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Creativity

Inspiration ~ Creativity

I am not sure about you but the past few weeks have been crazy and we are only just approaching the “silly season”! Blogging has been near on impossible over the past few weeks, so please excuse the sporadic posts! Things are slowly reaching some sort of normalcy – thank heavens.

We have been in our new home for three weeks, which I cannot believe, it seems like just yesterday that we moved. To say that it has been an easy transition would be an outright lie! There have been quite a few unexpected issues with the new house {to put it mildly}, which has meant we have had to throw ourselves headlong into renovations. Not to mention both girls trying to study for exams among the chaos. Needless to say stress levels have been at an all time high in our home!

The thing is you need to find an outlet for the stress, to avoid complete and utter melt down! Generally there are two main things which help me de-stress, one being running and the other Creativity! The need to be creative is definitely in my DNA and from very young age, I found that creativity needs to be a part of my daily life.

Creativity comes in so many forms! For me it started out as drawing when I was younger and as I have matured my blog has become one of my creative platforms. I also love the creativity of cooking. There is nothing more satisfying than creating something amazing, from just a few simple ingredients! Then there is my love of photography which has evolved so much over the past few years.

Home decor and interior decorating is also a great creative passion of mine and has been a great help keeping me sane over the past three weeks! Yes the dust and general mess still drives me crazy but focusing on the creative aspects of decorating, like colour and design have made the journey almost bearable! Something as simple as deciding on a wall colour or witnessing the transformation of a space, is sometimes all I need to fill my creative “tank”.

How do you handle stress? Do you also find being creative helps! Please share your thought below in the comment section.

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Inspiration ~ Change

Change

Change is not always an easy thing to go through! We become so comfortable in our existence and change or even the thought of change can be a scary thing! The biggest problem is without change we cannot grow. If you look at the definition of the word change, it means to make or become different. So when we change the course of our life, we allow ourselves to become different, in other words we GROW!

This week we are undertaking a big change and moving home. We are not moving far, in fact staying the same general area but I realised it not the move which scares me but rather the thought of change and uncertainty. Although I am super excited about moving and the prospects it brings with it, I am still nervous about how it will impact our lives.

If you look at some of the lists of stressful life events, many rate moving home to be up there with some of most stressful events, you will experience in your life! I can certainly attest to this! Packing up a home after 8 years is not for the fainthearted – the sheer amount of “stuff” you accumulate is outstanding! I know it is nowhere near as stressful as losing a loved one or going through a divorce but the process of moving, forces you out of your comfort zone. Plus you face having to leave the home, you have made your own and created so many memories in.

Along with all the rather stressful and scary feelings, are the other more positive feelings of expectation and excitement. The feeling of knowing that change, will allow you to grow and evolve as a person, is quite powerful!

Yes I am stressed and nervous about moving but in the same breath, I cannot wait to start this next chapter of our lives! To make many more happy memories in our new house and have fun making it our HOME!

My challenge to you this week is to embrace change rather than running from it! Please share any changes you are going or have gone through recently.

~Have a fabulous week!~

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Inspiration ~ Happiness

Happiness

There are many “things” that we think we need in life ~ money, success, fame but if you ask people what they really want out of life, the answer is usually Happiness. The problem with this is many people think that if they have money, success, fame etc. first, then they will be happy.

The truth is we need to let go of the things we think we need and who we think we are meant to be, before we can find true happiness. Often we fall short of happiness because the things we thought would make us happy, turn out to be a disappointment.

I spent this past weekend at a mother and daughter camp with my eldest, which turned out to be way more challenging physically than I ever expected! Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy being physical and being out doors but I am a perfectionist and dislike having to do things I am not comfortable with. Well I was forced way outside of my comfort zone, as we had to do a 11km paddle on the Breede River and for some reason river rafting has never been my idea of fun! The second part of the challenge was I had to paddle with my daughter – we both like to be in-charge so you can well imagine the fight for power that ensued!

We came back from camp exhausted and stiff from a full day of physical activity but ultimately and most importantly we had FUN! There is nothing better for the soul than finding what makes you happy and doing it! I have realised that although I love having nice things, these things do not bring ultimate happiness. It is more important for me to have my family around me and spend time with those I love!

Another very important thing to remember, is that happiness is a choice, you need to choose to be happy. It is not something that someone can give you or material possessions will bring you but more of an acceptance of who and where you are in life. Once you have let go of preconceived ideas of what happiness is, I believe you can and will be happy.

I love this list of 10 to Zen, things to let go of and do to find HAPPINESS!

So my challenge for this week, is find out what really makes you happy and embrace it! Most of all Choose Happiness and have an awesome week!

#beinspired

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Inspiration ~ Comparison

Comparison is one of those extremely dangerous things, ask me I know! I very easily find myself looking at others, whether in real life or on the web and comparing myself to them. It could be something as silly as seeing someones great new hair style and wishing that could be me {I really need a haircut!}, forgetting how blessed I am and how full my life is at the moment!

Especially doing what we do, as Bloggers, it is so easy to allow “Comparison to be the thief of joy!” Everything online is instant and in your face, making it so difficult, not to compare yourselves with others. People who we perceive to be more successful, more beautiful, more popular…the list goes on. If we were to just take a step back and think about all we have and how successful we are in our own right, instead of always comparing ourselves, it is indeed possible to find happiness.

I know in my personal journey, I need to keep myself motivated and set myself challenges each week, to keep myself focused and on the right track. The challenge for this week is to not compare myself to others, be happy for others and their successes but most of all realise, that I am where I am meant to be! So I challenge you to do the same – let go of comparison, be who YOU are meant to be and be HAPPY!

#beinspired

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Inspiration ~ be somebody who…

Inspiration

It is so easy to hurt people with words or simply by how you treat them! My challenge for you this week is to lift people up, be encouraging and make someone feel good. It costs you nothing and it is amazing how good it makes you feel!

As the quote above says “be somebody who makes everybody feel like somebody”

My encouragement for you, is remember you are beautiful, inside and out! Do not let others make you think otherwise – you are special and strong and awesome!

“Nothing makes a woman more beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful” ~ Sophia Loren

Have a fabulous Monday and an Inspired week!

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