November 29, 2021: Friends, new and old

Hello November,

A lot of new things happen in my life since September when I moved back to London to work on-site. I have arrived stressed and tired after continuous lockdowns, to realize that most people suffered in their own way, even the luckiest among them who were physically ok.

I spent some time worrying that I don’t know that many people in London, and then I realised I haven’t been in touch with some of my dearest old friends who are not living nearby. Do I still have their contact details? For some, it will take work because I haven’t uploaded all of my old contacts in the cloud, and they might be in parts of the world where they don’t use the same social media.

Still, I need to make the effort to see: where are friends from the student’s residence of my first years far from home?

Time to find out!

New friends are great, but old friends are like rocks you build on your foundation of happiness!

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October 17, 2021: Designing my Perfect Life

Hello October,

I feel a bit more relaxed after a month in London, and I start wishing for more: so here I am, planning what I would love to see materialising in my life: everyday life, friends, home, career, anything. I would like a magic wand to attend to it, but sometimes, taking a step at a time is also great. I came accros my goals set in 2017 in an old notebook, and was happily surprised to see I have reached them, almost all!

In the meanwhile, there were times that looked disastrous, as if not only I was not reaching any goal, but I was also losing what I already had! Somehow, I kept my faith, in the middle of these adventures, and I can now talk from a much better place.

So, how do I create magic again? Apparently Good Things come to those who Create, so I will draw the best possible picture and I will see myself into it. I see myself aligned with my work environment, friends I can trust and who can be trusted and a mission that inspires me! A loving family created, pets, travelling to unite with like-minded people on Earth, Beauty and my personal Utopia materialised!

Can we be happy in the middle of unhappiness? Yes, because LIFE has always a way to get ahead, and by involving as many others as possible to this happy bubble of ours! May Happy Bubbles become many and include the whole world!

September 8th, 2021: Respecting our rhythm

Hello September,

Yes, I am in London again where everything is fast, and people are slowly but steadily going towards their pre-pandemic life styles; with precaution, vaccination and masks in the underground.

I still feel stressed, after living with my parents in our village at the South of France. It sounds idyllic, but with the lockdown and my mum’s health issues, it was difficult to keep the balance.

So, here I am, and I feel like a real holiday is in order: the kind of thing where you allow yourself to just BE, living fully in the PRESENT and admiring the birds, the food, the beach, each other, etc…

Without any form of guilt:

Rest and healing is not a luxury it is a necessity!!!

Holiday, here I come!!!

September 2nd: Back to London!

Hello September and hello London!

I am back!!!

My clothes and stuff is on boxes on the floor, I barely have space to walk and there are moths in my new room!

After moving in out and around between countries, and living with my parents during the pandemic, I am back to working face to face, with the mask as an accessory.

I bought a beautiful rose flower, a vase and a lavender pot to face the moths.

The rose was amazing and beautiful. The lavender pot that is supposed to serve as a remedy was half price. I wasn’t sure it will survive indoors.

These purchases reflect my current attitude:

Hope for a better future, with the rose

Fear with a plant that is not at its best.

I will give a chance to the lavender also, at least asking for advice to make it feel better.

Hope and fear might live in the same person.

But if we take more care of the hope, the fear might go away and do its job: guard us only when it is necessary.

August 23rd, 2021: New Start in Journaling: being a best friend

I am back journaling, and yes, I am learning the new way to edit my posts, the font size looks so small or I am not used to it… whatever…

It has been a productive summer but somehow, it was kind of difficult from a family point of view and I don’t feel I have really relaxed or taken some real time out…

a friend of mine mentioned a man who seemed to consider being a few eggs at a supermarket in Germany, and I realise how lucky I have been to stay healthy and to have a job.

Despite having all this luck, living with parents and especially one who has serious health issues has been my excuse to feel nervous and ready to explode… yes, it is an excuse, compared to the situation in the world and to the fate of women and children, refugees, unemployed, climate change, it is time to do something. A donation, an action, some support in social media.

So, I did something 🙂

After all, just a small action is better than being a passive observer of other people’s lives.

And if we are ready to mobilise to support anything that is a worthy cause, how about mobilising to support ourselves? What would we do if we were our best friend?

What would I advise my self if I were my twin sister or best friend?

I would take myself out for a small and inspiring trip to lift my spirits and change a little bit.

Actually, talking to a friend through zoom and making plans for the future was like taking a short trip.

April 18 to 29th- doing something new every day for 35 days, mission accomplished!

Hello April,

yes, I did it! I have done something new every day for the last 30 days, actually 35 days, and now I intend to prolong it to 66 days, so that the habit sticks with me!!!

What exactly? A lot had to do with food: trying different types of milk for the latte (soya, almond and coconut milk) was one version. And I ended up with coconut milk latte, but I admit that my guilty pleasure is cow milk for a delicious latte with chocolate and cinnamon.

I have also tried all the varieties of coffee I could have access to: Kenya, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Brazil.

Next thing? Different types of tea and herbal tea (chamomile, and all the possible herbs and blends). Great stuff!

I have taken up colouring for adults, and today I am to buy my second colouring book. And offer colouring books to members of my household.

