Why don't I take my own advice? A few days ago I was talking about keeping your eye on the ball and aiming for your dreams, not letting life distract you! Ooops! I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself today - I read a few items in the news that saddened me and I let them 'hook' me in; I got myself into a muddle in other areas of my life at present - and as a result have forgotten to do things and yes, I've taken my eye off the ball. Felt a bit annoyed with myself, but then that just takes you further along the downward spiral and is pointless really. So, earlier this evening I decided to practise my mindfulness techniques, and stay in the present moment. As I was taking the washing off the line I could feel the warm sun on my skin, which always makes me feel happier. Next door's cat had come round for a fuss and was friendly company, so I sat down on the flagstones which were warm from the day's sun, and just stroked the cat, and listened to a mad magpie in the distance imitating anything from a burglar alarm to a telephone, or at least that's how it sounded to me! Although noises of life were carrying on all around me, it was such a peaceful few moments, the feeling of 'aaaarghh!!' had left me. The reason I'm describing it in a creative journal is that we CREATE our own reality every day, and by being mindful I chose to enjoy the present moment rather than feel sorry for myself. I felt much better and am probably a much nicer person to be around as well!
Talking about sounds and taking time out brings me to my meditation beads above (or prayer beads). I got the idea for them from a lovely and inspiring book called 'Beading for the Soul' by Deborah Cannarella. The longer of the two pieces actually had one long bead as the centrepiece in the book, and just a tassel to finish. However, I liked the sound the purple shells made as they clinked against each other so I added them. The long string of beads reminds me of the 'worry beads' that I used to see Greek men counting as they prayed, when I was on holiday there many years ago. I've used a coin at the top to symbolize abundance (not particularly abundance of money). The tassel is made using some sari silk fibres and is attached to the beading cord with gold jewellery wire. One of my requirements for these pieces was that I had to use items from my stash and not buy anything new! Luckily for the shorter prayer bead piece I found a beautiful heart shaped glass bead. The glass beads are so lovely, colourful, sparkly (just love a bit of bling), and the knots are completed by having some more gold jewellery wire twisted round them (this is in the book too). I would definitely use these whilst meditating, but I think they would also make lovely charms for a bag or purse. I'm pretty pleased that they include the sensory perceptions of visual colour, touch and sound - they're not 'just' a string of beads, but rather they have meaning for me.
Right, off to design some Christmas cards, which I won't be showing here for a while-they're top secret!
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