tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635439172069314882024-03-27T21:04:21.058+00:00Falling PetalsMoonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.comBlogger216125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-31190845915047616412024-02-27T23:44:00.003+00:002024-03-27T21:03:49.255+00:00Gratitude List<p>I normally write these posts on the last Sunday or Monday of the month, but yesterday I did <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2024/02/feeling-stuck-when-your-dreams-seem-far.html" target="_blank">another post</a>. So I'm writing this month's Gratitude List today instead. :) </p><p> </p><p>Things I'm grateful for this month:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2024/02/imbolg-2024.html" target="_blank">Imbolg/Imbolc</a></li><li>Daffodils and other signs of spring<br /></li><li>The days getting longer</li><li>Sunny days after lots of rain! </li><li>Going to <a href="https://www.starbucks.co.uk/" target="_blank">Starbucks</a></li><li>Listening to new music</li><li>Getting a <a href="https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb.html" target="_blank">McDonald's</a> caramel frappe again (they hadn't been available for a while)!</li><li>Books<br /></li></ul>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-40114333770118015872024-02-26T22:10:00.023+00:002024-03-19T18:35:59.650+00:00Feeling Stuck (When Your Dreams Seem Far Away)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKuUmNWFt3oBibZgEfKz_Ibe9zS6fzyXRsoI9GHkn0jyvLdhoApBwp5uXLfrVIHdtdPF4hdsmIhZFATZYcqGVmjzmshv4QPsHMIRA3bIwflpwDN2o2OFx2vcoN9AeK2tZINq3YA8IOqgnp9PDOUoFFDQEQWBNdRpH-r-EeCJYs1da1FYwEG1_0wNzE0Gn/s4160/IMG_20240223_172728_172.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKuUmNWFt3oBibZgEfKz_Ibe9zS6fzyXRsoI9GHkn0jyvLdhoApBwp5uXLfrVIHdtdPF4hdsmIhZFATZYcqGVmjzmshv4QPsHMIRA3bIwflpwDN2o2OFx2vcoN9AeK2tZINq3YA8IOqgnp9PDOUoFFDQEQWBNdRpH-r-EeCJYs1da1FYwEG1_0wNzE0Gn/s320/IMG_20240223_172728_172.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I've previously written about feeling down and stuck in life. My most recent post on that was When You've Been Down for Too Long (two years ago now!), which you can read here: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/02/when-youve-been-down-for-too-long.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/02/when-youve-been-down-for-too-long.html</a></p><p>I've also written about feeling stuck when it comes to achieving your goals, particularly when it comes to manifesting with the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/law-of-attraction-loa-20.html" target="_blank">Law of Attraction</a> and how to <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/11/how-to-really-believe-loa.html" target="_blank">believe in your dreams coming true</a>. And I've looked at the<a href=" https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/law-of-assumption-alternative-way-of.html" target="_blank"> Law of Assumption</a> as an alternative way of manifesting. Although I felt some kind of shift earlier last year, I'm currently in a place where I'm feeling quite stuck not just in manifesting but in life in general. So I thought I'd take a look at working through it. </p><p><br /></p><p><i>Why do we feel stuck?</i><br /></p><p>We can feel stuck for many reasons- feeling like nothing has changed in our life in general for a long time, because of a particular situation in our life that's making us unhappy (a relationship/lack of one), job stress, health problems etc.) or wanting to achieve a goal but feeling unable to reach it.</p><p>It can be really hard and frustrating to feel like this. It's important not to blame yourself. Some things may be beyond your control and you could be suffering from trauma, experiencing discrimination or be in an abusive situation. I can't address these myself but I shared some links in my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/02/when-youve-been-down-for-too-long.html" target="_blank">When You've Been Down Too for Long post.</a> I'll share them again below, plus some more that may help.</p><p> <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>Trauma:</p><p>Basic information about trauma and useful contacts: <a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/trauma/about-trauma/" target="_blank">https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/trauma/about-trauma/</a></p><p>Post from Dominee of Self-Love Rainbow which shares examples of trauma: <a href="https://www.selfloverainbow.com/examples-of-trauma" target="_blank">https://www.selfloverainbow.com/examples-of-trauma</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Discrimination: <br /></p><p>Basic info about discrimination and how to cope with it: <a href="https://www.apa.org/topics/racism-bias-discrimination/types-stress" target="_blank">https://www.apa.org/topics/racism-bias-discrimination/types-stress</a></p><p>Discrimination advice: <a href="https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/advice_information/what-can-i-do-if-im-discriminated-against/" target="_blank">https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/advice_information/what-can-i-do-if-im-discriminated-against/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Abuse:</p><p>Advice and support for if you're being abused: <a href="https://nnedv.org/content/if-you-are-being-abused/" target="_blank">https://nnedv.org/content/if-you-are-being-abused/</a></p><p>Getting help for domestic violence (UK based): <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/getting-help-for-domestic-violence/" target="_blank">https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/getting-help-for-domestic-violence/</a></p><p><br /></p><p><i>Moving past it</i></p><p>So how do we move past this feeling of being stuck? This can be very hard to do.<br /></p><p>I wrote a bit about this in my When You've Been Feeling Down for Too Long post, under the Feeling stuck section: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/02/when-youve-been-down-for-too-long.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/02/when-youve-been-down-for-too-long.html</a></p><p>In that post, I mentioned how, if you follow <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_attraction_(New_Thought)" target="_blank">Law of Attraction </a>(LOA) teachings, you'll often be told that to change your circumstances, you need to change yourself first. However, if you're feeling in a very down, negative place, the thought of changing yourself may feel very daunting. </p><p><i>Note: </i>For basic info on LOA, visit this post: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2013/08/law-of-attraction.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2013/08/law-of-attraction.html</a></p><p>You may find this especially hard if you're having issues with your mental health (as I do). In that case, it would also be beneficial for you to work on your mental health, finding the best methods possible for you. </p><p><i>Please note:</i> If you are having mental health issues, please seek the advice of a
doctor/mental health professional. I am not qualified to help, just someone
who experiences mental health issues myself. :)</p><p> </p><p>If you're interested in manifesting and have a mental health condition, you may find these posts helpful (please also seek help from a professional): <br /></p><p>Manifesting and Mental Health- Part 1: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/08/manifesting-and-mental-health-part-1.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/08/manifesting-and-mental-health-part-1.html</a><br /></p><p>Manifesting and Mental Health- Part 2: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/manifesting-and-mental-health-part-2.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/manifesting-and-mental-health-part-2.html</a></p><p> </p><p>Although this post isn't completely focused on the Law of Attraction, I'm referencing it because it's something I'm interested in, along with general self-help. <br /></p><p>To answer the question of how you (we) can move past feeling stuck, I think that some things you can do are:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Be patient with yourself </li><li>Find hope<br /></li><li>Work on your mindset </li></ul><p><br /></p><p></p><p>So with the first one (be patient with yourself), it can help to have compassion for yourself. I personally feel impatient with myself when I fall into old patterns, especially with <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2016/11/healing-health-anxiety-part-2.html" target="_blank">health anxiety</a>. I previously wrote about this in a <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/02/feeling-your-emotions-shame.html" target="_blank">post about shame</a> (part of my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/search/label/Feeling%20Your%20Emotions" target="_blank">Feeling Your Emotions series</a>).</p><p>Here is a video from Lavendaire on this subject of having compassion (I came across it after I started to write this post!): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqF2F7bW8tA&t=50s" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqF2F7bW8tA&t=50s</a></p><p> </p><p>I'll look at the other two things on the list in the sections below.<br /></p><p> <br /></p><p><i>Finding hope</i></p><p>I originally listed this after work on your mindset, but I realised that it's quite hard to do mindset work if you don't believe it will do any good. So I'm covering this first. (Feel free to read whichever section you're drawn to first though.) :)<br /></p><p>If you've been feeling stuck for a long
time, you may be feeling despairing and hopeless. I wrote a bit about
believing that things will get better and feeling hopeful in my When
You've Been Down for Too Long post (in the How do you believe things
will really get better? section): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/02/when-youve-been-down-for-too-long.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/02/when-youve-been-down-for-too-long.html</a></p><p> </p><p>Here are some more links about finding hope:</p><p>How to Cultivate Hope When You Don't Have Any: <a href="https://time.com/6327444/how-to-be-more-hopeful/" target="_blank">https://time.com/6327444/how-to-be-more-hopeful/</a></p><p>Maintaining hope in the face of uncertainty: <a href="https://mhanational.org/maintaining-hope-face-uncertainty" target="_blank">https://mhanational.org/maintaining-hope-face-uncertainty</a> </p><p>Another article abut finding hope: <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/pieces-mind/201504/finding-hope" target="_blank">https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/pieces-mind/201504/finding-hope</a></p>Video from Esther Bartikiw about 3 ways to regain hope (made around the height of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic" target="_blank">pandemic</a> but helpful any time): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsvbA9HnoYg&t=1s" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsvbA9HnoYg&t=1s</a> <br /><p><br /></p><p><i>Believe you're no longer stuck</i></p><p>And now we come to the last point, working on your mindset. I was actually inspired to write this post by this Lisa Alexandra video (this video will change the way you manifest): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wluuA7Dn348" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wluuA7Dn348</a></p><p>It's
about feeling stuck with manifesting (Law of Attraction/Law of Assumption). See the section "You are stuck"
(about 5.55 minutes in). Believing that you're no longer stuck is
perhaps one of the hardest things to do. I'm not discounting "real
world" problems because if you're just struggling to survive, changing
your
mindset is likely going to be very difficult. This may be seen as a <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/04/loa-round-up.html" target="_blank">"limiting belief"</a> but I feel that we can't ignore the fact that
different people have different circumstances. </p><p>So if you're in a
place where you're just trying to get through the day and you find that
mindset work isn't helping you, it may be best to take a break and come
back to it later. :) </p><p> </p><p>Having said that, I'll take a look at changing your mindset. Here are some helpful links:<br /></p><p>A good post from Diana of The Chic Life about how you have the power to change your life: <a href="https://thechiclife.com/2023/12/you-have-the-power-to-change-your-life.html" target="_blank">https://thechiclife.com/2023/12/you-have-the-power-to-change-your-life.html</a></p><p>6 Powerful Mindset Shifts (zen habits): <a href="https://zenhabits.net/powerful-mindset/" target="_blank">https://zenhabits.net/powerful-mindset/</a></p><p>How to Overcome Limiting Beliefs (video from Lavendaire): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tSVLp0XKE8" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tSVLp0XKE8</a></p><p>7 realisations/shifts to help with anxiety, negative thinking etc. (Devi Sietaram video): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOpAv0CHTW0" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOpAv0CHTW0</a> <br /></p><p>How to Achieve all that YOU WANT in LIFE! (video from Drishti Garg): <a href=" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn6CPCmCoOg" target="_blank"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn6CPCmCoOg</a></p><p> </p><p><b>Update 19/3/24:</b> I came across this video from Reinventing Poppy, about how it's not too late to change your life when you're in your 30s (or beyond) and thought it would be good to share:</p><p>Watch this if you're in 30s, lost and achieved nothing in life: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxDuRSC8TI8" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxDuRSC8TI8</a><br /></p><p> </p><p>So that's it for now. I found it a bit of struggle putting this post together (I'm going through a bit of a stressful time right now) but I felt that it was important. I hope that you found it helpful. :) I've also included an extra section at the bottom with more resources if you're going through a hard time right now.</p><p>What do you do when you feel that your dreams just aren't coming true, or you feel stuck in life in general? </p><p> </p><p><b>Extra resources (if you're struggling right now) </b></p><p><b>Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, so if you're having mental/physical
