tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75243921251252589182024-03-05T23:22:03.203+13:00Teaching, Learning and Living with the Heart and Brain in MindA blog full of thoughts from my learning journey related to teaching, learning, leadership and living well. Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-88656181899078392092023-01-28T23:30:00.000+13:002023-01-28T23:30:13.873+13:00The Middle <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfHd9HmtJ-lRtulVq3uNWCtaYYGNoK87WdZG_V4GIqCF-LybR1Ybh_KxnKrpD6B6gJQ2C3AyM9_khu54Za3s_q-YG32iCrRFxMhwfDiiYPkTV_zniMQi4mucym4IJsE6Lui7I2wIJum9fGvnaK9xcMQbZD20NxRxDpN7uq6-zP-FkY8i1XZvpXWLX6/s2048/Meg22DSC_0458%20(35).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfHd9HmtJ-lRtulVq3uNWCtaYYGNoK87WdZG_V4GIqCF-LybR1Ybh_KxnKrpD6B6gJQ2C3AyM9_khu54Za3s_q-YG32iCrRFxMhwfDiiYPkTV_zniMQi4mucym4IJsE6Lui7I2wIJum9fGvnaK9xcMQbZD20NxRxDpN7uq6-zP-FkY8i1XZvpXWLX6/w133-h200/Meg22DSC_0458%20(35).jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Well, here I am, in the middle. Seems a blur in getting here really. One minute I was young, youthful, full of promise and potential; the next I am in mid-life with menopause, emphasis on the pause, and everything seems less shiny somehow. <p></p><p>It's the same old routines, same old dreams, same old shitty habits, same old problems... but with some physical party-quirks thrown in from time to time. What the hell happened? And, more importantly, where to from here? </p><p>I've been pondering this a lot lately and this is what I have come up with so far. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg827Uyjz3X_mSy5aGw6BQIuYNtDXk5gHH3VFZ_9nozH1IQY6BZUZqRCIKCYcFS7pUZM9LZ0pEDr-gsWvdTHYXQ8VQBqHaEfCugXraeVUEszjqfwEiXIaB6exEv0tHbFthtjovv7_lu5OTTtcWOELoJS1p1c1Fl9ZsMhzt1I5hVrFdhiJPk8k1TCAwW/s2048/Meg22DSC_0458%20(257).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg827Uyjz3X_mSy5aGw6BQIuYNtDXk5gHH3VFZ_9nozH1IQY6BZUZqRCIKCYcFS7pUZM9LZ0pEDr-gsWvdTHYXQ8VQBqHaEfCugXraeVUEszjqfwEiXIaB6exEv0tHbFthtjovv7_lu5OTTtcWOELoJS1p1c1Fl9ZsMhzt1I5hVrFdhiJPk8k1TCAwW/w133-h200/Meg22DSC_0458%20(257).jpg" width="133" /></a></div>For women in my generation, and possibly others, many of us were given two strong messages growing up. 1. be a good girl, everyone likes a good girl who puts others needs before her own, and 2. girls can do anything, no-one ever said 'do everything' mind you but that must just have got lost in translation. I think we ended up in a whirlwind as we grew up trying to please everyone else while living up to the ideal of being able to do everything. Some of it has been exhilarating, and I am grateful for the highs and lows and lessons learned along the way. We have done the best we could in the myriad roles we have carried simultaneously, without complaint because good girls don't complain, but in the end we're often left feeling like somehow we just haven't measured up. <p></p><p>After thirty years of my adult life living like this I know I am simply exhausted. </p><p>So, where to from here? <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32Bw9yPr7mlyeWCGKcK7RiRlgd0Dgnyz_V9Y8-5tSOTNW3mrOoPuLC4J20k4236AznbptHZ2HgRR5rPWaUXORWsUF89Jp4mh6AuFuekDgMQR5NGitIlBAWdLtZhEwnT1oKzHQpZ6k6c5f-y9T0nMSFFPc-E4wRhuPOORyb5Gl-0PH6s6Q1A_gTpsJ/s2048/Meg22DSC_0458%20(320).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32Bw9yPr7mlyeWCGKcK7RiRlgd0Dgnyz_V9Y8-5tSOTNW3mrOoPuLC4J20k4236AznbptHZ2HgRR5rPWaUXORWsUF89Jp4mh6AuFuekDgMQR5NGitIlBAWdLtZhEwnT1oKzHQpZ6k6c5f-y9T0nMSFFPc-E4wRhuPOORyb5Gl-0PH6s6Q1A_gTpsJ/w133-h200/Meg22DSC_0458%20(320).jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Well, I guess I have a decision to make. I can continue the way I have but perhaps without the youthful exuberance I once had, and it will be OK. I'll likely feel a bit better in time once and things will settle down. I will assume the role western society seems to expect of me which is that I age quietly if I can't be bothered making the effort to avoid aging, and slowly fade into the background. Alternatively, I can break down some of the barriers and brush aside some of the bullshit beliefs that have ring-fenced my life to date and live a little more on my own terms. I can see this time as an opportunity for regeneration and renewal, the entering into a new phase of my life. Women of a 'certain age' were once honoured for their wisdom and valued in their communities, in tribal societies, they were consulted and listened to on matters of importance. There's still plenty of gas in the tank and I have plans! So it is plan B for me. <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgv44xjnt1iQwci4bpG9scPiKTJorbG5hj3l38e19krHQYKMu6SOfcF0arywiL8JC-gpZc7fWWb31ELeqTfBaLvyQzZU2_hT5iEcysy4NKxFOAxwUA4Cub2YPWQcXHHtXwNkKaa1JoOgP-xf1BgKTgIApqRz9ihSKMqkHbH5RnPszjnDSRC-11FgIM/s2048/Meg22DSC_0458%20(113).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgv44xjnt1iQwci4bpG9scPiKTJorbG5hj3l38e19krHQYKMu6SOfcF0arywiL8JC-gpZc7fWWb31ELeqTfBaLvyQzZU2_hT5iEcysy4NKxFOAxwUA4Cub2YPWQcXHHtXwNkKaa1JoOgP-xf1BgKTgIApqRz9ihSKMqkHbH5RnPszjnDSRC-11FgIM/w133-h200/Meg22DSC_0458%20(113).jpg" width="133" /></a></div>I am not going to throw everything away, I love my life in so many ways. I will however embrace a new energy that comes from clarity, confidence and connection. I will define my boundaries. I will embrace my values. I will be as gentle as I want to be. I will laugh as loud as I want to laugh. I will dance and sing and cry and shout. I will stop apologising for being the woman that never measured up and I will just be the woman that I am, unapologetically. <p></p><p>This middle is not the end, it was never meant to be, and it has all the potential to be marvellous. </p><div><br /></div><i>If you would like to join Megan on this adventure, into embracing the potential in this fabulous 'middle' then please feel free to check out the Mid-Life Mastery coaching programme <a href="https://bit.ly/midlife_mastery">https://bit.ly/midlife_mastery</a> </i><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><br /></p>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-78296911467179576492022-06-20T13:32:00.011+12:002022-06-20T13:32:57.639+12:00Teachers- It's time to let go of perfection<p>Teaching can be a stressful profession; it is intense with
the level of human interaction and multiple plates we have spinning at any
given time. To be honest, I don’t see that changing in a hurry. I do however
think we can influence the impact this stress has on us by getting real about
success as a classroom teacher.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Teaching is a little like having a career in a fishbowl,
everyone can see us and make judgements if they wish. This can trigger massive
insecurity and over-compensating which, ironically perhaps, more often than not
leads to poorer performance. We try so damned hard to be perfect and it just
doesn’t happen. I often say that the only perfect lesson I have ever led is the
one in my imagination! What can we do about this then? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The first thing I suggest is adopting a healthy perspective
and this means letting go of our love affair with perfection. Please give of
your best, we are talking about the lives of children here so they deserve us
to do the best we can, but that is not about perfection. Perfection is actually
a lie we tell ourselves to keep us small and stop us taking risks where we
might fail. Have you ever not started a project because you are afraid you won’t
get it right? Or have you deliberately self sabotaged e.g. binge watched
Netflix instead of writing that article, putting in that application or
finishing a given task? It may well be that perfectionism was sitting
underneath the procrastination or self sabotage. I would argue that our
learners don’t need perfect teachers but they do need real people as
teachers who can demonstrate living and loving with all their imperfections. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When we let go of perfection we open up the door to real
learning. We allow ourselves the freedom to make mistakes and, importantly, to
be OK with it! What a wonderful example that is for our learners. Another thing with letting go of perfection is it enables us to be more accepting of
other’s mistakes, imperfections and flaws- perhaps it allows us to be more
empathetic and relatable. When we let go of perfection we stop wasting energy
on wishing that the world and everyone in it meets some arbitrary ideal and can
invest our energy more wisely on the things we actually can influence. It also gives
us space to create goals and define success in healthier ways that actually work for us, not against us. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Destination addiction is when we keep deferring our
happiness until various things have happened, it goes a little something like
this: I will be happy... when I get a promotion, when I have all of my planning done,
when I get through this term or semester, when we go on our holiday at
Christmas, when I get a new car etc. You get the picture. Chasing happiness is
a fool's errand. Happiness is more likely to be found when you enjoy whatever is
happening right here and now. All emotions are fleeting and we miss the good
stuff that happens now if we are always looking for a more perfect moment at a
later date. Letting go of perfection opens up the opportunity to enjoy more of the
life we are living right here and now, in all it’s glorious imperfection and
messiness. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If perfection isn’t what we are aiming for then what is? I
think the magic lies in setting achievable goals and noticing our own progress.
As an example when starting with a new class your most important jobs are, in
my opinion, building relationships and creating routines. So I’d wrap my goals
around this, one goal might be to learn to pronounce all learners names
correctly and when I can do this it’s pat on the back time. It might be that I
am aiming to see all students participate in the classroom programme, it will
take some learners longer to settle into a rhythm than others but I celebrate as
each person comes on board and acknowledge the progress that we make along the
way. It is about knowing where we are heading and then acknowledging the small steps
we take as we move towards our larger goal. This is one place where we will
find a sense of success and happiness in our work- it helps us to focus on what
actually is important rather than be distracted by what is happening outside of
the fishbowl we work in. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The beauty of this is when we gain a sense of success and
happiness, then we are often more efficient and effective in our work which
leads to further success and happiness… it is a positive spiral. In the end it
has to be better than beating ourselves up for not being perfect eh? <o:p></o:p></p>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-49640214583011765432022-05-26T15:26:00.005+12:002022-05-28T00:12:31.116+12:00Learning is a dance <p>The last month or two have been huge for me- recovering health (#wip), a lot of change, taking a leap of faith career wise, studying te reo Māori, learning about running a business (so. many. little. things!), and rehearsing for a show. Some days I cry because it all seems too much, other days I laugh at the joy of discovering new (to me) things and all of the time I am grateful for the opportunities and experiences I am lucky to have. </p><p>I am writing this as I have been processing a lot about how I am coping with the changes and learning processes that I am going through. I am a teacher, at heart I always will be, I've been doing it for so long now I think it is just part of me if that makes sense, but I have been immersed in being a learner in a very confronting and focused way lately too... I think that's where the tears have come in! I will use the dancing for the show as an example. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZY1frbMAok2wtXpkFjH-zzP-dzpvIOI1AtBlRl6ZCvGNODhMyCk-AYGEDfsEILY_K6KkGRWQTzYg4iNEV6AwjyjUg16iX-AF3-2kIPtvDdiC7iGtXASBbBSMQgzVIWqXZ95jDHGtB5sOl32Ke5xdUl9pCpYKmH5yVjV0gJJQ11EnAGzaqAWj5lvq/s940/Untitled%20design%20(1).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="940" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZY1frbMAok2wtXpkFjH-zzP-dzpvIOI1AtBlRl6ZCvGNODhMyCk-AYGEDfsEILY_K6KkGRWQTzYg4iNEV6AwjyjUg16iX-AF3-2kIPtvDdiC7iGtXASBbBSMQgzVIWqXZ95jDHGtB5sOl32Ke5xdUl9pCpYKmH5yVjV0gJJQ11EnAGzaqAWj5lvq/w200-h168/Untitled%20design%20(1).png" width="200" /></a></div><p>I love dancing but I am not a dancer, unless the 80s music comes on loud and the vibe is really good then watch out world I am owning that dancefloor (it doesn't always look pretty or co-ordinated but the enthusiasm is off the charts)!! Despite this I have ended up in a whole lot of dance numbers for the show I am in at the moment, and I thought 'oh well, I'll give it a whirl'. Unfortunately I missed two weeks of rehearsals at the start due to illness and then I went to my first dance rehearsals... oh my goodness! I was everywhere except where I needed to be in the routines that I had looked at online, and I was so bound up with not getting the first part right that new routines were lost on me, quite frankly I had no idea what I was doing. Our choreographer is a genius (I don't say that lightly either) and a brilliant teacher who really does a fantastic job with our community theatre. She was so kind and patient with me as I tried to catch up but I felt like I was letting everyone down, hogging our choreographer's time and I just got so frustrated and annoyed with my inadequacy. I would try to practice at home and fail in my own living room too so I'd give up. What was worse was that many of the other dancers seemed to have either studied dance as they'd grown up or were studying dance... oh and they were a lot younger too! I seemed to be getting worse, not better, at each rehearsal. So there I was having a pity party... everyone is better than me, I can't do this, it's too hard, I suck. Then it dawned on me, I had heard things like this somewhere else... yes, at school from some of our learners. Embarrassingly, I realised that everything I taught my learners about learning; resilience is something we gain from doing hard things, that it's OK for learning to be hard, you have to go through hard to get to easy, that we can use our mistakes as information etc; all that wisdom I espoused so liberally as I coached my kids to their own greatness, was lost in the rhetoric of beating myself up for not being good enough fast enough. Not only that, I was inadvertently diminishing the years of hard work and dedication of my cast mates who seemed to get the steps so easily. Of course they would pick it up easier, they had trained and put the hard yards in for years in order to do this. I needed to acknowledge that I need to work harder, break the steps down a little further, take it a little slower, because I don't have the well honed skills they have from the hard work they have put in. They are experts, heck they could even help me... if I was brave enough to ask! I expect my learners at school to embrace the discomfort and take responsibility for their learning and they are just kids! Thank goodness for this flash of insight and taking responsibility for my own learning... I am pleased to say I am getting there- literally one step at a time.</p><p>Erika Twani quotes Leland Val Van der Wall in her book Becoming Einstein's Teacher who describes learning in the following way: </p><div style="border-bottom: 3pt solid rgb(68, 114, 196); border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: 3pt solid rgb(68, 114, 196); mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent1; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 8pt 0cm;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #4472C4 3.0pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-border-top-alt: solid #4472C4 3.0pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent1; mso-padding-alt: 8.0pt 0cm 8.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #4472c4; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1;">Learning is when you
consciously entertain an idea, get emotionally involved with the idea, step out
and act on the idea, and improve the results in some area of your life. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #4472C4 3.0pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-border-top-alt: solid #4472C4 3.0pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent1; mso-padding-alt: 8.0pt 0cm 8.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm; text-align: right;"><i><span style="color: #4472c4; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-themecolor: accent1;">Becoming
Einstein’s Teacher, page 77</span></i><i><span style="color: #4472c4; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</div><p>If this is learning then we can see why it can be overwhelming at times. It takes consciousness or awareness, you need to connect with it in some way, and then you have to do something with it. You need to know what you don't know so you can know when you've learned it. There's nothing passive in here. </p><p>As an adult I think we sometimes forget that learning is hard work and that it takes effort, action and time. Many of us who have been successful in our study or previous roles can feel out of sorts and become frustrated with ourselves when it isn't easy in our new roles... we were successful there, why can't we be successful here?! Many of us have well-honed comparison muscles, which have been exercised in making us feel good when we have been successful in the past, and then we become learners again in our new roles, it seems that everyone else is doing OK and we are left feeling confused at our perceived lack of competence. I used to train experienced teachers working in a new environment with a specific programme, we had high standards so we sought successful classroom teachers to be our educators but often during the 10 week training period there would be a moment or two of utter despair... when will I get it? I feel so dumb? Why can't I get it!? What's wrong with me???? One of my colleagues, Kathleen, who had a long experience with this programme and had trained many educators would use the following analogy and I loved it... you see the athletes at the Olympics, like the ice skaters, they are amazing to watch, graceful, strong and flawless. They make it look SO EASY! Of course it looks easy, they've trained to make it <b>look </b>easy; we don't see the years and years of getting up in the small hours, training for hours, organising their life around this passion and pursuit. We don't see the hundreds of times they fell, the tears they cried, or the frustration they felt. We just see a few minutes of a beautiful, flawless performance. </p><p>When we start something new, we shouldn't be surprised that it is hard. We should expect to feel a little uncomfortable... this is learning after all. When we look at others around us we can choose to compare ourselves and come up wanting or we can choose to appreciate the work that has gone in to what we perceive as better than where we are right now. We can seek advice from experienced peers, they may even become like wayfinders for us, and we can also acknowledge that it will take effort, action and time for us to get from where we are to there (wherever you decide there is for you)- this is self compassion in action. A child learning to walk doesn't just go from rolling over one day to sprinting like Usain Bolt (although I admit toddlers can get some speed up when necessary!), there's a process, and it takes effort, action and time. We don't dismiss their efforts and refuse to acknowledge progress if they aren't up and running immediately, in fact it's quite the opposite usually, there is often great celebration for the smallest step (pardon the pun) in the right direction. </p><p>I figure this is a reminder to me, and anyone who reads this, that as life long learners there are going to be times when things get hard and that's OK. We have a choice when it gets hard, we can sink into despair at our perceived inadequacies or we can step boldly towards the learning knowing that we will need effort, action and time. We can fall into the comparison trap and limit ourselves based on what we perceive of others, or we can put one foot in front of the other and take responsibility for our journey whilst learning from those who have navigated these paths before. And finally we need to remember that shame will keep us small and stop us learning, self compassion will help us grow and learn more. The choice is up to us- learning is like a dance and it can lead to wonder and joy if we step towards it with everything we've got. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLU6NYziX07GIBY9MHu_6f_5pprga7D2HtsFzTPP2UJVEDrU9aKzHXs5o5tXUKsQyiIaZDkCE-kfs3mJX9uCNgHMu6v45hSc8jEoNSCYVy-xqZahkP6tLgaEdeTMY8IpCH6nk4-Aix9ElRNYh6X2ynz280rMSPz6_N7wprwsXtqy5pvvncqUx2yVo/s940/Learning%20is%20a%20dance.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLU6NYziX07GIBY9MHu_6f_5pprga7D2HtsFzTPP2UJVEDrU9aKzHXs5o5tXUKsQyiIaZDkCE-kfs3mJX9uCNgHMu6v45hSc8jEoNSCYVy-xqZahkP6tLgaEdeTMY8IpCH6nk4-Aix9ElRNYh6X2ynz280rMSPz6_N7wprwsXtqy5pvvncqUx2yVo/s320/Learning%20is%20a%20dance.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-50063284776761747592021-10-30T21:05:00.000+13:002021-10-30T21:05:15.642+13:00 Teaching and Christmas Dinner- a metaphor<p>I’ve just been preparing kai (food) for our week ahead and
