Mindful walk

January 19, 2018January 19, 2018 / cultivatingjoy / 1 Comment

JOYFUL GRATITUDE #62

I have lots of good intentions about going for a walk first thing in the morning when I’m not rushing to work, but for some reason I resist them fiercely. Though I know it would be good for me to begin the day by moving my body, getting some fresh air and being in touch with the elements, somehow I usually come up with all sorts of things that need doing before I head out.

However today the sun was beckoning after yesterday’s windy storm, so before starting anything else I just put on my shoes and left the house.

I had a beautiful walk. It felt so great to be outside and take my time, with no specific destination in mind, my only goal being to try and walk on the sunny side of the street as much as possible. The cold woke me up and I enjoyed looking at the sun playing hide and seek in passing clouds. To be present and not get too lost in my thoughts, I focussed on small things that caught my eye, like the unusual beauty in a colourful lichen or branches of a willow tree gently knotted together…

Beautiful imperfections

November 27, 2017November 26, 2017 / cultivatingjoy / 2 Comments

When was the last time you really looked closely at what is around you? Most of the time I am completely on auto-pilot, rushing to and from work, completely stuck in my head thinking about all the things I need to do or annoyed at the rain pouring down…

On Saturday morning, I took the opportunity of a ray of sunshine to go for a walk in the neighbourhood and consciously really looked at buildings, bikes, dogs, plants as I passed them. I started to notice tiny details. As autumn comes to an end, some plants are valiantly holding on to their last threads of life.

I was so happy to observe the plants on my way and focus on the beauty in their imperfections: slightly bruised and fading petals, leaves drying into brilliant reds, gorgeous lace-like patterns… It is the perfect trick for getting out of my whirling thoughts and truly being in the moment:)

Perfection in the tiny details

September 4, 2017September 3, 2017 / cultivatingjoy / Leave a comment

This time two years ago, I was in Australia on a wonderful trip. I was very lucky to go Down Under for work and then I took the occasion to travel and spend time with friends I hadn’t seen for many years. I can’t believe 2 years have passed already! I will be digging out some pictures of that trip from the archive to celebrate what an awesome trip I had:)

For now some details from walking along the sand on Cable Beach with my dear friend Alex at magic hour. I was mesmerised by the beauty of these patterns of tiny perfectly formed round balls of sand spreading outwards like fireworks.

Futher along the beach on I saw this simple footprint turned into a magical looking tree, which reminds me of the many boabs that we saw on our trip. So gorgeous! I love nature’s tiny beautiful details.

A dash of orange

July 21, 2017August 2, 2017 / cultivatingjoy / Leave a comment

JOYFUL GRATITUDE #36

These stunning bright orange lichens grow all over the rocks throughout Capraia. I tried to photograph them repeatedly but the pictures don’t really do justice to how marvelous they are.

As we were exploring the island, our guide Mariella explained that Capraia counts in total around 400 types of lichen, which I’d say is not bad for an island measuring just 20 square kilometers. I’m grateful to Pacha Mama for having created such diversity even in the tiny details, with insanely fascinating shapes and gorgeous colours.