issues please seek medical help in addition to reading this. :)</b></p><p><b> </b></p><p>My posts:</p><p>When You're Struggling: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/10/when-youre-struggling.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/10/when-youre-struggling.html</a></p><p>Law of Attraction 2.0: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/law-of-attraction-loa-20.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/law-of-attraction-loa-20.html</a> <br /></p><p>Starting From the Bottom- Part 1: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/04/starting-from-bottom-part-1.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/04/starting-from-bottom-part-1.html</a></p><p>Starting From the Bottom- Part 2: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/08/starting-from-bottom-part-2.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/08/starting-from-bottom-part-2.html</a> </p><p>Feeling Your Emotions Recap (links to all current posts in the series): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/09/feeling-your-emotions-recap.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/09/feeling-your-emotions-recap.html</a></p><p>Finding a Way Forward: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/08/finding-way-forward.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/08/finding-way-forward.html</a></p><p> </p><p>10 reminders for when you're feeling low, stuck, lost (video from Lavendaire): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJrl0FGXb-U&t=311s" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJrl0FGXb-U&t=311s</a></p><p>Here's a video about feeling good about feeling bad, which shares an exercise for working with your emotions (it's from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@AnnaAkana" target="_blank">Anna Akana</a> but I found it through this blog post): <a href="https://finding-hope.co.uk/2019/06/01/feeling-good-about-feeling-bad/" target="_blank">https://finding-hope.co.uk/2019/06/01/feeling-good-about-feeling-bad/</a></p><p>It's only around 5 minutes, so good if your attention span is low right now. :) </p><p> </p><p>Kailyn Bowman video about having a breakthrough: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oaq5EXz68vI" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oaq5EXz68vI</a></p><p>Affirmations to Carry You Through Difficult Times (Positive Provocations): <a href="https://positiveprovocations.com/2023/07/13/affirmations-to-carry-you-through-difficult-times/" target="_blank">https://positiveprovocations.com/2023/07/13/affirmations-to-carry-you-through-difficult-times/</a></p><p> </p><p>Photo: Buckingham Park, Shoreham-by-sea. Moonsparkle 2024. <br /></p><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><br /><p><br /></p><br /><p><br /></p><br /><br /><p><br /></p><p> </p><br /><p><br /></p><br />Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-28337623808935185232024-01-29T22:56:00.006+00:002024-01-30T17:05:25.331+00:00Gratitude List<p> Things I'm grateful for this month:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Winter sunsets</li><li>Easter chocolates already in the shops!<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.costa.co.uk/" target="_blank">Costa Coffee's</a> new <a href="https://costanewsroom.vuelio.co.uk/press/press-releases/97ca925f-fd95-4982-a39b-c953f3290932/new-research-reveals-britain-is-gripped-by-fear-of-trying-new-things" target="_blank">hot milkshakes</a> (I had salted caramel cofeee)<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Self-Love-Rainbow-Workbook-Complete-Self-Care/dp/195640340X" target="_blank">The Self-Love Rainbow Workbook by Dominee Calderon</a> (who runs the site <a href="https://www.selfloverainbow.com" target="_blank">Self-Love Rainbow</a>)</li><li>Lydia Millen post about <a href="https://lydiaelisemillen.com/5-ways-to-fall-in-love-with-january/" target="_blank">ways to fall in love with January</a>- this isn't one of my favourite times of year, so it's good to have a new perspective! </li><li>Re-reading self-help/personal development books</li><li>Hot chocolate <br /></li><li>Getting some snow- it doesn't snow that often in Sussex, so it made a change!</li></ul><p> </p><p>I've been going through an anxious, down time lately and struggling a bit to think of things for this month's Gratitude List. But it does help to write them. I'd like to blog more during 2024 and have been working on a post. It's hard to feel inspired sometimes. <br /></p><p>For anyone also finding things difficult, I hope you're coping as best you can and you can find something to hep you. :) <br /></p>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-67440091209190571712023-12-31T20:29:00.024+00:002024-01-04T21:48:00.199+00:00Letting Go of 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__uoR9gvYQkSpg9hBCWSQIbiaRX7wFHGS5zMUgfLlCwWCbO_3xpcM35s61A4wtaqa2bnpaP69QoiDY24P3ip6DK_KPRGaL4daGqWGiX9dUnELZlKeh8o0sHa9xKT7NBm-gKWyuZpBOlXbmmDRbY-WRVQ84rvMOkdwsEituQUqFcCz132vs4SkmC0uF8B4/s4160/IMG_20231115_163239_148.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__uoR9gvYQkSpg9hBCWSQIbiaRX7wFHGS5zMUgfLlCwWCbO_3xpcM35s61A4wtaqa2bnpaP69QoiDY24P3ip6DK_KPRGaL4daGqWGiX9dUnELZlKeh8o0sHa9xKT7NBm-gKWyuZpBOlXbmmDRbY-WRVQ84rvMOkdwsEituQUqFcCz132vs4SkmC0uF8B4/s320/IMG_20231115_163239_148.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p> </p><p>It's the end of the year, so it's time for my annual letting go post! I've written them for 6 years now and you can see my previous posts at the links below:</p><p>Letting Go of 2017: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/12/letting-go-of-2017.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/12/letting-go-of-2017.html</a><br />
<br />
Letting Go of 2018: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/12/letting-go-of-2018.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/12/letting-go-of-2018.html</a></p><p>Letting Go of 2019 + Starting a New Decade: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/letting-go-of-2019-starting-new-decade.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/letting-go-of-2019-starting-new-decade.html</a><br /></p><p>Letting Go of 2020: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/12/letting-go-of-2020.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/12/letting-go-of-2020.html</a></p><p>Letting Go of 2021: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/12/letting-go-of-2021.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/12/letting-go-of-2021.html</a></p><p>Letting Go of 2022: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/01/letting-go-of-2022.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/01/letting-go-of-2022.html</a></p><p> </p><p>The end of 2022 wasn't very good for me (due to personal reasons), as I mentioned in the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/01/letting-go-of-2022.html" target="_blank">previous Letting Go post</a>. And 2023 didn't start off that well. But it got better further into the year. I also write a mid-year reflections post and you can read 2023's here: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/06/mid-2023-reflections.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/06/mid-2023-reflections.html</a></p><p>If you follow numerology, the Universal Year Number for 2023 was 7, so 2024's is 8. Its themes are empowerment, manifestation and abundance. It's supposed be an "accelerator" year, which will help people push forward on their goals. You can read more about it here: <a href="https://astrostyle.com/8-universal-year-2024-numerology-horoscope/" target="_blank">https://astrostyle.com/8-universal-year-2024-numerology-horoscope/</a></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>My Personal Year Number for 2023 was 2, which is about partnerships and co-operation. I felt a bit of a shift in that area but not a huge amount. My number for 2024 is 3, which is about creativity and communication. I normally use the book <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/21st-Century-Goddess-Modern-Universe/dp/0552150711/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452618302&sr=1-1&keywords=21st+century+goddess" target="_blank">21st Century Goddess</a> for my year number, but I also use this resource occasionally (it helps you calculate your personal year): <a href="https://feliciabender.com/monthly-numerology-forecast/#calculate" target="_blank">https://feliciabender.com/monthly-numerology-forecast/#calculate</a> <p></p><p> </p><p><i>Reflections</i></p><p>So, I as mentioned above, the year didn't start out that well for me. But then it got better later. I've said in the past that it can take me a while to feel "settled" into the year anyway. </p><p>I didn't do a lot during the first quarter of 2023, apart from going to <a href="https://actionforhappiness.org/" target="_blank">Action for Happiness'</a> Happy Cafe meetups about once a month. I previously went before the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic" target="_blank">pandemic</a> and stared attending their Brighton meetups in September last year. I did also go to a belly dance workshop with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lianna.ilnanabellydance.co.uk" target="_blank">Lianna Greene</a> in February, which I enjoyed.</p><p>I didn't have a working computer from early April to August, which made things a bit more difficult,. But I was able to still use my phone for most things, including blogging. I was glad to get a new computer in the summer.</p><p>Around the middle of the year onwards I got back into park walks, although not quite as regularly as I was doing them. I also did more belly dancing in September and October, a workshop with <a href="https://awbdance.com/" target="_blank">Katie Holland </a>and a class with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nadiaundine" target="_blank">Nadia Undine</a>. </p><p>I've been writing quarterly updates (like in other years) on my seasonal living blog The Seasonal Life. You can see my summer-autumn update here and links to the previous posts (I haven't written the autumn-winter one yet): <a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/10/summer-autumn-update-2023-happy-samhain.html" target="_blank">https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/10/summer-autumn-update-2023-happy-samhain.html</a></p><p>Blogging wise, I wrote a similar number of posts to the past couple of years, 16. It was Falling Petals 10th birthday in February and I wrote a post about that, which you can see here: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/02/falling-petals-10th-birthday-fave-posts.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/02/falling-petals-10th-birthday-fave-posts.html</a><br /></p><p>In addition to my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/search/label/Gratitude%20List" target="_blank">monthly gratitude lists</a>, I wrote two more posts- my<a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/06/mid-2023-reflections.html" target="_blank"> mid-year reflections</a> and <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/08/finding-way-forward.html" target="_blank">Finding a Way Forward</a>. I just haven't felt that inspired this year but I do plan to write more posts in 2024. I was more active over on my entertainment blog <a href="https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Star Sparkle Blog</a> and <a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com" target="_blank">The Seasonal Life</a>.<br /></p><p>In national/world news there was the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65342840" target="_blank">coronation of King Charles</a> in May, who took over as monarch after his mother <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61585886" target="_blank">Queen Elizabeth II died</a> last year. I saw some of the TV coverage. It still feels weird to have a king instead of a queen, even over a year later! Charles' wife Camilla became Queen instead of Queen Consort after the coronation but it feels a bit odd to think of her as Queen now. (Not that I have anything against her.) </p><p>We had no "Prime Minister hopping" like <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/01/letting-go-of-2022.html" target="_blank">last year</a>, when we had 3 within the space of a year! So things were a bit more stable on that front.<br /></p><p>War continued in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine" target="_blank">Ukraine</a> and other regions, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Israel%E2%80%93Hamas_war" target="_blank">Israel-Hamas coflict escalated into full scale war</a> in the Middle East in October. To be honest, I don't know too much about what's going on in Gaza and the history (I've been learning about it), so I won't comment too much. I just want to say that any kind of war is just horrible and there have been multiple losses on both sides. I don't think anyone really "wins" in these situations.<br /></p><p>In my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/06/mid-2023-reflections.html" target="_blank">Mid-2023 Reflections post</a>, I wrote a bit about how I find racial issues especially hard to deal with as a mixed race (black and white person). And also, about how there seems to be little mainstream support for mixed people, even from those who claim to be in favour of "social justice".<br /></p><p></p><p>Recently South African singer <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-67505674" target="_blank">Tyla has "sparked debate" online,</a> due to her racial identity, which further highlighted the issue and how little understanding there is for those of us who don't fit into a <a href="https://mixedracestudies.org/wp/?p=48788" target="_blank">monoracial box</a>. She is <a href="https://blog.swaliafrica.com/not-black-not-white-meet-the-coloured-people-of-south-africa/" target="_blank">coloured (South African mixed race)</a> and some people (primarily Americans) have objected to her using the term. </p><p>While I understand that in America particularly "colored" has a different meaning and is considered offensive, it's not the only reason for the objections. Part of is it the fact that she identifies as a person with mixed heritage and many people don't like that. But coloured is a whole identity of its own and can't (and shouldn't) be shoved into a one race or alternative box just to make others happy.