whilst in the kitchen my mind wandered, as it does, and it got me thinking
about how teaching is a bit like preparing a Christmas dinner for a big family. Here are my thoughts... </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUeLFEfl_vGyeeUev8jCoRKdjbeUAC4peLLZ1Q5_FC5k29r0TddJzNZGgeKBK8SD2Ugv4xkPvv0D24K_G22jKkJcVk_7gRo4GnHRDQPGp47I_HOz3Ftj_W2scPQh68Nhc60Edi_sYzoxA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1040" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUeLFEfl_vGyeeUev8jCoRKdjbeUAC4peLLZ1Q5_FC5k29r0TddJzNZGgeKBK8SD2Ugv4xkPvv0D24K_G22jKkJcVk_7gRo4GnHRDQPGp47I_HOz3Ftj_W2scPQh68Nhc60Edi_sYzoxA/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let’s imagine it is Christmas Day (or any special occasion
where whānau or family may come together to share kai/food) and you are hosting
the event. You have prepared well, considered the menu, done the shopping and
have everything set up to go. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And then people start arriving. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your brother pops in to introduce you to his new partner,
and yes he’d said he was bringing a date so it’s all good. You have a good chat
and in the midst of the conversation you learn that your brother’s partner has
just become vegan. You immediately run through the menu in your mind to see
what is vegan friendly and realise that you need to whip something up. So you
trawl through some websites to find recipes that you have the ingredients for
in your home. Crisis averted, you have found a couple of dishes that will work,
phew! You also go and change the seating plan as perhaps it might not be best
to sit your brother’s vegan partner and your strongly opinionated beef farming
uncle together. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, you start cooking the meal you have prepared and your
mum and aunty arrive in the kitchen. They start opening the oven, poking the
roast and making tut tut noises at the vegies. It feels like they are doing an
autopsy on the meal before you’ve even cooked it. They start talking about how
they used to prepare the Christmas dinner and how they used the Woman’s Weekly
recipes or the Edmond’s cookbook and don’t understand these young ones who have
to do everything through computers. After giving you a bunch of advice you
didn’t ask for, they tell you they are sure you will do fine and then toddle
off to wander around your garden- probably to discuss what you could be doing
better there. You proceed with doing the potatoes the way you read on Jamie
Oliver’s site which makes them crunchy on the outside and fluffy inside. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the same time your niece wanders through and asks what is
going to be for lunch. You tell her. She screws up her nose and says ‘yuck!’ to
it all. Oh well, can’t please them all. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then your sister comes in and reminds you about your
nephew’s peanut allergy, you assure her it’s all under control. After she
leaves you dive into the bin to look at packets to make sure there are no
peanuts in any of the packaged foods. All good, just make sure he doesn’t have
cheesecake and everything should be fine. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now you get on with the cooking and realise that one of the
rings on your oven isn’t working… damn! This is definitely not what was
planned. It will all work out OK of course, just a bit of juggling required.
You take a big breath, check in with the cooking times, and rearrange the pots.
The meal will be a few minutes late. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Just while you are doing this your partner pops his head
around the door to see how you are getting on. You tell him that everything is
fine and he smiles and says ‘that’s good, I knew you’d have it all under
control’. He then tells you that he forgot to mention that one of his
colleagues from work who was going to be alone for the holiday season is
joining you all for the meal, he didn’t think that one more would be a problem.
You smile nicely and say, ‘I’m sure we can work it out’ as you peel another
potato and map out how you might rearrange the already full table. You ask him
to grab another chair from the garage and quickly rearrange the table as well
as you can- it’s not as perfectly laid out as you had envisaged but it works. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your cousin pops in to let you know that the kids are
getting a bit restless and to see if you need any help… you consider saying yes
please but realise that explaining what needs to be done and where everything
is will take longer than just doing it yourself so say you’ve got it sorted but
suggest that they might take the kids outside for a game of cricket. Killing
two birds with one stone, you continue with preparing the meal. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Finally it is time to eat. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You call out to everyone that the meal is ready. Some are
still out in the garden, some are watching a holiday movie, a couple have
already started on the wine and are well on their way. Slowly everyone drifts to
the dining table. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is a tremendous spread on the table and people pause
for a moment then start digging in. There is a happy bubble of chat. Bowls and
plates of food are being shared around. Happy sounds of people enjoying their
food ensue; your brother’s partner enjoys your whipped up vegan delights, your
uncle loves the roast, the kids are hungry after their game of cricket so tuck
in (including your fussy niece who doesn’t utter yuck once to your surprise),
and your mum and aunty notice how fluffy and crispy the roast potatoes are and they
even ask you for the recipe. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You sit back and smile. It was really hard work but it was all
worth it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Everyone is enjoying the fruits of your labour, as are you.
It is a moment of bliss and the mess you have left behind in the kitchen is
forgotten for now. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It wasn’t perfect, to be honest if it was going to be
perfect you wouldn’t have invited anyone to come along but then that would’ve
missed the point wouldn’t it? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mSxeUtKJ4u9iWxj2jFNV8pS1khajZ2SvaeZgEJ6pd-JpGVEcRU63chXi13JKEpnbsyCbzNZxngIiRsJVfhcdpKkQBd89m_no6q5dfSPp9dpJOQ0XrmpAQq4ypjILAUKBr_ntavg4UXg/s1440/64978655_2309007799192016_7269444749361152000_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1093" data-original-width="1440" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mSxeUtKJ4u9iWxj2jFNV8pS1khajZ2SvaeZgEJ6pd-JpGVEcRU63chXi13JKEpnbsyCbzNZxngIiRsJVfhcdpKkQBd89m_no6q5dfSPp9dpJOQ0XrmpAQq4ypjILAUKBr_ntavg4UXg/s320/64978655_2309007799192016_7269444749361152000_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So much of this scenario is like teaching. Constant change,
everyone has an opinion, you work your butt off trying to keep everyone happy, you
can feel quite lonely and unappreciated at times, people think you can cope
with anything (and you often do even in trying circumstances), you have to make
do with the resources you have rather than the ones you want or need, your plans rarely
go exactly to plan… but in the end you get the job done and when it all flows
it really is a thing of beauty. Sure, there is always more to do, but your
efforts are worth it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And it’s never going to be perfect, that’s the point! Let’s
embrace what it is instead of what we imagine it should be and enjoy the imperfection
of it all, just like a crazy family Christmas dinner.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>(Please note: this story not an actual representation of any
real Christmas I have attended or hosted... yet!) <o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-11147289751750133272021-09-12T00:45:00.000+12:002021-09-12T00:45:45.290+12:00Heading into the Learning Zone <p><span style="font-family: arial;">We often sell our learners a lie that says learning should be fun and easy. In reality anything that stretches our brain is more likely to be challenging and potentially frustrating than fun and easy! That doesn't mean it won't be worthwhile, inviting or engaging, just that it will probably annoy us at some stage. This is life in the learning zone... </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The learning zone can be a place of exploration, challenge, playing with ideas, questions, frustration, discovery, failure, mistakes, success, joy, meaning-making, and so much more. This is a much more exciting place for our brain than the comfort zone which is more like sitting on the couch watching telly eating Tim-Tams- a nice place to be and chill out but not one where we develop and grow. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I guess this is part of the discussion around what learning is and how we know it is happening. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In teaching it often feels that we spend a lot of time hoping that the skills and knowledge our learners need gets caught rather than taught. We want our learners to head into this learning zone where they can stretch and grow with confidence, knowing that they will be faced with challenges but how often do we give them a map to get there, and the skills and knowledge to make sure they can thrive? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">One of the skills we can give our learners is knowing how to acquire knowledge and skills that they can use when they are in the learning zone. We don't know what we don't know and our job as teachers is to create opportunities to bridge this gap for our learners. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Gretchen Wegner describes a study cycle in the following way: </span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Step 1: Encoding (input) learn</span></span></li><li><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Step 2: Retrieval (output) test - find out what you can and can’t recall</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Step 3: Enc</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ode stuff you didn’t know in a new and different way (Re-learn)</span></span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I think this can be used in all classrooms to support learners acquire skills and knowledge. I see that we can teach surface skills and knowledge explicitly, which is encoding, in order for our learners to go deeper and then transfer their learning to new situations with confidence. </span></span></p><p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Some of the skills we can teach explicitly that could be helpful for preparing our learners to venture into the learning zone might be: </span></span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">how to ask questions </span></span></li><li><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">how to search for information </span></span></li><li><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">strategies they can use when faced with frustration or confusion</span></span></li><li><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">how their brain learns </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">the conditions that they prefer to learn in </span></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Retrieval is where we learn what has been learned and what needs to be relearned. This doesn't have to be drill and kill... in fact drill and kill is going to bore the brain and that's not a great way to make things stick! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Here are a few ideas to<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> practice retrieval- during and after explicit teaching: </span></span></div><p></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Think pair share technique </span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Plan what you will tell someone at home - teachers communicate with families to let them know that their child will be telling them something about xxx tonight so they can support this </span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Write the three most important things - draw pictures </span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Tell three different people a different thing you have learned </span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Talk to a partner then share what your partner said to another person </span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bubble map, brain storm, use other graphic organisers </span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Use thinking routines that support retrieval such as Headlines, I used to think now I know, +1 routine </span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Make a short video explaining your new learning that can be shared in an online journal </span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Complete a quiz face to face or using an online tool like Kahoot!</span></span></p></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Once we know what we don't know then we can set about relearning the bits we missed in a new way. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkEBSR2xlPSxoJJ57TzFMl9Xm73EdyTHy3kQXe2Ml4wVklx0bKHfiNnHW2BcmDjoRy9GpIz-Hn6aJOPvMYDd592KlMxhzbsw3ARum7BiM_RRk_tB5gN5slB9ouu4GXnE95z1c7Hw2-Zbg/s4608/IMG_20210831_183020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkEBSR2xlPSxoJJ57TzFMl9Xm73EdyTHy3kQXe2Ml4wVklx0bKHfiNnHW2BcmDjoRy9GpIz-Hn6aJOPvMYDd592KlMxhzbsw3ARum7BiM_RRk_tB5gN5slB9ouu4GXnE95z1c7Hw2-Zbg/s320/IMG_20210831_183020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>My ambition as a teacher is that my learners are challenged and have opportunities to dig deep, explore their interests and feel success.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;">I see that part of my job is to help provide a map for them to do this so being aware of skills and knowledge my learners need and planning carefully to explicitly teach these as efficiently as possible is vital. It is not easy work but then that is part of being in the learning zone right? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span><br /></p>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-30259544573208556782021-07-13T15:49:00.002+12:002021-07-13T15:49:39.916+12:00The impermanence of a rose <span style="font-family: Overlock;">Everything dies. To remind myself of this I bought myself a small bunch of roses today. </span><div><span style="font-family: Overlock;"><br /></span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: Overlock;">'Impermanence is a principle of harmony. When we don’t struggle against it, we are in harmony with reality.' Pema Chodron</span></blockquote></div><div><span style="font-family: Overlock;"><br /></span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7W0mw0RHjFhGKlkpCUThcpdyog3Q3QqrZh9U2WW7fqyrRqrW1r_32ab_vZbsVqn6Tc0w4CHYgiqpsKAVzfkXkTgVrQrN7YMcG2E7_AbtaxS1H26GoNIupaEaPUtooNPzIhc3HJAeI-EU/s2048/IMG_20210713_141514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7W0mw0RHjFhGKlkpCUThcpdyog3Q3QqrZh9U2WW7fqyrRqrW1r_32ab_vZbsVqn6Tc0w4CHYgiqpsKAVzfkXkTgVrQrN7YMcG2E7_AbtaxS1H26GoNIupaEaPUtooNPzIhc3HJAeI-EU/s320/IMG_20210713_141514.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Overlock;">I was listening to a podcast by Dr Rick Hanson and Forrest Hanson this morning (https://www.rickhanson.net/being-well-podcast/)</span><span style="font-family: Overlock;">. During the session they were talking about impermanence, they referred to the Buddhist cornerstone of impermanence and how this wisdom can allow us to live our one big beautiful life more richly. They mentioned the metaphor of a rose; the rose is beautiful but the beauty doesn't last, the flower wilts, the petals fall and eventually it rots. We can bemoan the death of the flower or take it even further and avoid the inevitable sense of loss by avoiding roses altogether. In doing so, though, we lose something. We lose the experience of watching the petals unfurling, opening up to reveal the flower's hidden depths, witnessing the beauty of the rose in it prime. </span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Overlock;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Overlock;">We can live it safe and small to avoid feeling pain from loss as we, and everyone and everything around us, grows and changes. The pain will still come eventually, it always does. If we invest our energy into resistance we increase our suffering and deepen our despair but until the pain arrives it gives us some sense of control and protection. This is an illusion but it's a comfortable one. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Overlock;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Overlock;">The alternative is to accept that tough times will come, we will lose and fail, we will falter on the path. But we will also have moments of deliciousness. This acceptance can give us the freedom to live our one big beautiful life more fully; enabling us to take the risks, to follow dreams, to explore opportunities. It can also offer us grace when things go wrong, when we are faced with loss, failure and despair. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Overlock;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Overlock;">At the moment I am in a state of flux, between places and that feels uncomfortable. So today I bought myself these roses to remind me that this is life; it can be hopeful, and beautiful, but nothing lasts forever. What am I doing with this one big beautiful life I have been given? There is nothing promised in this world apart from the fact that everything dies... this is a gift, I guess we just need to be brave enough to accept it. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Overlock;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #3a3a3a;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: Overlock;">“Life is fragile, like the dew hanging delicately on the grass, crystal drops that will be carried away on the first morning breeze.” Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche</span></blockquote></span></div>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-4832274687698149712021-03-26T23:55:00.002+13:002021-03-26T23:55:17.034+13:00 Perfection is a lie we tell ourselves to keep us playing small<p><span style="font-family: Chewy;">Who loves failing? Can I hear a YAY? Not many huh?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Failure usually hurts in some way, even when we know it is a
key to learning and growth. Some failure can hurt others and even cause major
problems, but thankfully most failures aren’t that catastrophic. Most failures
actually seem to end up hurting our pride and our sense of self more than
anything else which whilst not catastrophic can have serious ripple effect. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3dHI9bEbCQ8GualdjG5WaQAPiiMti9GtyrsRHaPdmVWIWjUUvhaaj2CT60MZ-9hZj01DW-BlMC4hw1E0Ury3p73fd0maiTtTfvONqy6S7BQSF2YaeF8aJDNQK0KY8i3vRnZhNbIj8Uv4/s776/sabre+tooth+tiger.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="691" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3dHI9bEbCQ8GualdjG5WaQAPiiMti9GtyrsRHaPdmVWIWjUUvhaaj2CT60MZ-9hZj01DW-BlMC4hw1E0Ury3p73fd0maiTtTfvONqy6S7BQSF2YaeF8aJDNQK0KY8i3vRnZhNbIj8Uv4/w178-h200/sabre+tooth+tiger.JPG" width="178" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">The pain caused by failure is there to protect us so we
remember not to make that mistake again. It was extremely useful in the ancient
past when our lives literally depended on not repeating mistakes like wandering
near a certain cave where something with big teeth and claws was hanging out! However
our pain avoidance muscles can play tricks on us in the modern world, we are no
longer likely to be eaten by a sabre tooth tiger (feel free to replace this
with a more accurate ancient animal) if we make a mistake but the weight of
public opinion, self judgement and anxiety seem to have teeth and claws too.
