Jo Blogs #7 - Finding the Magic

Goodness, life can change in the blink of an eye and mine certainly has!

We moved away from our mountain idyll in February and swapped it for a life on the beach. I remember saying as we were moving stuff in, "I think I'll be alright here, won't I" but even I could hear the worry in my voice. You know when you get a feeling that something just isn't going to work for you? Don't get me wrong, it was a nice house with a pool and near the beach - I mean, I LOVE swimming so this should have worked for me, right? But somehow and for various reasons, it didn't.

10 weeks after moving, I am back in the UK with a broken foot (long story involving, inevitably, the ubiquitous scooter), on my own and looking for a job.

A bit of an upheaval but what can I say? Sometimes, life doesn't turn out how you expected.

For a couple of reasons, I was lucky enough to spend a few days with friends in the tranquility of the mountains before the long drive back to the UK and it might just have been life changing; in what I thought was the wreckage of my life, I might just have found salvation through a book, The Magic.

It's a self help book. I am not sure how you all feel about those but I have never rated them maybe because I never needed one before. Possibly due to my frame of mind at the time I started reading, the ethos behind the book resonated with me and so, instead of wallowing in self pity which would have been easy to do, I began to be grateful for all the things that I have in my life. I write down 10 of those things every morning now, concentrating for a few moments on each thought and consciously giving thanks. It might be thankfulness for a person or for being able to do a particular activity. Anything, no matter how small, that makes your life better.

It helped. So I haven't stopped. Every day, without fail, first thing in the morning, I write down things that for which I am grateful. Thinking of reasons why my life is good, even when it was falling apart around me, frames my thoughts for the rest of day. I start each day with a smile and feeling happy and that becomes a hard habit to break. And every night, just before I go to sleep, I think about the day and say thank you for the one single thing that was best about my day.

If you think it isn't for you, listen to Sincerely, X on Audible; listen to the first speaker and how powerful she is. I am not sure if she has read the book but she is certainly using the Magic.

So, I will let you know how it goes. In the meantime, I will crack on with my life with a smile only now, instead of blogging about living off grid and life in Spain, you will be hearing a lot more about swimming in freezing cold English lakes and the National Trust.

I am grateful to all of you who have read this blog because sharing happiness makes me feel good. (You know that's going on my list in the morning!)

Have an awesome day x