I hope you’ve enjoyed the recent festive days, however they were this year.
Our plans changed when half the family had flu – so mine was mostly spent looking after others, in between eating cheese…
Maybe yours was busy & noisy, full of joyful chaos, but without a minute to yourself?
Sometimes the only moment of peace you get is by going to the smallest room in your home, and shutting the door on the world.
In a cafe recently I saw a poster about ‘Toilet Twinning’, which stated that 1 in 3 people around the world do not have access to a safe and hygienic toilet.
I had to read it again.
1 in 3 people around the world do not have access to a safe and hygienic toilet.
Something so simple, that we often take for granted, being able to pop to the toilet whenever you need to.
Unless you’re stuck on the M6 in stationary traffic for hours.
Or if your 3 yr old decided their cuddly crocodile wanted to swim along the U bend.
Or if you’re on a crowded train and the toilet door has that dreaded sign saying ‘Out Of Order.’
Whether you’re George Clooney, Madonna or Oprah Winfrey, when you’ve got to go… you’ve got to go!
I now have a new appreciation for access to a toilet.
Perhaps after staying with family over Christmas, where 19 of you might be queueing for the same loo, it’s a luxury to get home!.
A Gratitude Practice is a good habit for a New Year. Just notice a few simple things you’re grateful for each day. That’s it, pretty much.
As you notice the little things you appreciate in life, the easier it becomes to find more of them to be grateful for.
You can even try doing an ‘A – Z of Gratitude’, a useful technique when insomnia strikes and your mind gets stuck in endless worry loops. (I’m grateful Armadillos exist, what amazing creatures beginning with A…)
By calmly turning your attention to some positive things, it helps to balance alongside the difficult stuff that we all face in life.
Try it when you’re brushing your teeth before bed, or when you put the kettle on for a cuppa. Having a regular time or place helps to anchor a habit. Or you may prefer to write them in a notebook by your bed.
January can be a time of New Year Resolutions that are harsh, and hard to maintain. I used to spend 31st December wolfing down all the chocolate, determined that I’d give it up for the next year, and somehow manage 365 days chocolate free.
As if!
Finally I wised up, and instead of dramatic restrictive resolutions, I opt for tiny nudges. Like choosing dark chocolate instead, which has less sugar and usually lasts longer.
And a Gratitude Practice is an old favourite, always worth returning to.
Some people use an empty jar and from 1st January, write down something each day to appreciate, and then stash the scraps of paper in the jar.
At tough times, you can take a few moments to delve into your Gratitude Jar, and reread some things you’re grateful for.
You could even take the jar into the smallest room in the house, if that’s the only place you have a few moments of peace and quiet.
Maybe that’s the first thing to note down – gratitude that you have access to a safe and hygienic toilet, so you can wee in peace in 2025!
I’m off to wash up an empty peanut butter jar, to be transformed into a Gratitude Jar… and sending you my best wishes for the New Year.
Thanks to Simon Arthur at Unsplash for the photo of an outdoor toilet with a fabulous view…