Breaking a habit. Talking about my joys.

A little bonus challenge

I woke up this morning to find this little beauty on my Facebook newsfeed, courtesy of Loveable. I can acknowledge that this is a terrible habit of mine; it's too easy to chew somebody's ear off about problems in relationships, work, health, weather...the list goes on! So, I thought I would take on the challenge and celebrate some of the little joys I've experienced over the last week:

1. Perfectly poached eggs: Is there anything better than going out for brekky and gently cutting into your poached eggs to discover they have been perfectly cooked? The beautiful golden yolk oozes over your plate and soaks into the toast, making the perfect start to your day. If you share this view I highly recommend the eggs florentine at L!fe Shoreditch on the very cool Brick Lane, which is where I brunched on Sunday morning.

2. Snow!: It has been unseasonably cold in London lately (so I'm told), and I'm in the vast minority of people who actually gets elated when it snows here. On Saturday morning I found myself waking up with the excitement of a child on Christmas because snow was forecast. I ran to the window of my apartment and wanted to wake the whole house so that they could come and watch the beautiful, dusty flakes falling from the sky too. The novelty has definitely not warn off yet and I really don't think it will any time soon!

3. Having family around: My cousin is visiting from Australia at the moment and it has been lovely having him here and showing him where I live. It's always special to have somebody around who loves you unconditionally however, I think I appreciate it a lot more when I am so far away from home. The fact that he brought Vegemite and Tim Tams doesn't hurt either...

4. Dancing like nobody's watching: I'm currently working in a primary school and on Monday we celebrated the retirement of a teacher with an assembly. As I was walking with the kids back to class they played Dancing in the Street over the speakers. It was a great moment when one of my year 5s and I made eye contact and simultaneously broke into dance, putting a permanent smile on my face for the rest of the day.

Lessons to be learnt from Disney

Challenge 3: Explore, travel, wander

 

In light of challenge number 3, I have been thoroughly enjoying exploring my new city. This evening I took a trip into gorgeous Covent Garden to see The Lion King with some friends visiting from New York. The show was absolutely magical; the sets and costumes instantly transported you to the African savannah and the music had me singing all the way home (I looked around to make sure there were no witnesses first!)

One thing did strike me about the story that I definitely didn't appreciate as a child; the notion of running away from your past. Simba ran away from the death of his father to a care-free life in the jungle with Timon and Pumba-Hakuna Matata! No worries for the rest of your days! Eventually, his past caught up with him and as wise old Rafiki told him, 'You can either run from your past or you can learn from it'.

I couldn't help but notice a few parallels to what I' doing. Sure, my problems weren't as severe as my father dying in a stampede while trying to rescue me as part of an evil scheme plotted by my uncle...but I, like Simba, am benefitting from a bit of time with 'no rules, no responsibilities!' I know that one day I'll have to return home too (hopefully not to the demise of my Uncle), but until then Hakuna Matata! 

In search of the far better things

In the middle of 2012 I was confused about life as it was; I was doubting my choice to study psychology, I wasn't really sure about my relationship and as a result, was having a hard time at work. So I got online, bought myself an airline ticket and took the opportunity to run away to London. Maybe it wasn't quite as simple as that, but essentially that is how I ended up here.
The day before I left one of my best friends gave me three beautiful cards to read on the flight over, one of which was the inspiration for this blog. It quoted C.S Lewis and said "There are far better things ahead than we leave behind" and inside set me a number of challenges for my year abroad:

1. Build a snowman

2. Karaoke

3. Go on lots of day/weekend/many day trips (don't stay in the same place, explore, travel, wander)

4. Introduce yourself to EVERYONE (they could be your new best friend/future husband)

In her wise words she told me, "These are the 'better things' that lie ahead of you, and that's not to say things here aren't wonderful too. The not so good things can be forgotten in new excitement and the good things will all be waiting for you when you get back!"

I fully intend to tick off all of those challenges (and maybe a few of my own) and document them here. Consider it my own quirky 'Eat, Pray, Love'...I haven't actually read it but I imagine it's kind of like this! x