Life is a gift.

As I've said before I set my alarm for 6am every morning, I usually get up and make a cuppa and either sit and do some meditation or 2 mornings a week I head to the lake for a swim. This morning I headed out for an early walk with my pup Tala. It was dark and very frosty but absolutely stunning. I had a head torch on but actually turned it off and allowed my eyes to get used to the dark, which they soon did, and I looked up. The stars were stunning and actually took my breath away for a second in awe of the clear expanse of them. The frosty air also took my breath away for different reasons but it felt good to breathe in cold fresh air, being in the dark also seems to heighten all your other senses, the smells were a lot clearer, wood fire smoke hanging in the air which has to be one of my favourite smells, I could also occasionally smell fragrant smells like laundry or shower gels which I can only assume was coming from village drains. Once out of the village I took time to stop and just stand still ( well as still as Tala would allow anyway) I could hear rustle of wildlife in the fields and hedges, the occasional early rising bird, a distant car. My skin tingled with the cold and it felt good to be alive. I feel so grateful that I live where I do as low light pollution allowed me to see the stars and lack of traffic allowed me to walk in the dark up the middle of the road. It allowed me to see the dawn breaking and to see the planet Mars stand out in the sky, see the frost really twinkle when the light hit it, but wherever you live take time to head out for a walk in the dark or daylight and really look, listen and smell and appreciate what's around you because even in the biggest city there will be something that you don't normally notice, try and focus on one leaf or blade of grass or grain of soil in that way you will notice and appreciate the abundance that is always around you in life. Take a few deep breaths, think of things that you are grateful for today and smile even if you don't feel like it, just by raising the corners of your mouth it send messages to your brain and you will find it makes you feel better. Life is a gift and if you allow it to it will keep on giving. Have a fab day.

Much Love Jo x

#selfdiscovery #mentalhealth #nature #livelife #perimenopause #womenshealth