<br /></p><p>Personally, I'm happy when I see celebrities proud to identify as mixed race/people of mixed heritage. I hope that in the future more mixed people are able to be comfortable with and supported in their identity. :) </p><p><br /></p><p><i>Releasing</i></p><p>2023 was up and down for me. I found that my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/07/feeling-your-emotions-sadness-and.html" target="_blank">depression</a> and <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/10/feeling-your-emotions-fear-and-anxiety.html" target="_blank">anxiety</a> varied. I was really feeling down around the beginning of the year and then I went through quite an anxious time in the summer with <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2016/10/healing-health-anxiety-part-1.html" target="_blank">health anxiety</a>. In the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/01/letting-go-of-2022.html" target="_blank">Letting Go of 2022 post</a>, I wrote that while this time of year has a "New Year, New You!" attitude, I don't believe in pushing yourself to feel good when you don't. Sometimes it's good to just sit with your feelings and go easy on yourself. </p><p>If you feel like doing something in particular to release/let go of your year, I've written about ways to do that in previous year-end posts. You can find them in the links at the top of the post, or by clicking <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/12/letting-go-of-2017.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/12/letting-go-of-2018.html" target="_blank">here </a>and <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/letting-go-of-2019-starting-new-decade.html" target="_blank">here</a>. And also check out the 2021 post: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/12/letting-go-of-2021.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/12/letting-go-of-2021.html</a></p><p>I find that writing these posts helps, just reflecting back on things. Writing (or <a href="https://personalexcellence.co/blog/brain-dumping/" target="_blank">brain dumping</a>) can be cathartic. </p><p> </p><p>Here are some more resources to help you let go of the year: </p><p>Visit this link to download Susannah Conway's free Unravel Your Year workbook for 2024, plus a section for finding your Word of the Year (more on that below): <a href="https://www.susannahconway.com/unravel" target="_blank">https://www.susannahconway.com/unravel</a></p><p>New Year Reset Guide from Diana of The Chic Life: <a href="https://thechiclife.com/2023/12/new-year-reset.html" target="_blank">https://thechiclife.com/2023/12/new-year-reset.html</a></p><p>Lavendaire New Year Planning video with journal prompts for reflecting on and resetting for the new year: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix0CKoNUM_A" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix0CKoNUM_A</a></p><p> </p><p>I'll probably work through some of these slowly over the next few days. <br /></p><p><i> </i></p><p><i>Resolutions/Intentions/Goals</i></p><p>In past posts I've written about setting resolutions, intentions and goals (and the difference between them all). For more on that visit the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/12/letting-go-of-2017.html" target="_blank">Letting Go of 2017</a> and <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/12/letting-go-of-2018.html" target="_blank">Letting Go of 2018</a> posts.</p><p>I've chosen a <a href="https://www.selfloverainbow.com/how-to-choose-your-word-of-the-year-100-suggestions" target="_blank">Word of the Year</a> some years, most recently in 2022, which was "Amazing". However, I don't always feel that they work that well for me, so I didn't choose one for 2023. I'm not sure if I will pick a word for 2024 yet. I don't know if I'll set any intentions for the year either. I did set an intention in early January about knowing that my dreams are
possible. I felt a bit of a shift in that area but not a huge one. So I'll see how I feel. <br /></p><p>For more on choosing a Word of the Year, visit these posts: </p><p>How to choose a word of the year: <a href="https://slowlivingldn.com/journal/pause-dwell/choosing-a-word-of-the-year/" target="_blank">https://slowlivingldn.com/journal/pause-dwell/choosing-a-word-of-the-year/</a><br /></p><p>Post from Dominee of Self-Love Rainbow about her 2023 word + words from previous years, plus a link to a post about choosing your own: <a href="https://www.selfloverainbow.com/my-word-of-the-year-for-2023" target="_blank">https://www.selfloverainbow.com/my-word-of-the-year-for-2023</a><br /></p><p>Dominee's word for 2024: <a href="https://www.selfloverainbow.com/my-word-of-the-year-for-2024/" target="_blank">https://www.selfloverainbow.com/my-word-of-the-year-for-2024/</a></p><p> <br /></p><p>Susannah Conway also includes a guide for finding your word, along with the free download of her <a href="https://www.susannahconway.com/unravel" target="_blank">Unravel Your Year workbook</a>. </p><p><br /></p><p>Also, here are some more links to help you move forward in the new year (at your own pace: </p><p>New Year journal prompts (The Chic Life): <a href="https://thechiclife.com/2023/12/new-year-journal-prompts.html" target="_blank">https://thechiclife.com/2023/12/new-year-journal-prompts.html</a></p><p>Video from Devi Sietaram about reality shifting into 2024 (<a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/04/loa-round-up.html" target="_blank">Law of Attraction</a>/<a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/law-of-assumption-alternative-way-of.html" target="_blank">Law of Assumption </a>related): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcBK7BnnnWs" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcBK7BnnnWs</a> <br /></p><p>How to Create a Better Year in 2024- New Year Journaling (video from Lavendaire): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DuI4V73uSg" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DuI4V73uSg</a></p><p>2024 Goals: New Year Planning and Goal Setting (Lavendaire): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UekQ6qZ9GPw" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UekQ6qZ9GPw</a> </p><p> </p><p>So that's it for now. I hope that everyone is doing well and had a good Christmas or other festival that you celebrated. Or if you're not doing so well, I hope that things improve. :) Hopefully you found this post helpful if you've been wanting to release the old year and/or set intentions for the new one. </p><p>How was your 2023? Happy New Year! Wishing you a happy and peaceful start to 2024. :) </p><p><br /></p><p>Photo: Hove Park. Moonsparkle 2023.<br /></p><p> </p><p> <br /></p>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-52497752952567864742023-12-31T19:36:00.001+00:002023-12-31T19:38:00.320+00:00Gratitude List <p>Today is New Year's Eve, so here is my last Gratitude List of 2023! :)</p><p>Things I'm grateful for this month: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/12/happy-yule.html" target="_blank">Yule/the Winter Solstice</a></li><li>Chocolate advent calendars! </li><li>Christmas </li><li>Getting new slippers <br /></li><li>Hot chocolate and seasonal Christmas drinks <br /></li><li>Winter sunshine </li><li>Ghost stories for Christmas (books and TV)</li><li>Christmas lights</li></ul><p> </p><p>Happy New Year and wishing everyone a wonderful start to 2024! :) I will also be posting my yearly letting go post today, so look out for that. <br /></p><p></p><p><br /></p>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-1263317525640891542023-11-27T23:55:00.004+00:002023-11-27T23:55:42.148+00:00Gratitude List<p>Things I'm grateful for this month:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Last burst of the autumn colours</li><li>Walking in the park</li><li>Sunny days <br /></li><li>Library books</li><li>Hot chocolate</li><li>Positive online spaces<br /></li><li>New Jennifer Lopez music- a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2QIner9Cmo" target="_blank">preview of her new song Can't Get Enough</a>!</li><li>The last full month of autumn<br /></li></ul><p> </p><p>And here is a recent photo I took in the park:</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibMh7-qAqRW1Y9u904Z6AHTt4fZvpgQbdtSTexHEIo4v128nRO1WzFF-nPZN2EvW6qvwqgjYr4fXPX366noRIdAVUG3KEaDcHZAQn5nYgK5vf6Sfc2BCaVT-v-3Dyuz6b7cU5PCEBC9UFMWFtNPavTiKQLaM0UcQqhWH6DDMCN0GvQuvkwdxx36NXmU3Vi/s4160/IMG_20231115_162456_457.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibMh7-qAqRW1Y9u904Z6AHTt4fZvpgQbdtSTexHEIo4v128nRO1WzFF-nPZN2EvW6qvwqgjYr4fXPX366noRIdAVUG3KEaDcHZAQn5nYgK5vf6Sfc2BCaVT-v-3Dyuz6b7cU5PCEBC9UFMWFtNPavTiKQLaM0UcQqhWH6DDMCN0GvQuvkwdxx36NXmU3Vi/s320/IMG_20231115_162456_457.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Autumn trees in Hove Park.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><p> <br /></p>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-63386864728791997122023-10-30T23:20:00.004+00:002023-11-01T21:43:01.406+00:00Gratitude List<p> Things I'm grateful this month:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Autumn colours</li><li>Going to a belly dance class with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nadiaundine" target="_blank">Nadia Undine</a></li><li>Going to Lancing Beach- I wanted to go again before it gets too cold!</li><li>Watching <a href="https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/01/16-and-pregnant-rebooted.html" target="_blank">16 & Pregnant </a>repeats <br /></li><li>Gold chocolate coins for Christmas already being in the shops, lol</li><li>Seasonal reading (i.e. ghost stories!)</li><li>Cosy autumn vibes (cooler weather but not really cold yet)<br /></li><li><a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/10/happy-samhainhalloween.html" target="_blank">Hallowe'en/Samhain </a>tomorrow! <br /></li></ul><p> </p>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-65639068338369472892023-09-30T21:31:00.005+01:002023-10-03T17:51:50.375+01:00Gratitude List<p>I normally post on Sundays or Mondays but since today is the last day of September, I'm writing my monthly Gratitude List today instead :)</p><p> </p><p>Things I'm grateful for this month: </p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The late summer hot weather we had at the beginning of the month!</li><li>Going to a belly dance workshop with <a href="https://awbdance.com/">Katie Holland</a><br /></li><li>Going to the library</li><li><a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/10/madron-2023.html" target="_blank">Madron/Mabon </a>aka the Autumn Equinox</li><li>Golden sunlight as autumn starts</li><li>Trees starting to change colour</li><li>Music <br /></li><li>Going to <a href="https://www.starbucks.co.uk/" target="_blank">Starbucks</a></li></ul><p> </p><p>Thought I'd share a picture I took recently in the park: <br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmkefZoyQAEU1OiQu3h4IqKuJN9wIBs9W1-3tx1YzeKB1qhyphenhyphen4AyrcXbZpqKVEqx4QETFDOjgbp_HNJGIhjqJfQpqUm4zrqhpcSgia5gyZdDX5OwEvS2Zo95u96nX7wvPQtaQhe38XEBPVEneT4_EVLQorCK87oqdRf0c3MPwkhwraHmwhwoCXWYbm1ALg0/s4160/IMG_20230922_170531_868.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmkefZoyQAEU1OiQu3h4IqKuJN9wIBs9W1-3tx1YzeKB1qhyphenhyphen4AyrcXbZpqKVEqx4QETFDOjgbp_HNJGIhjqJfQpqUm4zrqhpcSgia5gyZdDX5OwEvS2Zo95u96nX7wvPQtaQhe38XEBPVEneT4_EVLQorCK87oqdRf0c3MPwkhwraHmwhwoCXWYbm1ALg0/s320/IMG_20230922_170531_868.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaves starting to turn- Hove Park.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <br /><p></p><p><br /></p>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-84753356920895070632023-08-28T23:13:00.008+01:002023-08-30T20:00:29.121+01:00Gratitude List<p> Thing I'm grateful for this month:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/08/lammas-2023.html" target="_blank">Lammas</a></li><li>Last full month of summer</li><li>The weather warming up and feeling more "summer like"! <br /></li><li>Having a computer again! :)<br /></li><li>Going to <a href="https://fiveguys.co.uk/" target="_blank">Five Guys</a></li><li>Sunsets</li><li>Libraries</li><li>Going on a beach walk with a local group</li></ul>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-13129552758225636432023-08-13T20:57:00.014+01:002023-09-27T00:05:33.420+01:00Finding a Way Forward<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6aECUGXHUxQuvMgciT6KWfovC8Hx7ANBHZufYGy99Kms3iH1FWhF5ux9FxRNpqh0fB4QRXA67X4gYqInzC8W4FpDdYYq61xKeBPTblkUZWxnmJAR9ROxuwjae49MeOwfibTl4n3a3rpiw3hEMyxHBSQKp31HeDs6DdJAzpkJdT-CxohkeT9xYkqu6dXnV/s4160/IMG_20230429_195839_381.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6aECUGXHUxQuvMgciT6KWfovC8Hx7ANBHZufYGy99Kms3iH1FWhF5ux9FxRNpqh0fB4QRXA67X4gYqInzC8W4FpDdYYq61xKeBPTblkUZWxnmJAR9ROxuwjae49MeOwfibTl4n3a3rpiw3hEMyxHBSQKp31HeDs6DdJAzpkJdT-CxohkeT9xYkqu6dXnV/s320/IMG_20230429_195839_381.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>I haven't posted much on the blog so far this year. As I said in my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/06/mid-2023-reflections.html" target="_blank">mid-year reflections post</a>, I found the first half of 2023 quite difficult. While I've still been blogging on my entertainment blog <a href="https://starsparklex.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Star Sparkle Blog</a> and seasonal living one <a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com" target="_blank">The Seasonal Life</a>, I've not had much motivation to post on here. I cover "deeper" topics such as self-help, spiritual methods and mental health, and just didn't feel like I had the energy to write much about them.</p><p>But I would like to get back into blogging more here, so today I'm writing about finding a way forward when you've been feeling stuck or lost in life. </p><p>Two years ago I wrote a couple of posts about moving upwards and feeling better when you've been in a low place. You can see them here:</p><p>Starting from the Bottom- Part 1: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/04/starting-from-bottom-part-1.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/04/starting-from-bottom-part-1.html</a></p><p>Starting from the Bottom- Part 2: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/08/starting-from-bottom-part-2.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/08/starting-from-bottom-part-2.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>And last year I wrote another post about feeling better when you've been down for a long time: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/02/when-youve-been-down-for-too-long.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/02/when-youve-been-down-for-too-long.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>I've spoken (or written!) before about having <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/07/feeling-your-emotions-sadness-and.html" target="_blank">depression</a> and <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/10/feeling-your-emotions-fear-and-anxiety.html" target="_blank">anxiety</a>. So if I'm really <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/10/when-youre-struggling.html" target="_blank">struggling</a> it can be hard to see a way forward. Especially if I feel stuck in certain patterns.