Jolly January Roundup
My favourite Winter Blues
Hello Coddiwomplers!
Firstly, I would like to welcome my new subscribers this month. Thank you so much for being here, I’m so happy to be coddiwompling with you!
Well, here we are in February already, how have you been? I’ve been hibernating a bit, to get rid of the last of the virus that we caught over Christmas and we have been bingeing on the BBC iPlayer repeats of “Poldark”, which has led to a deep desire to coddiwomple in Cornwall!
Therefore, rather than jumping into the “New Year/New Me/New You shenanigans, I’ve gently eased myself into 2024. It is my belief that this time of year is meant for restoring and recharging; I think I might have been a bear in a previous life! Mother Nature is beginning to gently wake up, there are green shoots sprouting through the cold earth, and the birds are starting to sing again. Sunday 4th February marked the astrological point of Imbolc; the mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, spring is just around the corner. I may do a more detailed blog post about how the seasons affect our circadian rhythm at some point. If this is something you’d like to read, please let me know in the Comments!
Storms Isha and Jocelyn put pay to any travel plans we had this month but we still enjoyed a few sunshiny days here and there too. My January Blues consisted of good friends, blue skies and blue sea, my perfect winter recipe. Getting out for some fresh air, even if it’s only for 10 minutes a day really helps to clear the head and lift the spirits…even if it’s raining!
Being a “oneling” (my new favourite term for an only child,I have no problem with amusing myself by myself, so while Tim has been otherwise engaged messing around in various Man Caves (i.e. fixing cars and motorbikes!), I went on local, solo coddiwomples. I love to do this as I can walk at the speed I like, stop and take photos without worrying about being left behind and just stop to take in a view. We are so lucky to have such beautiful spaces near where we live:
You may recall last month I mentioned that I took part in two Manifesting Challenges. One was run by my dear friend Marion Morley for 28 days and the other was run by the bestselling author and key speaker, Gabby Bernstein for 21 days. Both took me on daily journeys of positivity and wellbeing. There were some fun exercises to do (Marion’s Prosperity Game is a real favourite of mine…you need to ask her about it as she explains it much better than I can! Her FB page Manifesting Joy is the best way to contact her. Gabby Bernstein provides daily affirmations, coaching tips and meditations to keep you motivated and positive in a grounded, achievable way. I’ve had a couple of breakthroughs about freeing financial fear (something which had been with me for nearly 20 years), which feels very liberating!
I was also very honoured to be invited into Tonja Mills’s FB group Sacred Soul Space on 17th January to chat with her about what coddiwompling means to me. Tonja is an Intuitive Coach “for women on the rise”, a beautiful soul full of joyful, inspirational energy. She provides a gorgeous safe space to support us on our life journeys using coaching, card readings, guided meditations…all sorts of things. We chatted and giggled for over half an hour about why I believe we all coddiwomple, health & wellbeing and other stuff. The recording is available within her FB Group.
My intention for creating daily art is going pretty well. I’ve managed to dispel the belief that all art must be good. That’s rubbish! There is no such thing as creating bad art because even when it’s not turned out how I intended or looks rather messy, there are always lessons to be learnt like how certain colours work together or that a certain technique doesn’t work. Keeping a regular sketchbook practice is the perfect place to play and learn. Here is a spread of pieces that I’m pretty happy with:
and a spread that didn’t turn out so well. They turned out really messy but were still fun to create:
I can’t recommend this practice enough. Although it doesn’t have to be restricted to art, it can be a regular writing/journaling practice, sewing, cooking (maybe I should take my own advice with this one! Cooking isn’t really my “thing”!); anything that’s just for you and helps you to switch off and relax a bit. If there's a hobby or a craft that you fancy having a go at, try. You don’t have to go out and buy lots of fancy equipment, just a pen and scrappy bit of paper will do to start doodling, or maybe sign up to a crafty or cookery workshop for a day.
I think that’s about it from me for now and I look forward to coddiwompling again with you next month. I will have been “beeting” a path towards spring! Ha, hopefully that’s got you intrigued!
In the meantime I send you lots of love and best wishes for a happy, healthy February. Remember that what is meant for you will never pass you by.
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Byeeee!
Wxx
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