Moving forward

Now the Spring Equinox has come and gone and the summer time clock change has also been done, I feel I can give a sigh of relief. How much better I feel with more daylight. I am also in the middle of a house move and I don’t think I have ever felt so exhausted as I do at the moment. Moving house is always stressful and I have a lot of books and craft boxes to move.

The first part of the move has been done and I spent some time last week sitting in my new bungalow enjoying the lightness of the room which has two large windows. Even with the curtains closed it was light and airy and I did enjoy that brief spell sitting and resting. I will have a garden too with lots of plants for butterflies to enjoy. There is also an unknown fruit tree which I shall watch carefully.

What I am really looking forward to is the space I shall have so I can create not only by writing but by painting and crafting. I have really missed these activities over the last couple of years. I shall also enjoy meeting my old friends and making new ones. I do feel I am moving forward after a spell of doing nothing.

Next weekend I shall be staying in my new home but with no internet access so there will be no blog next week. But the week after I hope to be back to my normal writing spot.

Extreme weather

We seem to be getting more periods of extreme weather in the last few years. These range from snow and ice to floods and extreme heat. Last week it was warm and sunny and a definite feeling of spring in the air and then overnight the temperature plummeted to below freezing and we have lots of snow and ice together with a strong wind blowing the snow everywhere.

I feel for the plant and animal life. The birds had started their mating rituals and some were building nests. The spring bulbs had dared to show their faces and were blooming well. What effect will this extremely cold spell have on them?

As humans we are able to adapt to the spells of extreme weather whether it is cold or hot but the animals and plants cannot deal with these extremes so easily. Is this a new weather pattern or a sign of climate change? Whatever it is, it could affect our food supply. Extreme cold or flooding and even heat can affect the way our crops grow. We hear of drought in other countries and how that affects all of their inhabitants. The UK also relies on other countries for some of its food so there is much to think about.

One of the things I have noticed over recent years is the way that the seasons have become less defined. Summer and autumn last year seemed to just be one season. Is this also something for our future climate here?

But I was ready for the spring. I had a feeling of expectation, of new things ready to happen especially as I am about to move house again. Now everything seems to have been delayed but hopefully not for long and the sun will soon shine again and the flowers raise their heads.

One other thing which crossed my mind was the solar storms we have been having and I wondered if they had anything to do with these extreme weather patterns. Food for thought! Of course the wind is cleansing, blowing away all the negativity around us which is good and the icy cold kills nasty germs so maybe these extreme weather spells can be good for us.

Some random thoughts

It is Mothers Day here in the UK where we honour our mothers and give them presents. But should we not honour our mothers every day for what they did for us and often still do for us every day? After all we wouldn’t be here without them.

A visit to a local park made me look at and think about boundaries. The pair of swans were not allowing the Canadian geese anywhere near them and shooed them off noisily whenever one was spotted. The male mallard ducks were pursuing the females although there were many more males than females. Signs of Spring and also signs of setting boundaries. Do we set boundaries around us and our properties and how do we do this?

The days are getting longer as dawn is much earlier and sunset later. It is also warmer although a bit damp at times. It is time to do some clearing out really but I am packing for a house move. I am not clearing out any more books or other items as I did this last time and now need some of the items I cleared out. I have done this with books and then had to go and find another copy. As a writer I need books for reference as well as for my personal spiritual work. Are you good at clearing out?

I have been ‘giving’ Reiki to a friend this week. We have had several short sessions and these have been quite powerful for both of us. It has made me think that I should work with Reiki much more. Do you do any kind of healing work and if so how do you feel about what you do?

I am looking forward to settling in my new home next month when I can get back to my art work as well as my writing. I have felt a great need to paint again especially since looking at some of the art work from previous years. Do you find looking at what you have done in the past triggers a need to do more of that kind of work?

So random thoughts and questions for you to ponder. The photo is of the swan taking off after the goose.

Friendship

I don’t know what happened but all my writing just disappeared so I shall start again.

If you use social media then you may have hundreds or even thousands of friends but are these really friends? At one time you could organise your social media friends into groups so I had a craft group, a healing group and a group of close friends. I’m not sure you can do this nowadays. But what is friendship?

I like this definition I found; ‘Friendship for most people is a combination of affection, loyalty, love, respect, and trust. The general traits of a friendship include similar interests, mutual respect and an attachment to each other, and in order to experience friendship, you need to have true friends.’ This definition represents how I feel about friendship.

For me it is important to be able to have deep discussion with my friends, to share with them my thoughts and feelings, to cry with them and laugh with them. I want to help them to achieve their goals and of course this all works vice versa.

So what about the other ‘friends’? Some of these might be people I see regularly but do not have that deep connection with them, others are just acquaintances. A true friendship can last many years even if you don’t see each other very often. I have friends I meet occasionally sometimes after many years but our conversations carry on as if we had only seen each other the previous day.

So I am grateful for those true friends that I have, with whom I share my feelings and thoughts on a regular basis. They have supported me and still do, through times of stress and upheaval. I hope I do the same for them.