And once their claws sink in it can be hard to shift them.<br /> <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">So we protect ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">We avoid the risk of making mistakes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">To our own detriment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">One of the fanciest ways to protect ourselves is
perfectionism which often comes with a range of side-kicks, my favourite being
procrastination. Striving for perfection seems like admirable goal and to be
fair I am very grateful if the surgeon who operates on my loved ones has a
desire to be as close to perfect as possible. But how many times do we put off
things because it isn’t perfect? We don’t go for a walk because the weather
isn’t as nice as it could be. We don’t call a friend because we aren’t feeling
as happy as we think we should be. We don’t go out because we haven’t lost as
much weight as we wanted to. We don’t follow through on the idea, start the
business, write the book etc because we haven’t got the
time/energy/finances/support to make it perfect. We put this all off for a
sunnier, happier, skinnier, slower day… that never comes! This perfect day is a
lie we have been told, usually by people trying to sell us something, and it’s
one that we keep telling ourselves. To an extent it keeps us safe but it also
keeps us small. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">A rich, fulfilling life isn’t perfect. I recall a line from
a poem often quoted by a wise mentor of mine, Trevor Grice, ‘if it weren’t for
the rocks in its bed, the stream would have no music’. We need the ups and
downs of life to truly experience the range of emotions that give life its
colour, goodness the world would be boring if everything was coloured sunshine
yellow! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mediocrity is not the solution to perfection by procrastination
though. Stepping bravely, embracing our vulnerability, toward uncertainty is
what we are aiming for. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Embracing good
enough and kaizen (the concept of small, seemingly imperceptible, changes over
time) is part of it. Trusting ourselves and others more helps. Letting go of
trying to control everyone and everything is certainly going to reduce our
stress and give us some relief. This means accepting that others aren’t perfect
either. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">I believe strongly that we all have gifts and talents. I
worry that many of these gifts and talents never get fulfilled because of the
lies we tell ourselves about perfection. You are already good enough and you
never know just how great you could be until you take that leap of faith to find
out… are you ready? </span><o:p></o:p></p>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-84950827072686410562021-01-30T22:43:00.000+13:002021-01-30T22:43:31.532+13:00Joyful January Day #31: Share An Uplifting Quote <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Chelsea Market;">Share an Uplifting Quote </span></h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7c6bEYuIUG7L_pRi9aw5l2BthiihBxysZ8W7_fYCokigUBu_E3aDgY139MZ_y-j6K2XP2ff6NHwNDXMGzyGdVv9dZG9sjl5OB6L3nb94SQXJ5Dc4AzrfAxaIHqbVjfOiBEiQcslnc50I/s2048/IMG_20210124_151638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7c6bEYuIUG7L_pRi9aw5l2BthiihBxysZ8W7_fYCokigUBu_E3aDgY139MZ_y-j6K2XP2ff6NHwNDXMGzyGdVv9dZG9sjl5OB6L3nb94SQXJ5Dc4AzrfAxaIHqbVjfOiBEiQcslnc50I/s320/IMG_20210124_151638.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.</b><br />Image taken during the Van Gogh Alive exhibition, Wellington January 2021 </span></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Metamorphous;">Use the positive power of words</span></h2><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTEgGpChI9yD-eLwHqs8T0xgtJMDhijkUCU-xMjhRO-CJAGKPfaW-ZhuDquG25NfmyxRFPIBVkSH9103R1tl5VTctCF09w7w63FlNW0MRS0Mwj4_fk7p-lCt-wflGVwCggX6ZMX2yV74/s2048/TS_1561455121545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1418" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTEgGpChI9yD-eLwHqs8T0xgtJMDhijkUCU-xMjhRO-CJAGKPfaW-ZhuDquG25NfmyxRFPIBVkSH9103R1tl5VTctCF09w7w63FlNW0MRS0Mwj4_fk7p-lCt-wflGVwCggX6ZMX2yV74/w139-h200/TS_1561455121545.jpg" width="139" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />Sometimes someone says something and the words settle in your skin. Sometimes these words make you feel something. They may inspire you. They may shift your perspective. They may clearly say something that you cannot express yourself. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I love quotes. I have inspirational teaching and kindness quotes throughout my teaching planner to help inspire me, they are also there to keep me going on the harder days and help me to refocus my energy. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Recently I went to an exhibition of van Gogh, it was a multi-sensual experience that blew my mind to be honest. Quotes from van Gogh's writings were part of the exhibition and they really touched me. The quotes were so relevant to modern life. </span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhObr_BqcfDtSXzuFa1-jdlrqhlgVHKd20GO5yTnWWbfiszcuAExh2r7R4EUkBSuoJWeQLfyj6V0WmqAsMH2OwPKTMBjHMYk-8a8KycdsXkPeFeTpvSZsp_jr41NQFBhnGx_z_COmmhqY/s2048/TS_1606029255911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhObr_BqcfDtSXzuFa1-jdlrqhlgVHKd20GO5yTnWWbfiszcuAExh2r7R4EUkBSuoJWeQLfyj6V0WmqAsMH2OwPKTMBjHMYk-8a8KycdsXkPeFeTpvSZsp_jr41NQFBhnGx_z_COmmhqY/w200-h150/TS_1606029255911.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little quote from my son<br />shared one day on a <br />beach walk... wisdom comes<br />from many places.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The </span><span style="font-family: arial;">wisdom from people in other places, perspectives or times can be transferred in a quote, providing a useful platform for us to reflect on our own circumstances. Quotes sometimes offer a new perspective on our present circumstances, they can sometimes help us understand ourselves better or think about others in different ways.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I know pithy quotes are not for everyone but if they are good for you feel free to embrace them in ways that work for you. You may put them on your walls, in frames on a desk, on a pinboard, on the fridge or you bedroom mirror, in a diary... anywhere you will see them often and enjoy them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As we finish our Joyful January I hope that what we have shared has helped you find some joyfulness as we start a new year together. Perhaps you have tried one or two things or maybe you have participated every day. Perhaps some of the daily inspirations have become new healthy habits for you. Whatever the case our hope for you is that you have started the year well and will keep on looking after you so the rest of the year can be a happy, healthy one for you and those you care for! </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPr0VeTLTa4Aoq5JEKbHJQ2p3K2pDRN-RRAOk4Xj8hGPP5KOETPeGzJpuGHk9pkjGwH-fr2zfX5l4iclvxU7y4DrApD2ywPwZ5yvDZtA6E_UHtch5CuisdjQOrCDwVM6zqO1qJM1YQLX4/s1280/67117446_10157484526317783_3955357432972050432_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1280" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPr0VeTLTa4Aoq5JEKbHJQ2p3K2pDRN-RRAOk4Xj8hGPP5KOETPeGzJpuGHk9pkjGwH-fr2zfX5l4iclvxU7y4DrApD2ywPwZ5yvDZtA6E_UHtch5CuisdjQOrCDwVM6zqO1qJM1YQLX4/w400-h200/67117446_10157484526317783_3955357432972050432_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;">This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit:</i><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span> </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></span></p><div><span style="font-family: McLaren; font-size: medium;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was held live on 22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop- recordings are available NOW Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br style="text-align: left;" /></p> </td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p> </p><p><br /></p>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-25830438514926668412021-01-29T22:51:00.000+13:002021-01-29T22:51:00.279+13:00Joyful January Day #30: Switch off and truly tune in<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cherry Cream Soda;">Switch Off and Truly Tune In</span></h1><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNP7sywKANe4gEYONreT-h4NxXeWNmBv_3EMNE2BXtqaFl3sj_uV7b25xPdoHxazqV8BPUFul5EHD9xzkgrEeHBJNgpQeNo_BPmU_ZwhIZsMBRQfm37BYmZRRkGvAo0lz5LAjqWzLhEc/s1232/Karen+and+meg+2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="1232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNP7sywKANe4gEYONreT-h4NxXeWNmBv_3EMNE2BXtqaFl3sj_uV7b25xPdoHxazqV8BPUFul5EHD9xzkgrEeHBJNgpQeNo_BPmU_ZwhIZsMBRQfm37BYmZRRkGvAo0lz5LAjqWzLhEc/s320/Karen+and+meg+2.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i>Being truly listened to is so close to being loved it is hard to tell the difference</i>.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><span style="font-family: Lemonada; font-size: medium;"><b>Have A Conversation Without Your Phone (or other distractions)</b></span><div><br /></div><div>Listening is more than just the physical act of hearing, it takes an effort both of mind and body to truly tune in. <i>Being truly listened to is so close to being loved it is hard to tell the difference,</i> I am not sure who said that originally but I think it is pretty accurate. Many of us live in a world full of distractions- road noise, other people, TV, music, emails, our phones, alerts and so much more. So many distractions, and these listed are only some of the ones outside of our own heads! <div><br /></div><div>So what might it look like if we really listened? </div><div><br /></div><div>We would give the person/people speaking our attention with our mind and body: </div><div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div>We would quieten the voice in our head, the one that judges, plans what we will say, predicts what the other person will say, goes through the shopping list, wonders what might be happening on social media... </div></blockquote></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><p style="text-align: left;">We would turn our body to the person speaking, and avoid moving in a distracting way </p></div></blockquote><div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div>We would listen to understand not to prove ourselves right or better or smarter or more amusing</div><div><br /></div><div>We would add to the conversation not change it to better suit our own agenda </div><div><br /></div><div>We would paraphrase and question genuinely, showing curiosity and interest</div></blockquote></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">We would listen actively so there'd be no interrupting or tuning out </p></blockquote><div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div>We would see this as a good use of time, not a waste of time </div></blockquote><p>This might sound intense, but of course we don't have to be creepy about it, in fact it is more about being respectful and enjoying the journey of the conversation instead. It is about being prepared to appreciate the other person's perspective and learn more from them. Active listening can support positive wellbeing by improving relationships, helping us to tune out distractions so we are less overwhelmed and adding to our knowledge or shifting our perspectives- it's got a lot going for it! </p><p><br /></p><h1 class="quoteText" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">“When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. </span></h1><h1 class="quoteText" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">But if you listen, you may learn something new.” </span></h1><h1 class="quoteText" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Dancing Script; font-size: large;">Dalai Lama </span></h1></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;">This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit:</i><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span> </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></span></p><div><span style="font-family: McLaren; font-size: medium;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was held live on 22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop- recordings are available NOW Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br style="text-align: left;" /></p> </td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><br /></div></div>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-54198998601622948562021-01-28T21:05:00.000+13:002021-01-28T21:05:34.895+13:00Joyful January Day #29: Give yourself some compliments <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Mountains of Christmas;">Look In A Mirror and Give Yourself Some Compliments </span></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-jjk0yXZakhsj9AXdjZegeUPvJ0gF08fdq-P9dDn9bG_2s4PmSZCQM0pYLjmEXbDZuB7V-6pO4x03JXdq3hNYC8mzHyJZf5f_5WWLzVtkjWsOt72gSP2_LKCdY0e9lhAvk4L9MCAsqhA/s782/IMG_20171104_135707+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="782" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-jjk0yXZakhsj9AXdjZegeUPvJ0gF08fdq-P9dDn9bG_2s4PmSZCQM0pYLjmEXbDZuB7V-6pO4x03JXdq3hNYC8mzHyJZf5f_5WWLzVtkjWsOt72gSP2_LKCdY0e9lhAvk4L9MCAsqhA/s320/IMG_20171104_135707+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Happy Monkey";">Be your own cheerleader! </span></h2><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Chewy;">Hey good looking!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Chewy;">Love those eyes</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Chewy;">You are truly fabulous </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Chewy;">That's no surprise! </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>(you might like to even come up with some actions for this if you feel inspired </i>😁<i>) </i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGhDHi_gCMi5zY8OwpLbvNwk4ciy8oLg2XDtRZnyd-liTfrAr-XGmniUo415Q5dB_GI0qErQXwgi_soLZy5dIoVYlJW7oQMnnctBzN4bEwgzj-jWJTZhpb1LgzbYxFFcwRSTm2thgzaQ/s782/IMG_20191028_160536.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="439" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGhDHi_gCMi5zY8OwpLbvNwk4ciy8oLg2XDtRZnyd-liTfrAr-XGmniUo415Q5dB_GI0qErQXwgi_soLZy5dIoVYlJW7oQMnnctBzN4bEwgzj-jWJTZhpb1LgzbYxFFcwRSTm2thgzaQ/s320/IMG_20191028_160536.jpg" /></a></div>How often do we look in the mirror and only see our imperfections and flaws? <p></p><p>Do you ever start listing them? Oh my bum, boobs, chin are too big or baggy. Oh there's another wrinkle, pimple, spot. Oh I'm so ugly. Oh I'm too fat, oh I'm too skinny. Oh my hair is too grey, too frizzy, too straight, too brown, too boring, too messy, too... too... too... </p><p>How many times have you berated yourself when you have made a mistake? I am so stupid! What an idiot! What was I thinking? I am always doing this sort of thing, when will I learn? A stream of insults internally beating up on yourself. </p><p>Would you say these sorts of things to your best friend when you see them? Would you say them to the cashier at a supermarket or a waiter at a restaurant? Would you say them to a stranger you meet at a meeting or conference? </p><p>So why is it OK to say it to yourself? </p><p>This mean little voice isn't deliberately trying to hurt you, we can think of it as part of our caveman brain just trying to keep us safe by keeping us away from things that it thinks might hurt us like other people's judgement or being vulnerable and sticking out if we fail. These things won't kill us but our caveman brain can't really tell the difference between reality and perception. We can't necessary control the thoughts that come but we can control how much energy and attention we give them. We can change the types of thoughts that we feed off by being aware of what we are saying to ourselves and then we can start challenging them. </p><p>A little dissatisfaction isn't always a bad thing as it can help motivate us to make positive change in our lives if we need to. Continually berating and putting ourselves down isn't helpful. It is useful to have that distinction. </p><p>So when you look in the mirror... what might you see instead of a list of flaws and imperfections? You might see the stretch marks that showed the miracle of growing life. You might see the strong muscles that carry you every day. You might see that smile that lights up the room. You might see the frizzy hair that makes you unique. You might see the wrinkles that show the rich life you have lived so far, the joys and sorrows, the long summer days in the sun. You might see a person that is loved and cared for (by yourself and others!).