Posted on 29 Apr, 2009 -
Fun and Life-Affirming Ideas for SPRING
Lie in long grass and look up at the sky…
Try the brilliant ‘I am...’ exercise…
Fascinating facts about bats…
Why smelling roses makes you beautiful…
With the sun shining so bountifully and the world looking so jubilantly green and proud this morning (although the day may well be blustery and wet by the time you read this) I thought I’d put on hold my Part 2 email on facing up to your emotions and regale you with something more POSITIVE instead.
For what is Spring if it is not a time to celebrate life… To feel energised and renewed… To throw out the old grumbles and bravely embrace change?
When new life is bursting out so generously and exuberantly everywhere, how can we not respond with some generosity and exuberance of our own?
So here for you - my own offering of generosity and exuberance - are no less than 24 ideas for a bright, happy, and life-affirming Spring:
1. If you want to start something NEW then this is the BEST time to do it. Take advantage of the energy of spring and new life to bravely start that new chapter of your life. Put on those shorts and take a run in the park as part of the new fitter you. Make that phone call you’ve been avoiding or putting off. Say ‘what the hell’ and do it anyway!
2. Hunt out a spot where you can watch the life-centering beauty of a bird in flight.
“Life, according to Zen, ought to be lived as a bird flies through the air, or as a fish swims in the water.” D.T. Suzuki (1870-1966)
“The natural function of the wing is to soar upwards and carry that which is heavy up to the place where dwells the race of gods. More than any other thing that pertains to the body it partakes of the nature of the divine.” Plato, ‘Phaedrus’
“The sky is vast. I breathe deep gulps of the fine clear air of the heights. I feel myself to have achieved a higher state of physical strength and a clearer brain. I am living in the third dimension!” Henri Mignoet, ‘L’Aviation de L’Amateur; Le Sport de l’Air,’ 1934
3. Eat some asparagus and frolic with the birds and the bees! Asparagus is not only an uplifting treat, it can actually scientifically make you feel good by boosting your sex drive, assisting in weight loss and cleansing your whole body of toxins. It’s also great for nails, skin and hair!
The true British asparagus season is very short, lasting for about six weeks from late-April to mid-June so get some in now.
4. Try really hard to get things WRONG. Eh? You read that right. As Thomas Edison said, “Of the 200 light bulbs that didn’t work, every failure told me something that I was able to incorporate into the next attempt.” If you’re not prepared to make mistakes then you’re unlikely to get anywhere. “Fail, fail again. Fail better.” said Samuel Becket. Whatever it is that you’d like to achieve right now - you won’t get anywhere unless you start trying…
5. Turn off the TV and do something you wouldn’t normally do - whether it’s a local bat walk, a trip to the opera or drag car racing
I took the whole family recently to watch the Easter pig racing at a rare breeds farm, for example, and we haven’t laughed so much in a long time. But we’d never have done it unless a friend hadn’t recommended it.
Have a nose around at what other people do for fun and give it a go yourself. It could be a trip to the theatre or a bit of boating on a lake. A visit to a beautiful garden or an art gallery if it’s raining. It’s surely got to be better than sitting inside…
6. Have a go at the ‘I am..’ exercise. This comes from psychotherapist and personal development trainer Gael Lindenfield’s book, Super Confidence and is one of our favourites. Take a blank piece of paper and complete the sentence ‘I am....’ as many times as you can, over and over again, without thinking too hard, until you fill the page. You can then read through them and tick the ones you feel comfortable with and cross those that you don’t. Also useful is to imagine how other people who know you might respond to your list. Which ones would they agree with? Which ones would they disagree with? Are you being harsh on yourself, too easy on yourself or fair?
7. Wake up and smell the roses for a more beautiful complexion! Research carried out by the cosmetic company Lancôme discovered that users of a rose-scented daycream saw a greater reduction in signs of fatigue than testers of an un-scented version. Indeed, what is now being called ‘Psychodermatology’ or ‘skin shrinks’ is one of the fastest growing areas in cosmetic and clinical dermatology. Go seek fun and happiness for more beautiful skin.
8. In fact, I always like to have a bottle of rose aromatherapy oil nearby for a pickup if I’m feeling sad or glum. Put a few drops in the bath or on a hanky and sniff it.
9. Treat yourself to a ‘time-out’ holiday. It needn’t be long - just giving yourself an hour off to take a walk in a woods by a stream could be wonderfully energising and uplifting. Or how about a ‘mental health’ day (as we don’t live in Australia if would mean doing a sickie)? Make sure it’s a bright, warm, sunny day and allow yourself time off to sleep in, rest, relax, have fun and recharge your batteries.
10. Wear something spring green or orange. It needn’t be a whole outfit. Just a scarf or piece of jewelery or even a sticker would do!
