will and I don't mind any of it. Then there is the occasional day when I reach the point where I've had enough and I'm tired of being little Mary Sunshine. My usual approach to that sort of mood would be to push through and put on my "happy face" and often we have to do that because we have responsibilities and no choice.

We set a strong example when we overcome challenges and accept what life gives us with grace and a smile.

The Journey of Life Isn't Always Comfortable

I read an Anthony Bourdain quote that was referring to travel and it said:

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

Never Apologize For Being You

If you spend your life trying to please everyone, making yourself smaller, or quieter, or less in some way then you limit yourself and your potential.

Do You Feel Pressure to Fit In?

The world today is full of people who are different to us and have different expectations of us. If you spend your life trying to please everyone, making yourself smaller, or quieter, or less in some way then you limit yourself and your potential.

Have You Asked Yourself "What If?" Lately?

Asking Ourselves The Big Questions

Sometimes we need to ask the big questions of ourselves and many of them start with "What If?" But are we looking in the right direction when we ask those questions? Are we asking the right "What Ifs?" or should we be considering them from a different angle. Here's a few to start with....

Casting Aside Our Fictitious Selves

Do you ever feel like you're hiding your true self from the world? Are you frightened that people may not like the woman you are behind the perfect mask? I saw a quote recently that woke me up to the fact that we need to stop playing the roles that no longer suit us or serve us. It's time to be courageous and own up to our authentic selves. It's hard but it's worth it.

Nothing worthwhile in life comes without some effort and even some pain, that's what ultimately gives it value. It's time to tackle new challenges!

Natural Courage

Being brave comes easily for some people and I admire those who have the courage to grab life with both hands and leap at new opportunities that come their way. They never seem to suffer from self-doubt, they have an innate sense of self-confidence that allows them to tackle any new challenge that comes along.

It's so vital to be your spouse's number one fan - to cheer each other on and to never speak negatively about them to others.

Are You Investing In Your Marriage?

When you've been married for a long time you come to realize how important it is to invest in the person who you have made a lifelong vow to. It's so easy to take each other for granted and to not show appreciation. It's also easy to make "funny" comments about the other person that can be hurtful or unhelpful.

What Makes A Great Friend?

I'm sure we've all had "that friend" who turned out to be not quite as great as we'd hoped they would be, and we ask ourselves what went wrong? To have a good friend let you down, or betray your trust, or just not be there when you expected them to be, is one of life's biggest disappointments. When we invest time and emotion into creating a friendship, only to have it go pear shaped, it kills us a little bit inside.

The Five Regrets of the Dying

Bronnie Ware was a pallative care nurse who discovered there were five regrets that were common to those she cared for in their last days. She wrote a book about these five regrets in 2009 and they've woken a lot of us up to the fact that life is short and we don't want to be at the end of our days regretting what we could have fixed in the years leading up to that point.

Is it time we stopped looking for one driving passion and allow ourselves to find our purpose and fulfillment from a variety of interests?

Do We Need A "Burning Passion"?

I've read many, many articles on "finding your passion" that tell me that my life is not complete unless I find something that I am completely passionate about. I think there is a lot to be said for swapping the word "passionate" with the word "enthusiastic". That way you can embrace lot of different experiences without being consumed by just one.

How do you know if you're parenting well? Who do we want our adult children to become?

How Do We Know If We're Parenting Well?

We all see that social media highlight reel of the perfect family every time we look at Instagram or Facebook - and ours never seems to measure up. Does that mean we aren't doing well at this whole parenting gig? Not at all - I think there's so much more to successful parenting than a pretty picture or two. Ultimately it comes back to each individual family unit as to how you measure whether you feel like you're doing a good job.

What is the real purpose of life? Is it to be happy all the time? Or is it to leave a legacy of love and kindness?

What Should Our Purpose In Life Be?

Do you sometimes wonder what the purpose of your life is? We see so many people out there sharing their highlight reels on social media and we get caught in the "compare and despair" trap. It can feel like we're not exciting enough, or doing enough, or happy enough. But, is being constantly happy what life is all about?

WHY A WALLED GARDEN FOR THE SOUL?

I woke up recently to a deeper understanding of life. I've lived many decades with my self worth being based on how other people responded to me. If they were happy, I was happy.... if they were annoyed, distant, disgruntled, upset, or just plain out of sorts, it affected me too.

What I've come to see is that I need more secure boundaries - a wall around myself with a gate that allows me to choose who to allow into my private space. I want to create a sense of wholeness and self containment that is solely on my terms, somewhere I feel safe and secure - at peace and at rest. Somewhere "still" where I can be myself and not be tossed and tumbled by the vagrancies of those around me.

I remembered those walled gardens, those secret places....filled with an abundance of cottage flowers, a small pond, a statue, a seat, somewhere quiet to visit to escape the chaos of the world around me. I wanted to create a walled garden for my soul - somewhere beautiful to soak up the stillness and not be visited by the chaos of others.

A WALLED GARDEN FOR YOU

I hope you visit me in my garden, that you'll sit for a spell in this lovely space. That you'll find peace and rest for your soul too. That what I share here each week will resonate with you and leave you with a little wisdom and warmth to carry with you throughout your day.

Don't let the turmoil around you define how you see yourself, join me in creating a secret walled garden of your own and may peace dwell there with you.