Forest Bathing

Want to commit with me?

A cartoon

A thought

In the last few years, I have started choosing a word for the year to guide the changes I want in my life. For the first half of this year, my word was JOY. Choosing a word to focus my actions/decisions helps steer me slowly to the life I want. Drawing and sharing Li’l Bean came directly from my focus on JOY - permission to do things that I love just because.

I’ve reached a point where I feel like my body/health is limiting my joy a bit so I am choosing to swap mid-year to NOURISHED. My desires for my body and health are more energy, a greater level of fitness, strength and settledness. I’m very aware of not wanting SMART goals anymore, I am in a phase of gentler, more realistic flexible desires that guide me but can’t be used to punish me when I don’t meet a rigid target.

Starting small, I am committing to a walk for pleasure each day. I’ve worked so hard on efficiency that I always combine a walk on the farm with a job - weed control, fence repair etc. I can count the walks for pleasure that I have taken in 15 years on two hands. Time for that to change! I’m going to forest bathe each morning before I start work. I’m lucky to live on a farm with some beautiful remant bushland, here is a pic from my walk this morning on this wet and misty day. It feels a lovely time of year to start this habit as spring flowers are just starting - you can see the wattle which has just bloomed. It is kind of like a treasure hunt, spying what is new to bloom each day.

I’d love to hear about your walking habits! How does walking in nature fit into your life? If it doesn’t perhaps you’d like to start now? I can be your virtual walking buddy!

Glimmers and sparks*

My glimmers for today are:

• Getting a phone call from my son in San Francisco, he survived the flight and settled into his dorm, taking the unknown in his stride. I ran him up to the airport to leave on Thursday and shed an embarrassing amount of tears!

• Having lunch with my Mum after the airport drop-off at the super little cafe upstairs in Dymocks in Sydney. There is something magic about cafes in bookshops, especially if you are sharing it with your Mum, who you don’t see very often.

• I listened to the book “Make Time” on the drive to and from Sydney. I’ve got a super gem from this book to share with you in a cartoon coming soon! The blurb says “Make Time is not about crushing your to-do list, optimizing every hour, or maximizing personal productivity. It’s about rethinking the defaults of constant busyness and distraction so you can focus on what matters every day.”

Li’l bean is your reminder to pause and ask: What are your glimmers for today?

From your friend and your small, steadfast companion,

*Drawing Li’l Bean helped me navigate out of a period of depression in 2023. A good friend 13, 595km away, helped, too, through a ritual of swapping daily glimmers via text.

A glimmer is a tiny spark of hope, enthusiasm or joy that lifts your heart. By helping me find three glimmers each day, she gently helped me see the joy and beauty already around me.

I’d like to share this practice with you and invite you to reflect on your glimmers for the day when you read this. Think of Li’l Bean as a reminder to notice the glimmers and sparks in your life. We’d love it if you would like to share your glimmers in the comments or by hitting reply (if you don’t like sharing publicly).