Life Sparkles

Welcome March

March, already? Is your year speeding by like mine? Honestly, I don’t know where the time is going and at times I sit here feeling like I haven’t really achieved much of what I wanted to do. Here we are in the third month of the year and I’m wondering whether procrastination has taken hold of me, or periods of lack of self belief or even the old faithful visit to Instagram or TikTok for a ten minute break and find myself still there half an hour later and yes no doubt I’m watching cat video’s. My newsfeeds usually contain posts from people who are working hard on their dreams, their careers or a change of path in general and I love to see these posts. How their hard work finally starts to pay off, or they get a lucky break and even when things don’t go their way it turns out to be for the best. Even whilst I am reading these posts I’m thinking to myself ‘get off the social media and stop watching other people work for their dream and go work on your own’. It’s hard work, sometimes I’m just not in the mood to put the time in and these are my ‘why bother’ periods, where I doubt myself and my ability to actually transform the thoughts and spirit that make my heart and soul sparkle into reality.

Don’t be afraid to fly.

Don’t get me wrong now, I’ve not spent the last two months sitting around pondering, day dreaming and not actually working on my dreams. I’m working away steadily behind the scenes. I read a few weeks ago that being an independent artist is just amazing because you are in control of everything, no managers or labels telling what to sing or where to sing, what to release, how to work on your social media etc etc. However the downside of this independence is that you are in control of everything and you have to do everything yourself. The article stated that independents spend 80% of their time on the associated work behind the actual music and 20% of their time on the music. I can believe it. I spend far more time on the associated work than I do actually singing, writing songs or practising guitar.

Perhaps the Winter months made me a little slower in getting things done, I may have been in a kind of hibernation mode and the days flew by so quickly, or appeared to because of the darker evenings. Already it is lighter in the mornings and the grand stretch to the day has begun in the evening. The daffodils are gracing us with their beauty, the shoots from our bulbs are pushing through the soil and the trees are starting to bud. March gives us an abundance of new life, emergence from the darker Winter days and perhaps it’s time we emerged also and starting to burst forwards with energy into these wonderful Spring days.

With love and sparkles xxx

Life Sparkles

Signs of Spring

It may be early February but there are definite signs of Spring in the air. Have you noticed the slightly lighter evenings arriving? The mornings are not quite so dark early on and there are daffodils for sale in the shops as well as their shoots coming through in the garden alongside the tulips. Spring is such a lovely time of year, the period of rebirth, regrowth and renewal after the hibernation and self care of Winter.

I love this photo of my cousin’s cat sitting pretty on her windowsill.

These first signs of Spring have inspired me to do some more decluttering. I still have a lot of my parents possessions at home and in fact all the furnishings are theirs. It’s homely, it’s comfortable, I love it so much but it’s not me. It’s not my style and although I am in no rush to change things, there are the smaller items that can now be donated to charity. This year it will be four years since they both passed away and it’s now that I am feeling that I am really starting to emerge from the darkness and make my own way in a happier frame of mind. So decluttering feels good. I have to do it when I am in the right mood and it lightens my mood to think that someone will purchase the items and have the benefit of them and that the charity will also benefit. Time to start moving on.

Time to move on.

Spring is a time for growing, rebirth and renewal for us all. We appreciate the beauty and kindness around us, we let go and move on from that which can be left behind as we continue to grow. We look forward to the full bloom of Summer but let’s not rush ahead. Have gratitude for this period of renewal both for the earth and ourselves, this is a period of real beauty and to appreciate it takes time.

With love and sparkles xxx

Life Sparkles

Sometimes…

Sometimes I have everything and nothing to say. My mind can be full of thoughts, ideas for blog posts, ideas for the future, to try this, to re-visit that and sometimes I don’t do any of them. I have lists; lists to remind me to read the electric meter and send the reading in, lists of the shopping to do, lists of upcoming birthdays, medical appointments and repeat prescriptions for my parents, to do lists for work, lyrics and backing track lists and study lists…and sometimes nothing gets done and yet all gets done on time.

It has been a strange month for me. Pre-operation I had visions of me being up, about and active within a couple of days and spending my sick leave time from the day job catching up on loads of things associated with home. Oh how wrong I was!! Post operation was very different from my ‘plan’. Almost four weeks on although much stronger I am far from fully recovered. This process has given me time to think…a lot of time to think.  I have learnt that I have to listen to my body. I have learnt to slow right down and rest. I have learnt to walk slowly, to do things slowly and to be thankful for all the blessings I have in my life. Walking in the garden last week building up my mobility, I took notice of the flowers and trees as they started to bloom, their beauty, renewal and promise of the future. I usually glance at the garden when passing by at speed, passing by without really appreciating the beauty in front of me. 

One item in the garden I have always taken notice of is the Willow Tree, I love it. I love how it dances, sways to the breeze, zumba’s to the gales and tip toes gently to the slightest breath of air. I watch it through all the seasons, bare in the Winter and glinting in the high Summer sunshine. It brings me peace. I captured a Spring breeze blowing the new growth last week, it brings such calmness when I watch it.

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The days have gone by quickly even though some days it feels as if I haven’t achieved very much, but I’m healing and perhaps some days that is just enough to be doing. I remember in the weeks before my operation that I was struggling somewhat. Walking through the station after getting off the train and then walking across the city to the office, it felt like such an effort. I was tired. Caring, Sundown nights, working, studying, looking after the home…it was all starting to wear me out.  I believe God sent me something to make me stop. To make me rest, to open my eyes and look around and stop trying to do everything and be everywhere at a hundred miles an hour and just be. 

By slowing me down, God has got me to wake up and smell the Roses and the blossoms of life.

Life Sparkles

Springtime, Changes and Renewal.

It was a beautiful Spring day today; bright, sunny, blue skies with a chilly wind. As I have been cooped up all week since returning from hospital, I decided to take a slow stroll around the garden, I needed some fresh air. The trees and plants are coming to life again, after the long, dark Winter months, the lighter days and sunshine has renewed nature and it is beautiful.

As I walked around viewing the buds on the trees and the blooms of the snowdrops,  I found myself thinking of my health and recovery from the gallbladder removal surgery. My body is also now enjoying a renewal of sorts. It is suffering the post operative trauma right now but if I look after it, do the right things, feed it the right foods, my body will heal and be strong again, another beautiful miracle of nature and the amazing body we have been blessed with.

Just as the landscape around us changes with the seasons we too are constantly changing, our minds, our personal style, our life goals, hopes and dreams. Spring brings everything to new life, we change, we grow, we heal, just as the flowers around us reach for the sunshine and brighter days, we too reach for the beauty of life.


I didn’t know I had any of these little beauties in the garden.


There is always something of beauty to see if you look hard enough.


Refreshed and renewed my Shamrock looks great ahead of Patrick’s Day.


My favourite tree in the garden, the Weeping Willow, is starting to bud.

© A Touch of Irish Sparkle 2017