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>I've long wanted to improve my life. I became depressed in my teens and then also had issues with <a href="https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/ocd" target="_blank">OCD</a> and anxiety (<a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2016/10/healing-health-anxiety-part-1.html" target="_blank">health anxiety</a> in particular), so I got interested in <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2013/05/top-10-self-helppersonal-development.html" target="_blank">self-help and personal development/self improvement</a>. </p><p>I'm also interested in spiritual subjects such as <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2017/06/three-fold-understanding-magic.html" target="_blank">magic</a> and the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2013/08/law-of-attraction.html" target="_blank">Law of Attraction</a>. So on this blog I write about a mixture of subjects, related to feeling better and improving your life. In February it was 10 years since I started Falling Petals. You can read my 10th birthday post here: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/02/falling-petals-10th-birthday-fave-posts.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/02/falling-petals-10th-birthday-fave-posts.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>I mentioned in that post that although FP doesn't tend to get as much traffic as my other blogs, I'm glad to have the space to process things here. I enjoy expressing myself differently on the blogs. And I hope that others find my posts useful (or entertaining depending on the context). :)</p><p>So this kind of leads to the next section below, Purpose. </p><p><br /></p><p><i>Purpose</i></p><p>Many of us are searching for purpose. I've done exercises in the past to find my life purpose but they haven't really seemed to work for me. Some people say you have several different purposes or they can change throughout your life. Maybe blogging is one of mine. Perhaps all our interests and things we're drawn to are part of our purpose in some way, along with the "big" things like career, relationships and family. </p><p>I do find that seasonal living (celebrating seasonal events/festivals and paying attention to seasonal changes) helps me. I write about it over on The Seasonal Life. </p><p>If you're looking for your life purpose, Celestine Chua of Personal Excellence has a series of posts on finding it: <a href="https://personalexcellence.co/blog/life-purpose/" target="_blank">https://personalexcellence.co/blog/life-purpose/</a></p><p>Although exercises like this haven't really worked for me in the past, they have helped others. :)</p><p>And here is a video from Lavendaire about how to find your "why" (your purpose and life path): <a href="https://youtu.be/j4Ka90l6HAA" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/j4Ka90l6HAA</a></p><p>I'm hoping it will help me too. </p><p><br /></p><p><i>Acceptance</i> </p><p>I've mentioned before that I struggle with accepting things. In Part 2 of my posts on manifesting and mental health, I wrote a bit about acceptance. You can see that here (scroll down to that section): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/manifesting-and-mental-health-part-2.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/manifesting-and-mental-health-part-2.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>I've heard of the concept of <a href="https://dbtselfhelp.com/dbt-skills-list/distress-tolerance/radical-acceptance/?amp" target="_blank">radical acceptance </a>before but it's quite hard for me to put into practice! Here's another video from Aileen of Lavendaire, where she talks about it: <a href="https://www.lavendaire.com/radical-acceptance/" target="_blank">https://www.lavendaire.com/radical-acceptance/</a></p><p>I like the fact that she says that it doesn't mean you have to stay in bad circumstances or with bad people. It means accepting them as they are and then you can choose how you want to move forward, i.e. leave the situation. (See the video notes on the blog.)</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Detachment</i> </p><p>I've been thinking about detachment recently. I think it can be helpful to let go and detach from things if you're feeling really stuck or in a bad place. Although if we were completely detached from everything, we wouldn't really need to be here on earth, because we wouldn't be bothered about experiencing anything. At least that's how I see it. </p><p>Leeor Alexandra has an interesting video about how you can live as if everything matters or the opposite, as if nothing matters. In the first case you can have the viewpoint that everything has meaning, even small things and that can inspire you. </p><p>On the other hand if you think that nothing matters it could help you not to take things as seriously (or some "little things" anyway).</p><p>Leeor takes the view that everything matters. Personally I think that things do matter but some stuff seems like it's meaningless. If I focused on every little thing too much, it wouldn't be helpful for me. Watch the video here: <a href="https://youtu.be/FW6fN4mMJf8" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/FW6fN4mMJf8</a></p><p>There is also the Law of Detachment which is defined as a spiritual law. You can read about that at these links: </p><p><a href="https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/spirituality/practice-detachment" target="_blank">https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/spirituality/practice-detachment</a> </p><p><a href="https://iamsahararose.com/blog/law-of-detachment-in-spirituality/" target="_blank">https://iamsahararose.com/blog/law-of-detachment-in-spirituality/</a><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>And here is a good post from Zen Habits about letting go of attachments: <a href="https://zenhabits.net/attachments/" target="_blank">https://zenhabits.net/attachments/</a></p><p>I do think it's easier said than done though, to be honest! </p><p><br /></p><p>So this ended up being quite a random post, but I just wanted to get back into writing here again and share some thoughts. We're already more than halfway through the year, which seems hard to believe! It doesn't feel that long since <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/11/gratitude-list-november-thoughts.html" target="_blank">last autumn </a>in some ways. </p><p>Apart from my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/search/label/Gratitude%20List?m=1" target="_blank">monthly gratitude lists </a> lists, I've only written 3 other posts this year- <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/01/letting-go-of-2022.html" target="_blank">Letting Go of 2022</a> (my annual year-end post which is normally written on New Year's Eve, but was later this time), the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/02/falling-petals-10th-birthday-fave-posts.html" target="_blank">10th birthday post</a> and <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/06/mid-2023-reflections.html" target="_blank">Mid-2023 Reflections</a>.</p><p>The past few years have been difficult for everyone, with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic" target="_blank">pandemic</a>, violent events, racial tensions, extreme weather, natural disasters and wars, including the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine" target="_blank">war in Europe </a>(I realise that there are ongoing wars and conflicts in other regions too). </p><p>There are also endless debates (particularly online) over various things and while these things are important of course, it can all get exhausting and "toxic". Since I've also struggled with personal issues, I sometimes find it hard to see the point of things.</p><p>If you're going through a hard time you may want to read this post called When You've Been Down for Too Long: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/02/when-youve-been-down-for-too-long.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/02/when-youve-been-down-for-too-long.html</a></p><p><b>Please</b> <b>note:</b> I'm not a doctor or mental health professional but the post provides links to people who can help. </p><p><br /></p><p>I hope this post was useful in some way! :) I'll finish with a few links that might be helpful and provide new perspectives:</p><p>Law of Attraction 2.0 (10 years ago I wrote a basic intro post on LOA and 3 years ago I did a sort of updated post on it): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/law-of-attraction-loa-20.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/law-of-attraction-loa-20.html</a></p><p>Law of Assumption- An Alternative Way of Manifesting (if manifesting the "traditional" LOA way doesn't work for you): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/law-of-assumption-alternative-way-of.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/law-of-assumption-alternative-way-of.html</a></p><p>Feeling Your Emotions Recap (my FYE series about emotional healing and feeling better): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/09/feeling-your-emotions-recap.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/09/feeling-your-emotions-recap.html</a></p><p>This is a very interesting post about looking beyond positive thinking (goes quite deep into the subject): <a href="https://www.calmdownmind.com/beyond-positive-thinking/" target="_blank">https://www.calmdownmind.com/beyond-positive-thinking/</a></p><p>Kaitlyn Bowman video about how things won't always be this way and having a breakthrough: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oaq5EXz68vI" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oaq5EXz68vI</a></p><p>Post by Maria Kang about seeing the gaps in life: <a href="http://www.mariakang.com/seeing-the-gaps/" target="_blank">http://www.mariakang.com/seeing-the-gaps/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>If you have been having a difficult time, how do you find your way forward in life? And if you are struggling right now, I'm sending love to you. :)</p><p><br /></p><p>Photo: Shoreham-by-sea. Moonsparkle 2023.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-49228693038939238242023-07-31T21:48:00.001+01:002023-07-31T21:48:11.454+01:00Gratitude List <p> Things I'm grateful for this month:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>First full month of summer</li><li>The days still being quite long </li><li>Iced coffees</li><li>Going to <a href="https://www.wendys.com/en-uk" target="_blank">Wendy's</a></li><li>Getting a new bookcase- I've wanted to get one for ages but hadn't got round to it!</li><li>The sun coming out after rain (we've had a lot of rain lately!)</li><li><a href="https://youtube.com/@DeviSietaram" target="_blank">Devi Sietaram's</a> YouTube channel- she makes videos about spiritual subjects (e.g. <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/law-of-attraction-loa-20.html" target="_blank">manifesting</a>) mixed with psychology and quantum physics</li><li>More baking!</li></ul><p></p>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-12448014853979669442023-06-27T23:09:00.001+01:002023-07-31T21:19:23.772+01:00Gratitude List<p>I normally post on Sundays and Mondays but I wrote my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/06/mid-2023-reflections.html" target="_blank">mid-year reflections post </a>yesterday, so I'm posting today instead. :)</p><p><br /></p><p>Things I'm grateful for this month: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The "official" <a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/06/shifting-into-summer.html" target="_blank">start of summer </a></li><li>Going to Nando's (very belated birthday meal!)</li><li>Going to the park</li><li><a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/07/litha-2023.html" target="_blank">Litha/the Summer Solstice</a></li><li>Baking </li><li>Burger King mocha coffees</li><li>Buying new books</li><li>Summer weather </li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-51025832445477899082023-06-26T23:10:00.031+01:002023-12-28T17:46:38.612+00:00Mid-2023 Reflections <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRf0KKN8dQqukPktQva29rvf4DJtO5kbgZNctYeOq9_h0vNSXhSpPBJoc0MUeP1NMZ_tjHgGzv-XTziJi_l_Nd2eBFVGtEE4RvTTwffOrkhLGYr0Xs130oOezSb9BTFPwtxSW9ILbOojMIsSGBKsj_m4Y4cMqwMXSiNo1DDiE_wULXtIukE4_VdYcOPNDU/s4160/IMG_20230621_211625_388.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRf0KKN8dQqukPktQva29rvf4DJtO5kbgZNctYeOq9_h0vNSXhSpPBJoc0MUeP1NMZ_tjHgGzv-XTziJi_l_Nd2eBFVGtEE4RvTTwffOrkhLGYr0Xs130oOezSb9BTFPwtxSW9ILbOojMIsSGBKsj_m4Y4cMqwMXSiNo1DDiE_wULXtIukE4_VdYcOPNDU/s320/IMG_20230621_211625_388.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><b>Update: 1/7/23</b>: I've added an extra bit to the post because I had more to say! <br /><div><br /></div><div>It's already June and the middle of the year, so it's time for my annual mid-year reflections post! It's later in the month again like last year, but never mind! I've been writing these for a few years now, I started in 2018 (although that post was in May, so not quite halfway through the year). You can see my previous posts below:<p></p><p><br /></p><p>Reflections (2017): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/05/reflections.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/05/reflections.html</a></p><p>Mid-2018-Reflecions: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/06/mid-2018-reflections.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/06/mid-2018-reflections.html</a></p><p>Mid-2019 Reflections: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/06/mid-2019-reflections.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/06/mid-2019-reflections.html</a></p><p>Mid-2020 Reflections: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/06/mid-2020-reflections.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/06/mid-2020-reflections.html</a></p><p>Mid-2021 Reflections: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/06/mid-2021-reflections.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/06/mid-2021-reflections.html</a></p><p>Mid-2022 Reflections: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/06/mid-2022-reflections.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/06/mid-2022-reflections.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>I also write an end of year post. Here's 2022's (written in January because I couldn't get it finished earlier): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/01/letting-go-of-2022.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/01/letting-go-of-2022.