Weekend Wonders

This weekend Scott and I have been staying in a hotel in the countryside, nice and peaceful. Our room wasn’t located in the hotel itself, but in a wee cottage adjacent. It’s a peaceful spot. The cottage has decking at the door with a roof over which is great for unpredictable Scottish weather. We found it to be a wonderful sun trap.

Over the course of the weekend, we have enjoyed nature, the fresh air, wildlife and relaxing. When you plan something in advance, you have an idea as to how it will turn out. But other times, the situation surprises you which ours did.

The Outdoors

We sat out on our deck after breakfast, in the afternoon and in the evening. When we booked, we hadn’t realised we would get this wonderful space. It was a lovely surprise. The weekend we had planned was one of reading, relaxing and walking if the weather wasn’t too rainy.

As it was warm and surprisingly dry, we took advantage of it and sat outside, it felt like we were abroad. A quiet place to just be and to breath in the lovely countryside air. It is amazing how you feel after spending time outdoors, I noticed my heartrate on my Fitbit had reduced, I felt calm and in a peaceful state. It really is a great boost for your mind and body.

If you can take yourself outdoors for a short period of time each day then do it. What about starting your day with a cup of tea or coffee outdoors, just take a few moments to breath in the fresh air. Or why not take your yoga mat outside and go through a flow breathing in the beautiful morning air.

Reading

Over the course of the weekend, I started and finished my book, it was brilliant. Spending most of the day outdoors reading, and focussing on nothing but what was happening to the characters in my book was pure bliss. This is a perfect way to spend a day or two. My ideal day.

We both felt like we were abroad peace, quiet books and fresh air, despite being 30 minutes from our house. This experience was different to the one we were expecting. We thought we would be inside in the lounge areas of the hotel sitting by the window/fire and reading. We would have been happy with this version too of course, but combining this with sitting outside. I don’t think I could have been more relaxed.

Do you read a lot? Perhaps you only read when you are on holiday, so why not set aside 15 minutes a day to read anything you wish. Set a timer if you can’t go over and stick to it. You’ll soon find when works best for you such as first thing in the morning or at lunchtime or just before bed. You’ll find your breathing slows down as you relax into it and delve into the characters world.

People Watching

Staying in a hotel, you see a lot of people. Whether they are passing you in the corridor or sitting at the table next to you at dinner, everyone you come across is different.

For such a small hotel there was a lot going on. Birthday parties, weddings, anniversary celebrations, people had travelled from afar to celebrate with their friends and family. There were lots of happy people hugging and expressing their joy for seeing everyone.

It is interesting to observe others. Some people sit quietly chatting amongst themselves, whilst others will happily chat to anyone they meet.

I will say hello to people and chat at the bar, or I will engage with them and have a longer conversation but my preference is to enjoy the peace.

When I go away for the weekend to relax or for a two week holiday, I always say I’m not going there to make friends, but to relax and get away from it all. Whilst this may seem harsh, it isn’t meant to be, I am protecting my own wellbeing, I don’t want to promise my time to someone that I will never see again. I want to spend my time wisely and if this means reading all day rather than meeting people at the bar or going out for dinner with random strangers then that is fine.

I know many people love going on holiday and having a connection with people, making friends and then seeing them again another time or keeping in touch afterwards. This is fantastic if it is what you want.

Spend your holiday time the way you want to, your time is precious and you shouldn’t feel like you have to do something just to please someone else that you barely know.

A Robin

As we sat on our decking, reading, Scott quietly called me to look. I had no idea for why as I couldn’t see anything. But then a wee robin, popped onto the deck, hopped close by and was so close to us. It bounced around, looking for food, pecking here and there at little bit in the ground. I was eating a grapes and dropped one. It came over and started pecking at that, It was a lovely robin, and was happy to come and say hello. It stayed a while before hopping on back into the bushes.

I love watching wildlife wherever I go. It might be birds or deer or any creature. To me they are fascinating to watch. This robin was a curious wee thing. I want to be more curious and do different things, take a leap of faith and get out of the usual routine or comfort zone I always find myself in.

Be like the robin and go for it. Be curious as you never know what the result could be.

Whatever you have been doing this weekend, have a think about what you did and why? Was it good for your wellbeing? Did you even realise at the time it was or did you just do it?

We hear all the time that we should do more of what makes us happy and we often think we have to go far to get it or turn our lives upside down to try lots of new things out. More often than not, what we do day to day could be enough for us, we just need to pay attention to what we do and how it makes us feel at the time.

Have a great week. Look after you.

Love Emma xx