14
Sep 13

Counting Your Blessings – Every Day

It’s been a pretty full on week this week. On such weeks, it is easy to get so caught up by the ho hum of the week, that you miss time to stop, reflect, enjoy. I was reminded of this this morning.

Last night, reasonably exhausted, I went to bed about 9ish. The kids were all asleep so I managed a good deep sleep also. I slept through to just before 6am. Nine hours, wow! For someone who typically exists on maximum 7 hours a night, that was a serious session of shut eye.

6am and awake, everyone else in the house still blissfully asleep, I got out of bed, put on some tackies and went for a jog. Within 3 minutes of my front gate there is a bridge over the Tallebudgera Creek. This morning sitting on the rail on the far side of the bridge was a magnificent Brahminy Kite. What a beautiful bird. As I approached it flew off the rail, under the bridge and settled on a tree stump on the side of the creek.

It waited there till I returned from my jog, at which point I stopped for a bit and just watched her (I am not actually sure it was a her by the way). When I got home I grabbed a camera and went to snap a shot, but she was gone, so no photo.

Back at home, changing out of my sweaty gear a couple of kookaburras started laughing in our backyard. My 2 year old son, now awake, was quite excited by this, “kooka-bugga” he exclaims.

What a great way to be welcomed to the weekend, the birds of my backyard greeting me with sight and song. All I had to do was wake up fresh, get out of bed and be present enough to enjoy.

Sometimes you really have to count your blessing though don’t you. And sometimes they are as simple as where you live and what is around you. Love living on the Gold Coast.


28
May 13

Pulling Back – Where Do You Find Inspiration

As the CEO of Ocean Feather, one of the things that I sometimes find challenging is giving myself space to find inspiration, to keep the passion high and the ideas flowing.

Life can get pretty busy can’t it? Lets face it, we spend at least a third of our lives at or travelling to and from work. Then there are demands on your time at home. Then there is the upkeep requirements at home. You may have a hobby, interest, sport – or a few of these – that pull you from one pillar to the next. Kids – well I have 3 now! It doesn’t leave much time to sit back and let the inspiration come does it?

Myself, I give myself little routines through the day, which give me little breaks. For example, coffee number 1, 2 and occasionally 3 give me a moment to take stock. My rules here though are that I have to get out of the building, have someone else make it for me and sit down and enjoy it.

Also – I have found a great hour each evening where I refuse to let myself get sucked in to the latest reality TV show. During this hour I may just sit, meditate, read a book on a topic of development of some kind (that is not related to the business) or do something creative. Writing on blogs like this one is another good option – particularly as I work through certain challenges. Writing helps me clarify, find inspiration and ideas.

I’d love to hear your ideas too. What do you do to give yourself enough space that your inherent creativity and inspiration keeps flowing, day in and day out. What do you do to pull back from the every day rush and grind, to give yourself enough room to be real and in touch?