</p><p>What can you say to yourself instead? </p><p>You can try affirmations, these are statements that about yourself that you say to yourself. As it is often said, you've spent years putting yourself down so why not try and be kind to yourself and see what happens? Positive affirmations can teach our brain to believe these new thoughts rather than relying on old negative patterns. </p><p>To create an affirmation: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>phrase it positively </li><li>use 'I am'</li><li>speak in the present tense </li><li>make it short and sweet </li></ul><div>You might start by listing some of the negative things you say to yourself often and then write the positive affirmation that counters this. This is not just what you see in the mirror, our physical presence, but other thoughts and beliefs we hold about ourselves. After creating our affirmations we need to keep saying them, out loud and internally, every day. If after a while they aren't working for you it may be that there is a deeper, older negative belief that you aren't aware of that is still ticking away like a music track on repeat in the background. Please note, if our thoughts are disrupting the ability for us to live a rich, fulfilling life then we may need to seek help and talk it through with someone. </div><div><br /></div><div>If nothing else today, please be kind to you! You are amazing, you are worthy, you are loved, you are making a difference, what you do makes a difference, you are beautiful, you are magnificent, you are worthy, and YOU ARE ALREADY ENOUGH! </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-HQ5BBSUS5AmmtRwgsK62Q2j_r-3lzwZHAZLf9dc-0PHKfoLj3gJ-toR8YIslhVpQ_yJfkP8XJvPzY7jcwtLjSXijC1PYtAFWzVffEabAj9OhmsUCNRl9m53hu5FB_jMYQsHsDhLoCQ/s1042/IMG_20201024_130359.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="1042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-HQ5BBSUS5AmmtRwgsK62Q2j_r-3lzwZHAZLf9dc-0PHKfoLj3gJ-toR8YIslhVpQ_yJfkP8XJvPzY7jcwtLjSXijC1PYtAFWzVffEabAj9OhmsUCNRl9m53hu5FB_jMYQsHsDhLoCQ/s320/IMG_20201024_130359.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><p></p><p>For more reading: </p><p><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/nz/blog/the-wise-open-mind/201108/5-steps-make-affirmations-work-you" target="_blank">5 Steps to Making Affirmations </a></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;">This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit:</i><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span> </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></span></p><div><span style="font-family: McLaren; font-size: medium;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was held live on 22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop- recordings are available NOW Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br style="text-align: left;" /></p> </td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-88835217970682726212021-01-27T20:21:00.002+13:002021-01-27T20:30:40.274+13:00Joyful January Day #28: Listen to your body and enjoy a healthy meal<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;">Enjoy Your Food</span></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCU6HHpTU0ec05u0x5GJpHOb7Z-osNAeQHVuhKWNJF46YpyqjOx6vUb8_wJXag6vDu18ysOKxJ7kf_VrNt5ZN1hcJsdiT6aRt7Wz4dZiJVG0zJs7B85JaciNgosRROZyoMLYEhg3mw2Do/s1390/food.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="1390" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCU6HHpTU0ec05u0x5GJpHOb7Z-osNAeQHVuhKWNJF46YpyqjOx6vUb8_wJXag6vDu18ysOKxJ7kf_VrNt5ZN1hcJsdiT6aRt7Wz4dZiJVG0zJs7B85JaciNgosRROZyoMLYEhg3mw2Do/w400-h225/food.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Chewy; font-size: x-large;">Listen to your body </span></h2><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Last weekend we had our Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit, it was full of great tips, strategies and inspiration for us to go forward and be our best selves going forward. To try and capture it all would take a book, or perhaps many books, not a blog so I am not going to try here. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">One of the things that came out of the summit for me was the reminder to tune into our own bodies and listen to what they are telling us. I am fascinated by the way that the body and brain operate subconsciously in response to stimuli, for example someone rolls their eyes at a staff meeting which might cause fearfulness (of disconnection from the group, isolation, potential conflict etc) and so our adrenal glands produce more adrenalin, our heart rate increases slightly, our breathing changes, our muscles tense a little and then consciousness hooks in when we notice some discomfort or funny feeling in our chest which might be a while later... but by now we are right wound up! The better we learn to tune in to our body, the better we are able to be aware of the internal conversations that are happening under the radar and then make better decisions for ourselves. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This also relates to our choices around health and wellbeing. So how might listening to what our body is telling us help us make more great food choices for our bodies?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As Catrina Bengree said it is about noticing when we feel hungry, not avoiding any particular food so eating what we want and enjoying it, importantly noticing when we are satisfied and then focusing on something else. We are less likely to have a 'snackcident' if we are listening to our bodies and responding to our hunger/satisfaction cues and then moving away from the food when we are satisfied! Eating consciously, or mindfully, helps us tune in. So focus on what you are eating and enjoy that rather than eating in front of a TV or flicking through social media. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We eat for a variety of reasons that aren't always to do with hunger. For some of us we just eat out of habit like my grandmother who always had a slice of bread with jam at the end of her evening meal, she called it a plug. Tuning in to our body helps us become aware of our habits and adapt them if they are not serving us. For some of us we eat in response to our emotional state- we eat because we are sad, angry, bored, stressed, tired, lonely. This can become a problem if we aren't aware of our emotional state and eat whatever to avoid facing what is eating us! It all comes back to us tuning in and listening. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There is so much wisdom inside us, we just have tune in and listen. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVOSCUI8yw_e3hUU6RbH5Cvo2aBHB_sj73TKWMAXpegajp7jtKum2VidaO8vcJRwtLvZ8KGNAAykGi00or15PjQcaSjwaWOl4f96o2iP_MrJSjeCdwZgTCL2UtuNf77BFD-VOZfP7PfM/s782/food+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="782" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVOSCUI8yw_e3hUU6RbH5Cvo2aBHB_sj73TKWMAXpegajp7jtKum2VidaO8vcJRwtLvZ8KGNAAykGi00or15PjQcaSjwaWOl4f96o2iP_MrJSjeCdwZgTCL2UtuNf77BFD-VOZfP7PfM/w200-h200/food+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;">This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit:</i><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span> </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></span></p><div><span style="font-family: McLaren; font-size: medium;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was held live on 22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop- recordings are available NOW Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br style="text-align: left;" /></p> </td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-28912596060577770572021-01-26T11:48:00.003+13:002021-01-26T11:48:40.646+13:00Joyful January Day #27: Turn off your phone <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Sigmar One;">Turn Off Your Phone </span></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0hTU6eND9aCuQDaK_mKsaOLCZTvTp7DOuLkmMNsbv0tu_VhUHJ7M-q_1f8BfrdlB73yBpx2F06oQWcMCKPS18BP5AJ8YRdY_kP95mjncBkU9FSaAwu8kOucAXpSi5F6WYIBI19Z98r-8/s781/phone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="781" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0hTU6eND9aCuQDaK_mKsaOLCZTvTp7DOuLkmMNsbv0tu_VhUHJ7M-q_1f8BfrdlB73yBpx2F06oQWcMCKPS18BP5AJ8YRdY_kP95mjncBkU9FSaAwu8kOucAXpSi5F6WYIBI19Z98r-8/s320/phone.jpg" /></a></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Racing Sans One";">We all need a break and so do our smartphones. </span></h2><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Does your phone go everywhere you do? How often do you turn it off? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">What do you do when your phone 'pings'? Do you dive to look at what is going on for fear that you might miss something important? Do you ignore it but have an annoying little little thought niggling away that you should really look at it? What if it is something important? It could be, you know!!! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This takes up mental energy, even if we do ignore it, it still interferes with our attention. Our attention is a precious commodity, it really is! If energy flows where attention goes, do we really want to give our valuable energy to every ping and blip from our phone? It also increases anxiety and can create a sense of overwhelm in an already busy life. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Social media feeds are also a potential attention-grabbing, energy-sapping interference. How many times do you just check something on a social media account to suddenly find thirty minutes have disappeared or perhaps you have zoned out of a conversation and missed something important? Sometimes the zoning out might be just the thing we need to do to chill out but that is a mindful choice! The other thing with getting lost in the social media zone is that that old gremlin of comparison can sneakily start whispering in the background... everyone is doing, looking, feeling better or more successful than you... you are a failure. This is not great for our self image and low self image impacts on our motivation, energy and even body function! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So perhaps we need to be smart and turn our smart phones off every now and then. (As a side note apparently <a href="https://utopia.org/guide/why-you-should-turn-off-your-phone/" target="_blank">switching off our phones from time to time</a> is better for the battery life of the phone and the planet too! Bonus!) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here are a few tips to help manage the phone overwhelm: </span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>turn off notifications</b>- that means you will look at notifications when you want instead of when your phone wants you to, turning your volume down as well can help reduce anxiety from loud noise of the phone ringing</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">find settings on your phone to<b> manage your digital balance-</b> you can set time limits for specific applications as well as general use, you can give bedtime settings too on some phones. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>get an old fashioned alarm clock</b> so you don't need to use your phone to wake you up- that way you won't get bombarded with scrolling through notifications first thing in the morning, and it removes the temptation to check your phone before you go to sleep which will help you sleep better </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>let people in your life know </b>that you won't be checking your messages continuously- that way they won't worry when you suddenly can't be reached immediately or don't respond quickly... that'll save causing more anxiety around you </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>leave your phone behind sometimes</b> on purpose- your phone won't get lonely if you go to the toilet, go for walk, sit in a meeting, eat a meal, watch a movie or have a date without it... it really doesn't care and those people who care for you won't mind if you put your health and wellbeing first and don't respond immediately</span></li></ul><p></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If any of the above suggestions make you feel really uncomfortable then it might be worth taking some time out to investigate your relationship with your phone to see if it really is a healthy one. For some of us there may be legitimate reasons but for most of us it could be a habit we've fallen in to and one that we might need to change for our own peace of mind. </span></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;">This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit:</i><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span> </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></span></p><div><span style="font-family: McLaren; font-size: medium;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was held live on 22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop- recordings are available NOW Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br style="text-align: left;" /></p> </td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-54072709259123523842021-01-25T18:11:00.005+13:002021-02-26T22:44:18.753+13:00Joyful January Day #26: Drink More Water <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Paprika;">Drink More Water </span></h1><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Freckle Face; font-size: x-large;">Wonderful Water! </span></h2><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-_Tl6USL0kXCY64RXNNOE7AKkp1rQsnrCokYHAc272hgGxe0sNtszjsHevnIvo3GhHRC9VQ3T8Yrya04YWgyvFQ_jlkHVoVMlPDhAeOJ-AYpNIP-v3yoBng-fmiz8arV8YUV9np3v_Ck/s782/IMG_20190109_141044.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="586" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-_Tl6USL0kXCY64RXNNOE7AKkp1rQsnrCokYHAc272hgGxe0sNtszjsHevnIvo3GhHRC9VQ3T8Yrya04YWgyvFQ_jlkHVoVMlPDhAeOJ-AYpNIP-v3yoBng-fmiz8arV8YUV9np3v_Ck/s320/IMG_20190109_141044.jpg" /></a></div>Water gives life. Water is a powerful force that can break down mountains over time. Water provides homes and sustenance for creatures great and small, weird and wonderful. Water moves and bends. Water changes states. Water is life. <p></p><p>Water is essential for our planet. </p><p>Water is essential for us. </p><p>If you are blessed to be able to turn on a tap and get clean drinking water pause and feel grateful as so many on our planet do not have this luxury, let alone having water to bathe in and water our gardens. </p><p>Water is the drink that helps us to think... and so much more! </p><p>Think about how many of our body functions rely on water. Just look at the percentage of water for these body parts, it's amazing, I'm surprised we don't slosh as we walk around :)</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>our blood is 50% water </li><li>our brain is 80-85% water as are our kidneys </li><li>our heart is 75-80% water as are our lungs </li><li>our skin is 70-75% water as are our muscles </li></ul><div>And these are just some of the organs in our body! In fact all of our systems need water in some way, shape or form. The average percentage of water in the whole human body is 60% so drinking water makes sense. </div><div><br /></div><div>I know we get lots of different advice about the amount of water we should drink, sometimes I get confused so here are two ideas I use to work out if I'm are drinking enough: </div><div>1. if you are feeling thirsty you are probably already getting a little dehydrated so drink regularly throughout the day </div><div>2. this is GOLD! Rowena Szeszeron-McEvoy says "drink more water till you've got clear wees!", it is such an easy to remember guide :) </div><div><br /></div><div>If we are getting dehydrated it is likely our thinking will be a little fuzzy, we may have a headache or feel light-headed, we may feel fatigued and our muscles might even start cramping. Our body will give us signals like these symptoms along with yellow, possibly strong smelling, wee and a dry mouth... but it's best not till wait till then. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tips to help you stay hydrated: </div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>water is best so try to have more water than other fluids if you can </li><li>if you don't like the taste of water try adding lemon or mint leaves to give it a bit of flavour </li><li>you might prefer it chilled so have some in the fridge for quick access when needed </li><li>take a drink bottle with you, I always carry my drink bottle with me and it's bright pink so I can't miss it! </li><li>tune in to your body and check that when you go diving for a quick snack you aren't actually feeling hungry... sometimes we have confused the two signals</li><li>on hot days or when exercising heavily drink more </li><li>sometimes having a drink of water gives you a chance to pause when you are in a stressful situation and means you don't react quite so quickly :) </li></ul></div><div>Love your body and stay hydrated! </div><div><br /></div><div>Reference: </div><div>https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-percentage-of-the-human-body-is-water#where-in-the-body</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;">This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit:</i><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span> </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></span></p><div><span style="font-family: McLaren; font-size: medium;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was held live on 22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop- recordings are available NOW Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br style="text-align: left;" /></p> </td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-50703872665799486962021-01-24T17:44:00.000+13:002021-01-24T17:44:01.115+13:00Joyful January Day#25: Dress Up Just Because <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Mystery Quest;">Dress Up Just Because You Can </span></h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYrl744Ozksq5uOMhO0aH1J8QZGH3UDdTvXElp2Nr5ZfwPdNhH0adRodtXBjcPpFR9EzQsZ2fPVyHaWkD5-s-wSCu9huG81inuBZ8lVA6vMvYqOM9o-qIvcWTsM8f39bHBWVLO2k6OwZM/s4608/IMG_20210121_150021.