11. Lie down in long grass and stare at the sky. This idea came from a beautiful new book I got for my birthday called The Bumper Book of Nature by Stephen Moss. “For many of us,” he says, “one of our first childhood memories is the sensation of lying down in long grass and staring up at a clear blue sky, as time seemed to stand still. So why not do it again...? It really is a wonderful way to relax and shed the cares of this world.”
12. A warm way to enjoy the dawn chorus. The normal way to enjoy the birds’ dawn chorus is to wrap up warm and set off for the park at 4.a.m. If you can’t quite drag yourself out of bed for that, how about just setting the alarm for 4, opening the windows as you switch it off and lying in bed to listen to the singing?
13. Hunt out the most spectacular natural phenomena or spectacle in your area and go and visit it. Is there a waterfall nearby or an old hill? A woods full of bluebells or perhaps a cliff or an old quarry? Maybe just a babbling brook or river you can sit and quietly watch flow by you? Get up there and take in big lungs full of spring air. You might not get the chance again ‘till next year…
14. Take a walk along country roads to enjoy the wild flowers in the hedgerows. Many are cut back by councils in May.
15. Make a POSITIVE To Do list. To Do lists are normally full of tasks you don’t want to do. Make this one about things you WANT or would like to do. On mine, for example, I have: Visit a National Trust garden, take the kids to a pond, buy a new nail varnish, take the kids to see a mountain and a waterfall and watch a Red Arrows display.
For Red Arrows displays see: http://www.raf.mod.uk/reds/displayinfo/displaydates.cfm
16. Make a list of all the things you’re grateful for or proud of. Think of all the things you already have or have already accomplished - then do something to celebrate or congratulate yourself!
17. Did I say “go on a bat walk” earlier? Yes I did! There are apparently seventeen different kinds of bats in Britain: over one quarter of all our mammal species! But how often do you see one? Search out bat walks organised by your local bat group or wildlife trust to learn more about these shy but fascinating creatures. The smallest British bat is called a pipistrelle and is about three centimeters long and weighs about the same as a two-pence piece. The largest, the noctule, can have a wingspan of 30-40 centimeters.
18. Do something to brighten up a dull area of your life. Whether it’s your work or home life… your Saturday mornings, your breakfasts or your wardrobe… we all get in ruts of same old same old that can often drag us down without our realising. Could your mornings be brightened by taking them outside or in a brighter spot, for example? Could you add some excitement to your work by taking on a new responsibility or project? Would a regular Wednesday night evening class add a zip to your mid-week?
19. Wish you had more energy? Then borrow some from the Spring! Spend five minutes each morning in the garden or just somewhere outside and a bit green. Listen to the birds singing and feel the effect that their different notes have on the cells in your body. Breathe deeply and think about all the energetic and miraculous growth that is going on around you. See the hugeness of the sky and the strength of the tiniest new shoots of growth pushing up through the ground. Imagine that all of this new life has a powerful energy that fills you from head to toe.
20. Focus your energy on important, positive and forward-moving tasks rather than the daily or urgent ones. Often when we’re busy, it’s very easy to deal with all the things that need doing right now, and never getting round to things that could actually make a really big difference in your work or in your life.
As author Gina Trapani said in an interesting article on how to separate the Urgent from the Important, “ More often than not “the urgent” is putting out fires, or busywork, or tasks that you’d rather do first because they’re less intimidating… Urgent tasks are usually short-term and we’re drawn to them because they keep us busy and make us feel needed… The important stuff… can involve thinking out long-term goals, being honest about where you are and want to be, and just doing plain hard work that feels boring and tedious.”
Her advice?
Choose three important tasks to complete and write them down on a piece of paper. Whenever you have a moment of free time, instead of checking your emails or sweeping the kitchen floor, look at the piece of paper and do something about achieving those tasks.
Set up a weekly 20-minute meeting with yourself where you take a look at how well you’re doing with your important tasks.
21. Enjoy even the rain. As I am writing the second half of this email today, the rain has come. But it is a gentle rain. A friendly rain. A softly on your cheeks rain.
A make-our-vegetables-grow rain. A fill-up-our-reservoirs rain. An oh-what-would-we-do-without-water rain…
22. Steer clear of moany conversations - or steer them into happier territory. Dr Michael Sinclair, director of City Psychology Group, says that “The current climate means the workplace in one of the most contagious areas for negative energy.” Whenever you’re with people you know well, in fact, you’re more likely to talk about your grumbles. Make a conscious effort to steer conversations onto more positive topics - or seek out new people to meet.
23. If you’re feeling stressed then clear some clutter. According to Feng Shui experts it’s one of the best therapies there is for worry and anxiety. Even just clearing out one particularly cluttered drawer could bring a greater sense of order and control into your life.
24. And finally…
“Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.”
James Allen, 1864-1912, British-born American Essayist, Author of “As a Man Thinketh
