When I look back to this time last year it's difficult to remember exactly what that normality felt like. In early March we had yet to enter into the first national lockdown and my life was packed full of plans. Plans for my business, plans with family and friends, plans for holidays and birthdays, plans for life. Spring was just around the corner, a time for renewal, a time for action a time for hope.
One year on and I've been reflecting on the months in between, the pressures that they brought and the ways in which our lives changed. I can't count the number of mornings during the last twelve months that I've woken with a sense of creeping anxiety, not specific to one thing or another, just there in the background. One thing is quite clear to me when I look back. Aside from family and friends, the things that I turned to to help me get through those months and those feelings weren't possessions or objects. The simple things in life were the things that made a difference and that got me through the hard times.
Walking - I've walked or run almost every day since 23rd March last year. I've always believed that walking is beneficial on so many levels, for physical and for mental health. A walk and a chat with a good friend can turn the day around. In the early days getting outside in the fresh air and putting one foot in front of the other helped me to process the strangeness and the anxiety of the new normal. It allowed me the time and space to work through worries and to soften overwhelming emotions. There were days when I would have to drag myself out of the house, but without fail, once I got started I never regretted a walk and always felt significantly better when it was finished. I got to explore far more of my local area than I ever would have done otherwise and I remain so grateful for the beautiful countryside that surrounds my home town. I continue to walk almost every day and it has to be particularly foul weather to stop me from setting out.
Experimenting in the kitchen - I got back to a bit of creativity and fun in the kitchen, searching out new recipes to try. I also returned to bread making by hand. There is little better than warm bread fresh from the oven and I found the process of making it particularly soothing. From the simple ingredients, to the repetitive motion of kneading until the dough comes together, to the magic that takes place behind the closed door of the airing cupboard as it rises, I love everything about bread making.
Organisation - As a professional organiser this is part and parcel of my day to day working life which I love, but I also find the process of organisation and simplification so comforting in my own home. If I'm stuck in a low mood or I don't know how to move forward I will set to organising something, decluttering something or tidying something. From emptying and checking the contents of the freezer and forming meal plans, to resorting and decluttering all the books on the bookshelf to cleaning out the greenhouse in preparation for planting, I find the process and the end results so calming and therapeutic.
The last twelve months, while difficult on so many levels, have allowed me to really focus in on what's important and what's not. A focus that I hope to be able to carry into the next twelve months. One year on and spring is here again. A time for renewal, a time for action a time for hope.
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