If all else fails ... improvise!

Happiness

is a choice.
Every day.

I penned this doodle a few years ago when I started bullet journalling. 

I loved the idea of adding my own doodles to the mantras I try to live life by. 

I pen them in ink so there’s no option to edit.  

They’re perfectly imperfect and I like that. 

Penning the doodles is therapeutic.
All they need is paper, a pen and time.

Whilst I love my photography and the emotions it evokes, 

doodling allows for experimentation down a different creative path.

And different can be good.
Like Owha the Leopard Seal
Not your more usual sighting at the marina. 

Each of our lives is different.
That's how they're meant to be.
A mish-mash of moments, unique to each of us,
sttched inelegantly and imperfectly together.
All different and each it's own kind of normal.

But back to the doodle.

This particular doodle was accidentally cut in half when it was caught up 

in a batch of cards I was putting through the guillotine. 

I stuck it back together and have it pinned up near my work station at home.  

It reminds me of why I do what I do.

It’s a consistent visual memory in my head of how to get the

most out of every day. 

Even on the days when my head isn’t listening too well to my heart.
And even on the days when the temptation to 
descend into the dark threatens to overwhelm.

It reminds me to do what I LOVE.

(And who wouldn't want to do that!)

To let go of GRUDGES and what I CAN’T control.
(Practise makes perfect)

To ALWAYS have an attitude of gratitude.
(Not hard when you get to experience what I do EVERY morning!)

To step OUTSIDE my comfort zone.
(Change doesn't have to be negative, and adventure is exciting!)

And to EMBRACE every crazy minute of life
(and the crazy souls who do life with you!)

And, if all that fails?

TO improvise when I need to!

"Trust my nudges."
~ The Universe

Our lives are lived in hours.

“There is a voice that doesn’t use words.  

Listen.” 

~ Rumi

Hard to believe but January’s already done and dusted.  

We've used every second, every minute, every  hour of 31 precious days 

and are a month into THIS new year.

Another loop around the sun.

One more winter, summer, autumn and spring.

I was trying to decide which was my favourite season.

But I love them all.
Even winter!

Time really IS fleeting though.  

We can't buy more of it.
Not even a minute.

No matter how wealthy or otherwise we are.

There's this notion inside of me too that  I still have so much to see and do 

and that clock is ticking on relentlessly.

 My life's a little like a roller-coaster ride. 

I'm sure most of ours are!

Exhilarating one moment and terrifying the next.

It's all too easy to hurtle into a downward spiral

and to doubt you'll ever resurface.

But that little voice inside always urges me up.

It's unrelenting.

Even in the times when I struggle to hear it. 

It's the voice that sees infinite possibilities where I see obstacles.

The one that tells me I’m stronger than I sometimes think I am.

The one that reassures me that I have more than enough courage 

for any challenge I need to face.

It reminds me that every hour I have is precious.

To make decisions that are right 

for the moment in time that I'm making them.

To BE mindful. 

To be present enough to feel every terrifying, 

exhilarating, imperfect moment of life.

And to LISTEN to the wisdom within.

The more I listen to that inner voice,

the more I believe in me

and the more completely I embrace life.

Our lives are lived in hours.

Make the MOST of them.

“We do not need magic to transform the world. 

We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already.” 

~ J.K. Rowling