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>As I mentioned in my year-end post, the end of 2022 was quite hard for me due to personal issues. So the beginning of this year didn't start off that well. I feel like I've struggled quite a bit during the first half of 2023. I also find it hard adjusting to a new year, although this time it wasn't as much of a "comedown' after Christmas, since it wasn't that great. </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>In February I went to a belly dance workshop with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lianna.ilnanabellydance.co.uk" target="_blank">Lianna Greene</a>. I'm not belly dancing regularly at the moment but I go when I can. It's good to do some dancing. </p><p>I have been going to <a href="https://www.meetup.com/home/" target="_blank">Meetup</a> events quite regularly, just <a href="https://actionforhappiness.org/" target="_blank">Action for Happiness </a>Happy Cafés (meetups at cafés) in Brighton right now. I wrote about getting back into that in my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/01/letting-go-of-2022.html" target="_blank">Letting Go of 2022 post</a>.</p><p>At the beginning of the month it was 5 years since I joined Meetup. It seems weird that it's already been 5 years! I wrote about joining it in my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/12/letting-go-of-2018.html" target="_blank">Letting Go of 2018 post</a>. I started out doing some courses and groups to help with my mental health and then felt inspired to join Meetup and socialise a bit more. Of course with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic" target="_blank">pandemic</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_lockdowns" target="_blank">lockdowns</a> everything shut down for a while, so I've been trying to get back into it again. </p><p>I got out of my routine of weekly park walks during the first half of 2023 but I'm hoping to go more regularly now. I did also go to the beach for <a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/05/beltane-2023.html" target="_blank">Beltane</a> (seasonal festival that I celebrate). </p><p><br /></p><p>I've been feeling up and down mental health wise. I was quite <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/07/feeling-your-emotions-sadness-and.html" target="_blank">depressed</a> at times during the first half of the year and other times my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2016/10/healing-health-anxiety-part-1.html" target="_blank">health anxiety </a>got bad. </p><p>I also feel down about the state of the world sometimes. Of course it's been a difficult few years, not only with the pandemic but with violent events, racial tensions and war in Europe. It also seems like people are becoming increasingly horrible online now!</p><p>As a mixed race (black and white) person I find the racial issues especially hard to deal with at times. Currently there seems to be little consideration or support for people like myself in the "mainstream". I have found some supportive places online though. </p><p>I don't talk a lot about these things and don't like to focus on them all the time. But I feel I need to "speak my truth". It's just quite unbelievable to me that even in these so-called antiracist times, mixed people still aren't being treated with respect (particularly those of us who are part black). </p><p> I just don't understand the horrible attitude and hypocrisy from people who <a href="https://fb.watch/lwv-p82nwY/" target="_blank">claim to be in favour of "social justice"</a> towards those of who us identify with our full heritage. </p><p>I've created a mixed race resources page for people who need support and anyone wanting to support a person with mixed heritage. Here's a link: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/p/mixed-race-resources.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/p/mixed-race-resources.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>It's weird to look back at last year's mid-year reflections post, where I was writing about going "back to normal" after the pandemic restrictions were dropped. </p><p>When it comes to blogging, I haven't been that active here during the first half of the year. Apart from my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/search/label/Gratitude%20List?m=1" target="_blank">monthly gratitude lists</a>, I wrote one other post celebrating <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/02/falling-petals-10th-birthday-fave-posts.html" target="_blank">Falling Petals' 10th birthday </a>. On the one hand it's a bit surreal that it's already been 10 years since I started the blog! But on the other hand, it doesn't feel like that long, lol. </p><p>I have been posting regularly on my entertainment blog <a href="https://starsparklex.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Star Sparkle Blog</a> and once a month or so on my seasonal living blog The Seasonal Life. I post quarterly updates on TSL. You can see my winter-spring update here: <a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/04/winter-spring-update-2023-happy-beltane.html" target="_blank">https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/04/winter-spring-update-2023-happy-beltane.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>I've been having computer problems for a couple of months or so, but I am still able to use my phone for most things, which is good. </p><p>I haven't been inspired much in recent months, due to feeling down. I write about "deeper" topics on this blog and I just haven't felt like I had the energy for it. But I will hopefully get back into blogging more on FP during the second half of 2023. :)</p><p><br /></p><p>Then in "wider scale" news, we had the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65342840.amp" target="_blank">coronation of King Charles</a> (now known as Charles III) in May. He became king after his mother the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61585886" target="_blank">Queen died</a> last September. She had just celebrated her <a href="https://www.royal.uk/platinum-jubilee-central-weekend" target="_blank">Platinum Jubilee</a> (70 years on the throne) in June that year. </p><p>For many of us, the Queen was the only monarch we'd ever known (she became queen in 1952 and her coronation was in 1953), so it feels weird to now have a king! It's also a bit strange that the Queen is now written about as Queen Elizabeth II and Charles' wife Camilla has become Queen (she was called Queen Consort before the coronation). </p><p>This was also the first coronation that many of us had seen. I didn't watch the actual ceremony but saw some of the coverage on TV and the Royals coming out on the balcony.</p><p><br /></p><p>So that's it for the update. Thank you for reading! We're now "officially" in summer (in the Northern Hemisphere) after <a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/06/shifting-into-summer.html" target="_blank">Litha/the Summer Solstice </a>and halfway through the year. It feels like it has gone quite quickly. I hope everyone is doing well or at least ok, and if (like me) your first half of the year wasn't that great, I hope that the rest of it is better. </p><p>Wishing everyone a smooth transition into the second half of 2023! :)</p><p><br /></p><p>Photo: Mill Hill, Shoreham-by-sea. Taken on Litha/the Summer Solstice. Moonsparkle 2023. </p></div>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-68091124388922223592023-05-29T18:50:00.006+01:002023-05-29T18:55:33.611+01:00Gratitude List <p>Last month I started my Gratitude List but then didn't get it finished till it had gone over to May. So I missed April's but never mind! Here's May's. :)</p><p><br /></p><p>Things I'm grateful for this month:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/05/beltane-2023.html" target="_blank">Beltane</a></li><li>Going to the beach for sunset- I went on Beltane</li><li>Going to <a href="https://lancingperch.com/" target="_blank">Perch café</a> on Lancing Beach (the first time I'd been in the café!)</li><li>The weather getting warmer and sunny days</li><li>Roses coming out</li><li>Increased light during this time of year </li><li>Buses </li><li>Iced coffees </li></ul><div><br /></div><div>I've been having a bit of an anxious time lately and sometimes I find it a struggle finding things to be grateful for. But I enjoy doing this list. If you're also going through a hard time, I hope you're doing ok. :)</div><div><br /></div><div>Thought I would also share a picture I took at the beach this month:</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnd_ATg0yUG3YuaAwanAMex4wR9DCPm1RQlQkNPAwqLiQQTB9-3jlZTaUq-gyLPQOHK8VW4P0fQHx7cdKorgT11jQWEsSYZ09Hu7CYevybZNLFDcE-uRBh7NgTHMTCIb6XP9Hm0LPbHlvq5WKNg1aaMU35MHsR_aMJhbSSLYuEIICSZhNyufaKehwAg/s4160/IMG_20230501_200229_915.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnd_ATg0yUG3YuaAwanAMex4wR9DCPm1RQlQkNPAwqLiQQTB9-3jlZTaUq-gyLPQOHK8VW4P0fQHx7cdKorgT11jQWEsSYZ09Hu7CYevybZNLFDcE-uRBh7NgTHMTCIb6XP9Hm0LPbHlvq5WKNg1aaMU35MHsR_aMJhbSSLYuEIICSZhNyufaKehwAg/s320/IMG_20230501_200229_915.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset on Lancing Beach. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p></p>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-61110834617776765122023-03-27T23:57:00.005+01:002023-03-28T00:01:18.151+01:00Gratitude List<p> Things I'm grateful for this month: </p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Birthday presents and wishes. :)</li><li><a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/03/oestara-2023.html" target="_blank">Oestara/the Spring Equinox </a>and the official start of spring</li><li>Seeing more signs of spring <br /></li><li>The days getting even longer since the Spring Equinox<br /></li><li>Having an iced coffee (and a muffin) from <a href="https://gailsbread.co.uk/" target="_blank">Gail's Bakery</a></li><li>Going to the park <br /></li><li>Late winter/early spring sunsets</li><li>Eating more pre-Easter chocolate (like <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/02/gratitude-list.html" target="_blank">last month</a>)! lol<br /></li></ul>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-14029181666636265022023-02-27T23:14:00.003+00:002023-02-28T20:54:45.082+00:00Gratitude List<p> Things I'm grateful for this month:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Sunny late winter days</li><li>Daffodils coming out</li><li>Going to a belly dance workshop with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lianna.ilnanabellydance.co.uk" target="_blank">Lianna Greene </a></li><li>Early Easter chocolate, especially Kinder Mini Eggs and Cadbury solid choc eggs!<br /></li><li>The days continuing to get longer</li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@ilovecybele" target="_blank">Cybele's YouTube channel</a>- she posts relaxing lifestyle videos and silent vlogs</li><li>Celebrating <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/02/falling-petals-10th-birthday-fave-posts.html" target="_blank">Falling Petals' 10th birthday!</a> </li><li>Connecting with others online in positive ways<br /></li></ul>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-35642165414609620702023-02-26T21:41:00.008+00:002023-08-12T00:02:46.827+01:00Falling Petals' 10th Birthday + Fave Posts<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLeUto8M_xsC4gs63FRGqoksYFIB9Lheficn7veziOWgB-ui1ZUEaTM1ocji3lcT-r6Tk6cjiyOU46rIDXUCBhwsphQFpch8wSLXBnUpKnBxb0vy0js4DyDdBNk1Y9AP0ILiETeBo76oBZJNggGJAoMZKNR4PDBkhaZ27q9SuGtvYTHocRA_UIl3ej3w/s2304/IMG_20220323_170542_710.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="2304" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLeUto8M_xsC4gs63FRGqoksYFIB9Lheficn7veziOWgB-ui1ZUEaTM1ocji3lcT-r6Tk6cjiyOU46rIDXUCBhwsphQFpch8wSLXBnUpKnBxb0vy0js4DyDdBNk1Y9AP0ILiETeBo76oBZJNggGJAoMZKNR4PDBkhaZ27q9SuGtvYTHocRA_UIl3ej3w/s320/IMG_20220323_170542_710.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>It was Falling Petals' 10th birthday yesterday! It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since I started this blog and now 5 years since I celebrated its 5th birthday. :)<br /></p><p>I started Falling Petals on 25th February 2013. You can read my first post here: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2013/02/welcome-to-falling-petals.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2013/02/welcome-to-falling-petals.html</a></p><p>And here is my post to celebrate the blog's 5th birthday: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/02/falling-petals-5th-birthday-fave-posts.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/02/falling-petals-5th-birthday-fave-posts.html</a> <br /></p><p>Falling Petals was the second blog I created, having previously started <a href="https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Star Sparkle Blog </a>(about entertainment) in April 2011. I also set up <a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Seasonal Life </a>(about seasonal living) in July 2013. I've loved writing since I was little (mainly stories) and blogging gave me a new way to do that. I think that starting Star Sparkle gave me the courage to start this blog covering "deeper" more spiritual/philosophical type subjects. </p><p>In my first post (and the 5th birthday post) I explained that the inspiration for the blog's name came from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liza_Dalby" target="_blank">Liza Dalby's</a> book <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tale-Murasaki-Liza-Crihfield-Dalby/dp/0099284642/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458322439&sr=1-1&keywords=the+tale+of+murasaki" target="_blank">The Tale of Murasaki </a>which I was re-reading at the time, about the real-life Japanese author, poet and lady in waiting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murasaki_Shikibu" target="_blank">Murasaki Shikibu</a> who wrote <a href="https://www.iz2.or.jp/english/what/index.htm" target="_blank">The Tale of Genji</a>. (I'm actually reading it again now; I re-read about it once a year.) She observed seasonal changes and wrote poetry about the seasons, such as cherry blossoms in spring.</p><p>When I started out, I wasn't sure which direction the blog would go in exactly, but ended up expanding from self-help and spiritual topics, including the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2013/08/law-of-attraction.html" target="_blank">Law of Attraction</a> (LOA), to <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/02/falling-petals-5th-birthday-fave-posts.html" target="_blank">sharing resources </a>for finding information about self-help/personal development. Since then, I've also covered mental health topics, because I have <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/07/feeling-your-emotions-sadness-and.html" target="_blank">depression</a> and <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/10/feeling-your-emotions-fear-and-anxiety.html" target="_blank">anxiety</a> myself. </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>In the 5th birthday post I wrote a list of the most popular/viewed posts on the blog and another one of my favourite posts, so I'm going to share that again now. The Most Popular post list has some repeats because they remain the most viewed, but with the second list I'm featuring my new favourites since the 5th bday post. :)<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Most Popular/Viewed Posts</u></b></p><p>Top 10 Self Help and Personal Development<b> </b>Blogs and Sites: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2013/05/top-10-self-helppersonal-development.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2013/05/top-10-self-helppersonal-development.html</a></p><p>Raising Your Vibration (Or Feeling Better): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2014/10/raising-my-vibration.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2014/10/raising-my-vibration.html </a><br />
