JOYFUL GRATITUDE #206
What a year 2020 has been! The plant on this photo is a good metaphor for 2020. I can view it either as an unseemly plant with evil spikes, or, if I look from another angle, a bunch of tiny stars reaching out towards one another 🙂
Over the holidays, the community of the Guilty Feminist (one of my favourite podcasts) is sharing personal silver linings from lockdown (check out some of the short videos here). The aim being to focus on gratitude and create a wave of support for displaced people all around the world who are living in refugee camps, via the organisation Choose Love.
Having more time to volunteering at a farm on the outskirts of Amsterdam and learning about local regenerative food production was my silver lining in lockdown. I’m so grateful to have gotten to spend those Sundays hands deep in the soil digging up Jerusalem artichokes, planting pumpkins, turning over the compost heap, harvesting parsnips, planting trees… It was particularly great because in a time of reduced social interactions, it allowed me to meet fun people and, while safely keeping our distance, have lots of inspiring conversations and good laughs.
If you’d like to hear more about it, check this episode where Josie Naughton the co-founder explains the amazing work that Choose Love does. Because in winter I often have cold feet and wear two or more thick pairs of socks at once, I purchased some warm winter clothes and shoes from the Choose Love website. Items start at just £5 or if you prefer to act more locally, donate an organisation supporting refugees near you. All these small actions add up to make a difference 🙂
Cultivating joy 
I had no idea about the farm. Thanks for sharing about it. I’ll check them out soon. Cheers!
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Hi! Thanks for your comment. It’s a lovely place in the Tuinen van West 🙂 Wishing you a lovely 2021!!
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Sorry, I didn’t see your comment earlier. Hope you’d had a great start to 2021!
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I am glad to hear you had a chance to volunteer at the farm! I am definitely going to check what kind of a story is hiding underneath ‘planting trees’ because I love trees and we try to plant as many as possible here in Sligo!
Wishing you a year full of blessing and filled with a new adventure. Happy new year 2021! Aiva 🙂
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Dear Aiva, thanks a lot! I wish you a wonderful 2021 with many opportunities for simple pleasures and travelling near and far:-) I look forward to reading more posts about Ireland with your beautiful photos ❤ Take good care!
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I found your blog earlier this year and I have really enjoyed following along, your photographs are beautiful and I can travel through them to places I will probably never visit – thank you! Thanks also for all the interesting posts and links.
I hope you had a good Christmas and best wishes for a safe 2021.
Kate, UK
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Dear Kate, thank you so much for your message! It means so much to me to know you are travelling alongside me ❤ Especially in these COVID times it's wonderful to be able to travel vicariously through other people's words and images while we are safely at home:-) I wish you a lovely 2021 with good health and simple pleasures! Take care, Fanny
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