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYrl744Ozksq5uOMhO0aH1J8QZGH3UDdTvXElp2Nr5ZfwPdNhH0adRodtXBjcPpFR9EzQsZ2fPVyHaWkD5-s-wSCu9huG81inuBZ8lVA6vMvYqOM9o-qIvcWTsM8f39bHBWVLO2k6OwZM/w320-h240/IMG_20210121_150021.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image from WOW exhibition: David Walker's 'Lady of the Wood'</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Happy Monkey;">Feel fabulous in what you wear </span></h2><p>This may not be about wearing a ball gown and top hat and tails, if you want to then by all means go for it, this is really about wearing clothes that you love and feel good in. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnXtYz_jIINstzmHjDFqLVvS3x5WMuBET_q-4N460fMA3Ex6i0h5Qn3auKlOGqS7rUlPWEnCzLgJRHEx6YTSioLijTpDASxJG_6dQg8FtYKDeAZI3cFSwmxLoJxfj0mi586N6WQvCXmQ/s782/wedding+dress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="586" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnXtYz_jIINstzmHjDFqLVvS3x5WMuBET_q-4N460fMA3Ex6i0h5Qn3auKlOGqS7rUlPWEnCzLgJRHEx6YTSioLijTpDASxJG_6dQg8FtYKDeAZI3cFSwmxLoJxfj0mi586N6WQvCXmQ/w150-h200/wedding+dress.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>One of the reasons we don't wear the clothes we love is that we are saving things for 'good', but how often do we wear them? I wear my wedding dress at every formal function I can, I love it, it feels beautiful and I enjoy wearing it. I bought a beautiful green sari in India many years ago but only wear it very occasionally, it feels lovely, I might wear it when I get home and revisit our memories of India with some lovely food and looking at the photos! It's there and I feel great in it! Perhaps you might wear something special for dinner at home, light some candles and celebrate just looking and feeling fabulous. <p></p><p>Dressing up can be motivating. I think it was Elizabeth Gilbert in Big Magic that spoke about getting up, getting dressed up a bit and putting make up on to write when she was in a slump, it showed inspiration that she was ready and willing. It also made her feel more alive, and therefore more motivated, than she was in her sweat pants and slippers. Makes sense really. Years ago when I was going to serious meetings I used to wear bright colourful quirky undies and/or socks, no-one else saw them but I knew they were there and that made me feel a bit brighter in my suit. </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWbW2S93xxrmPq-JpD9bXvclDdfC0rwodyAcOjBIJrEkviiX85Y5yIoJJ3fC-J3w55-ovAvVP0S19J3kUvzHqkhrX2Uu9HH-yMOxzXjI4s32iY3WwBkRYXpC6LYgJAQlTRUWOTSz3If6U/s782/pirate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="586" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWbW2S93xxrmPq-JpD9bXvclDdfC0rwodyAcOjBIJrEkviiX85Y5yIoJJ3fC-J3w55-ovAvVP0S19J3kUvzHqkhrX2Uu9HH-yMOxzXjI4s32iY3WwBkRYXpC6LYgJAQlTRUWOTSz3If6U/w150-h200/pirate.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dress like a pirate <br />if that floats your boat!</i></td></tr></tbody></table>It feels good to dress in clothes that we love and that makes us smile, inside and out. When we smile we get a positive energy boost that we then pass on to others. So when we wear something that we feel good in we create a happier healthier environment around us, and we don't have to wait for very special <br />occasions to do it. </p><p>And if dressing up isn't your thing? Then, if you can, wear what makes you feel good today for as long as you can and really enjoy it. :) </p><p>Here are some prompts to consider what you might wear today (or any other day):</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3aGu3XEWs2KnuFp54v7o5RUeiej2NRDNSvyCwDlRiHDRp4muBTkMjsciey7LGhGBJ18lz8uta0tyUsh71WfcGx0dQyksaooOK4XuP1hFC0Lb1_pn0llVbDLKA9yXJSQNhCYcpDTHL-Zc/s782/sari.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="586" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3aGu3XEWs2KnuFp54v7o5RUeiej2NRDNSvyCwDlRiHDRp4muBTkMjsciey7LGhGBJ18lz8uta0tyUsh71WfcGx0dQyksaooOK4XuP1hFC0Lb1_pn0llVbDLKA9yXJSQNhCYcpDTHL-Zc/w150-h200/sari.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>Do particular colours make you pop? <p style="text-align: left;">Is there anything that you wear that makes you feel happy, powerful, energised, spectacular? </p>Do particular types of fabric make you feel fabulous?<div><br />Does adding accessories like make up, jewelry, nail polish make you feel special? <br /><p style="text-align: left;">Are there shoes that make you feel wonderful? </p><p>Whatever you wear I hope that you are feeling fabulous today! And if you do dress up and feel like it, take a photo and share it... celebrate your fabulousness :) </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;">This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit:</i><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span> </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></span></p><div><span style="font-family: McLaren; font-size: medium;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was held live on 22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop- recordings are available NOW Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br style="text-align: left;" /></p> </td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-88804463252178440322021-01-22T17:53:00.000+13:002021-01-22T17:53:47.215+13:00Joyful January Day #23: Notice One Thing You Haven't Noticed Before <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bangers;">Notice One Thing You Haven't Noticed Before </span></h1><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Bangers;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6T0wM2j_l5lRurYkmfssZM0eXWOjPvxOOxDN_yjCpuCBMTjYg6zwD5eAB7w5D_9O6coOJcu6kK-3n0eblPtzyCJX57ZeCQghBHNYXSYRe_E5lJ0a-Mu4qc6kUudp-gO1NRA9cUaDa9jM/s2048/IMG_20191117_133743.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6T0wM2j_l5lRurYkmfssZM0eXWOjPvxOOxDN_yjCpuCBMTjYg6zwD5eAB7w5D_9O6coOJcu6kK-3n0eblPtzyCJX57ZeCQghBHNYXSYRe_E5lJ0a-Mu4qc6kUudp-gO1NRA9cUaDa9jM/s320/IMG_20191117_133743.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Chewy; font-size: xx-large;">Keep your eyes open, the world is more amazing than we think </span></p></h1><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwc57ekyO7XkKOoFpMX9UGIHdyLHiszWijQ1C45tS83gxnAFGl_8Ftp4IqLfuI6m7aNsQFkgOZ8n5Tg7m5mbSnhd9daKssqObR7IBZi844_ldMlamNOPBm-HXTyZZyP7c7MdaDRirPPmE/s808/20140331_152445-MOTION.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="606" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwc57ekyO7XkKOoFpMX9UGIHdyLHiszWijQ1C45tS83gxnAFGl_8Ftp4IqLfuI6m7aNsQFkgOZ8n5Tg7m5mbSnhd9daKssqObR7IBZi844_ldMlamNOPBm-HXTyZZyP7c7MdaDRirPPmE/w150-h200/20140331_152445-MOTION.gif" width="150" /></a></div>Have you ever gone for a walk with a preschooler and you have to keep stopping as they pick up an amazing rock, an interesting leaf, or need to enjoy the progress of a bug who is also on a little journey? Everything is fascinating and worthy of attention. Somewhere as we get older we often lose this sense of curiosity and wonder at the world that surrounds us. I understand that we have places to go and people to see and not every blade of grass or pebble needs to grab our attention but I do think there is a middle ground. <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvj99aRGq3CaowJTFLLaGzUamSnabtYRqgjI9SRzhegnMlcgRgWihPHbxcUbZWZC5umCzdycN-NX9WKRneAyiegJU6vEZxx4HZVTc2xylwnfaGNITbSZa_pKe03SIn1ikdM8aK161lhc8/s782/20140506_130605.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="586" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvj99aRGq3CaowJTFLLaGzUamSnabtYRqgjI9SRzhegnMlcgRgWihPHbxcUbZWZC5umCzdycN-NX9WKRneAyiegJU6vEZxx4HZVTc2xylwnfaGNITbSZa_pKe03SIn1ikdM8aK161lhc8/w150-h200/20140506_130605.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br />Architecture is often <br />overlooked but can <br />be fascinating</i></td></tr></tbody></table>Today's challenge is really about opening our eyes and, as much as anything, noticing the wonder in the ordinary world around us. It could be the colours in someone's iris as you get close, it may be the colours on the hills as the sun hits them, perhaps the colours of leaves or flowers and how different hues blend. You might spend time watching a bee go about their business, this is the beginning of new plants and flowers, this incredibly important work for our planet and they can carry on buzzing away while we appreciate them. It might be noticing an art work, the form, colour, materials. I know often when I look at artworks I marvel at what incredible things people can do when inspired and how from even rocks or leaves beautiful and/or provoking artworks can arise. Before we eat we can notice the shape and colour of our food. We might just look at our home or neighbourhood with fresh eyes. <p></p><p>Noticing what is around us is a part of bringing ourselves to the present and can create a greater sense of balance and harmony. </p><p>What might you notice today? </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9Ri4ruIKXk9OYe2dv4bCy6Q35HB9OmJAwA6zcP38NVyOmO8SINp4f_AQuwjDkwV0yhm7ePwztn8NhaF0rjKoXEFmEU03YHZQUsCEiGVN-HuvIlRTX4qlWIeFGOb3WAu5P7EE3wxdy70/s782/20140510_160747-MIX.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="782" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9Ri4ruIKXk9OYe2dv4bCy6Q35HB9OmJAwA6zcP38NVyOmO8SINp4f_AQuwjDkwV0yhm7ePwztn8NhaF0rjKoXEFmEU03YHZQUsCEiGVN-HuvIlRTX4qlWIeFGOb3WAu5P7EE3wxdy70/w320-h320/20140510_160747-MIX.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice more so you can enjoy life like this wee guy enjoying an icecream! <br /><br /><br /><p><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;">This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit:</i><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span> </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></p><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop (recordings available) Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br style="text-align: left;" /></p> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-25666619479519627902021-01-22T17:52:00.002+13:002021-01-23T14:46:33.154+13:00Joyful January Day #24: Get Outside And Move Your Body <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Racing Sans One";">Get Outside and Move Your Body</span></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8_wpsFIUpW2iDMfj90WINKtTwo7uEeKJRkK4OE4-BpgwKhQeDUM8Y7W2u9kyh0jWuGw_5klG-LzVBCKjnm5LOx4s2XftpByWGNvRR7SjPWdEHVR1soHm1i10xV-UbAPySt4EgH1pw2Q/s1043/IMG_20200717_143101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1043" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8_wpsFIUpW2iDMfj90WINKtTwo7uEeKJRkK4OE4-BpgwKhQeDUM8Y7W2u9kyh0jWuGw_5klG-LzVBCKjnm5LOx4s2XftpByWGNvRR7SjPWdEHVR1soHm1i10xV-UbAPySt4EgH1pw2Q/s320/IMG_20200717_143101.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Racing Sans One;">Movement + Fresh Air = Great stuff for your wellbeing </span></h2><div><span style="font-family: Racing Sans One;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">If you can then we encourage you to get outside and get moving today. This is a double-whammy as you are getting that life-giving fresh air and shifting energy around your body physically. It is a great way to show appreciation to your body for all it does for you every day, when you think about how much we put our bodies through we really need to give them a standing ovation for their daily efforts! If you can get into nature that is really helpful too, it helps us feel calmer and reduces stress which in turn supports better physical health. Win-win-win! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">For those who can't get outside, as we said earlier, if you can open a window and get some fresh air that is helpful in itself. Moving our bodies (inside or out) can happen in a whole range of ways: </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBMWhEYDgPATjT5rmpuEqXw9KG8cLqYPbqu3KXNMbAbkRuAs0bJl8PDxxbH5Q77pMZp-1GAAnXNLzbLLCyMg46vfXF5qv19Ci-3JXmwW394NUMKsdxHh-LRcPv185Kdc7zFoiIFvPFVVI/s1043/IMG_20181022_114642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1043" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBMWhEYDgPATjT5rmpuEqXw9KG8cLqYPbqu3KXNMbAbkRuAs0bJl8PDxxbH5Q77pMZp-1GAAnXNLzbLLCyMg46vfXF5qv19Ci-3JXmwW394NUMKsdxHh-LRcPv185Kdc7zFoiIFvPFVVI/w200-h150/IMG_20181022_114642.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />yoga </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">tai chi </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">dancing </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">biking</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">hiking</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">walking </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">jogging or running </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">skipping </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-XeOdYfyCGntckdleqGQ8fAmI6GSRI4CAE2r8iG-YiPz9NzUxywCOxlkCoAkpKBW3m5g9mEY0203O0D3vN12QLN9cEFYLov0tvZdYNAV3FEzTCwEntrEgt-QkF3wtKpkv8sFb4Dt3DRI/s1043/IMG_20190330_124702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1043" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-XeOdYfyCGntckdleqGQ8fAmI6GSRI4CAE2r8iG-YiPz9NzUxywCOxlkCoAkpKBW3m5g9mEY0203O0D3vN12QLN9cEFYLov0tvZdYNAV3FEzTCwEntrEgt-QkF3wtKpkv8sFb4Dt3DRI/w200-h150/IMG_20190330_124702.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>playing on a playground </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">weights </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">boating </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">swimming </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">digging </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">gardening</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">house painting </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">skateboarding or scootering </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">playing sport</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53FWtUogJAH_skLnFMGofyr2eV0P23AvWvnf0IT7UT2fVt9dm_flnnXTRJyW-SOKN3f08CKfIMWlp72Y9IttXghyt8lNuIRDzJCZCds_gcxDh53yPl6INnfWUlgYGUbuAm6TgeVlJCvE/s1043/IMG_20190109_150402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1043" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53FWtUogJAH_skLnFMGofyr2eV0P23AvWvnf0IT7UT2fVt9dm_flnnXTRJyW-SOKN3f08CKfIMWlp72Y9IttXghyt8lNuIRDzJCZCds_gcxDh53yPl6INnfWUlgYGUbuAm6TgeVlJCvE/w200-h150/IMG_20190109_150402.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>kicking a ball </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">playing with a pet </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">climbing </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">playing games like hopscotch or elastics or tag </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">martial arts </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">play fighting </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">water fight</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">bouncing on a trampoline</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">rowing </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1043" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3c3PXHqlIitF8qJIhyo4ZyHvBZ9J-N3GWyNjVPcMj7uF4tfieiLlH4VBFTpat8_Y4PYta2h2VjWA2WWWHY_tmFQNqub0HZEGRAGTF9ZqBTyjiPngTLG5_nlaiIAYTrxZ-Gy-hJ1Obwoo/w200-h150/IMG_20200823_140837.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" width="200" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Don't let the weather stop you from enjoying being outside. <br />It is said that there is no bad weather just poor clothing choices :) </i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">How many different ways might you move today? Fast or slow, high or low?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">What ways can you move outside? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">What movement can help you get more of the clean fresh air? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Who might you move with? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Where might you go to be outside moving? If you can't go anywhere at the moment where would you like to go? Even mental rehearsal through imagining can help us get some positive vibes. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Whatever you do I hope it fills your soul and fuels your body. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;">This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit:</i><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span> </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></p><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop (recordings available) Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br style="text-align: left;" /></p> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-79088590571639377002021-01-21T12:46:00.000+13:002021-01-21T12:46:33.902+13:00Joyful January Day #22: Dance Like No-one Is Looking <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Freckle Face;">Dance Like No-one Is Looking </span></h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtLDukIR_zY2Dbp5mLi0cNaPZ9HpdLr-7FlwsgGQDQGOBC1nvhAxIj9h59s-4dBYUkDxCtQVIJwZq88t0rdvya4XMOHqEzeKwHYA2-cbjY-00UBEVrVGdFpKDJIqBfhw8Tsb892K8zKd4/s2048/IMG_20200122_213823.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtLDukIR_zY2Dbp5mLi0cNaPZ9HpdLr-7FlwsgGQDQGOBC1nvhAxIj9h59s-4dBYUkDxCtQVIJwZq88t0rdvya4XMOHqEzeKwHYA2-cbjY-00UBEVrVGdFpKDJIqBfhw8Tsb892K8zKd4/s320/IMG_20200122_213823.