<br />
Law of Attraction: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2013/08/law-of-attraction.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2013/08/law-of-attraction.html</a></p><p>What Is Possible? (LOA) <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-is-possible-loa.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-is-possible-loa.html</a></p><p>Feeling Your Emotions- Fear and Anxiety (Part 1): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/10/feeling-your-emotions-fear-and-anxiety.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/10/feeling-your-emotions-fear-and-anxiety.html</a></p><p> </p><p><b><u>My Favourites</u></b></p><p> </p><p><b>LOA</b></p><p>Manifesting and Mental Health- Part 1: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/08/manifesting-and-mental-health-part-1.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/08/manifesting-and-mental-health-part-1.html</a><br /></p><p>Manifesting and Mental Health- Part 2: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/manifesting-and-mental-health-part-2.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/manifesting-and-mental-health-part-2.html</a></p><p>Law of Attraction (LOA) 2.0: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/law-of-attraction-loa-20.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/law-of-attraction-loa-20.html</a></p><p>How to REALLY Believe (LOA): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/11/how-to-really-believe-loa.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/11/how-to-really-believe-loa.html</a></p><p>Law of Assumption- An Alternative Way of Manifesting: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/law-of-assumption-alternative-way-of.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/law-of-assumption-alternative-way-of.html</a> <br /></p><p> </p><p><b>Self-Help/Spiritual</b></p><p>Feeling Like a "Loser": <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/05/feeling-like-loser.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/05/feeling-like-loser.html</a></p><p>Feeling Lonely: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/05/feeling-lonely.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/05/feeling-lonely.html</a></p><p>Feeling More Positive: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/11/feeling-more-positive.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/11/feeling-more-positive.html</a> </p><p>Starting From the Bottom- Part 1: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/04/starting-from-bottom-part-1.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/04/starting-from-bottom-part-1.html</a><br /></p><p>Starting From the Bottom- Part 2: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/08/starting-from-bottom-part-2.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/08/starting-from-bottom-part-2.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Feeling Your Emotions series</b><br /></p><p>Intro post: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/11/feeling-your-emotions-introduction.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/11/feeling-your-emotions-introduction.html</a><br /></p><p>Recap (lists all the posts to date): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/09/feeling-your-emotions-recap.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/09/feeling-your-emotions-recap.html</a></p><p> </p><p>I also write <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/06/mid-2022-reflections.html" target="_blank">mid-year reflection posts</a> and <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2023/01/letting-go-of-2022.html" target="_blank">end of year (letting go of the year) posts</a>, plus <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/search/label/Gratitude%20List" target="_blank">monthly gratitude lists</a>. </p><p>I haven't posted on the blog as much in the last couple of years because things have been a bit of a struggle, both on a <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/12/letting-go-of-2021.html" target="_blank">personal level</a> and a worldwide level, with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic" target="_blank">coronavirus pandemic </a>and other events. But I'm glad to have this space to process things and share insights and thoughts. I don't get as many views here as I do on Star Sparkle Blog or The Seasonal Life, but I'm grateful to everyone who visits. </p><p>I post on Star Sparkle twice weekly and I think that's why it gets more traffic, and also because it's an entertainment blog. And maybe TSL gets more because I write about seasonal events. But regardless of how "popular" Falling Petals is, I enjoy posting here. They're all important to me. :)<br /></p><p>I plan to keep posting on here, probably about once a month or twice a month as before. Thank you whether you're a long-time reader, just visited now, or check in now and then. I hope that you've found some content here helpful and continue to find it useful. :)</p><p> </p><p>Photo: Blossom trees in Hove Park last year. Moonsparkle 2022, 2023.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-5847905840221182072023-01-31T23:42:00.005+00:002023-01-31T23:47:30.855+00:00Gratitude List<p>I normally post on Sundays or Mondays but I'm behind with blog posts (I also run the blogs <a href="https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Star Sparkle Blog</a> and <a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Seasonal Life</a>), and just remembered I haven't done January's Gratitude List! So here it is on a Tuesday (and the last day of the month). :) </p><p>Things I'm grateful for this month:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Going to <a href="https://www.creamscafe.com/" target="_blank">Creams Cafe</a> in Brighton again (first went in <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/11/gratitude-list-november-thoughts.html" target="_blank">November</a>)<br /></li><li>Going to <a href="https://www.starbucks.co.uk/" target="_blank">Starbucks</a></li><li>Winter sunsets</li><li>Sunny weather after days of rain</li><li>The days getting gradually longer again <br /></li><li>Baking <a href="https://simplytaralynn.com/2020/12/15/gingerbread-cookie-bars-with-cream-cheese-frosting-gluten-free-and-dairy-free/" target="_blank">gingerbread cookie bars</a>- I planned to make them for Christmas but didn't manage to, so I did them this month instead</li><li>Finding meal ideas online <br /></li><li>Getting new slippers </li></ul><p> </p><div><p>And here is a sunset picture I took recently:</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYiGOpIfi3Hk-ja880awFCSedQ37WpnQN6lXHPTBuou2AX5hqpNcjju7ubg02I5nouW4dK3q0MdIgeu841JeYQcF050L9WlPUWF2YbETVC2I1gwolHUAvlQivkgo79lwaGybeJN9671YQCfhe4TLSSU5jSnwCogJ7QLF8jkyapbdPlBo2_M4OmlaE_w/s4160/IMG_20230116_162309_535.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYiGOpIfi3Hk-ja880awFCSedQ37WpnQN6lXHPTBuou2AX5hqpNcjju7ubg02I5nouW4dK3q0MdIgeu841JeYQcF050L9WlPUWF2YbETVC2I1gwolHUAvlQivkgo79lwaGybeJN9671YQCfhe4TLSSU5jSnwCogJ7QLF8jkyapbdPlBo2_M4OmlaE_w/w240-h320/IMG_20230116_162309_535.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coronation Green, Shoreham-by-sea.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p> <br /></p></div>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-81202352096538408002023-01-05T23:42:00.022+00:002023-06-18T20:12:36.878+01:00Letting Go of 2022<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2W0RbD_BMoVKp9dFNKuT-0sZmsIdpo5myxSMMorLIjdd9er0ViveIeetmQUOThfIFpYv3kd6lKrFGK2qpt8H9i4kIi_Yxm_1vpy1qeI2IGWe8FSVu2qJYQbyvzWSJ-S5eUG0a5ZGcOtzUBm9IKVFNS-Rq9CttIJlEgrxmbbOZOGTTvIEI3GkgWejyzQ/s4160/IMG_20221207_161225_772.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2W0RbD_BMoVKp9dFNKuT-0sZmsIdpo5myxSMMorLIjdd9er0ViveIeetmQUOThfIFpYv3kd6lKrFGK2qpt8H9i4kIi_Yxm_1vpy1qeI2IGWe8FSVu2qJYQbyvzWSJ-S5eUG0a5ZGcOtzUBm9IKVFNS-Rq9CttIJlEgrxmbbOZOGTTvIEI3GkgWejyzQ/s320/IMG_20221207_161225_772.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>We've just started a new year, so it's time for my annual letting go of the (previous) year post. I normally post this on New Year's Eve but wasn't able to this time, so I'm posting it today instead (even though it's not one of my usual posting days). :) You can see my past year-end posts at the links below:</p><p>Letting Go of 2017: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/12/letting-go-of-2017.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/12/letting-go-of-2017.html</a><br />
<br />
Letting Go of 2018: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/12/letting-go-of-2018.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/12/letting-go-of-2018.html</a></p><p>Letting Go of 2019 + Starting a New Decade: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/letting-go-of-2019-starting-new-decade.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/letting-go-of-2019-starting-new-decade.html</a><br /></p><p>Letting Go of 2020: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/12/letting-go-of-2020.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/12/letting-go-of-2020.html</a></p><p>Letting Go of 2021: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/12/letting-go-of-2021.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/12/letting-go-of-2021.html</a></p><p> </p><p>2022 was an up and down year for me and probably for a lot of people. It had been the first time in two years when things were feeling a bit more "normal" after the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic" target="_blank">pandemic</a> and all the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_lockdowns" target="_blank">lockdowns</a>. All <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/health/covid-rules-now-around-the-uk-1533719" target="_blank">restrictions were basically dropped</a> in the UK in March but things have still felt a bit strange. I wrote a mid-year reflection post in June. You can read it here: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/06/mid-2022-reflections.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/06/mid-2022-reflections.html</a><br /></p><p>If you follow numerology, the Universal Year Number for 2022 was 6, so 2023's is 7. It's supposed to be about spiritual and personal growth and evolution. Read more about the universal year here: <a href="https://astrostyle.com/7-universal-year-numerology-horoscope/" target="_blank">https://astrostyle.com/7-universal-year-numerology-horoscope/</a></p><p>My Personal Year Number for 2022 was a 1, which means that for 2023 it's 2. It's about partnerships and co-operation. I normally use the book <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/21st-Century-Goddess-Modern-Universe/dp/0552150711/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452618302&sr=1-1&keywords=21st+century+goddess" target="_blank">21st Century Goddess</a> for my year number, but I have also used this resource a couple of times (it helps you calculate your personal year): <a href="https://feliciabender.com/monthly-numerology-forecast/#calculate" target="_blank">https://feliciabender.com/monthly-numerology-forecast/#calculate<span></span></a> </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>Also check out this article for more on the universal year and your personal year forecast: <a href="https://www.numerology.com/articles/numerology-news/2023-numerology-predictions/" target="_blank">https://www.numerology.com/articles/numerology-news/2023-numerology-predictions/</a> <p></p><p> </p><p><i>Reflections</i></p><p>This past year I was able to get back into belly dancing a bit more regularly, attending haflas with my belly dance group, and workshops and classes with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lianna.ilnanabellydance.co.uk" target="_blank">Lianna Greene</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/nadiaundine" target="_blank">Nadia Undine</a>. I also did a workshop with my local mental health resource centre <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/06/mid-2022-reflections.html" target="_blank">in May </a>(the first one I'd taken since the pandemic) and went on a walk with the centre in September.</p><p>During the last quarter of the year, I also got back into going to <a href="https://www.meetup.com/home/" target="_blank">Meetup</a> events. Pre-pandemic I attended my local Happy Cafe (part of the larger group <a href="https://actionforhappiness.org/" target="_blank">Action for Happiness</a>). That particular one never started up again but there are face to face Happy Cafe meetups in Brighton again, so I went to a few of those. I hope to continue going this year. </p><p>Apart from that, I did my regular park walks and also went to the beach and the countryside a few times. As with the previous couple of years, I wrote quarterly updates over on my seasonal living blog The Seasonal Life. Visit this post for the Summer-Autumn updates (and the previous ones; I haven't done Autumn-Winter yet): <a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/10/summer-autumn-update-2022.html" target="_blank">https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/10/summer-autumn-update-2022.html</a><br /></p><p>Blogging wise, I wrote about the same number of posts as last year (16 compared to 15). As well as my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/search/label/Gratitude%20List" target="_blank">monthly gratitude lists</a>, I did a few posts, mostly in the first part of the year. Those were <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/02/when-youve-been-down-for-too-long.html" target="_blank">When You've Been Down for Too Long</a> and <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/law-of-assumption-alternative-way-of.html " target="_blank">Law of Assumption- An Alternative Way of Manifesting</a> (an alternative to the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2013/08/law-of-attraction.html" target="_blank">Law of Attraction</a>) and my mid-year post.