I have started dancing in the morning, using “Just dance” workouts.

I have gone out with my glasses instead of my contact lenses (because I had a minor eye infection). And I realised how difficult it is to breath with glasses and face mask.

I have decided to try new recipes for our lunch. Vegetable burgers, shrimp spaghetti, I had never cooked before, …

And some other new stuff that take more time:

I have mentioned statistics before, so yes, now I know my way around multiple regression! (more or less, less or more).

I have looked for presents to my godson.

And yes, I feel that doing something new everyday is definitely making me more creative, fun and motivated!

Now I decided to upgrade this challenge to 66 days.

Doing something new and exciting every day here we are!!!

doing

April 1st, 2021-Blog-anniversary, 7 years blogging!

Welcome April!

this is my 7th Blog-anniversary!

It all started 7 years ago in Paris. I had was a freelancer at a Platform, for the organisation of artistic events. I was under a hideous man, ‘the wannabe boss”, not appreciated and not regularly paid.

On the other hand, I was living in Paris! That was already great for a provincial girl, but it couldn’t get better.

So, I decided to forget my promising but unsuccessful love-stories and to leave France for the UK!

London, it was.

I have had adventures, I have been laid off, I have returned to my hometown and then again, made a place for myself.

I have found a new job.

With a horrid vice-director (a female b… this time).

The Pandemic happened.

I came back to my hometown.

I found a better job and resigned from the previous one!

And now, working from my parents’ home where I have adopted a second cat.

Almost.

He is in their garden. Felix.

The cat in the house, is Bella.

I am so grateful for these blogging years, they have given me supportive friends, clarity, and perspective to gain some awareness.

Thank you blog-sphere and thank you wise blog-friends for making this experience amazing!

April, as of (april4june6, the period I meant to journal every day, initially)

P.S. The photo is mine, I have taken it 7 years ago, in the Luxembourg Gardens, in Paris, for this Blog. Such a great memory!!!

March 25, 2021-One new experience every day for the next 30 days- day 1- Mandala game

Hello March,

After trying a “feel good journal”, intermittently for at least two weeks, I can say that the time I most enjoy is when I feel free to let my imagination run wild, with no restrictions nor guilt.

Blogging, journaling, walking around, day dreaming, etc.

If I don’t give myself some creative space, I just don’t want to focus on anything mundane.

This is the truth, and I’d better accept it.

Then, I make one hundred plans, and feel guilty of not fulfilling them all. Or that they go slower than I would have wanted them to.

Maybe this is it: I could just take steps, and stop worrying about the outcome.

Easier said, than done.

What if everyday life is bringing urgent issues to resolve, and we feel a bit stuck?

What if we recover from something, or wonder if we will see the end of the tunnel?

I came to the conclusion, that we need to feed our inner wolves. All of them. To keep the balance.

And to acknowledge what really makes us happy and incorporate it into our everyday life.

Next step, I decided to try a new experience every day.

For today, I have ordered a new board game, to play with my family.

https://www.awakin.org/read/view.php?tid=927

January 22, 2021-Post-a-day, day 14 out of 70- conquering bureaucracy

Hello January,

do you also have any type of bureaucracy or administration where you live? Because be it France, UK or elsewhere, I find myself obliged to gather documents and create files so that I can prove my case: it could be to ask for a fellowship, or to apply for a job, or … and this, I have to admit is something I don’t like.

Time consuming, making you go backwards and forwards for a tiny little thing you forgot; in any case, I have tried all the possible moods: anger, exasperation, disappointment, despair, etc. Then, a form of learned helplessness.

To finish with a kind of detached mood I have adopted: I’ll do something every Thursday, for example, for an hour and that will be it. Independently of how long this will take.

What if you are in a rush? If it is urgent? Somehow, bureaucracy doesn’t care about it. So, trying to speak the same language and be less emotional involved, independently of the high stakes, is the only solution.

And somehow, step by step, even a bureaucratic mountain can be conquered!

Yes we can!!!

10 Steps to Take Action and Eliminate Bureaucracy

January 11, 2021- day 7 out of 66- post-a-day: 2 imaginary life paths

Hello January,

so I start by answering a challenge: imagine two life-paths: one in a well-worn path, and the second, in the path less travelled.

This is based on Ryder Carroll’s suggestion in his “Bullet Journal Method”.

So, for the well worn-path:

1. April stays with her parents until they are no longer physically there, she is a bit bored, finally starts dating a neighbour without being in love. When she can move back to London she does, but she takes the least possible risks. She gets to buy a flat and owes a cat.
2. April starts a you tube channel embedded into her blog and an instagram account. She publishes ebooks and books, and gets to meet some people with common interests and passions. When she moves back to London, she is comfortable between her artistic work and her teaching art. She owes a home and lives with cats, dogs, humans and the love of her life. She can distinguish between people who want to grow and who are happy to see others grow and those who don’t. She gets away from the last species. She makes new exciting friendships. She meets a soul mate who is a loving and charming person and falls in love.

Ok, I like the second scenario better. In any case, there are cats in both.