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This was from a light show in the New Plymouth gardens, 80s music and lights... I was in my need to dance element! </i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><span style="font-family: Salsa;">Just move your body! </span></p><p>Dancing can be a great way to get fit, choose your favourite music (or go without music if you wish) <br />and let your body move. It is an expressive artform, you can choose to let loose and just move any way you want. It can be a great stress relief especially if you allow yourself to let go of everything else for a little while. Dance is also great for engaging our brain, improving cognitive skills through the challenge it can provide. I know when I am learning new steps it takes a lot of focused energy to master them but the feeling of achievement when I finally get there is huge. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfz3OqNynH1NXpX4Rzpv3XlDuTp-jnugmDTdBk-61QEwElHAYDybanics0XodH2o2Vns6Lgor_lripW5bWgaLGoLNp9jdSdIM9tHwRTjCg-NXd5hOqBEkX4VGO5p6fx7AnorWiw5xKwA/s2048/IMG_20191231_195238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfz3OqNynH1NXpX4Rzpv3XlDuTp-jnugmDTdBk-61QEwElHAYDybanics0XodH2o2Vns6Lgor_lripW5bWgaLGoLNp9jdSdIM9tHwRTjCg-NXd5hOqBEkX4VGO5p6fx7AnorWiw5xKwA/w200-h150/IMG_20191231_195238.jpg" width="200" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i>As our balance in our body improves through dance so to does the balance in our brain. </i></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2De63rYVezbBJNdXABe_iFl3FlA6FgcsS_b8rSdOCpj-YQA6LyrNvJgL5GLqeXf5ighK0dBwtNIJ0wjw2YPNMVPaOD5xS89dmhRa79uOcphXZcfnAKLvGn5_XXhdsiNeBkbAwiNtAV4/s2048/IMG_20200122_214511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2De63rYVezbBJNdXABe_iFl3FlA6FgcsS_b8rSdOCpj-YQA6LyrNvJgL5GLqeXf5ighK0dBwtNIJ0wjw2YPNMVPaOD5xS89dmhRa79uOcphXZcfnAKLvGn5_XXhdsiNeBkbAwiNtAV4/w150-h200/IMG_20200122_214511.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>I remember years ago going to an arts conference for teachers focused on dance and feeling completely out of my depth especially when I saw the dancers float in and sit down, they moved so gracefully and looked beautiful. I felt so awkward and clumsy and really wondered what I was doing there. Then something magical happened once I started going to the sessions, all that self judgement slipped away when I started having fun with it. On occasions I still pull out my version of a back spin I learned in the breakdancing session for fun :) [Please note: my back spin is still a work in progress but I have fun doing it when the mood takes me, even if I need extra help to keep spinning :)]<p></p><p>Dancing can be fun when we let ourselves enjoy the freedom of movement... we don't have to do it with anyone else if we don't want to but if we are dancing with others we need to remember that unless we are on stage we aren't performing for anyone so it is OK to just do our thing (and if you ask the choreographers for shows I do, often when I am on stage I am still kind of doing my own thing... but that is more about my skill level than anything else!). I love the quote from Eleanor Roosevelt "you wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realised how seldom they do". Generally speaking people are so busy thinking about themselves, (or looking at their phones!), that they don't have time to think about you so don't scale back the joy you can feel when dancing just to avoid the imagined judgement of others. And if anyone is judging you remember that is actually their business and not really your business at all. Just do your thing and enjoy the freedom!</p><p><br /></p><p><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;">This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit:</i><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span> </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></p><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop (recordings available) Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-34269176951685136022021-01-20T14:28:00.000+13:002021-01-20T14:28:22.925+13:00Joyful January Day #21: A Few Of My Favourite Things <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Oleo Script;"> A Few Of My Favourite Things </span></h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdYewyKyUBogmJUw-rI4D77lzJpW0oZTd7dOjnFwBWwSKdHtuhQWsxkFIFSpTCgiClvQYyEFYaoYK7UsuOXSg5p35a9vYo8BWAsxiRl23uArXw4Ow2uwcP3XxCmF1rf9JZNawZ7Y1dKk/s2048/IMG_20210119_145655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdYewyKyUBogmJUw-rI4D77lzJpW0oZTd7dOjnFwBWwSKdHtuhQWsxkFIFSpTCgiClvQYyEFYaoYK7UsuOXSg5p35a9vYo8BWAsxiRl23uArXw4Ow2uwcP3XxCmF1rf9JZNawZ7Y1dKk/s320/IMG_20210119_145655.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A collection of favourite things I have around my desk at home, all of these things have a story and meaning attached to them... I'll share some in this post. </i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Fredericka the Great;">Take photos of things you love and display the photo </span></h2><p>I am away from home at the moment and a collection of photos is great to ease the home-sickness, so my photo is displayed on my phone that I have with me. They remind me of the things I value, engage positive memories and help me feel centred. The meaning we attach to these items and images don't have to make sense to anyone else, they are just for us. I know Marie Kondo might suggest I get rid of some of them but for now they bring me joy and that is their purpose so they can stay, that being said this exercise has helped me with how to approach decluttering another space and I can already see what no longer sings for me :)</p><p>Here are my five special things for today: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnld4aW2J_QLfqMdiN8GHdkSLtdJiPIhS7tbD2HTYS_uNnvYpulZuQavuEcOhUkTEBcF3GAm8pd030ERyoyvOQ-uwYYD7pb-PWhlOvzFun-PtklRagsiGbL8sbGR6O-cLzzR0FSzfn_g/s2048/IMG_20210119_152531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnld4aW2J_QLfqMdiN8GHdkSLtdJiPIhS7tbD2HTYS_uNnvYpulZuQavuEcOhUkTEBcF3GAm8pd030ERyoyvOQ-uwYYD7pb-PWhlOvzFun-PtklRagsiGbL8sbGR6O-cLzzR0FSzfn_g/w200-h150/IMG_20210119_152531.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><b><i>The white feathers, the pink bike and the card with buttons</i></b>- my connection to my dad, the nickname he gave me was Buttons, whenever I see white feathers I think of him and the pink bike reminds me of the bikes he would paint on any wall before he would paint it <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPBI7N9CXOmJm-8cAEENLdNsqfGT_0ErxqDr3Mf5aNw7WfHFCzYlzz9s98GzDaNUFGP_-Nr3YJrkpmULdA7P_xvcmYPTvkpy3-Pfn28kSYiqfY1-FwvY1KzjBIl9HXS1RGI8hyphenhyphenX_TJLU/s2048/IMG_20210119_152605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPBI7N9CXOmJm-8cAEENLdNsqfGT_0ErxqDr3Mf5aNw7WfHFCzYlzz9s98GzDaNUFGP_-Nr3YJrkpmULdA7P_xvcmYPTvkpy3-Pfn28kSYiqfY1-FwvY1KzjBIl9HXS1RGI8hyphenhyphenX_TJLU/w200-h150/IMG_20210119_152605.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><i>The photos of my boy with myself and his dad</i></b><b style="font-style: italic;">-</b> he'd actually just </div>come out of hospital with pneumonia the day before the photos were taken, it reminds me of the love and joy we share even when things are tough <p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeS-2QyoEmyBbEzpwRus2KihiQTKKWZyWzMGOXDhEf3oNjHl6JjEcKYZORFprvx8hcMvT6VjdSwQAJK7GCZnB3MvpWRFw9KIBEvlmakOiuJt7ctSTgXYhbYElg-O6hZw6Ti8KthVfmxqE/s2048/IMG_20210119_152546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeS-2QyoEmyBbEzpwRus2KihiQTKKWZyWzMGOXDhEf3oNjHl6JjEcKYZORFprvx8hcMvT6VjdSwQAJK7GCZnB3MvpWRFw9KIBEvlmakOiuJt7ctSTgXYhbYElg-O6hZw6Ti8KthVfmxqE/w200-h150/IMG_20210119_152546.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><b><i>The wings quote, the lion and the plate</i></b>- remind me of our marriage, we were married at Larnach's Castle where we got the plate, the lion is a sketch of the lions that stand at the front of the castle. The quote says "we are each of us angels with only one wing and we can only fly by embracing one another" and this also reminds me of my supportive friendships </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_bMlEOeSWHfsZ9BKRmAmIBP9OOw8HGbHVRr8mJbs_K44wX1LOesXRP8F861qCKGOHLlF3XP0PQJMNeAHTs5s00Iun5yXQn-sGERbH30Og4BOxL_3d597xnzqFlkAG8oxc0O0U9jy6-YU/s2048/IMG_20210119_152515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_bMlEOeSWHfsZ9BKRmAmIBP9OOw8HGbHVRr8mJbs_K44wX1LOesXRP8F861qCKGOHLlF3XP0PQJMNeAHTs5s00Iun5yXQn-sGERbH30Og4BOxL_3d597xnzqFlkAG8oxc0O0U9jy6-YU/w200-h150/IMG_20210119_152515.jpg" width="200" /></a></p><p><br /></p><b><i>The little bear</i></b>- this was a gift I was given when I graduated with my M.Ed., it had been a real struggle to get to the end of this study and there were many times I wanted to give up but the encouragement of others and my own determination got me across the line... this reminds me that I can do hard things <p></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARC39rteICks5Mc26TmGH4WZ5LixBFoWyFCbaYYKdcJGhdKtrUMRco3zCNIJ6Xn9zbgvU97nBcfjXxKSqxlH7GEWOJfXXGeh0C7wKxJSJgWJhnR1HTyNP4S3JaQRH8kcGzWr-DGk0mjU/s2048/IMG_20210119_152522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARC39rteICks5Mc26TmGH4WZ5LixBFoWyFCbaYYKdcJGhdKtrUMRco3zCNIJ6Xn9zbgvU97nBcfjXxKSqxlH7GEWOJfXXGeh0C7wKxJSJgWJhnR1HTyNP4S3JaQRH8kcGzWr-DGk0mjU/w200-h150/IMG_20210119_152522.jpg" width="200" /></a></p><p><br /></p><i><b>The wee candle in the tin and the star</b></i>- the candle was a gift from one of my students a very long time ago and it says "Teachers keep the bright promises of tomorrow" and, together with my sparkly star, reminds me that my job in life is to share the light with those I am lucky enough to work with and help each of them sparkle <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>What are a few of your favourite things? I hope you get some time to reflect on them and the meaning they hold for you. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSlN2_QSVZK01a60_t5zbPAlibxQDZ9hrUscVifnPJwkSTEyPn9WhIK4LdcRUykpMQBvZ4wGXJrfAhtCV_T6M591be25QGY37f0KxjeIJgY8Br9fjJL2gK1XNIk-xl71mf6K-JCmtJM-0/s1080/1611023817208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSlN2_QSVZK01a60_t5zbPAlibxQDZ9hrUscVifnPJwkSTEyPn9WhIK4LdcRUykpMQBvZ4wGXJrfAhtCV_T6M591be25QGY37f0KxjeIJgY8Br9fjJL2gK1XNIk-xl71mf6K-JCmtJM-0/w400-h400/1611023817208.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;">This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit:</i><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span> </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></p><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop (recordings available) Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-40922371304833795622021-01-19T14:44:00.000+13:002021-01-19T14:44:31.883+13:00Joyful January Day #20: Play a Game <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Fontdiner Swanky;">Fun and Games </span></h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznMc0ZC2tjY-QTRy01tYo-hSjDmxUopNP0Y6HKjM2OeH3HQmG8l4JHEL5w_NCOMchtBG4D-QiVlj-2chlI8v6Pg45E-T00-3aMSzZVqmQjsheT-ZLpEhRM07pLM1IUhtk05IHrQnNFdU/s2048/IMG_20210118_182101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznMc0ZC2tjY-QTRy01tYo-hSjDmxUopNP0Y6HKjM2OeH3HQmG8l4JHEL5w_NCOMchtBG4D-QiVlj-2chlI8v6Pg45E-T00-3aMSzZVqmQjsheT-ZLpEhRM07pLM1IUhtk05IHrQnNFdU/s320/IMG_20210118_182101.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A game review about Trouble by our wee man: <br /><i>Trouble is a great game because you can do warps and doubles and it helps you but on the other hand the 1's gets everybody else out except for you! It helps to think about where you want to go and when. I like it because how other people make me laugh like Dad when he kept getting 1's last night :) </i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Lemonada;">Play a Game </span></h2><div>Playing games is something that is an important connection activity for our family. Like many people we re-discovered this during lockdown. The rainy days over the festive season have given us time to play new games received as gifts. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are so many great games out there, we have a good collection of card and board games that we play at different times and with different people, it is interesting how one or two are favourites for a while and then they run their course and something else takes favour. </div><div><br /></div><div>Playing card and board games are beneficial for more than just filling in some time: </div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>they get us thinking, the brain loves a challenge and often games give us the opportunity to strategise and predict </li><li>they help us practise skills like how to find our calm... they are great for practising the stimulation of excitement, disappointment, tension and even anger during a game and then managing these big feelings so we can stay engaged </li><li>they give us an opportunity to connect away from screens, a slower pace and different visual stimuli </li><li>they help us practise social skills like taking turns, competing positively, losing graciously, problem solving, negotiating and resolving conflict as well as generally chatting to each other as the game progresses </li><li>they can enhance memory in a relatively low stress environment </li><li>they can create positive memories and connections with others</li><li>many games offer us the opportunity to practise life lessons too such as those involving luck, we learn that there are some things we can control and others we can't and how to deal with the whims of luck </li></ul><div>I love listening to our boy chuckle as he steps on his Nana or Dad and sends them home in Trouble, our latest family favourite. Sometimes he laughs so hard he is nearly crying! I love seeing the connection between the different generations, it is something everyone around the table can access. Before this Yahtzee was the favourite to play with Nana and Monopoly Deal with Dad. My husband plays role playing board games with friends and we play card games together some evenings. It's lovely to take some time out from work or other distractions and just enjoy playing a game together, our latest is Sequence. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>Games are portable fun and can be played inside or outside (depending on the weather conditions). They can be played in a tent, a bed, a caravan, a boat, a tree house, or your home. They can be played with new friends, old friends, family members old and young. We can replicate these online too, and I know that has been a real asset for some folk with internet access during lockdowns to minimise the sense of isolation. </div><div><br /></div><div>Today is another rainy day, I wonder what game we will play after tea tonight? </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGVXvujnlgQTYx-XZZ3JyQNKu-Ht1-KXUThF9U2VE35BOXLnj0mPkn9UmxJ7JXq-YJlRR4ZQl-B2FwSxD1P8qhAje05c-X0Quzu12kodCfBi8WNVwK7jQHoEsKNhddvqqMz3AiIfueno/s2048/IMG_20210119_135943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGVXvujnlgQTYx-XZZ3JyQNKu-Ht1-KXUThF9U2VE35BOXLnj0mPkn9UmxJ7JXq-YJlRR4ZQl-B2FwSxD1P8qhAje05c-X0Quzu12kodCfBi8WNVwK7jQHoEsKNhddvqqMz3AiIfueno/s320/IMG_20210119_135943.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><p><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span>This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit:</span></i><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span> </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></p><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop (recordings available) Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-77696339903141760372021-01-18T16:55:00.001+13:002021-01-19T14:43:02.126+13:00Joyful January Day #19: Brag List<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Happy Monkey;">Write a Brag List </span></h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixONHThQwYeHhc71LY4lcgWqR2QLIPP9SFdtivbtyL1r9hVknQ90JfOrPMAHUQWOODghzXdJQv5uqh3Ld1G3hbUq5Ca3QfO7daswUIJ1i0hmpSeJ7V7I4-7IEHhEdd8sql4PCLrkXLywI/s4608/IMG_20201213_125506.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixONHThQwYeHhc71LY4lcgWqR2QLIPP9SFdtivbtyL1r9hVknQ90JfOrPMAHUQWOODghzXdJQv5uqh3Ld1G3hbUq5Ca3QfO7daswUIJ1i0hmpSeJ7V7I4-7IEHhEdd8sql4PCLrkXLywI/s320/IMG_20201213_125506.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Late last year my little man and I had a meal together and chatted, I wrote this as he spoke.<br /> </td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Salsa; font-size: x-large;">What are you proud of? </span></h2><p>When we are in a giving profession, like teaching, we get good at celebrating the success of others by tuning into what they love and value. Often it is harder for us to celebrate ourselves in the same way. In many cultures we are taught that celebrating our successes is bragging and boastful, so we shrink and play small in order to avoid being seen negatively. Inflating our own self importance, especially when we are under the pressure of comparison, isn't healthy and nor is it helpful for building strong relationships but this is not what we are doing here.</p><p>Today we are encouraged to write a list of things we are proud of and to display it somewhere we will see it often. We are focusing on acknowledging our achievements and strengths because this is a kindness we can show ourselves. This is an exercise about ourselves and for ourselves, it has nothing to do with what others consider an achievement or measure of success. </p><p>Acknowledging our achievements and strengths can help us develop a healthy self image. When we have bad days or tough times, which is just the ups and downs of a normal, rich life, we now have a reference point to know that despite the current circumstances we are worthy and have value. We don't need to rely on others to feel worthy, we know this for ourselves. It is a powerful gift. </p><p>Do you struggle with celebrating your achievements and strengths? I struggled with this today too. