Loving and Living in a Yurt

Tonight i can see beautiful things. For some reason i woke today with a buzz. Maybe it was allowing myself to sleep for 12 hours after a week of interrupted sleeping or maybe it was the meditation i did before bed listening to rain pouring (via spotify as i didn't have the luxury in this reality) and imagining warm evenings sitting with my feet up and reading a good book, who knows. It's been a positive buzz which has benefited my entire day.  Ive been organised, felt confident and best of all been inspired all day. 

Id like to dedicate this post to my love of yurts. For those of you who may not have come across this word here's a brief explanation; a yurt is a large tent like structure. More permanent than a tent a yurt tends to have wooden post on the inside or some sort of wooden/plastic/metal fencing to keep it in shape. This makes the structure incredibly strong. Yurts will usually have a wood burning stove inside for warmth and cooking. They can be used for holidaying or even living in. This summer my partner and i jumped in our camper van and visited his families land in the west coast of Scotland. We spent one of our nights in the yurt on their land and boy did i love it. Here are some pictures we took:

It got me thinking...wouldn't it just be lovely to live in yurt. It's atmosphere is cosy and warm. It encourages you to keep your belongings to a minimum and it offers an easy doorway to nature. Another major benefit of a yurt is how inexpensive it is compared to your average three bedroomed house and extremely eco-friendly. At some point in my life i will live in a yurt.

 

I wondered if this type of life could work with a family so i clicked around for someone living and loving the world of yurts and family life. I found this Three Joyful Pixies Blog. I'm hooked. I have a deep issue with this cultures way of promoting isolation and wish more people would live in smaller communities, maybe yurts, live off the land, be kinder to themselves and the earth and get that essence of community back. 

So what now. Now i explore and listen to my soul when it connects to ideas. Eventually ill be taking myself to New Zealand where I'm going to explore such communities and see what i can learn from them.

Love from this joyful pixie

xxx

Pick Your Pace and Let Curiosity flow

textured tree in the Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh

 Something i am reminding myself of daily at the moment is that the pace i pick is ok. Often i would do to much (or stress about not doing enough) with my time and get too worn out. I know my own pace and i know it varies from sometimes staying in a lot and being creative to sometimes being out a lot and very sociable. For me it all depends on where my moon cycle (menstrual cycle) is at and how deeply i retreated within myself for healing around the time i bled. Ive noticed i have less inspiration to make things happen or indulge in creative projects if i ignore the processing so needed to be done when bleeding. When im not stressed or worn out my curiosity feels heightened. I meet more interesting people, create more and have a general sense of being able to accomplish anything.

summer 2010 during secret grove project

I love following my curiosity because it takes me to such interesting places (within myself and outside myself) that i know i wouldn't discover otherwise. I always learn something valid and am flooding with new sense of gratitude. This week while taking some time to appreciate things i got an amazing sense of accomplishment for my growth over the past two years (i will post about this in my next post). The switch in perspective informed me that what i do is worthwhile, meaningful and has the potential to grow into something beautiful. Right now i feel a bit like a seedling...fresh, new and full of curiosity. The magnificent tree that will be my life eventually is making its roots and growing its leaves.

This week take a moment to tell yourself that what you do is not only enough, it is amazing.

Love and other warm things

xxx

Winter Loveliness

yummy oat biscuit

 This December we spent a lot of time indoors making the most of our cosy house. Some days it was nice to play i the snow then come home have a hot cup of tea and watch a film with flatmates and friends. I live in a communal house and it's lovely when we all gather and cook and meal. Some evenings after dinner we get that urge for something sweet and being particular about not having any refined sugar its not always easy. My partner has perfected the art of oat biscuity cake. It's delicious and massively indulgent. We tend to put in fruit and a bit of honey to sweeten it.

One particular evening i was hidden away in my den knitting when my flatmates came through and told me they had been making snow mushrooms. It felt like i was walking into a winter wonderland as i strolled into our back garden. I love it when i suddenly get a glimpse of magic. It fills my heart full of warmth and i get a big urge to create.

snow mushrooms

In the lead up the Christmas there was a lot of lovely evenings at my local vegetarian cafe/art collective The Forest Cafe. I've been volunteering at the forest for about a year and a half now and i love being part of the community. When it gets closer to Christmas the place gets very folky and becomes a great venue and dance your bottom off. We are currently working hard to keep The Forest from closing by fundraising to buy the building. If your interested in finding out more about that you can read about it on the Forest Cafe Website

forest cafe

Over the festive period i had flu. Ive only ever had flu once before so it felt a big shock to my system. I don't take any artificial chemicals so it was a purley natural healing process for me. Herbal tea kept me going when i couldn't eat, had a sore throat and was coughing the night away. Thank you herbs! After about 2 weeks of rest and healing i popped up out of poorly land and entered creative mode just in time for New Year. As im not much of a party animal (in the British sense) it was lovely to be at a quiet house party and watching fireworks on New Year. I also didn't stay up all night which my body thanked me for the next day when i woke up before the daylight faded. 

Since entering the New Year i have had a gentle buzz of excitement inside. Ive been planning in my head some projects that can begin this month and adventures that can happen later on in the year. Lets see what 2011 has in store.

Lots of new energy for an opportunity to replenish.

LOVE x