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It's Sunday, we're still in lockdown (at least here in Scotland) and not surprisingly, it's raining. In the past, this would mean a complete nightmare for me, but during these last few weeks, I really learned to slow down and enjoy the little things. I am sharing my 5 things to do today and I hope they will inspire you to try something different:
- Learn to identify bird songs
I've been working from home for the last few weeks, so I finally have time to notice what's going on around me. I used to run from one place to another and spent weekends away camping, hill walking or doing anything else that meant not being at home. I never had time to really notice my surroundings. One thing that really surprised me was a variety of chirping in the garden. It also made me realise that I had no clue what kind of birds some of them were and which song belonged to which bird. I then discovered the BirdNET app, which allows you to record any bird song and tells you what bird it is. It's wonderful and I can use it when I go out for my walks, try it
I had a bunch of booking piling up for a while with the intention to read them one day, while I kept buying new ones. So now, I am working through the pile and my recent favourites are:
- Walk Through Walls by Marina Abramovic;
- 1984 by George Orwell;
- Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.
- The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
Have you got anything on your shelf waiting to be picked up?
- Support local business
I have been supporting my local plant shop, as I developed a plant addiction over the last few weeks. Just before the lockdown started, I panicked bought two plants. The number has now reached 12... What can I say, all the new plants make me feel like I'm somewhere tropical and I can imagine I'm on holiday while relaxing in my little jungle. I also have loads of time to observe how my plants grow and change, something I never used to have time for. My new hobby also means that I am supporting a local business, so even if you don't fancy a new plant perhaps there is a local bakery or a fishmonger that could do with some business during these challenging times?
- Exercise your creativity
Don't know about you, but my creativity is absolutely flourishing these days. If I am not looking for constant distraction (say watching Netflix all day), there are so many random ideas that pop into my head. I have a lot of time to look around and see old things differently, so I have completely redesigned my room, which is still going through slow transformation as I keep adding loads of small details. Also, one day the boredom finally helped me to come up with an idea for the tattoo, something I have been struggling with for ages. So stop distracting yourself, let your mind wander and release your creativity.
There were a few days earlier this month when I felt really helpless. I thought that I had no control over things happening right now, I was sad I could not go on holiday or even plan one and I was just miserable thinking about the lack of freedom. Then someone suggested trying an adult colouring in book. I was hooked straight away! I felt like I was finally in control, since it was completely up to me what to colour and I enjoyed having my mind occupied with decisions about what colour to pick. It's a perfect activity to do while listening to a podcast or audiobook too.
