Reflecting

I picked up my journal on Christmas Day and realised I had written nothing in it for six months. This was quite a shock as I generally write in my journal at regular intervals. So I spent the day updating my journal. Those six months had been traumatic and chaotic and there was much to write about. It took several hours to write it all down and at the end I felt a sense of release. It had been a very therapeutic experience.

Since then I have tried to write each day. Journalling is good for the soul as you can write down all your thoughts and feelings which of course must help when having to deal with trauma. I am planning to write more during the coming year and not have to write about several months in one go. I found that I kept remembering things I wanted to write about so kept going back to the journal for several hours, each time thinking I had finished.

For 2018 I have also got one of those journals where you write in your aims and what you want to do and achieve in the coming year. There is a lot of space for this so I hope to use it at least once a week. This year I did manage to write a few sentences in my diary every day which for me is quite an achievement. Next year I intend to do much better.

Do you journal or write in a diary? I love to go back and read them and see what I did all those years ago. They tell my life story of course. I hope that the new year of 2018 brings you all love and peace and also much joy in your life. Blessings to you all.

The return of the light

It will soon be the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. After that the days will start to get a bit longer and the dark nights a bit shorter. I am really looking forward to that as I don’t deal with short dark days and long dark nights very well. I need lots of light in order to function.

Many cultures celebrate the return of the light at this time of the year so I like to join them and celebrate too. The return of the light is a very common theme. I wonder how our ancestors felt at this time of the year. Yet although the days will be longer, here in the UK winter is still to come although we have had a frosty snowy week just now. January and February are often the months when we get snow and lots of ice. But we often also get beautiful clear blue skies and lots of sunshine as well.

This last week here has been one of snow, more snow, rain and then ice. There is still some snow lingering on the grass and roads but there is also a lot of ice making it difficult for me to go out and enjoy the local nature reserve. I have missed this but I have enjoyed looking at the photos of those who could get there. The pools were frozen over some days and the ducks and swans went skating.

So I am really looking forward to the return of the light and will be celebrating this as will many others, alone while some will be celebrating in groups. However you celebrate the return of the light I wish you a wonderful day and a good year to come.

Snow

There is something special about snow. It is white and pure, dazzling when deep and glistens on the trees and ground.  I love the way it rests on the branches and on the shrubs like a layer of icing on a cake. I love to see the animal footprints on it when there are large areas of white snow. You can see where animals and birds have been that you might not actually see at other times.

It also muffles the noise so silence can prevail. Even the traffic noise is quieter. It gives me a feeling of peace as the incessant everyday noise of communal living fades into a quiet sleepy humming noise. It is still quite early in the morning as I write this but later there will be children around in the nearby gardens making snowmen and having snowball fights. There is enough snow in some places for toboggan rides as well. There is also a gusty wind which is blowing the snow from the rooftops.

But if you can’t go out in it then watch it as the snowflakes fall gracefully. Each snow flake is individual. There are many photos of individual snowflakes and you can see how amazing they all are. I am one of those who can’t go out in the snow but I can watch it falling and settling on the trees and the ground and see how beautiful it is knowing that each flake is unique. Nature is wonderful. Enjoy it while you can. Enjoy the stillness too.

My photo was taken yesterday in the garden here. I love the way the tree branches are outlined with snow.

Communications and our elders

Technology has made us a different people. We text on the phone and do not communicate via our voices any more. I much prefer to talk on the phone or face to face. That way we can communicate our emotions and use our body to communicate our feelings as well. Texts are so impersonal. Those who prefer to text have their reasons as one woman said this morning on the TV, she did not have to know whether the person she was sending a text was ill or not. I found this statement rather sad.

This brings me to the way we communicate and treat our elders. In days gone by and still happening in other cultures, our elders were respected and allowed to use their talents even though they might be very old. The youngest grandchildren talked to their elders and respected them but also loved them and were loved in return. The elders played a part in family life and also community life.

There are many in the older generation who cannot or will not use mobile phones. They like to see their family and talk to them face to face. Here in the UK, at a certain age you retire from working life and then what? If you do not have a hobby or some kind of interest then you can stagnate and fall into depression. But what happens when you find your home too large to look after? So many older people are now in retirement homes which are generally very small and have little space for hobbies. Of course these places are secure and have emergency pull cords so the rest of the family feel that the older members are safe and so do not visit or worry about them so much. But the joy of sharing with family members is no longer there and for me that is an important part of life. Sharing with friends too is good and also important but as older people are we the same as the elders of other cultures? Do we get the respect that we deserve and the treatment by others that we deserve?

Many are happy in their retirement homes and enjoy the activities that go on there but others like me are frustrated by the lack of space to enjoy my hobbies and the lack of encouragement by others who think I am a bit weird! Should we be more aware of how different we, as the elders, all are? We all have something to offer to those younger than us but often this is pushed away. It is so easy and I have seen it done, to push Granny into a retirement bungalow and then forget about her. What has happened to our feelings of family and our love for them?