La vie est pleine de petits bonheurs

Translated means 'life is full of little pleasures'. It's one of the phrases I discovered on my recent trip to France, one of the phrases that I loved. And one which elegantly sums up my lovely little break in Limoges.

When you only have a few days away, it's important to make the most of them. To me on this trip it didn't mean see as much of the country in as short a time as possible, rather it meant relax and enjoy the French way of life for a few days. I learnt some new phrases, practiced my French, ate lots of croissants, cheese, duck and mergeuz (some amazing spicy sausages), and drank lots of coffee and red wine.

Sure, we did some more active things than just eat, drink and attempt to speak French. We visited Etang Saint-Estèphe, a wonderful lake with a beautiful beach, and la Grotte de Villars, some stunning caves with prehistoric drawings inside; we even had our own back garden Olympics, with giant Jenga, Boules and Badminton. But it was the combination of lots of little things that made the trip truly wonderful.

Just out of interest, here's another French proverb I came across, which I enjoyed:

'It's the tone that makes the song.' Or as we say: it's not what you do, it's the way you do it. Alors...

Dancing in the rain

Yesterday as the skies opened above Dartford Park and the rain began to pour, I couldn't help but wonder why on Earth I'd let myself be convinced it was a good idea not to shelter in the nearest pub, and instead stay in the open air, soaking up the live music and 'festival' atmosphere.

One sodden playsuit, two cosmos, a mud fight and a hell of a lot of laughter later, I knew why.

It's not very often we just stand out in the rain, splash about in the puddles, jump in the mud, and truly embrace a storm. When I think back to the times that I have, it has always been ridiculously fun! In Orlando, we danced around Universal in the rain; when I was 15 we allowed ourselves to get soaked en route home, jumping in puddles like we were 5 again; and yesterday we rolled around in the mud and danced to The Beat like noone was watching (even though I'm pretty certain plenty of people were) - each and everyone of those times have been truly brilliant!

So ask yourself this: Why wait for the storm to pass, when you can be having a ball dancing in it?

Time for new things

"The spirit of trying new things is synonymous with self-improvement." 

I'd like to pretend I was philosophical enough for that to be the reasoning behind why I've decided recently to try lots of new things.

New flat, new town, new flat mates, new hobbies.

But really that's just something I read after making the conscious decision to change things. It is, I guess, in some ways true since it's my desire for continual progression that has brought me here. Though mainly it's my persual of fun and quest to avert boredom.

Since I realised I can't begin travelling the world again any time soon (some mini breaks to Europe aside), my latest adventure takes me to not so distant lands. Indeed, quite the opposite. But I figure, what I love about travelling is discovering the new, so why not apply that to my everyday?

Rally for Bally

Sadly cancer seems to be the common theme in my most recent blog posts, and it's exceptionally difficult to approach such a macabre illness with positivity rather than the morbidity one would normally associate with it.

But after seeing Jamie Murray's response to Elena Baltacha's tragic death from liver cancer last weekend, I felt compelled to write this. He said:

"It is very sad, but it kind of puts things into perspective a little bit. You've got to make the most of every day you have because you never know when your last one might be."

Indeed, just five months ago Elena had retired from professional tennis, was happily planning her wedding, looking forward to the rest of her life; oblivious to the fact that would be just a few months more.

So we should all 'rally for bally' and by that I don't just mean support the event and donate to Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and the Elena Baltacha Academy of Tennis - although we should certainly be doing that too. I mean we should be, as Jamie said, 'making the most of every day', or as I prefer, making the best of everyday. Life really is short and I think a good way to make the most of it is to live like you may have only four months left. For all we know we may.

 

Family, we all need one

Over the past few weeks, for many good reasons, I've been spending a lot of time with my family.

 

I've always been aware how much my family have done for me - over the years I've racked up some debt to them, and I don't just mean the couple of hundred I still owe my Mum from my travels! But going away, and events since I've returned, have brought in to sharp contrast how short I've fallen when it comes to showing my appreciation.

 

But I am beyond grateful for having this wonderful bunch of people I can always depend on, no matter what, and now I'm making the best of everyday by enjoying their company and investing my time in truly appreciating them for all that they are. They're not perfect - after all, who is? - but they're mine, and I love them.