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">One way to make a start on your own brag list is to consider your values and think of times when you have acted in alignment with them. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Another way is to think about goals you have had over the years and where you have achieved them, or learned something along the way to reaching towards them. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Also think about failures and when things have gone wrong, how did you grow from that? What did you learn? Who are you now from that experience? We learn as much from our failures as we do from our successes, perhaps more. And what comes from that learning may indeed be cause for celebration. </p></blockquote><p>Once you have your list, read it, consider it, meditate on it. This is what displaying it is all about, it is something that you will see and reflect on at different times and in different ways. There may be new understandings about yourself that could come from this. You might even add to your list. On those tough days it can be a reminder of your value and your values! </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Always remember that you are already worthy, you always have been and always will be.</b> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwA5ONKuJsMDOUfM3JeoksRw1z8SHQVliF8AfWflTAryLHvu3vTWqzr2pfxYE_fYS_8mpWgNTBTLvrqA6TT_oUiq_iY4QYmwJtVJjhAifst51a16XVBbp0GnG2c_PwQ-r1tzIem8vk3CA/s2048/IMG_20210118_145335.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwA5ONKuJsMDOUfM3JeoksRw1z8SHQVliF8AfWflTAryLHvu3vTWqzr2pfxYE_fYS_8mpWgNTBTLvrqA6TT_oUiq_iY4QYmwJtVJjhAifst51a16XVBbp0GnG2c_PwQ-r1tzIem8vk3CA/s320/IMG_20210118_145335.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thinking about the last year, this is what I am proud of. <br />Not an easy task, but was worth the effort. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span>This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit. </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></p><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop (recordings available) Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-55914018236178863852021-01-17T21:02:00.004+13:002021-01-17T21:02:55.832+13:00Joyful January Day #18: Eat Something New or Different <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Freckle Face; font-size: x-large;">Eat Something New or Different </span></h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2W9ZHovoUHF34hfac9SF4QfiZF08KGh8vTeVBbuceNNc1HRGGm6xaheSIv4VBncAdjJA-F3TXOtAiFT0Te8gF_YTyYexZ1pg-qK0nghiAZoDXugMRNw_e4-WNhq4x51nM9VbEk9KdSOM/s2048/IMG_20210117_183028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2W9ZHovoUHF34hfac9SF4QfiZF08KGh8vTeVBbuceNNc1HRGGm6xaheSIv4VBncAdjJA-F3TXOtAiFT0Te8gF_YTyYexZ1pg-qK0nghiAZoDXugMRNw_e4-WNhq4x51nM9VbEk9KdSOM/s320/IMG_20210117_183028.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying creating our meal </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Margarine; font-size: large;">Taste The Difference </span></h2><p>I have eaten sushi when I have been out and about, I enjoy it when I need a quick, tasty lunch on the go. I have never made it though, not sure why as I have had sushi rice in my cupboard for a few years, so it must have been a thought at some stage. Anyway, given our challenge I decided today was the day. I told my son I was going to have a go at making sushi and he screwed up his face a little telling me that he wasn't really a fan especially of the seaweed stuff on the outside. Not to be daunted, away I went and once I got started he wanted in on the action. It was a fun time together and the bonus was that our sushi earned a two thumbs up from everyone at the table, including Mr 'I-don't-do-seaweed'! It was great seeing him trying something new which started with me trying something new too, and it wasn't nearly as complicated as I had thought it might be :) </p><p>Earlier in the month we talked about neoteny- maintaining that child-like sense of wonder. Doing new things helps to harness that sense of wonder and curiosity. Experiencing new flavours or textures helps ignite our senses. Tuning in to novelty helps to create stronger memories, the brain tends to remember new or unusual experiences better. </p><p>There are also benefits to eating a wide variety of foods- it helps to ensure we get all of the essential nutrients we need for happy healthy bodies, it can help us to eat seasonally which is kinder to the planet, it can help you to eat slower as you are focusing on tasting the new food or meal that you have prepared. You may also end up enjoying cooking or eating varied flavours from trying something new. </p><p>What new food or flavour will you create or enjoy today? Like me you might just try cooking something you haven't before... my next challenge is to make handmade pasta at some stage! In the meantime I am going to enjoy the sushi we made. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sIkwMpQ7an4g8DH6kKwxdGiRkNCd2pshQpgW6YR70moHcrwhiIV-FCTPzHtVcsx05JaxDZoYI5GwMuRisS7XVBDwCoA0u3co2ronPJCpx7jVHoNOBUskSUSuG8bLuVp6Sh0f-Tp3wm0/s2048/IMG_20210117_184511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sIkwMpQ7an4g8DH6kKwxdGiRkNCd2pshQpgW6YR70moHcrwhiIV-FCTPzHtVcsx05JaxDZoYI5GwMuRisS7XVBDwCoA0u3co2ronPJCpx7jVHoNOBUskSUSuG8bLuVp6Sh0f-Tp3wm0/s320/IMG_20210117_184511.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first attempt at sushi was a tasty treat </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span>This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit. </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop (recordings available) Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div></div><p></p>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-77893212726993317982021-01-16T21:19:00.001+13:002021-01-16T21:19:33.985+13:00Joyful January Day #17: Do Something Kind For Yourself <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Ranchers;"> Do Something Kind For Yourself </span></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpyJ-Ox8fUDD_vuGDZ_lhnFFHGc85WWLSrMWLDjcAhKaSzq1p9KRXjYZVMvucb2Da1PWbXzkUtDzsB5hQYC7GJdhQPp61MN8FW7RI3GAv-RJyuAJdVpeArJeL2M87rpKChrT2YhHrT6eQ/s2048/IMG_20201217_234142.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpyJ-Ox8fUDD_vuGDZ_lhnFFHGc85WWLSrMWLDjcAhKaSzq1p9KRXjYZVMvucb2Da1PWbXzkUtDzsB5hQYC7GJdhQPp61MN8FW7RI3GAv-RJyuAJdVpeArJeL2M87rpKChrT2YhHrT6eQ/s320/IMG_20201217_234142.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><blockquote data-animation-role="quote" style="background-color: white; border-left-width: 0px; color: #426783; font-family: calluna; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Self-care is not selfish or self-indulgent. We cannot nurture others from a dry well. We need to take care of our own needs first, so that we can give from our surplus, our abundance. When we nurture others from a place of fullness, we feel renewed instead of taken advantage of.</span></blockquote><figcaption class="source" style="background-color: white; color: #426783; font-family: calluna; font-size: 0.875em; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; opacity: 0.5; padding-top: 1em; text-align: center;">— Jennifer Louden</figcaption></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Lemonada;">You deserve kindness </span></h2><p>It is always a good idea to extend a little kindness to ourselves. As teachers (or educators) we are in a giving profession so filling ourselves up is actually really important. </p><p>How might you show a little kindness to yourself today? Here are some ideas to start off with... </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>go for a walk </li><li>spend a few minutes taking some deep breaths </li><li>slowly eat a favourite food and really savour the flavour </li><li>have a luxurious bath or shower </li><li>visit a beach, park, river or stream </li><li>do a little gardening </li><li>read a book </li><li>spend some time doing a hobby </li><li>get outside for some fresh air </li><li>say kind things to yourself </li><li>take yourself shopping </li><li>take yourself to the movies </li><li>go on an outing with people that make you smile </li><li>talk to a friend </li><li>gather or buy yourself some flowers </li><li>do some journaling </li><li>give yourself permission to do nothing for a while </li><li>have a nap if you need one </li><li>ask for help with a job or chore you need to do </li><li>paint your toenails or visit a beautician </li><li>meditate</li><li>go out for a coffee or a meal </li><li>dance </li><li>pray </li><li>play a game </li><li>visit a museum or art gallery (there are a number online now too!) </li><li>watch a funny video or TV programme or read some cartoons </li><li>serve yourself healthy food </li><li>drink lots of water </li><li>go to bed a little earlier </li><li>ask for a hug- having a 20 second hug is good for us! </li><li>have an adventure- go somewhere new or do something new </li><li>have a device free/screen free time </li><li>enjoy cooking a healthy meal </li><li>do a crossword or jigsaw puzzle <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4xTiGkaForQZUipEPIWBTumIpoPK_eDPYaw20hNQVEAU1qi-lzasUWqaXSCIwWawgY5fM4ZoBzhFH0JI-v6N_JwFYJFHkHy-QcpXEarPTwADWORly1HQZTzZ-Pcz1kXegFQ14xAkTR0/s2048/IMG_20201203_124739.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4xTiGkaForQZUipEPIWBTumIpoPK_eDPYaw20hNQVEAU1qi-lzasUWqaXSCIwWawgY5fM4ZoBzhFH0JI-v6N_JwFYJFHkHy-QcpXEarPTwADWORly1HQZTzZ-Pcz1kXegFQ14xAkTR0/w150-h200/IMG_20201203_124739.jpg" width="150" /></a></li></ul><p></p><p>This is by no means a definitive list! What would you add to it? The combination of things that bring us joy or makes us feel good is unique to us. Knowing what makes us feel good makes it easier for us to show kindness to ourselves, and then we are in a better place to show kindness to others too! </p><p>Whatever today brings I hope that there is space for you to do something kind just for you because you are worth it. </p><p><br /></p><p><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span>This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit. </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></p><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop (recordings available) Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div><p><br /></p>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-8446683875177879912021-01-15T23:24:00.000+13:002021-01-15T23:24:09.184+13:00Joyful January Day #16: Enjoy Your Food <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cherry Cream Soda;">Slow down and enjoy your food </span></h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2OZtvBE0dqXLGekXrnEc1MGlM8Hf14oEJY3i0HsRyCj2FZ0ns_vb_gRcTbriS77S8I_a0vVr-8KfQDwZravWKdaYzqJzySo2ur25q6_xqPkwHvvy1eUin8-e09u1ANxfapc6a_WbEhDM/s2048/IMG_20210109_130306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2OZtvBE0dqXLGekXrnEc1MGlM8Hf14oEJY3i0HsRyCj2FZ0ns_vb_gRcTbriS77S8I_a0vVr-8KfQDwZravWKdaYzqJzySo2ur25q6_xqPkwHvvy1eUin8-e09u1ANxfapc6a_WbEhDM/s320/IMG_20210109_130306.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Oh the colours and the flavours... it's making my mouth water just remembering eating this! <br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Fugaz One";"><span style="font-size: large;">Eat slowly and taste the difference </span></span></h3><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What are you thinking about as you sit to eat? Do you even sit to eat or do you tend to grab and go? When you eat are you focused on the meal or something else? Do you tend to eat slowly or quickly? </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial;">A number of years ago I travelled around a lot of schools for work and I noticed just how many people either ate on the move, wolfed their food down or ate while they worked. It didn't seem such a healthy way to enjoy food, more like ticking off just another thing to do. What happens when we slow down and enjoy our food a little more? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Digestion begins in the mouth so taking time to chew our food properly is more than just good manners, it is helping us start the process of breaking our food down so we can get the nutrients from it. Chewing our food also makes it easier for our stomach to do it's job, it reduces the stress on our digestive system. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">When we eat slowly, chewing and tasting our food, we get to appreciate the textures of the food and the different flavours. It actually helps us get more goodness from what we eat and we don't tend to overeat because we are tuned in to our body and the signals it is sending us. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Enjoying a meal by eating slowly is a way to show appreciation for the meal that has been prepared for us (even if it we were the chef!) and the ingredients that make up our meal. Sitting down to enjoy a meal also gives us the opportunity to take a break from the stream of thoughts and doing things. We all deserve a little break now and then. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I know when I eat slowly I enjoy the flavours more, I notice when I feel satisfied, I feel happier and healthier, and I make better decisions about the food I eat too. I also enjoy the company of those I am eating with as well. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Eating mindfully is just another way to help us tune in to our bodies and focus on nurturing (and nourishing) ourselves. What a great habit to start now, if you don't already, and keep going for the year. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>“Refrain from discussing subjects that can destroy your awareness of the people around you and the food. If someone is thinking about something other than the good food on the table, such as his difficulties in the office or with friends, it means he is losing the present moment and the food. You can help by returning his attention to the meal.”</i></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>― <span class="authorOrTitle" style="color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">Thich Nhat Hanh, </span><span id="quote_book_link_20763856"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/40096730" style="color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;">How to Eat</a></span></i></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><i style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><span>This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit. </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop (recordings available) Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</span></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div></div>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-66906846713888712462021-01-14T22:34:00.001+13:002021-01-14T22:34:33.417+13:00Joyful January Day #15: Send a note, letter or card to someone <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: McLaren;">Write a note or letter and send it </span></h1><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2Etg6TNQ6_bmzxD6a50vnNhvgJIWg8cgsO7CgLGMUhNSL5zYgkU9vY26dULpv0h1vzQRr3m2RxZCFFUVUkTxQh4yU5DMWHT7G3HXy0FMhKzSzHitQT6sN7T0VvUymIoiu6lVyrbrtKs/s2048/IMG_20210114_222108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2Etg6TNQ6_bmzxD6a50vnNhvgJIWg8cgsO7CgLGMUhNSL5zYgkU9vY26dULpv0h1vzQRr3m2RxZCFFUVUkTxQh4yU5DMWHT7G3HXy0FMhKzSzHitQT6sN7T0VvUymIoiu6lVyrbrtKs/s320/IMG_20210114_222108.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;">Do you remember the last time when you received a letter in the mail and it wasn't a bill or statement? How did it make you feel? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;">I know for me it makes my heart smile, it feels good to know that someone thought enough of me to take the time to write. I know it is old-fashioned but it's still a real treat. Even a friendly email or message that is unexpected is a welcome surprise. </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;">Our challenge today is to write a letter, note or card to someone you care about it and send it. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;">The other day I met a dear friend for lunch. She started our lunch by giving me a hug and thanking me for the value I have added to her life. It was a beautiful moment and one that has certainly left an impression on me. Having a friend who is dying has made her realise the importance of acknowledging the impact that others have made on her life while they are still here. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;">Who has added value to your life? </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;">Perhaps now is a good time to acknowledge them. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;">It feels good to do something kind for someone else, and there's a bit of a sparkle in knowing that you have put something out there and not know exactly when it will arrive. There is a sense of anticipation about how the intended person will feel and you might never know for sure so you can just enjoy the good feeling you get from imagining it being received positively. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;">Who will you write to today? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><span>This Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Restore your health, boost your wellbeing and embark on a happy healthy lifestyle for 2021</span></i></span><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i>That is exactly what the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit is all about. YOU having the knowledge, skills, support and most importantly the WHY to make your health, energy and vitality a priority for 2021 and beyond.</i></span></div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: times;"><i><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">22nd - 24th Jan with 17+ heart centred wellness experts and a 3 hour vision board online workshop (recordings available) Find out all the details here</span></i></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: McLaren;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</a><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></span></div>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524392125125258918.post-21408613106151547322021-01-13T20:24:00.000+13:002021-01-13T20:24:25.721+13:00Joyful January #Day 14: Top 10 Gratitude List <h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Boogaloo;">Write a gratitude list and share it! </span></h1><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcGhct7180tgQPYKcaHXTXbxD7cgJEo4eM2vWHF_GpJakBtMNkmMH7dw5kc8pQENuIumDCGlWXaD_sacyJXdkRPVhnC1b-HV3t2zWWtCUMNJOgP_GeNQ8AVaKNLN2PyOp0tHbcUbL0Ao/s2048/IMG_20181111_202251.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcGhct7180tgQPYKcaHXTXbxD7cgJEo4eM2vWHF_GpJakBtMNkmMH7dw5kc8pQENuIumDCGlWXaD_sacyJXdkRPVhnC1b-HV3t2zWWtCUMNJOgP_GeNQ8AVaKNLN2PyOp0tHbcUbL0Ao/w320-h240/IMG_20181111_202251.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Gratitude has such a great capacity to increase our joy through encouraging mindfulness, appreciating the moments in our lives. The more we focus on what we are grateful for the more we see how much we have to be grateful for. When we share our gratitude with others we can create good vibes where they might even feel more grateful and positive too! I belong to an online gratitude community where we share what we are grateful for each day, it is an uplifting space to be and the practice of sharing enhances our sense of gratitude. <div><br /></div><div>Knowing that we were going to have a gratitude challenge I took some time to flick through my photos folders and just let the gratitude flow. I thought I would share some of these just in case you were looking for inspiration or ideas (please note: they are in no particular order, just how they came out). You certainly don't need to go into the same depth as I have. Every night before I go to bed I write a gratitude list of up to about ten things, it is a lovely way to get ready to rest as it makes me acknowledge the good in my day even if it has been a tough one. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZGWk8ht79901UclH9Q41fkviikstymaMak5eEB0ZpvDNR0jFyOotJDOWKoh8Vd3lTO4Tz0Kx5Z5kZFGwWIDTCa72qv8Fh2JR8Alj7P6R4F2gFBtGL-AaoJMbY9hMRCh1nsXqHu8X-a8/s2048/IMG_20181209_163358.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZGWk8ht79901UclH9Q41fkviikstymaMak5eEB0ZpvDNR0jFyOotJDOWKoh8Vd3lTO4Tz0Kx5Z5kZFGwWIDTCa72qv8Fh2JR8Alj7P6R4F2gFBtGL-AaoJMbY9hMRCh1nsXqHu8X-a8/w200-h150/IMG_20181209_163358.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I am grateful for the beautiful world we live in. There is beauty in the wide vistas, there is beauty in the small things like a flower growing in an unexpected place. We are so blessed to live near beaches and rivers. I love the water, I am grateful for the way it cleanses me and soothes my soul. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKkZO-AVlVr5fGOEvS7lZbwoLWhIdrfUCR6NilzHsPvX3of_BFIpX4LKNn-oGqDuXEv5Swk8b_fruRWrqKfzW1g-etmItRSN6a7DnDoXIkKOQb9lYBsXsiuNd6yz9WaMARuSwuOTgGWqc/s2048/IMG_20190122_123057.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKkZO-AVlVr5fGOEvS7lZbwoLWhIdrfUCR6NilzHsPvX3of_BFIpX4LKNn-oGqDuXEv5Swk8b_fruRWrqKfzW1g-etmItRSN6a7DnDoXIkKOQb9lYBsXsiuNd6yz9WaMARuSwuOTgGWqc/w200-h150/IMG_20190122_123057.jpg" width="200" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">I am grateful for the rich Maori culture of Aotearoa (New Zealand). The more I learn the more I am proud to come from this country and the more I want to learn. The wisdom of our indigenous cultures where people and nature are entwined is as important now as ever. I am grateful for the kaiako/teachers I have had so far and those who share their knowledge so willingly. <span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbzbjDEbJFWeUmljjnQPfaRe9JzVJpvnBwJJ6rKTgjjxAuYOkNjqWfcZcEeQwv8ii__echbu3ZOi2BizHG-BuD_bvAVOmjGVbZJ_Ss12KQB9MEFSO5kjhwRKVYpsYvXX8txhcIm3hsXY/s2048/IMG_20190126_212953.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbzbjDEbJFWeUmljjnQPfaRe9JzVJpvnBwJJ6rKTgjjxAuYOkNjqWfcZcEeQwv8ii__echbu3ZOi2BizHG-BuD_bvAVOmjGVbZJ_Ss12KQB9MEFSO5kjhwRKVYpsYvXX8txhcIm3hsXY/w200-h150/IMG_20190126_212953.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8yXUXsn-vOGtK-udeqqjE3GQtpvctIev0g2DvqoLkRqrCLIWlPolvYEyU9aobYgTo2ex3t225_m6jZmu0bRPnEXlsw3aqIRwwxSHBVOVVzhsPmt3Smu7Fpd1vvogyi3hRX2gWiCVdNXg/s2048/IMG_20200611_075848.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8yXUXsn-vOGtK-udeqqjE3GQtpvctIev0g2DvqoLkRqrCLIWlPolvYEyU9aobYgTo2ex3t225_m6jZmu0bRPnEXlsw3aqIRwwxSHBVOVVzhsPmt3Smu7Fpd1vvogyi3hRX2gWiCVdNXg/w200-h150/IMG_20200611_075848.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am grateful for the beautiful big skies we get to enjoy from the back deck of our home. Isn't nature amazing? It sometimes takes my breath away. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFnYd49sluoDvc2ZwXKtIhjLqXWINmHsj460rVgzol-dV3azEU6OvZ1AHHgjvEw0hOZNJYt1xXAqh_apQOofWrUAYs-RkFha_4VGxXwwk7w0eq1YjOfymIPPsn1_u7zliW2H9nNn-0pFw/s2048/IMG_20190303_201541.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFnYd49sluoDvc2ZwXKtIhjLqXWINmHsj460rVgzol-dV3azEU6OvZ1AHHgjvEw0hOZNJYt1xXAqh_apQOofWrUAYs-RkFha_4VGxXwwk7w0eq1YjOfymIPPsn1_u7zliW2H9nNn-0pFw/w200-h150/IMG_20190303_201541.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />I am so grateful for the freedom to travel that I have had in the past and that we currently enjoy in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Going to different places can open our eyes to new ways of seeing and thinking, as well as present us with new appreciation for our own home too. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hOHF1WWLKWIvnTpdZSmAbL2Y9V77WzgHHWpVyqzH07cQDKTWWcrc6Qf5JglmCpX6iZvifTyhBw1gbS5gOYV6wYZL1ekyM_lANnWzwHmqLdTFOK7SKhx7JzYlJhCRNt2KPwbf5Rvhxvw/s1024/IMG_20190322_235911.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hOHF1WWLKWIvnTpdZSmAbL2Y9V77WzgHHWpVyqzH07cQDKTWWcrc6Qf5JglmCpX6iZvifTyhBw1gbS5gOYV6wYZL1ekyM_lANnWzwHmqLdTFOK7SKhx7JzYlJhCRNt2KPwbf5Rvhxvw/w200-h200/IMG_20190322_235911.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> </div><div>I am grateful for our furred and feathered kids at home. Some of our pets have been with us for a long time and all are treasured family members. They bring us much joy and comfort. We are lucky to have them happy and healthy for so long. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBriHNxrHeE79Q1pt_v_dZAYtxPiXbU9SBWjkoh8p1lCg5k0nLLYORr5a8ulp7CiHD0p2eiVJfSo5sbhG8FDD7CyYbSs5FDVW3b_JgPDS2eXpqtPuNrpUOmq_TfHipg5bq6gsAxh4hE8/s2048/IMG_20200502_203300.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBriHNxrHeE79Q1pt_v_dZAYtxPiXbU9SBWjkoh8p1lCg5k0nLLYORr5a8ulp7CiHD0p2eiVJfSo5sbhG8FDD7CyYbSs5FDVW3b_JgPDS2eXpqtPuNrpUOmq_TfHipg5bq6gsAxh4hE8/w200-h150/IMG_20200502_203300.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlohdHqmvfl6yArx6UMfPyfqNvI7JuyhPyiUolNVF77PhZigMVvEI859KiiS7tcBXh-rF5DCzf3d4Tc2xXLF7INPtkd_mRsnYvkoGfZu0Cc0kjyC-mUwL6Keodgx5n9mkQRyZ2r4fT0E/s2048/IMG_20190524_094534.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlohdHqmvfl6yArx6UMfPyfqNvI7JuyhPyiUolNVF77PhZigMVvEI859KiiS7tcBXh-rF5DCzf3d4Tc2xXLF7INPtkd_mRsnYvkoGfZu0Cc0kjyC-mUwL6Keodgx5n9mkQRyZ2r4fT0E/w200-h150/IMG_20190524_094534.jpg" width="200" /></a><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQ3wyoESEsFrXG6dTC7mcDXPaA1VE8Il1F78QQtynyIS57rgg5TMUzu-wUmFo7EkVMHaJg9Y9aOeICkeZGrzz23-Cx4S88KssASpRO3YG6q-1cV9nMnFRgZIBGOkQ9UYaFglRl7f6q8E/w200-h150/IMG_20191109_160639.jpg" width="200" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_893abXiKEV6P13h1bYbR4VuFTPDHHc3g4QKTYwAWq-S3WDgBDtfkO0ZQfrz7mhVs9S5ky9bhJ9tbRkCfr9uIVNOh45dxr-0V-l0U0bX12IDdX9xRbZGclyHhtPTVm5a12Q7E8aQk3WI/s2048/IMG_20201115_103555.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_893abXiKEV6P13h1bYbR4VuFTPDHHc3g4QKTYwAWq-S3WDgBDtfkO0ZQfrz7mhVs9S5ky9bhJ9tbRkCfr9uIVNOh45dxr-0V-l0U0bX12IDdX9xRbZGclyHhtPTVm5a12Q7E8aQk3WI/w200-h150/IMG_20201115_103555.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh58vHO1O8NSiF00-XGW8RUHJbUcbSigi1zq6p5IXxAqD9RLxPjgY-0THsXVIB9ICcxT8qSjF-lzBi0pzNukX51FLr1r_TfEPTqdtYlQj4lEgOdA70q-JBBY7025iv4XMjDG1LljNEUvc/s2048/IMG_20190330_133519.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh58vHO1O8NSiF00-XGW8RUHJbUcbSigi1zq6p5IXxAqD9RLxPjgY-0THsXVIB9ICcxT8qSjF-lzBi0pzNukX51FLr1r_TfEPTqdtYlQj4lEgOdA70q-JBBY7025iv4XMjDG1LljNEUvc/w200-h150/IMG_20190330_133519.jpg" width="200" /></a></div></div><div>I am grateful for the town I grew up in. It has shaped me in so many ways. It was a small town where everyone knew everyone else. I have so many happy memories (and not-so-happy ones). These trees were my favourite place to climb up and read books. I am grateful for the bar-be-ques we had under these trees. I am grateful for the model my parents were to me and how much they loved me the way I needed to be loved no matter what was going on in their lives or how rotten I was- unconditional love in action right there! </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSKuo_ioHyW8-V9X5S7C4FzrCAnk_a32uoCjF-gRKCgMQUkcMyEpZqRyALjTaPfom89LSf86RyL50vamTH_PuFN6YiZ4tGS1-vLcabVg-9xS-E9xlKEXOKltY6I_zfoF0yW4Fxq0FArA/s2048/TS_1561609046833.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1555" data-original-width="2048" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSKuo_ioHyW8-V9X5S7C4FzrCAnk_a32uoCjF-gRKCgMQUkcMyEpZqRyALjTaPfom89LSf86RyL50vamTH_PuFN6YiZ4tGS1-vLcabVg-9xS-E9xlKEXOKltY6I_zfoF0yW4Fxq0FArA/w200-h152/TS_1561609046833.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMi8fyKTkfgQaGfrqc8a-Y7t9Aw_i3JvrfSNQDGPAHcdQKJTzFS7ebK9uK9Y74rToaNgqqwXLmFcDaMv4MUld0J58efEYT8Z59k2J91w0c4dCFCooPSLow8BG1kQdpxPDH6OC3hfqD5FE/s2048/IMG_20190430_143647.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMi8fyKTkfgQaGfrqc8a-Y7t9Aw_i3JvrfSNQDGPAHcdQKJTzFS7ebK9uK9Y74rToaNgqqwXLmFcDaMv4MUld0J58efEYT8Z59k2J91w0c4dCFCooPSLow8BG1kQdpxPDH6OC3hfqD5FE/w200-h150/IMG_20190430_143647.jpg" width="200" /></a> </div><div>I am grateful for the work I do. It can be messy and challenging and fun and ever-changing. I love that the work that I do is varied and changes like the seasons. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to share my learning with others. I am grateful that I get to work with so many different people in so many different ways and at the heart of it all is a desire to make a difference in the lives of others. </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibajtOewivbYMuv6fnKZh-aQXpf3AXcSdi16GkB1-WNQ7wxK1DcXrxBTBiWRmP0IvsGjT0oCcp_w5ObnfSl7Q6EE14Pv_E3avMnuZcd5bEcku4wf7MNUzP_fWeEJ3YwzNxSUv0oYO5SH0/s2048/IMG_20190716_140048.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibajtOewivbYMuv6fnKZh-aQXpf3AXcSdi16GkB1-WNQ7wxK1DcXrxBTBiWRmP0IvsGjT0oCcp_w5ObnfSl7Q6EE14Pv_E3avMnuZcd5bEcku4wf7MNUzP_fWeEJ3YwzNxSUv0oYO5SH0/w200-h150/IMG_20190716_140048.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwRAGd3tH21dG9NIkS41Buuhbb6fBCW3Nr1RrF4-nuz2FKNAZggd9iEoD2HMqEDVBnmdLiBMZvndVBv6CFpu1gqw7OsN1pdZbPoIgmGip3DoShGPtzWu3mRcVS-16A5ogKv7MKkG9E2WM/s2048/IMG_20190330_141009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwRAGd3tH21dG9NIkS41Buuhbb6fBCW3Nr1RrF4-nuz2FKNAZggd9iEoD2HMqEDVBnmdLiBMZvndVBv6CFpu1gqw7OsN1pdZbPoIgmGip3DoShGPtzWu3mRcVS-16A5ogKv7MKkG9E2WM/w200-h150/IMG_20190330_141009.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am grateful for my little family. We have lovely times and have shared many beautiful memories. I am grateful for the way that we are working together to map a positive future together. I am grateful for the way my husband cares for our boy and my mum as well as how he tries hard to look out for me. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81NYoMUvxGAP856G1YTNZZ_vW6zUL0Pr319g1FujSgrVqbaru-jFRUKbuyeGFL8oTh403cWBYtTM7FaD9dGb6U85kKxcjTadDxTIyNhPFdfH-m1ahFt9-neYwqCv0CxNC6e29C5-mQzg/s2048/IMG_20190628_170640.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81NYoMUvxGAP856G1YTNZZ_vW6zUL0Pr319g1FujSgrVqbaru-jFRUKbuyeGFL8oTh403cWBYtTM7FaD9dGb6U85kKxcjTadDxTIyNhPFdfH-m1ahFt9-neYwqCv0CxNC6e29C5-mQzg/w200-h150/IMG_20190628_170640.jpg" width="200" /></a></div></div>I am grateful that I got to be a mum. </div><div>I am grateful that this kid shares his goofy mum with others. </div><div>I am grateful that we share a love of reading. </div><div>I am grateful that he shares his wisdom, ideas and dreams with me. </div><div>I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to be his teacher. </div><div>I am grateful that he inspires me to be a better person every day. </div><div>I am grateful that he loves me and forgives me so readily. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAw2zJ_oUDYlwJSC0k4n4USmgf2hBvNU36_8ezbhAb0WuH8Ve3YgT_H72AQu_okSRUqxL0JWxQp-ZgAjicSxXp9olc-z2667IVaq74GpbW-lE9DA_rBPC_61VlrRS8D2Dv5LGZGQty4w/s2048/IMG_20200214_155353.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAw2zJ_oUDYlwJSC0k4n4USmgf2hBvNU36_8ezbhAb0WuH8Ve3YgT_H72AQu_okSRUqxL0JWxQp-ZgAjicSxXp9olc-z2667IVaq74GpbW-lE9DA_rBPC_61VlrRS8D2Dv5LGZGQty4w/w200-h150/IMG_20200214_155353.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi9AXhSHZEwIuJILXEn-xIkHV9JGnKAfS54Am-Lb0wb0mJ7oGw9zH8MsrpcFNnanEZvj1A2qjJwNNR-HNW9Qg1iwthrSDUiIiGqQ63NuSLP8x-7VaLbREwpVGdf6K82gHT3Cl7X5mYE0k/s2048/IMG_20200815_211616.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi9AXhSHZEwIuJILXEn-xIkHV9JGnKAfS54Am-Lb0wb0mJ7oGw9zH8MsrpcFNnanEZvj1A2qjJwNNR-HNW9Qg1iwthrSDUiIiGqQ63NuSLP8x-7VaLbREwpVGdf6K82gHT3Cl7X5mYE0k/w200-h150/IMG_20200815_211616.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I am grateful for books and to the authors who write these books. I am grateful to have the opportunity to share my love for books with others. There are books for every season and reason. I am grateful for my book angels who lead me to the right book just when I need it. </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDKmNFCxi-pundEyquBQ8gMt1VoJ0Ul1eRr3uvco5-5RnAzNad_ME4GDkzBckF9m2VDwbA0nPWjgcH2AKb2F_YeS26zkAhwBi4EayOjQCAdPh6AO3xgetdKmCofkablcIdAq4_4P1e8c/w200-h150/IMG_20190629_154326.jpg" width="200" /></div></div><div>I am grateful for blue sky days that promise long fabulous days full of good things. They bring me hope. It makes me want to be outside getting stuff done or have some adventures. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3wwi1K0K6jxTOTArRN03ndvy3ok7IPJ6VvISNFvJDVKsjuJ4zBFux2liFnpQrxSCCVXttp3Xb6fdyWA-j9XD4KLUkwzSmqDSXCk3b1w5KWk_bjIl2rzqxK9OytaJ9fW8WFcGUj72l60/s2048/IMG_20200804_195709.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3wwi1K0K6jxTOTArRN03ndvy3ok7IPJ6VvISNFvJDVKsjuJ4zBFux2liFnpQrxSCCVXttp3Xb6fdyWA-j9XD4KLUkwzSmqDSXCk3b1w5KWk_bjIl2rzqxK9OytaJ9fW8WFcGUj72l60/w200-h150/IMG_20200804_195709.jpg" width="200" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div>I am grateful for the moon. There is something magical about the moon. I love seeing the moon change over the month, she shows that we all have times when we feel full and others when we are more empty, she shows us that change is part of life. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lmuSsFWLlj55uGzsvoCAt26Gb7VDmfbB_WKo3AJkbYQpABkS9aZjXmlbRSODLzRwwx4AtS3l54ww6MQ_Q5rc3oxv5rr799ZiXN9q1n7g-omEAQr6lvjefTS8KiPaVNaRdlsm3lXTaGc/s2048/IMG_20200912_170911.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lmuSsFWLlj55uGzsvoCAt26Gb7VDmfbB_WKo3AJkbYQpABkS9aZjXmlbRSODLzRwwx4AtS3l54ww6MQ_Q5rc3oxv5rr799ZiXN9q1n7g-omEAQr6lvjefTS8KiPaVNaRdlsm3lXTaGc/s320/IMG_20200912_170911.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-family: Cherry Cream Soda;">Pause for a moment and soak in the gratitude you can feel right now. Ahhhhhh... </span></b></i></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div><span style="font-family: Love Ya Like A Sister;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/s840/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="840" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnCk2qsrvLKppPVasAK8ri4i3AOi1XDERT0SGgGEcYX90MTG3UIEVYT_a7qnv7B2ZVv1fa5J3-sLI0-yVq61pDjVjcNnxg09n_IXQ8hzNRkJwG1f3-O__baXlyM1xEWAmQJZESC8zvwU/w400-h282/HHTM+Joyful+January.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/HHTM-31-Days-of-Joyful-January.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gLJ_vMRGH6PeroTzXxyuvrzyXCZx2UmXlcQq9QCzBMWNOyxq4ly7IEp4" target="_blank">Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #800180;">The Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit. This is an opportunity to start your year with tips, tools and techniques to ensure you have the health, energy and vitality to beat the end of term slump and fatigue, and be the best version of yourself all year long. For more information</span> <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">please follow this link</a>: <a href="https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/" target="_blank">https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/ </a></i></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>Meg Gallagherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18114635025724606468noreply@blogger.com0