<br /></p><p>In the second half of the year, I wrote a <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/09/feeling-your-emotions-recap.html" target="_blank">post recapping my Feeling Your Emotions series </a>(2 and a half years after I began it) and a little update in my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/11/gratitude-list-november-thoughts.html" target="_blank">November gratitude list, called November Thoughts</a>. </p><p>In "world" news (not just my personal news), there was the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine" target="_blank">war in Ukraine</a>, shootings in America, the Queen's <a href="https://www.royal.uk/platinum-jubilee-central-weekend" target="_blank">Platinum Jubilee </a>in June and a big change to US abortion laws. I wrote a bit about those events in the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/06/mid-2022-reflections.html" target="_blank">Mid-2022 Reflections post</a>. </p><p>In September, the most significant event in the UK was the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61585886" target="_blank">death of the Queen</a> on the 8th. Most of us have never experienced the death of a monarch before and have only ever known the Queen ruling (since her reign lasted 70 years). So, it was really quite strange. And of course, sad for her and her family. We were in an official mourning period until her <a href="https://www.royal.uk/state-funeral-her-majesty-queen-0" target="_blank">funeral on 19th September</a>. It was televised; I saw some of the procession taking her back to St George's Chapel in Windsor and then some of the funeral and burial online later. <br /></p><p>Her oldest son Prince Charles is now King (known as King Charles III) and his <a href="https://www.royal.uk/coronation-his-majesty-king" target="_blank">coronation will be in May</a>. It feels a bit weird to have a king now!</p><p>In other royal news, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle released their long-awaited <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-63989977" target="_blank">Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan</a> at the end of the year. I don't have Netflix but if I did, I would watch it. I was surprised that they were making a documentary, since I thought one of the reasons they left the UK was to have privacy (although they have now said they never specified that), but I can understand why they wanted to tell their own story. I hope that going forward they can live the best lives for them. :)<br /></p><p>We also had a lot of change with Prime Ministers! In July the (then) current PM Boris Johnson announced that he was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-62072419" target="_blank">stepping down as Conservative leader and Prime Minster</a>. He was <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/liz-truss-becomes-prime-minister-of-the-uk-12691158" target="_blank">replaced by Liz Truss</a> in September. But she didn't last long and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Truss" target="_blank">resigned less than two months later</a> (becoming the shortest serving PM in history)! She was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63345272" target="_blank">replaced by Rishi Sunak</a> in October.</p><p>I think it's cool that Rishi Sunak is the first Indian Prime Minster. Although the most important thing to me is that he does a good job (not to dismiss the significance because it does matter, I just mean that we need someone who knows what they're doing regardless of race/heritage, gender etc.). I think with how certain things were handled during the pandemic and the current <a href="https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/cost-living-crisis" target="_blank">cost of living crisis</a>, many people have lost faith in the government. However, they are trying to help with energy bills and <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2023/01/03/uk-pledges-cash-support-for-low-income-households-amid-cost-of-living-crisis#:~:text=Like%20most%20of%20Europe%252C%20the,in%20at%2010.9%2525%20in" target="_blank">other costs for low-income households</a>, which is a good thing. <br /></p><p><br /></p><p><i>Releasing</i></p><p>I struggled a bit in 2022 due to feeling hurt and excluded in a certain situation. I have ups and down with my mental health, and went through periods where the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/07/feeling-your-emotions-sadness-and.html" target="_blank">depression</a> and/or <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/10/feeling-your-emotions-fear-and-anxiety.html" target="_blank">anxiety </a>was worse during this past year. There were better parts too, but then I didn't have a very good end of the year (due to personal reasons) and then this year started with being "ghosted" by someone I thought was a friend. (I also had a couple of weird incidents in the past few months with people blocking me on penpal sites for no reason that I knew of.) So, I've been <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/10/when-youre-struggling.html" target="_blank">feeling like I'm at quite a low ebb</a> recently. </p><p>The start of a new year has an attitude of "New Year, New You!". But as I've mentioned before (in my first <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/12/letting-go-of-2017.html" target="_blank">letting go of the year post in 2017</a> actually), I don't believe in pushing myself to feel better when I can't. And I don't think any of us should. In fact, my whole <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/search/label/Feeling%20Your%20Emotions" target="_blank">Feeling Your Emotions series </a>is about trying to accept different emotions.</p><p>I've covered ways to release your year in previous year-end posts. You can find them at the links at the top of the post, or by clicking <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/12/letting-go-of-2017.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/12/letting-go-of-2018.html" target="_blank">here </a>and <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/letting-go-of-2019-starting-new-decade.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I also wrote a bit about it in the Letting Go of 2021 post: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/12/letting-go-of-2021.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/12/letting-go-of-2021.html</a></p><p> </p><p><i>Resolutions/Intentions/Goals</i></p><p>I first wrote about setting resolutions, intentions and goals (and the difference between them) in the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/12/letting-go-of-2017.html" target="_blank">Letting Go of 2017 post </a>and again in the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/12/letting-go-of-2018.html" target="_blank">Letting Go of 2018 one</a>. I hope you find them useful if you want to make a resolution or set an intention etc. (And if not, it's fine! It's totally up to you.) :)<br /></p><p>Some years I choose a <a href="https://www.selfloverainbow.com/how-to-choose-your-word-of-the-year-100-suggestions" target="_blank">Word of the Year</a>. You can see the ones I chose up to 2020 in my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/12/letting-go-of-2020.html" target="_blank">Letting Go of 2020 post</a>. I don't always choose one but for 2022 my word was "Amazing". However, I didn't feel that I really had an amazing year, so I'm not sure if I'll choose one for 2023! Sometimes I get disappointed if they don't seem to work for me. I don't feel like setting any intentions right now either, but I might change my mind later. You can set them any time of the year, it doesn't have to be at the start. :)<br /></p><p>Check out this post to read about Dominee from Self-Love Rainbow's (formerly Blessing Manifesting) Word of the Year for 2023 and previous years: <a href="https://www.selfloverainbow.com/my-word-of-the-year-for-2023" target="_blank">https://www.selfloverainbow.com/my-word-of-the-year-for-2023</a></p><p>If the idea of setting resolutions or choosing a word for the year doesn't resonate with you, then you may like this post from Huong of She Sweats Diamonds. It's about choosing a phrase/motto to live by for the year: <a href="https://www.shesweatsdiamonds.com/new-year-new-beginnings-happy-2023/" target="_blank">https://www.shesweatsdiamonds.com/new-year-new-beginnings-happy-2023/</a></p><p>Or if you'd prefer an approach of easing into the year, check out this post from Catherine of The Blissful Mind: <a href="https://theblissfulmind.com/ease-into-2023" target="_blank">https://theblissfulmind.com/ease-into-2023</a></p><p> </p><p>So that's it for now. I hope that everyone is doing well and had a good Christmas and New Year (or any other festival you celebrated). Or if you didn't, I hope that things get better for you. And hopefully you found this post helpful if you wanted to reflect on/let go of the past year and look ahead to the new one. :) This year it will be Falling Petals' 10th birthday! Next month actually. I'm planning to do a birthday post, so look out for that. :) </p><p>How was your 2022? Happy New Year! Wishing you a peaceful start to 2023. :) </p><p><br /></p><p>Photo: Buckingham Park, Shoreham-by-sea. Moonsparkle 2022.<br /></p>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-45061870273398762482022-12-26T20:56:00.002+00:002022-12-26T20:56:49.014+00:00Gratitude List<p> Things I'm grateful for this month:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Gingerbread lattes</li><li><a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/12/happy-yule.html" target="_blank">Yule/the Winter Solstice</a></li><li>Going to <a href="https://www.haskins.co.uk/roundstone-centre/" target="_blank">Haskins Roundstone garden centre </a><br /></li><li>Christmas</li><li>Books</li><li>Friendship <br /></li><li>Christmas trees </li><li>The weather warming up again after a cold spell</li></ul>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-57792973437806525382022-11-28T23:59:00.013+00:002023-11-09T19:05:04.393+00:00Gratitude List + November Thoughts<p> Things I'm grateful for this month:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Golden late autumn days</li><li>Going to <a href="https://www.creamscafe.com/" target="_blank">Creams Cafe</a> in Brighton</li><li>Autumn beauty</li><li>Hot chocolate</li><li>Doing some belly dancing again</li><li>Going to <a href="https://actionforhappiness.org/" target="_blank">Action for Happiness</a> meetups again</li><li>Feeling "seen" by others</li><li>Finding inspiration in the world<br /> </li></ul><p><br /></p><p><u>Thoughts</u></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqW6cB9iiEt4FBFR556Az1UCzglVAo05FVMG32nJYFA73Yz5azoibx-kc_xFhcuDQY3s9yIZsfeNsJT__DFPQBY7-r2UuwijYtv8TXWx99sEH_V4FIxk_Y--cE8AJDXeEx54smfvl91TxVFFEFqUxDp4wv8kt4hxxjyzSXsX4dD4AsbqD2BH7cajenw/s4160/IMG_20221123_161222_750.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqW6cB9iiEt4FBFR556Az1UCzglVAo05FVMG32nJYFA73Yz5azoibx-kc_xFhcuDQY3s9yIZsfeNsJT__DFPQBY7-r2UuwijYtv8TXWx99sEH_V4FIxk_Y--cE8AJDXeEx54smfvl91TxVFFEFqUxDp4wv8kt4hxxjyzSXsX4dD4AsbqD2BH7cajenw/s320/IMG_20221123_161222_750.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>In addition to my monthly gratitude list, I decided to share some random thoughts. I haven't written many posts this year apart from my <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/search/label/Gratitude%20List" target="_blank">Gratitude Lists</a>. I do have a couple of ideas in mind but for now I'm just going to do a sort of "mini" blog post.</p><p>This time of year feels a bit hard to me in some ways because the days are getting shorter and darker as we move towards winter. (Although I find January the hardest really). I've <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/10/when-youre-struggling.html" target="_blank">mentioned before that I struggle a bit </a>during autumn. I also have a seasonal living blog called <a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Seasonal Life</a> and I've gone a bit more into that subject over there, e.g. about how I find the <a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/09/saying-goodbye-to-summer-moving-into.html" target="_blank">transition from summer to autumn</a> more difficult than that of the one from winter to spring. It feels like a "pulling in" as we move towards the darkest part of the year, the <a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/12/yule-round-up-yulechristmas-baking.html" target="_blank">Winter Solstice (also known as Yule)</a> in December, which is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.<br /></p><p>Autumn is a beautiful time of year but it's also quite melancholy for me because nature is dying off and the weather becoming bleaker. Several years ago, I went through a hard time during October (I wrote the post <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/10/when-youre-struggling.html" target="_blank">When You're Struggling</a> then) but when November came, I felt a bit "lighter" again. These past couple of years have been extra hard for everyone with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic" target="_blank">pandemic</a> and other issues/events such as racial unrest and the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-60525350" target="_blank">war in Ukraine</a>. Things still feel very uncertain. </p><p>I tend to feel a bit weary during the last part of year because while
sometimes the year seems to have gone quite quickly, some months feel