 

So here comes my words of 'wisdom': whoever your family is, whatever you call them (relatives or not), make sure those who are most important to you realise that they are, and enjoy the time you have with them, because it may not last forever.

 

Small boobs, big smiles

This is a blog not about me, but about an inspirational woman I once had the pleasure of working with, Jackie Scully.

Jackie shares my mantra of making the best of everyday; but that alone is not why I felt the need to write this - although the help she gave me when I was starting out work is worthy of a mention in its own right. This post is dedicated to Jackie because in the latest phase of her life, which tragically involves having been diagnosed stage 2, invasive lobular breast cancer, Jackie has not just been 'making the best of everyday', she's completely redefined the concept.

You need only read one post from her blog 'Small boobs, big smiles' to see what an incredibly inspiring woman she is. As well as providing practical advice to anyone else who has, or ever will suffer from the disease, she gives a touching account of her experiences, which in spite of the numerous challenges she's facing somehow always manage to draw a smile.

Jackie's ability to maintain positive and find happiness in the most unusual of places - there's not many people I know that having just had major surgery would be smiling away simply at the idea of hospital mash! - provides inspiration to us all.

So next time a problem comes along I for one, will be thinking of Jackie and her amazing ability to remain positive in the face of cancer, and I know it will help me find the strength to keep smiling too. So thank you Jackie for sharing your experiences - it can't have been easy - and for inspiring me, and I'm sure many others too! :-)

Readjusting to normal life

It was always going to be with a heavy heart that I had to return home from my travels. Put simply it's been difficult readjusting to normal life; a life which only a few weeks ago seemed a million miles away. But I don't see that as a bad thing. I mean after all, if I'd returned the same person as I'd left what would have been the point going in the first place?

So on my return to drowning England, and despite my fast fading tan, I'm determined to continue making the best of every day and to remember some important lessons I learnt whilst swanning about in the sun (yes, I did actually learn something other than the fact I like hot weather!)

I have learnt to slow down. Take it easy.

Before I left I was always rushing around at a hundred miles an hour, constantly on the move, constantly doing something. If I wasn't at work, I was socialising, if I wasn't socialising I was at the gym. What was the rush? Why was I running about like a headless chicken? Who knows.

I love being active and adventurous, but I now appreciate a bit of good old fashioned down time too. And if I have to wait, be it for a friend, in traffic, in life, what does it matter. A few minutes, hours, even weeks won't make a difference. Plus, there's always plenty of interesting things around us, which we so often overlook. I now see waiting as an opportunity to look and see what I would have otherwise missed.

I have learnt to let go of where I once was.

There are things, people, situations from my past that before I left I was struggling to let go of, that in all honesty if I could I would have turned back the clock and gone back to. Travelling to so many stunning places, so many that I fell in love with and grew attached to, and then having to leave them, taught me the power of letting go. I realised if I wanted to go to the next amazing destination I had to leave the one I was currently at behind - and what a great life lesson. We have to let go of where we were in order to get where we want to be. I can't turn back time and be back travelling again, and I accept that now. Whilst I'll always remember it with incredible fondness, I'm leaving my amazing adventure behind, so that I can move on to my next one - can't wait to find out what it'll be.

I have learnt it doesn't matter if you don't always have a plan.

Now, don't get me wrong I love a good plan. I plan at work, I make plans with my friends, I even planned a lot of our road trip, and I've always had a life plan. If you read my early blog posts you'll know last year I was starting to embrace the certainty of uncertainty and learning to live without a plan, but I think travelling has provided clarity on why. If you're always working to one end goal, what happens when you get there? A lot of people think when they get to the end of their plan, they'll be happy. But I've seen too many people (and marriages) finding once they get where they wanted to be, that something else is missing. Not always planning for the future, living in the now and embracing the new, for me is the only way to be truly happy.

Yes, it's good to have something to work towards (and I'm sure in time, I'll have some shape of life plan again) but don't defer happiness in favour of it. We are constantly changing, being shaped by the world around us, so I'm not too worried that I haven't decided who I want to be or where I want to go yet. Whilst travelling some of my favourite moments were those in which we embraced our freedom and decided to visit a place we hadn't already planned to visit, or to stay a bit longer at the places we wanted to stay, so why wouldn't that apply in the rest of my life? I'm going to become the person I end up becoming, and in the mean time I'm going to focus on enjoying today.