THE SOLUTION TO A SIMPLE, MEANINGFUL, WELL-DESIGNED LIFE /
THE F Ê T E / LIF E PROJECT NO.
26
ARE YOU PRESENT AND MINDFUL A S YO U G O T H R O U G H YO U R D AY? Welcome to the Fête/Life Project – a collection of helpful, useful and practical articles that can be applied to life at any time, but especially now. Sourced from the many magazines we have released, our message has never been more relevant or needed by our community today… let’s embrace the simple life and treasure what is truly important – human connection, community, self care and pure acts of kindness. SUPPORT WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST /
If you think these stories can uplift or help someone else, please share our project and spread the love.
FETELIFE.COM.AU / INSTAGRAM.COM/FETE_LIFE / #THEFETELIFEPROJECT
health / W E L L - B E I N G
PHOTOGRAPH / SERAINA SIL JA HÜRLIMANN STORY / DR LIBBY WEAVER
ARE YOU PRESENT AND MINDFUL AS YOU G O T H R O U G H YO U R D AY ? Do you notice the rise of the sun on the horizon in the morning or the way the leaves dance as the breeze picks them up? If you go for a walk, are you present to the world around you — noticing the warmth of the sun on your skin and the birds skipping through the trees? Do you sit at a table to have your meals, without your phone or social media — without a book or television, without your thoughts racing ahead to what else you have to do for the day? Or are you constantly one step ahead or behind yourself at any given moment, always feeling a bit frantic, thoughts racing and jumping from task to task? The pace of the modern world seems to
They’re tired yet wired, women are
demand that we move at a million miles
experiencing PMS and debilitating
the children’s mother – on what a sweet
an hour from the moment we crack our
menopausal symptoms, IBS, headaches,
sight it was, she (bless her in her
eyes open in the morning to the moment
anxiety, poor quality sleep, regular colds
exhaustion) rolled her eyes and said
we sigh into our pillow at the end of our
and flus and many other symptoms they
it is ‘Groundhog Day' to her.
long day. Many people share with me that
just accept as ‘normal'.
they don’t feel as though they’ve got the time to catch their breath let alone pay attention to what’s going on around them. The general consensus is something along the lines of, “I have so much to do and there’s just not enough time in the day.”
When I commented to my friend –
In an instant she saw what she had done.
Is great health and a degree of our
She saw how she had washed over a
happiness the true expense of our
moment in time, missed soaking up the
incessant rush? And does all of this really
nourishing sight at the bottom of the
mean that there is no space in our lives
stairs, and instead jumped ahead with her
for presence? Are we honestly too busy
mind to her perception of what tomorrow
to pause and admire the sunset or have
would be – another morning of feeling
But what are we missing out on by not
we just forgotten the importance of
beyond exhaustion and of chaos and
bringing more presence to our day-to-
pushing pause every so often and coming
demands on her time and energy.
day life?
up for air?
It’s undeniable that our lives are faster
In my heart of hearts I believe that for
than ever before. If we look at what life
most of us, we have simply lost touch with
there to behold if we can be in the moment,
was like even just fifty years ago, we can
the precious beauty of life. We’ve been
rather than always being ahead of it.
see the radical change that has taken place
swept up in the hurricane of modern living
for the vast majority of us. It wasn’t that
– seeking, striving, reaching to fit more in
long ago that when we left the house no
to our bulging schedules – without really
one could get hold of us. Email and social
giving pause to consider our priorities
media didn’t exist. Written communication
and whether our way of living is aligning
required writing a letter. Food was
with them.
slower, too. Today, many families don’t have any other option but for both parents to be earning an income. The cost of homes and living has skyrocketed and the increasing financial pressures have resulted in what, for many, is a frantic double shift of work and taking care of their families. The world has changed and we have adapted to cope. But for many, this pace – their unrelenting to-do lists and their perception of pressure and urgency – is driving troubling biochemical processes in their bodies.
And along the way we forget how much we
Yet the beauty of life and the beauties expelled by the lives we helped create, is
Yes we have to plan and organise, of course we do. But my goodness the feelings of stress are so much less when we have moments of noticing and soaking up the immense beauty around us. And the stress is so much less if we invest in ourselves and our health – whatever that looks like
already have and what a blessing it all is.
for you.
Are we really happy to give up our health
Going to your local café and reading a
for our lifestyle? To be so caught up in
magazine, sitting outside where you live
getting everyone out the door on time
and letting the sun warm your back with
that we miss our child’s pure delight
only the birds to keep you company,
from playing with the dog?
starting the day with qi gong and a walk.
I once witnessed a friend throw away an opportunity to be present when I commented on how precious her three children’s clothes looked hanging on the staircase railing, all pressed and tiny and ready for school the next day – with all their little shoes lined up
I encourage you to shift your perception that there is never enough time and part of this is creating spaciousness in your life. That looks different for everyone and we all have varying capacities for creating space – but space in some form we do have.
beneath each outfit.
