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So here we are again, in 2024! Another festive season draws to a close. It’s time to prepare to return to the routines of life…

The view from my window today, 2nd January, is not a pretty sight to be honest.

We are in the middle of another named storm, today’s one is named ‘Storm Henk’.

Everything in the street where I live is being blown around at speeds of around 40 mph as I write….

Which has given me the inspiration to write this month’s blog on storms, well, not ones that are caused by the weather front anyway. The storms I am going to talk about are the storms of life.

What do I mean by this?

So, you’re getting along fine with your husband, wife, or partner, all is going well at work, kids are settled.

You’re feeling well and in good health, you go for a run every day.

Money is tight, but not too tight that you can’t afford to treat yourself and the family now and again.

You may think that all is well and you’re sailing along the river of life very nicely, thanks!

Out of the blue, though, clouds begin to gather on the horizon.

This then turns into something a bit darker, when the clouds build up, and the wind picks up.

All of a sudden, there is bad news. You find out that your child has been involved in a crime and has been arrested.

You’re angry, confused, scared, bewildered. Asking yourself where you went wrong as a parent.

You notice yourself withdrawing from other people, and you no longer have the energy to go for a run.

Before you know it, you’re in the eye of the storm.

Where’s your safe place? How do you stop yourself from becoming blown around at 40 miles per hour?

There’s something very important to remember about being in a storm-

It passes.

It’s about making sure you have a good strong anchor to keep you grounded while the storm rages around you.

Your anchor might look like talking things through with your husband, wife or partner, or a trusted friend or work colleague.

Or booking yourself in some sessions to offload with a counsellor, and get some tools to help you to ground yourself and keep that anchor firmly fixed.

Your anchor might look like making sure you’re eating properly.

Your anchor might look like making time to take a 5 minute walk in the fresh air.

Whatever your anchor might look like, make sure it’s in good working order as you never know when you might need it..

Remember, your storm will pass..

Now, I’d best go out and retrieve my bin that I have just seen blow all the way into the neighbour’s garden…

Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash

What do you think of this picture?

What are the thoughts that immediately spring to mind when you see a pile of rubbish like this, littered all over the path?

Are you thinking ‘what a mess!’ or ‘who would actually do that?’ or ‘about time the Council picked all that lot up!’

Maybe you might be thinking something completely different?

I confess that I am a bit of a tidy freak, so looking at this picture makes me very twitchy indeed….

It struck me when I looked at this picture, that our minds can also become a dumping ground for thoughts that are no use to us. Maybe someone has said something that hurt us, or we feel annoyed about a situation, or we have read or watched something that has stuck in our mind and it is triggering some anxious or stressful thoughts?

Sometimes, my mind gets full of ‘rubbish’, or ‘litter’, and my thoughts then get jumbled up and my mood changes, not straight away, but it sort of creeps up on me, a bit like the rubbish bin at home, you throw away rubbish until you suddenly realise it needs emptying..

So, I ask you, what’s littering your life?

What thoughts and images are you holding in your mind that are eating away at your peace, and triggering stress and anxiety to spill out into your life, changing your mood and leaving you feeling, well, rubbish?

Would you like to know how to get rid of the litter in your mind, the litter that is beginning to pile up and take up too much of your valuable space?

I’d like to share a tip with you that may help you to get rid of the litter in your mind, so that you begin to think clearly again and feel lighter and freer.

This is something that I like to do when I feel that my bin is overflowing.. This takes me 5-10 minutes.

1. Stop. Go somewhere that you can be alone. Sit. Put your phone out of sight and on silent.
2. Close your eyes and imagine that whatever the thought that is stressing you, or upsetting you, or causing you to feel anxious, is a piece of litter.
3. Imagine yourself screwing that piece of litter up, and when you have gone through your thoughts, turned them into litter and thrown them away, imagine yourself tying up the sack and putting the sack containing all the rubbish into a skip.
4. Slowly open your eyes, and as you do this, notice how your body is feeling. Notice how your feet are planted on the floor, notice your posture, notice your muscles, are they tense? relaxed?
5. Take 5 deep breaths, breathe in through your nose-smell the roses. Breathe out through your mouth-blow out the candle.

When you are ready, stand up, and go back to wherever you were before. Remember that you are in control of how much rubbish you want to keep, or get rid of.

The choice is yours.