Sometimes, to feel rejuventated and rested, it is necessary to have a change of scenery. This is what holidays are all about, we go off to someplace new where the weather is different and the plants and wildlife are different and we have none of the associations that we do when we are at home. Unencumbered by our usual ways of relating to the world, we find some rest. How many people look much healthier relaxed and happier when they return from their holidays (even if they might be moping about the fact they are back and have to get back to work)?

However, there are less drastic and less life-interrupting ways of having a change of scenery, and that is to re-arrange our houses or gardens. I’ve re-arranged my room, moving the bed around to a different position, installing a makeshift low table which until now I thought would take up too much room and reduce the space too much. Actually, it seemed to give the impression of more space. Different levels I suppose, and it gives more of an impression of stability and support. I slept better than I have in a long while (the power of feng shui, perhaps?), and I’m still amazed at just how different it looks, and how good. After a while of having piles of CDs and books on the floor everywhere, this makes a wonderful change.

I’m not done yet, but now I’ll take stock and see where to go with it next. Transforming a room can be like transforming part of your life, and the effects can be very strong indeed (the newness of change, and hopefully, an atmosphere more suited to the person you have become). I woke with such a lot of energy, optimistic, relaxed, ready to get on with the day even though I felt no compulsive need to do anything at all.

So, if you’re feeling a bit stuck or a bit bored, change something. Change anything, it’ll get things flowing again.

This too shall pass. Remind yourself of that when it gets too much, when the pressure mounts, or the sadness feels like it’ll never end.

And if you’re feeling hunky dory, remember that too shall pass.

Enjoy it while it lasts. Take nothing for granted. This moment will never come again.

It’s important for a plant to be in an appropriate container. Too small, and it won’t be able to grow any larger (perhaps even dying from a lack of growth). Not well enough draining (or too draining), and it’ll have trouble keeping up a good water content. I repotted the surviving blue firs again, back into a smaller (but more stable and less well draining) pot, and after all that talk of survival of the fittest early on when so many of them germinated, we have a winner. I’m now looking forward to seeing this guy grow well, he’s already spent quite a while strengthening his trunk there, which is the sort of growth that isn’t always noticable, and you could be forgiven for thinking nothing was happening.

The baby aloe has found a pot of its own now. Being unsure of how to propagate it once it grew off the parent plant, I put the decision off. Then one day I saw it was in a sorry state, as was the parent plant. Suddenly I had two plants where there was once one, and the competition for nutrients was reflected in their health. A quick bit of research, a sharp knife cut later, and the baby was transplanted (along with a good portion of root system) into a new home, and now I put care and attention into both to aid their recovery.

When we, as people, only view ourselves in a small way, it is as if we are growing in a small pot. Naturally this restricts our growth, and can turn out very unpleasant indeed. In the words of Charlotte Joko Beck, we need to learn our ABC’s, and become A Bigger Container. Doing that, we’ll have space to deal with life more easily, to grow, and not be lost among our transitory identifications. Instead, perhaps we’ll be able to glimpse the vastness of who we really are. And wouldn’t that be just magnificient?

It is said that the wings of a dragonfly are like the illusions of this world. It has certainly given me something to ponder. Is the idea of “happily ever after” just an illusion? Or is the whole of life an illusion, a play which can be changed at a moment’s notice, so that we can make of it what we will?

According to my research on the British Dragonfly Society’s website, this is species Libellula depressa, a female (or possibly young male) Broad-bodied Chaser. What further thoughts could that spawn? What illusions do I chase? What illusions do you chase? Is the meaning I find in this sighting an illusion? And does it matter?

“It’s whatever makes you see, makes you believe…” - From ‘Illusion and Dream’, by Poets of the Fall.

Barefoot or not, get out among the hustle and bustle (or peace and quiet) of the world and stretch your legs. They’ll thank you for it, and so will your spirit.

Over the past week or so I’ve felt more consistantly joyful than I can ever remember. I have been (largely) open and relaxed, feeling healthy and strong in my body, energized, dynamic, and supple. I’ve been trying all sorts of new things; playing football, going swimming, learning to type properly, doing Pilates.

Of course, this isn’t all. Joy is not just a healthy body, but also a healthy mind and spirit. It is a state that comes about naturally, in spite of the emotional weather flowing through us. To be sure, most of my times have been spent happy, but not all, yet joy remains. Energy remains, and I feel alive with it. The secret? And perhaps I’m as surprised as you are - it’s affirmations.

Aren’t affirmations just denying reality? They can be of course, if you’re sick, just saying you are well might not feel very authentic, but the thing about affirmations is their power to work in the grey areas of life, in the areas of reality which are really just our own personal beliefs. That’s what they are really about, changing what you believe (and even finding out what you believe!) about the world and yourself to bring about a more peaceful and more joyful life. In essence, it is a celebration of desire, and a trusting that the universe wishes for us to have our desires met, just as it created our desires in the first place.

If you aren’t convinced that what you believe has any affect on reality, then consider The Optimist and The Pessimist. It is obvious that they would act very differently, and so have very different experiences. Optimism helps a person expand, to try new things, to take risks, and to get out there and chase the possibilities for happiness that exist. Pessimism restricts things, hedging bets, believing that things will go badly so it’s better to stay where you are, to hide away from life. While happiness could still come this way, it’s a limiting way of living, and you’d be forever waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Affirmations are just saying “YES” (affirmative) to life. And why not? Seeing your power, why not enjoy the pure adventure of it? Experiment with a few desires, see how they feel to say, see what you learn about the subtle ways your (mostly unconscious) beliefs have been shaping your life. Go on, go get some!

For me the Seasons come and go;
There are so many.
For you, there are so few,
Each one is precious.

- London Plane Tree.

This evening I went walking, out into the setting sun, to open myself to this special time of year, the longest day, the Summer Solstace. From here on in, the days are shortening, the nights lengthening, and Summer passing into Autumn. On occasions I can set my identity and mind aside and connect to something greater, to the environment around me, to Nature itself. These cycles are not something separate from us, they are a part of us, as we are a part of them.

Gratitude, preciousness, witnessing. These were the watchwords that were taught to me, my own wisdom reflecting in the trees I sometimes like to speak to, who often speak back. I felt it strongly. What if this is my last Summer? I cannot take it for granted. Like most people, I have preferences regarding which season it is, and what the weather is like, but with the thought it could be the last one, that certainly changes one’s outlook. If it was your last ever rainy day, would you care that it was not sunny? What good is it to miss out on the delights of this moment wishing that things were different?

Not for myself I thought it, but for everyone and everything. The birds were flying and singing around me, starlings, blackbirds, as they like to do around this time. The clouds golden from the sun, not judging or caring too much about what I was thinking or saying, I prayed for another year, another Summer, not just for me, but for everyone and everything. All life on Earth depends on the sun, and the cycles of it. Not for me then, but for them, the birds around me, the grass below me. Let Life carry on, even if I’m gone.

Not that I intend to be, of course.