TEN THINGS ON THE TENTH - June

When I had a recent stay in Guernsey and decided I'd like to go back, I didn't realise it would happen so soon. But a bargain day return by ferry was just too good to miss!  So, here are 10 photos for this months 10 things on 10th.  We left England in rain and gales, and arrived in Guernsey to blue skies and sunshine. How lucky were we?!

And to add an extra element of fun to my trip I was on the look out for specific colours.  You see, I am currently taking part in an online course run by Susannah Conway, called Exploring your Senses.  This weeks challenge is to be more aware of your surroundings and there are suggested photos to take.  Some of these here fitted my search beautifully, and I just loved these shoes and couldn't resist sneaking them in!

Hope you had a great weekend too.

If you'd like to see more 10 things on the 10th, pop over to Shimelle where you would also find some great tips on how to pack for a crop.

This i Know

I am currently doing a course in Leadership and Management.  It is amazing, lots of experimental work, reflection and increasing self awareness.  I have always been interested in self development and have invested in a pile of new books related to the course.  Stephen Covey, in his book 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' talks about Victor Frankl.  A psychologist and a Jew, he was a prisoner of war and except for his sister his entire family perished or went to the gas chamber.  What he went through is unimaginable.  But one day he became aware of what he later called 'the last of the human freedoms'.  In essence, his captures could take away his environment (freedom) and could do what he wanted to his body, but he himself was a self-aware being who could decide within himself how all of this was going to affect him.  He had not lost his power....  and the rest of his story is amazing.


Stories like this motivate and uplift me.  And someone else who inspires me is Susannah Conway.  Following the tragic loss of her partner, her world fell apart.  Susannah found her way back bit by bit through her photography and her own self exploration.  And she shares her story in her blog and her book 'This i Know'.  To celebrate it's publication Susannah is generously offering a free ecourse to anyone who buys a copy .... mine is winging it's way from Amazon right now!   Having done Susannah's 'Unravelling'  I know this 30 day course will be amazing.  

To quote Susannah:

"The goal of the course is the renewal of our senses – becoming more aware of them, how we use them and how we can strengthen them. It’s so easy to jog through life with our eyes shut, our ears closed, our sense of smell dialled down to zero, so we’re going to be gently challenging this as we work through the course. This I Know is all about mindfulness, living in the present moment and mining our lives to uncover the truth about the past and our dreams — I can think of no better way to plug into all that good stuff than through our senses. "



We can learn from other peoples experience as well as our own.  At a time when my work is draining my energy, taking away creative time and motivation, this course is just what I need.  Everyday life presents situations and choices that we have to deal with.  Or not.  And that's the crux of it.   How we think and behave impacts on how we live our life and relate to other people.  I feel stronger and more confident  if I understand my thinking and  why I respond in ways that I do.  And giving myself time to be more mindful and in the present is what calls right now.....  
I know this will help restore balance in my life, help my creativity and find the things that are really important to me.  So, let me know if you are signing up too - it would be lovely to say hi to a fellow 'explorer'.