long! The time from September to December always seem to go quickly. <br /></p><p>I haven't felt as inspired to blog on here as much over the past two years, although I have written more regularly on The Seasonal Life and my entertainment blog <a href="https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Star Sparkle Blog</a>. I think posts here require more "energy" because I'm covering deeper subjects. I do still enjoy it though and I'm glad that I have this space to reflect on self-help/personal development and spiritual subjects. Next year it will be 10 years since I started Falling Petals! I will do a birthday post.<br /></p><p>A couple of months ago I picked up my Feeling Your Emotions series again after a break of 2 and a half years, writing a <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/09/feeling-your-emotions-recap.html" target="_blank">recap post</a>. I plan to write more in that series next year. I've also been looking into the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/law-of-assumption-alternative-way-of.html" target="_blank">Law of Assumption</a> (after previously having only known the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/04/loa-round-up.html" target="_blank">Law of Attraction</a>).</p><p>So that's it for now! Next month I will do my annual end of year post, which will be more in-depth. Thank you for reading and hope everyone is doing ok. I know that in America you just had Thanksgiving, so I hope that those who celebrated had a good time. :) </p><p><br /></p><p>Photo: Buckingham Park, Shoreham-by-sea. Moonsparkle 2022.<br /></p>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-58376408093495769022022-10-30T23:46:00.003+00:002022-10-31T01:00:09.960+00:00Gratitude List<p> Things I'm grateful for this month:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Golden autumn days</li><li>Going to the beach- probably the last time I'll go before it gets too cold!</li><li>Autumn colours</li><li>Positive online spaces </li><li>Listening to music </li><li>Coffee<br /></li><li>The weather being not too cold but pleasantly cooler</li><li><a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/10/happy-samhainhalloween.html" target="_blank">Hallowe'en/Samhain</a> tomorrow! </li></ul><p> </p><div><p>And here's a photo I took recently of a tree turning beautiful autumn colours:</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH47w4Bb_fEqqje8St9K1qcYQe6vqbR0kZSq6ii1RCPb4XUOvacTr31SMGLAnMEkCo4gMVshnJhdt86aaR9qmfIJc1MniDAbrTYl5PyvtgqLjau-r3DpOK3-tBkctScqsJa-PC6fhqlYXfydoB4XI-kxpT9VfPITn4n21547TKp9hQ8Fzh3FHhzhTePA/s2304/IMG_20221019_172111_756%20(altered).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="2304" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH47w4Bb_fEqqje8St9K1qcYQe6vqbR0kZSq6ii1RCPb4XUOvacTr31SMGLAnMEkCo4gMVshnJhdt86aaR9qmfIJc1MniDAbrTYl5PyvtgqLjau-r3DpOK3-tBkctScqsJa-PC6fhqlYXfydoB4XI-kxpT9VfPITn4n21547TKp9hQ8Fzh3FHhzhTePA/s320/IMG_20221019_172111_756%20(altered).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree in Shoreham-by-sea.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <br /><p></p></div>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-44530788764632117082022-09-26T22:33:00.005+01:002022-09-26T22:33:39.385+01:00Gratitude List<p> Things I'm grateful for this month:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The last of summer <br /></li><li>Going to Goring (Worthing) Beach</li><li><a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/09/happy-madron.html" target="_blank">Madron/the Autumn Equinox</a></li><li>Getting new library books <br /></li><li>The trees beginning to change colour</li><li>The start of autumn</li><li>Beautiful sunsets. :) <br /></li><li>Connecting with people online</li></ul>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-73394252991452956722022-09-25T20:12:00.017+01:002022-09-26T22:04:45.008+01:00Feeling Your Emotions Recap<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJo2nA-3nfrFta3dVJnn-zEkBlT2C2dES5qTKUGvnj1rCd4urr8QhNVYaKDznH10dElc38L6LW_G25WhLXrW5yYtIbjJnm8_ChDlL6IPwglEDmrevr9wRv3B7r1fy7qVU33pn3oVcn-g7iQK8YtYkYypJDUzSFY_Zbj_v87k960sw8klaxtxrfO1C1g/s4160/IMG_20220924_184924_828.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJo2nA-3nfrFta3dVJnn-zEkBlT2C2dES5qTKUGvnj1rCd4urr8QhNVYaKDznH10dElc38L6LW_G25WhLXrW5yYtIbjJnm8_ChDlL6IPwglEDmrevr9wRv3B7r1fy7qVU33pn3oVcn-g7iQK8YtYkYypJDUzSFY_Zbj_v87k960sw8klaxtxrfO1C1g/s320/IMG_20220924_184924_828.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Back in 2017 I started a series called Feeling Your Emotions. The
intention was to look at different emotions (such as anger, sadness,
fear, peace and love) and get in touch with them, to help heal and move
forward. You can read the introduction here: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/11/feeling-your-emotions-introduction.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/11/feeling-your-emotions-introduction.html</a><br /></p><p><b>Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, so if you're having mental/physical
issues please seek medical help in addition to reading this. :)</b></p><br /><p>I haven't done any new posts in the series for over 2
years (2 and a half years this month actually), so I felt like now was a
good time to do a recap. I started with the so-called "negative"
emotions, intending to work my way up to more "positive" ones. However, I
didn't end up covering love or peace (which I intended to do next),
since I just didn't feel in a space to write about them, especially with
the events of the <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/06/mid-2022-reflections.html" target="_blank">past two years</a>.</p>I'm going to revisit the previous posts, plus take another look at emotions in general and then decide where to take FYE next. <p><br /></p><p></p><p></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>Here are the previous posts in the series:<b><br /></b></p><p>Intro: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/11/feeling-your-emotions-introduction.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/11/feeling-your-emotions-introduction.html</a> <br />
<br />
Anger (Part 1): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/02/feeling-your-emotions-anger-part-1.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/02/feeling-your-emotions-anger-part-1.html</a> <br />
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Anger (Part 2): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/04/feeling-your-emotions-anger-part-2.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/04/feeling-your-emotions-anger-part-2.html</a><br />
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Sadness and Depression (Part 1): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/07/feeling-your-emotions-sadness-and.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/07/feeling-your-emotions-sadness-and.html</a><br />
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Sadness and Depression (Part 2): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/08/feeling-your-emotions-sadness-and.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/08/feeling-your-emotions-sadness-and.html</a><br />
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Fear and Anxiety (Part 1): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/10/feeling-your-emotions-fear-and-anxiety.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/10/feeling-your-emotions-fear-and-anxiety.html</a><br />
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Fear and Anxiety (Part 2): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/12/feeling-your-emotions-fear-and-anxiety.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/12/feeling-your-emotions-fear-and-anxiety.html</a><br />
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Shame: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/02/feeling-your-emotions-shame.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/02/feeling-your-emotions-shame.html</a><br />
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Neutral: <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/07/feeling-your-emotions-neutral.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/07/feeling-your-emotions-neutral.html</a><br />
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Happiness (Part 1): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/01/feeling-your-emotions-happiness-part-1.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/01/feeling-your-emotions-happiness-part-1.html</a></p><p>Happiness- (Part 2): <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/03/feeling-your-emotions-happiness-part-2.html" target="_blank">https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/03/feeling-your-emotions-happiness-part-2.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>I started with anger because I felt like it would be good to begin with the "heavier" emotions first and anger is one that is often frowned upon. I have felt a lot of anger over the years. </p><p>Next, I moved onto sadness and depression. I wanted to look at both sadness, an emotion which affects everyone at some point or other, and depression (considered a mental health condition). And then fear and anxiety, both the natural emotion of fear, which also affects everyone at some point and anxiety (in the context of the mental health condition). As someone who has depression and anxiety, it was important to me to cover those subjects.</p><p>Then I looked at shame, which is quite a difficult emotion. I felt that only needed one post compared to sadness/depression and fear/anxiety though. Although I have often felt shame too, I just didn't have as much to say on it.</p><p>The next post was a "neutral" one, on the subject of feeling in a void type state, neither happy or sad, being in between positive and negative. I also briefly looked at the difference between feelings and emotions in that post.<br /></p><p>And then my final two posts to date were about happiness. I've been interested in the emotion of happiness and how to become happier for a long time, ever since I first become depressed in my teens.</p><p>I've also written some "stand alone" posts (not part of the FYE series) on the subjects of <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/05/feeling-like-loser.html" target="_blank">feeling like a "loser"</a>, <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/10/when-youre-struggling.html" target="_blank">going through a difficult time (when you're struggling)</a>, <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/05/feeling-lonely.html" target="_blank">loneliness</a> and <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/07/feeling-low.html" target="_blank">feeling low</a>. Plus, last year I did a two-post series, <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/04/starting-from-bottom-part-1.html" target="_blank">Starting From the Bottom- Part 1</a> and <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/08/starting-from-bottom-part-2.html" target="_blank">Starting From the Bottom- Part 2</a>, about moving up from a low place to feeling better and improving your life. And earlier this year I wrote a post called <a href="https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/02/when-youve-been-down-for-too-long.html" target="_blank">When You've Been Down for Too Long</a>, where I discussed feeling like you've been down and stuck in the same place for a long time, e.g., in a cycle of depression and anxiety.<br /></p><p>I'd like to pick the FYE series back up again. I'm planning to look at peace next. The original intention was to move upwards from "negative" to "positive" emotions, but I think in future posts I might circle back round to other emotions like jealousy and feeling empty. That makes sense, since in life we have seasons and we experience a range of emotions (sometimes several throughout the same day).</p><p> </p><p>To round off this post, here are a few links about feelings and emotions in general:<br /></p><p>5 Reasons Emotions Are Important: <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/the-purpose-of-emotions-2795181" target="_blank">https://www.verywellmind.com/the-purpose-of-emotions-2795181</a><br /></p><p>This article is about listening to your emotions and an exercise that you can do to look at the basic emotions (8 basic emotions are referenced here): <a href="https://happiful.com/why-you-should-listen-to-your-emotions/" target="_blank">https://happiful.com/why-you-should-listen-to-your-emotions/</a></p><p>And here is a helpful post on dealing with uncomfortable feelings: <a href="https://itsallyouboo.com/dealing-with-uncomfortable-feelings/" target="_blank">https://itsallyouboo.com/dealing-with-uncomfortable-feelings/</a></p><p> </p><p>So, I hope this was useful in some way. :) It's not an in-depth post but more just getting back into "the flow" of the Feeling Your Emotions series again. I'm not sure when the next post will be yet (I may be writing about a different subject first) but probably in the next few months.</p><p><br /></p><p>Photo: Mill Hill, Shoreham-by-sea. Moonsparkle 2022.<br /></p><br /><br />Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363543917206931488.post-36693177556445500512022-08-31T20:51:00.003+01:002022-08-31T20:58:40.994+01:00Gratitude List <p>I nearly forgot to do this month's Gratitude List but remembered on the last day of the month! So that's why this post is not on my usual posting days. :) </p><p> </p><p>Things I'm grateful for this month:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/08/lammas-2022.html" target="_blank">Lammas</a></li><li>Going to <a href="https://kaspas.co.uk/" target="_blank">Kaspas Desserts</a>- I'd been meaning to try it for ages!</li><li>Gentle windy days and breezes</li><li>Golden morning light <br /></li><li>The last few weeks of summer</li><li>Living in a country where I get to experience different seasons (despite not being a fan of winter!)</li><li>Weekly park walks <br /></li><li>Finding inspiration on YouTube</li></ul><p> </p><p>Here are a couple of photos I took in the park recently:<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH0C-Oah_Lr9HxYETc3aRzyQtbDyYssWrTYxt4aqVgr9n4wio1zbxPMa17kyQOxiz2ysYXcPetfP5o5OvlsbxUieDJq5GFpgT0wjuJxGTgo2eeBcCwRmLi4ybRQB94nEjcQMMvXi2n_rTX2aTKZeTolZfp95QpKnoHfjAZk2GC_pwMRiNoMlzaPN6vHQ/s4160/IMG_20220824_171217_141.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH0C-Oah_Lr9HxYETc3aRzyQtbDyYssWrTYxt4aqVgr9n4wio1zbxPMa17kyQOxiz2ysYXcPetfP5o5OvlsbxUieDJq5GFpgT0wjuJxGTgo2eeBcCwRmLi4ybRQB94nEjcQMMvXi2n_rTX2aTKZeTolZfp95QpKnoHfjAZk2GC_pwMRiNoMlzaPN6vHQ/s320/IMG_20220824_171217_141.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hove Park.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSt8TcE7ydQKHNjcHz7qssiWTqulK_xBLvtpb42d2g83CT4k0C4usRu9L8iMuS--x46y58f3dZunIJkDpBIBfoO2_beLoQr6qcAu-XMq9ViGfCDNo85ItDzyIwpCGhF-43Inhu2Gs6CdXtI71f8MpX7CTyX-L6JMrd6JskvNgoCB6-bI9OFldU7VrAg/s4160/IMG_20220824_172748_953.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSt8TcE7ydQKHNjcHz7qssiWTqulK_xBLvtpb42d2g83CT4k0C4usRu9L8iMuS--x46y58f3dZunIJkDpBIBfoO2_beLoQr6qcAu-XMq9ViGfCDNo85ItDzyIwpCGhF-43Inhu2Gs6CdXtI71f8MpX7CTyX-L6JMrd6JskvNgoCB6-bI9OFldU7VrAg/s320/IMG_20220824_172748_953.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few leaves are already starting to turn!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>Wishing everyone a wonderful end of month, and start to the new month and new season ahead (whether it's autumn or spring for you)! <br /></p>Moonsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509387808598180111noreply@blogger.com0