Changing the way you look
Ever heard that phrase '' when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change''?
If you have, I hope this post will act as a reminder. And if you haven't? Well, then I hope that within these next

few moments, you will allow us the time and space to explore what might just bring about a quiet energetic whirlwind in the way that you interact with the world around you.
Let's start at the beginning. First of all, what do these words actually mean. When I change the way I look at things, the things I'm looking at change. So, are you saying that if I'm looking at a pile of last night's washing up, I can turn it into a new car just by squinting at it for long enough?! Let's look at the scenario.
The thing that's bothering you the most right now is yesterday's washing up? How come you didn't do it last night then? Because you were too tired. Ok, so why were you tired? Because you'd been working till late, then spent your evening running round doing other chores, finally realising it must be time for bed when you noticed you could happily doze off sitting on the toilet!
Now, hopefully at this point you prioritised sleep and got a good rest at least. But now today is now already on a roll and you're having all manner of feelings when faced with even more washing up now than you would have had to do last night (sigh). So how do we look at this? What do you do next?
it's already a mess, you might as well just act like it's not there and find something better to do? Plus, make a mental note to buy paper plates next time you're at the supermarket.
walk past the offending pile several times whilst doing other things. Try to ignore it but feel guilt every time you see it and hope no-one pops round unexpectedly, judges you for your shabbiness and reports you to some kind of authority.
do it in a bad mood, as quickly as you can, making lots of noise. chipping a few bits of crockery to impress your distain at the whole arrangement and drenching your outfit in the process so you also have to fit getting changed into the mix before you can leave the blooming house (grrr)
Sound familiar? You could try all of those. You may already have done so many times!
Or (she ventures tentatively) You could try this:
Set about doing the dishes, but take your time and use it as a session in mindfulness. How long is it going to take? 15 minutes? Ok great, give yourself 20 then. Now let's start. You listen to the water running and gaze at the rainbow colours as the liquid bubbles up in the heat of the water. You gaze through the kitchen window, enjoying the sensation of the warmth of the sunshine through the glass. You notice the movement of the leaves on the apple tree, the little bird hopping along the fence, a few butterflies and a bee buzzing around. You bring your awareness to the sink, now full of warm soapy water and notice the cozy looking fluffy mountain of bubbles, the fresh smell of the soap, the texture of the new pan scourer in your hand.
You start cleaning and a song comes to mind so you hum along. You notice how shiny the cutlery goes as you polish, you pull a funny face at your reflection in the back of the spoon. You remember how much you enjoyed choosing that particular design of plate and how impressed you are that they have lasted for so many years. You have a rhythm with what you are doing that allows you to dance and sway to the tune in your head as you work your way through the pile. You won't admit it to anyone but it almost feels like fun and you actually feel quite relaxed- the headache that was threatening earlier seems to have gone.
You add a little pressure when you start scrubbing at some stubborn tomato sauce, and feel a sense of achievement when the surface is returned to smooth and clean - a blank sheet for the next meal you think! This takes you to thoughts of food and the nice treats you'd like to give the children when they are home from school, or the grandkids next time they visit. You feel grateful for being able to use creativity in simple things like making nice meals for the people you love.
Memories of happy mealtimes, special occasions, funny moments come to mind. You picture the faces of the people that you love and the positive energy you can send to them through small gestures of care towards them. You can actually feel the love that they have for you when you do this and it lifts your heart. You send them positive energy for a good day ahead.
The activities which you did with your own grandparents comes to mind- and you remember how as a child you loved just reading, colouring, singing, baking, talking, weeding the garden with them. You might remember a particular hat or accessory that they wore, or a gift that they gave you, but it would be harder work to remember every item in their wardrobe or an itinerary of gifts they gave over the years. I bet you can recall simple moments spent making a jigsaw or swinging on a swing with them with little effort though! This helps you to recognise what really matters to you. You laugh to yourself when you notice a chip out of one of the plates- it reminds you what a bad mood you were in when you did the dishes in a hurry late the other night. This way is better, you actually feel like a different person...You ARE a different person!
You glance at the clock as you have finished washing. You're a bit baffled as it only took ten minutes! Yet you feel as though it was much longer- and actually in a nice way too. You feel calm and happy. So now you have ten minutes to sit, have a cup of tea, start something creative, maybe even book the MOT.
Do you see what i did there?
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