Mid-2020 Reflections

For the past few years I've written mid- year reflection posts. Well, the first one was in May and then in 2018 and 2019 I wrote them in June. You can read them below:

Reflections (2017): https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/05/reflections.html

Mid-2018 Reflections: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2018/06/mid-2018-reflections.html

Mid-2019 Reflections: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/06/mid-2019-reflections.html

For the past couple of years I've written end of year posts as well. You can read my Letting Go of 2019 + Starting a New Decade post here: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/letting-go-of-2019-starting-new-decade.html

The first half of 2020 has been strange to say the least! I think at the beginning of the year few of us imagined that we'd have a worldwide pandemic with the coronavirus and almost every country would go into lockdown/quarantine because of it. So it's been quite hard adapting to that.

Gratitude List

Things I'm grateful for this month:

Beltane

Sunny, hot weather

Hawthorn trees blossoming

Making new online friendships and connections

Lockdown easing slightly- I know we still have to be careful but it's nice to be allowed out a bit more.

Going to the park again

Getting hold of some light condensed milk in the shops (I made my own recently but it's easier to buy it)!

YouTube- been spending a lot of time there lately, lol.

I occasionally share pictures in my gratitude posts, so this month I thought I'd share a sunset pic I took at the park:

Feeling Lonely

If you follow the blog then you'll know that I've been doing a series called Feeling Your Emotions. You can read the intro post here (and find all the posts under the label "FYE"): https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/11/feeling-your-emotions-introduction.html

One emotion I haven't covered is loneliness. Since  I'm "moving up" through the scale of the so-called more positive emotions, I decided to do a stand alone post on loneliness. Hopefully it will be useful, especially during this time when we are advised to self- isolate and social distance due to the coronavirus. :)

Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, so if you're having mental/physical issues please seek medical help in addition to reading this. :)


What is loneliness and what does it mean to feel lonely?

Loneliness is described as an "unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation and also "social pain" (Wikipedia) ,and a "distressing experience that occurs when a person's relationships are perceived by themselves to be less in quantity or quality" (Encyclopaedia Britannica). So it's a strong feeling that is thought of as negative. I would also describe it as an "empty" feeling.

Gratitude List

Things I'm grateful for this month:

The NHS, supermarket and other essential workers who have been working during lockown
First full month of spring
Easter
Chocolate Easter eggs (especially Bournville!)
Blossom trees
Wimpy still being open
Doing some baking and making Dalgona coffee
Some products being back in the supermarkets (it's still hard to get flour and eggs though!)

Bonus: Amina Makhdoom's 30 Day Joy Challenge


Hope everyone is staying safe and doing ok. :)

Gratitude List

It's been a difficult month worldwide with the spread of the coronavirus and lockdowns in various countries. But I thought it was important to still do the monthly gratitude list.  Of course if you practise gratitude you may not be able to find anything to be grateful for right now depending on your circumstances, and that's completely ok. Just put it on "pause" right now and concentrate on what you can. :)

Things I'm grateful for this month:

Birthday presents and birthday wishes. :)
Birthday cake! (Tesco's red velvet that I also had last year).
Daffodils
Going to Nando's for my birthday (this was just before they shut all the restaurants down).
Oestara/the Spring Equinox
Sunny days- it's nice to see them out the window even if you're not going out.
Hot chocolate- I've been drinking ready made and also making my own.
Toilet roll being available again!

Hope everyone is doing ok. :)

P.S. I'm taking part in Amina Makhdoom's 30 Day Challenge which starts on 30th April. I've done it the past few years and it's always fun. Read more and sign-up here: http://www.lunchwithcinderella.com/30-day-joy-challenge.html

Feeling Your Emotions- Happiness (Part 2)

This is the next post in the Feeling Your Emotions series. You can read the introduction here: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/11/feeling-your-emotions-introduction.html

Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, so if you're having mental/physical issues please seek medical help in addition to reading this. :)


So far in the series I've covered the so-called "negative" emotions- anger, sadness and depression, fear and anxiety and shame. Then I wrote a "neutral" post about the between point of "negative" and "positive" emotions before moving onto happiness. It's quite a big subject so I decided to split it into  a couple of posts. You can read Part 1 here: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2020/01/feeling-your-emotions-happiness-part-1.html

Now I'm going to go deeper into the subject of "happiness".

Gratitude List

Things I'm grateful for this month:

Imbolg
Amina Makhdoom's Love Expansion programme- I was one of a few people chosen to get it for half price in the Adventures with Amina Facebook group! :)
McDonald's caramel iced frappes (I still miss mocha though!)
Finding new inspirational websites
Daffodils starting to bloom
ASMR videos and audios
Going to Lianna Greene's gothic fusion belly dance workshop
Listening to new music