Christmas Decorations up!

So normally we wait until after my son's birthday to do the tree and decorations, but as his birthday is tomorrow and we all not get a spare minute during the week, he wanted to do it today so today we did.

Out of one of the boxes of decorations came this little chap which we have had for years! And as it rightly says, there are 16 days until Christmas!

My husband and son picked up a tree after the morning swimming session and we waited until after my daughter's gymnastics to decorate, only to find that the tree lights weren't working.  So we went to the shops to pick up some new sets and also checked off some things I really needed to do - donations for the tombola prizes for school next week, a few presents for my daughter's friends and a few bits of food that will keep for christmas!

Today's inspiration is:

"I will know peace when... I make spiritual wealth a priority...
Until today you may have sacrificed your peace of mind and spiritual balance to pursue material wealth. Just for today, examine whether or not your quest is a blessing or a curse.... today I am devoted to living a spirit-filled, peace-filled life and leaving a legacy that is more valuable than money."


This is a fascinating thought for me.  I become interested in spiritualism a few years back when a friend introduced me to the talks by philosopher Alan Watts - I still listen to them from time to time and they do fascinate me.  Next, I was introduced to mindfulness by a friend, and read a book called mindfulness for women.  I found is intriguing but never engaged in it fully. A year or so later, during some therapy I was having (something I all think we need from time to time) my long term therapist recommended a book to me about mindfulness and I bought it and started to use it a little. Fast forward and my doctor recommended it, and I started a mindfulness course. I then found some other material on line, including a fascinating book called "Aware" by Daniel Seigel, a psychologist in the US and what is absolutely astonishing is that it talks about us being connected to each other in more ways that we know.  That Eastern spiritualism and western medicine are starting to converge because so much more is known about the mind and the body and that awareness of our self is so important. 


Fast forward again, and during a session with a Professor in Psychiatry tells me exactly the same and recommended a book to me called "The body keeps the score" by Bessel van der Kolk which I actually finished today.  Mindfulness, yoga an other spiritual practices feature at the core of wellbeing and treating mental health disorders.  


So, it is becoming well known now that spiritual health is so important for our wellbeing.  I have been slack on my mindfulness practice lately but this is a very good reminder of its importance.


Happy Saturday!!