21 Aug Feed Your Soul – Doing What Makes You Happy
I’m having a really good day, actually I’m having a really good few weeks.
We all have highs and then of course we all have lows but I’m pretty certain my good mood isn’t just a cyclical thing. I have recently rediscovered some soul enriching activities that are really helping me align to my core truth.
I’ve just got back from 2 gorgeous weeks in Majorca in a lovely villa with a pool. We’ve been here a few times in the past few years but this year the difference is that I don’t have any of my chronic fatigue symptoms anymore having finally killed off that demon last year. Instead of just floating about on a li-lo and having a load of siesta’s, I bought some new swimming goggles and vowed I would swim 100 lengths a day. This initially was to stop the inevitable holiday muffin top appearing but actually what happened was far reaching.
Wind back 17 years and I was an extremely good competition swimmer (freestyle and butterfly were my strokes). I was school swimming captain and also a highly qualified life guard. In short I spent most of my free time in a pool, around a pool or watching a pool. I had chlorine wrecked hair and I could spin a whistle with real authority but I got tired of the training and when I went to college the years of dedication went down the drain. Or so I thought, but muscle memory is a wonderful thing.
The first day when I dived into the cool clear pool I noticed how quickly my body responded and remembered the techniques drilled into me, my tumble turns were slick and I felt myself in a zone that I havent visited for a long, long time. It was bliss. I’ve vowed to myself I’m going to start distance swimming again each week and I’ve bought a new swimming costume ready to go.
The other thing I’ve been doing is singing – not the “in the car/shower” type singing, I mean proper singing with warming up and everything. I sing at weddings and funerals and do the odd piece of musical theatre but nothing serious. Husband bought me a session in a recording studio for Christmas and this week I got to have my go at being a pop star.
It was brilliant fun and I got to hear how others hear me for the first time and years of self disbelief dropped away and I’m going to start manifesting the chance to perform more regularly (potential band members wanted).
So I’m happy because my soul feels nourished. Often we only focus on what makes us money or keeps us healthy and we forget the stuff that makes us happy and carefree. When your heart has time to sing and your brain can switch off is the time when you are really really you.
Whatever your hobby make time for it, I’ve remembered how important it is and I won’t forget in a hurry.
Interested in our ramblings? Follow us on Facebook