ISSUE NO. 22 / FETEPRESS.COM.AU
75
health / W E L L - B E I N G
Consider this… we’re only busy with what we say yes to. Being busy can lead us to use the language “I don’t have time.” Instead, try saying, “That’s just not a priority for me at the moment” and see
TOP TIPS SLOW DOWN
CREATE SPACIOUSNESS
ENGAGE IN PRACTICES THAT
EVEN IF IT’S JUST 5 MINUTES
HELP TO SLOW YOUR MIND AND
E AC H DAY, TA KE S O M E T I M E TO
BODY DOWN SUCH AS TAI CHI,
YOURSELF TO DO SOMETHING
how that feels. Conversely, it may help to
QI GONG, MEDITATION OR
FOR YOU. START SMALL AND
consider the things you spend most of your
WALKING IN NATURE.
GROW IT.
time doing and try saying, “This is a high
THERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN YOU
priority for me at the moment.” This can help you to decipher what you really want to say yes to, what your priorities are and
NEED TO PICK UP THE PACE BUT THE MORE YOU ENCOURAGE S LOWN E S S I N YO U R DAY, T H E MORE YOU WILL REALISE WE
for many people today, this alone helps
CAN STILL BE BUSY AND MINDFUL
them to experience a greater sense of
AT THE SAME TIME.
spaciousness and peace, to cultivate better personal energy and experience a greater level of wellness. Stay in touch with how privileged your life is… all of your basic needs are met when that is not the case for too many people
EXPLORE YOUR PERCEPTION
WHOLE, REAL FOOD, MAKING
E AC H DAY F U L L O F P R E S S U R E
MOVING AND HYDRATING OUR
AND URGENCY? OR IS IT A BUSY
BODIES AND DOING THINGS
LIFE, FULL OF OPPORTUNITY
THAT BRING US JOY.
AND PRIVILEGE? SAVE YOUR PERCEPTION OF PRESSURE Y O U R E A L LY N E E D I T.
cannot focus on more than one thing at a
START A GRATITUDE JOURNAL
time. So when you’re feeling grateful, you
O R S I M P LY TA K E A F E W M I N U T E S
Stay connected to wonder – that wonder they experience something incredible for the first time. Stay in touch with the wonder and the gift of life, with all of its
AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF T H E DAY TO C A S T YO U R M I N D OVER EVERYTHING IN YOUR LIFE THAT YOU HAVE TO BE GRATEFUL FOR. AFTER ALL, YOU CAN’T BE GRATEFUL AND STRESSED AT THE SAME TIME.
messiness and chaos and unpredictability.
USE WAITING MOMENTS FOR
Do your best to embrace uncertainty, for
OBSERVING THE WORLD
some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won’t have a title until much later. And let yourself have what you already have. Even if it is right in front of you every day and you don’t let yourself have it – which means noticing it, taking it in, allowing yourself the pleasure of it –
AROUND YOU INSTEAD OF FLICKING THROUGH YOUR PHONE WHEN YOU’RE WAITING FOR THE T R A I N T O C O M E O R M E N TA L LY CATALOGUING YOUR TO-DO LIST AS YOU WAIT AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS, TAKE THE OPPORTUNIT Y TO BE MINDFUL TO WHAT IS HAPPENING
it is never yours.
AROUND YOU.
It never becomes part of the ground of
NOTICE WHAT YOU ALREADY
goodness on which you can live and this, the essence of this, forms so much of our foundation of health and energy that isn’t really discussed. If you don’t let yourself have an amazing sunset, a cool evening breeze on your face after a hot day, a majestic view, then what else are you denying yourself? Why not let yourself have what you already have? I have read that when people who are dying are asked what they will miss the most, they say, “The ordinary things.
AND TAKE EXCELLENT CARE OF Y O U R S E L F. T H AT M E A N S E AT I N G TIME FOR ADEQUATE REST,
AND URGENCY FOR WHEN
you see plainly on children’s faces when
NOTHING. TAKE A PREVENTATIVE APPROACH
OF PRESSURE AND URGENCY
human nervous system, a body system
cannot be stressed.
CRISIS TO REMIND YOU THAT WITHOUT OUR HEALTH WE HAVE
HAVE YOU MADE WHAT YOU DO
in this world. Science has shown that the inextricably linked to our stress response,
PRIORITISE YOUR HEALTH DON’T LET IT TAKE A HEALTH
HAVE S TAY CO N N EC T E D TO T H E INCREDIBLE WONDER AND THE GIFT THAT IS LIFE.
FLEX YOUR 'NO' MUSCLE WHILE THERE ARE THINGS THAT ALL OF US NEED TO DO WHETHER WE WANT TO OR NOT, THERE ARE SEVERAL THAT YOU M AY B E D O I N G O U T O F D U T Y OR OBLIGATION OR TO PEOPLE P L E A S E. P R AC T I C E S AY I N G N O TO THOSE THINGS.
The smell in the air just before the rain. The feeling of my dog’s fur under my hands. My partner’s face. A freshly cut lemon. The night sky.” We have those things now. Don’t let them pass you by.
76
FETEPRESS.COM.AU / ISSUE NO.22
Dr Libby Weaver is a Nutritional Biochemist, best-selling author and speaker. Her book, W O M E N ’ S W E L L N E S S W I S D O M , is available at: DRLIBBY.COM