Filling My Cup

All of the photo’s above were taken on my phone
during my morning walks and posted to Instagram

2016 didn’t exactly kick off fabulously for me (for various reasons) so I decided to take some time out to recalibrate (mostly through February and still a little now).  I needed to get my head back into a good place, and in order to do that I needed to ensure that I put some steps in place to fill my cup and keep it topping up!

Sometimes we can have the very best intentions to ensure that ‘self care‘ is a priority in our life (so that our cup is kept full) but more often than not we drop the ball as life and its demands can tend to take over and we begin to listen less to the increasingly urgent whispers of our own needs.  I wasn’t exercising enough.  I wasn’t getting out in nature enough.  I was getting a bit lazier with my healthy food choices … and more.

Lately it has been a matter of a series of small changes that I’ve made that have been helping hugely.  I’ve been indulging myself a little more in the things that fill me up, inspire me, and make me feel joy and happiness – and more is yet to come!!

This is a bit of an indulgent post – where I share ALL the things that have been filling my cup lately.  You can read, look and listen to it all or you can skim through and stop and look or listen wherever something takes your interest.  I don’t mind at all! 🙂

I’ve been getting up early and going for a walk every morning. Every second day, I take my dog Ava with me and on the alternate days I enjoy complete ‘me’ time on my walks. I get up early enough that I see the sun rise each morning. I take photo’s of it with my phone.  Sometimes I even take a little video.  I feel my heart fill up with joy at the beauty of it all. Nature does that to me. Its power is incredible. Lately, the tide has been in and the water has been silky and smooth.  I hear the gentle lapping of it and it has such a beautiful soothing effect on me. I see the reflection of the rising sun glistening on the water. It’s absolutely magical. I hear all the different sounds of birds chirping. It’s a morning song and I love it.

A few little ‘nature inspired’ video’s posted recently to Instagram
(Apologies to those that follow me on Instagram
who have already seen these.  You’re welcome to skip these!)

 

Good morning! #morningwalk #brisbane #wynnummanly #moretonbay

A video posted by Min (@writeofthemiddle) on Mar 16, 2016 at 2:52pm PDT

 

Good Morning! #morningwalk #sunrise #wynnummanly #moretonbay #brisbane

A video posted by Min (@writeofthemiddle) on Mar 17, 2016 at 1:03pm PDT

 

This morning before sunrise. ???❤️? #wynnummanly #brisbane #moretonbay #morningwalk

A video posted by Min (@writeofthemiddle) on Mar 20, 2016 at 5:37pm PDT

I’ve been paying attention to what I eat by planning ahead and doing my best to keep to healthy, portion controlled meals. I’ve lost some weight (like around 7kg) and that feels mighty bloody good. There’s more to lose but hey I’ve made a good start!

I’ve been listening to music more.  Music makes me feel good.  I love to sing very much.  I also love to listen to good music that connects with me.  I love it when a song gets my body moving – a toe tap, a little swaying, bopping along, even singing along.  A song can completely alter my mood.  Music can weave its way into my heart and soul and like a magic wand fix up lots of little cracks and crevices.  Last Saturday morning, after my walk, I sat with a coffee at the Manly Farmers Markets (with Ava lying on the grass at my feet) and listened to ‘The Muggy River Ramblers’ sing and thoroughly enjoyed myself. They sang a lot of Bob Dylan stuff plus more and ahhhhh it chilled me out.  I felt so mellow.  It got me toe tapping and swaying and singing along. It was hard to drag myself away and head home. I did eventually, but not before I bought their album (for all of $10) called ‘Can’t be Folked’.  The name of their album gave me a giggle!  Here’s a short video of them.  I posted a couple of other short ones of them singing other songs on Instagram – but not this one.

In October 2014 I went to see Rodriguez (of SugarMan fame and for me well known for THIS song).  He was amazing!  It was during this concert that I was introduced to Jen Cloher (his support act).  I loved her music and have followed her since, recently purchasing an album of hers through iTunes.  Here’s one of the many songs of hers that I love.  It’s called “Baby we were born to die”.  The song that first made me fall in love with her voice was “Mother’s Desk” but I couldn’t find a You Tube video of that one.

Recently, I discovered another Australian female artist whose music speaks to me!  Her name is Mia Dyson.  I’ve purchased her latest album on iTunes also.  Here’s a song of hers that I’m loving.  It’s called “Talk to Me”.

Now here’s the really weird part.  It was while poking around on You Tube just yesterday while putting together this post, that I discovered that Jen and Mia know each other AND have sung together.  How bizarre is that – two separate artists that I discover and enjoy and they have sung together!!  They have similar musical styles/qualities that appeal to me and obviously at some point they discovered this also! 

Going by the type of music that is making me feel good lately, I think I am subconsciously reclaiming the ‘ol hippie version of my younger self.  She was mellow, happy and cool!  Anyway Jen and Mia’s voices do indeed blend together so beautifully.  See for yourself in this video below where they sing “Save Me” – a song that I adored instantly.

Next on the agenda is to get away. I need a weekend away somewhere rural – in the mountains or rainforest – maybe within driving distance of a beach as well.  I’m working on that one.  I’ll take my camera of course and lose myself in photographing that which makes me the happiest – NATURE.

What fills your cup?  Are you making sure that you have steps in place to keep it topped up?

Ciao for now,

Linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT