Month: April 2020

Accountability breeds response-ability.

~ Fridgesays ~ Leave a comment

Quote by Stephen Covey.

Earlier in the week I listened to a podcast called Happy Place; it’s host is the dazzling Ferne Cotton and she was speaking to Russell Brand. They were discussing the current pandemic and how they as individuals are dealing with it (well worth a listen and available on all joyful podcast platforms from Spotify to Apple)…I enjoyed listening to what they had learnt through the process of having less routine, lockdown moments of joy as well as feelings of anxiety and the unknown. Ferne in particular made a point that resonated with me, she was talking about how her husband Jessie had been asking their elderly neighbour if they needed anything from the supermarket and had spoken together about why they had never done this previously. On my Instagram page I have been running a hashtag over the last few weeks called #kindnessiscontagious and I thought it was a lovely lesson to have learnt, that probably had a huge impact on their neighbour.

However half way through I felt myself become overwhelmed and frustrated, both of them were saying things like ‘I hope society doesn’t forget the things we have learnt during this time’ ‘we will probably return back to how things were’ and I found myself shouting at my iPhone. Two hugely influential celebrities weren’t committing themselves to making a change. Imagine the impact they could have made it rather than hoping they stated what they intending to continue to do.

Everyday we learn lessons (and often I relearn lessons I should of learnt the day before) its part of the human condition and I like to think we are all trying to be better people, living better lives. However, improvement whether it be spiritual, physical or action based can’t occur unless we take responsibility.

I have a very dear friend and we often make each other accountable with what we plan to achieve in the coming weeks, we then check in on how those projects are going. By sharing my ideas it makes me more likely to achieve them – its one of the reasons weigh-ins in corporate companies like Weight watchers have huge success.

I know that if I want to accomplish something, I need to take action (however small) to move forward, it’s the recipe for perpetual motional success and more importantly, making a change.

Therefore, in the coming weeks I’m going to start a new hashtag (because hashtags solve all issues) #lockdownlesson where I will share, and I warmly invite you to play along, what you plan to continue to do once the lockdown is over.

All you need to do, is use the hashtag above, note down (and therefore take responsibility) for what you plan to continue to do and add my instagram handle @fridgesays so that I can share your lesson on my stories to inspire others.

It doesn’t matter if your lesson is profound (meditating daily – this is the something that I hope to achieve and am committed to), simple (walking more), sparks joy (wearing pyjamas during the day – something my son has become accustom to), increasing your physical strength, keeping a stock pile of toilet rolls in, washing your hands more or like Ferne suggested – reaching out to neighbours and building a stronger sense of community. Each lesson is worthy and will become a drop in the ocean to a more awesome planet.

Thank you in advance for playing along, if each of us take and action just one small lesson – imagine how awesome our planet would becomes and how this pandemic can be a positive experience.

Write until you surprise yourself

~ Fridgesays ~ Leave a comment

Quote Anon

I do this all of the time, sometimes when I read back over all blog posts, I can’t remember thinking the paragraphs I’ve typed, let alone the structure, point or pressing publish…in fact, often I don’t even remember writing the content.

This is why today’s quote will hopefully encourage you to write a little more. Perhaps you have your own blog, a note book, a secret diary or a shopping list. From published authors to list gurus there is always a little more time to write in my opinion.

In school when my pupils are overwhelmed with emotion and they don’t even know why they are feeling the way they are, I usually present them with a pencil and some paper – sprinkle with half an hour of uninterrupted time and the answer is usually somewhere between the doodles and waffle. Letting your mind go free with the written word is one of the best gifts we can give to each other. As the pencil flows across the page somewhere between “I don’t know why I’m writing this” to the ‘love from xxx’ magic happens.

I feel like writing allows me to ‘speak’ from my inner core, a place that’s always in harmony. Over the last few weeks I’ve increased my writing, due in part to having more time but mainly because the need has increased. With more uncertainty comes the need to further anchor the soul, the body tends to follow. If you ‘can’t write’ or if you have previous described yourself as someone who ‘doesn’t do writing’ (like my son – he has an extreme allergy to holding a pencil and sitting still) or perhaps you are looking for a sign…here it is! Pick up a pencil, create the writing area you are most comfortable in (mine includes a cup of Green Jasmin tea), find a platform you are most comfortable in…paper, typing / online or in private and see where the nib of the pen takes you, or the journey of the mouse on your device.

Most of all, don’t overthink it, enjoy the process and thank me later.

You approached it like it was heavy, so it was

~ Fridgesays ~ Leave a comment

Have you ever worked your socks off on a project and it’s gone nowhere, done something by accident and it’s been a huge success?

Perhaps you’ve put huge effort into a meal for your family and nobody said a thing, threw some random things in a pan (that not even you know what’s in there) and the family couldn’t compliment it enough.

Or the worst of all…you saw a challenge, thought it looked too big and walked away without even trying, as a result you’ll never know if it would of worked out or not?

Yesterday morning my son called me downstairs to ‘see his new trick’ I put my best ‘Mummy cares’ face on and humoured him. He then blew my mind and lifted the sofa. Apparently he has been secretly practising for sometime and yesterday was the day of success. I called his Daddy down (who adores lifting anything of any weight) and once again my son lifted the sofa… I then tried, knowing it was blooming heavy as I usually ask the Mr to lift it for me when I’m hoovering. I failed. My son beamed and my mind was blown that my seven year old is now stronger than me…I mean it’s not a huge surprise but still it took a moment to adjust. Later that day when sat snug on the sofa I asked him how long he had been practising ‘just a few days really, I’d seen Daddy do it and thought I’d give it a go’….then I realised that he’d approached it with a can do attitude. I had not. I realise for the benefit of this story I should now write that I then adjusted my attitude and voila we are like Disney’s incredible, but seriously how many people need to lift a sofa in one house (plus I’m aware of the dust that this new craze is creating)

However, I learnt a new phrase this week that is ‘reframe’ and it’s an alternative to perspective. My son reframed his view of the sofa and what I do think is valuable is reframing goals that are important to you. When you are feeling low, gradually reframe your view with drops of joy. When a task seems to large like lifting an elephant (or in our house a sofa) perhaps break down the task to bite size actions.

Give it a go this week, when you feel a negative itch or feel a sense of being overwhelmed… reframe and perhaps those giant goals will seem as light as a feather.

You must find happiness right where you are.

~ Fridgesays ~ Leave a comment

Quote from Disneys Moana.

We’ve begun the Easter holidays in the UK. For the last few days I’ve grown in happiness because that is what I’m choosing to see, feel and look for. Let me tell you more.

The sun is shining and this is both rare and delightful. I usually always post on Sundays, I know that consistent content is key to the growth of my blog, but my blog won’t grow without me writing it…yesterday was the hottest day in England so far this year, so I grabbed my share of vitamin D and headed into the garden for the day. Pottering, sipping drinks in the garden and soaking up rays of joy were on my agenda. As a result, I feel better for it, so much better that I have more energy to give, more time to share and my blog didn’t suffer from a 24hr lack of content and doesn’t feel like a chore to write.

This morning my son and I walked down to our local cafe (they are doing take away / deliveries) we grabbed a piece of cake each and to increase the happiness for others, grabbed two extra slices for my sons grandparents. We left the box of delight on the doorstep, waved through the windows and saw them smile. Happiness isn’t always in the receiving.

Happiness is many small particles, much like dust that if you blink you miss BUT if you choose to see, multiply and can be seen even in the darkest of moments. Sometimes its not about what you desire in the future but what you have now that counts. We all have different blessings if we choose to see them. For example, my sons knee has a scab on it from where he fell over a few days a go. He asked what a scab was and I explained it was a sign the body was healing, a protective barrier so that underneath the body could knit itself back together whilst keeping out the germs from the outside and the good stuff inside…he renamed it his armour and now wears it with pride. In every moment in every day we have millions of moments to see joy or to see a scab.

Don’t worry about what ‘they’ have or where ‘they’ are going. Look around you and at this very moment, no matter how bleak life can seem there is always something to be thankful, kind, grateful or happy about. Moana is one of my favourite Disney characters and this uplifting quote serves as a reminder that if you want to live a positive life, you simply MUST make happiness a priority.

The time goes by faster than you can imagine.

~ Fridgesays ~ 1 Comment

Quote from John Cooper

Ive just been pondering the concept of time. I thought you couldn’t grab it, smell it or taste it but I think perhaps you can…when I see sepia photographs of the past or historical books – I can see time has unfolded (not to mention facebook photos of myself from a decade or two ago), when I smell fresh cut cucumber I’m taken on a journey back to my childhood on my Grandads allotment. He always use to grow me a ‘L’ for Lucy and I always left feeling super important, never fully appreciating that the straight cucumbers with little fragrance in the supermarket weren’t really the real deal.

Mainly, I think we all ‘feel’ time…the pressure or perhaps the weight of it. Routines seem to consume time, turning days into brief moments and daunting minutes still to come are granted a loss of several nights sleep. Its often something we never have enough of, a little like its sister Money. We desire it and then often, when we have it in abundance we aren’t sure what to do with it? Wasteful sunday afternoons spent in and out of sleep on the sofa watching films we’ve seen before, or long walks that have no particular start, end or anything in between.

We remember the good times and of course the bad, we celebrate specific times – birthdays, holidays and traditional moments throughout the year. We bank some memories for rainy days and look back with fondness or regret. But mainly, the times keeps ticking and we take it for granted. Never fully grasping its precious gift of now.

Perhaps you’re like me and try and live in the now, but that in itself seems to create a bigger void between you and it? I’m afraid I don’t have any wisdom for this…i’m still working it out, I do know a few things; meditation is more powerful than we’d like to think and easier than everyone else makes out, but ultimately the best way to make the most of the fragile time we do have is grasp it with both hands, travel, listen to music, cook, practise yoga, run…do whatever it is that makes you smile. Seek the sun, drink the tea, surround yourself with wonderful people that make you happy and go to bed each night knowing you lived the best day you could with everything you had available to you. After all, that’s all any of us have – right now.