Le Gra...Made with love

Completely out of the blue and totally unexpected was this gorgeous, gift from my lovely new colleague to say thank you.  It is me who thanks you for your daily positivity, engagement, conscientious work ethic and valued friendship.    

The Svelte Brown Fox

...celebrating the little and simple things which make you smile and remember life is good

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Tickled pink to see my cherished friend

We don't see each other every day, every week and not necessarily every month. We communicate via text, phone messages and semi regular phone calls. Yet the bond, the love, the friendship shared between us remains no matter the length of time since our last catch up, whether in person etc. The water flows under the bridge yet we pick up precisely where we left off each and every time, like life has stood still. 

Piper Hibee thank you for making time in your super hectic schedule for a much needed fix of your heartfelt hugs, strength, wisdom, insight, compassion, thoughtfulness, laughter, sense of humour, sharing of stories, eloquence, understanding, empathy, unconditional and unwavering love and friendship. You are wise, intelligent, successful, respected, cherished, adored, valued and loved by all who cross your fabulous, uplifting path. Love you X

The Svelte Brown Fox

...celebrating the little and simple things which make you smile and remember life is good

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My love of learning shared with such gorgeous souls

Tomorrow marks workshop 10...sadly only two workshops to go. From all walks of life we are united in our love of learning, our love for yoga. Thank you to each and every one of you for sharing the journey thus far. Namaste x

The Svelte Brown Fox

...celebrating the little and simple things which make you smile and remember life is good

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Mates and milkshakes

Where on earth would I be without my dear mates and chocolate milkshakes?! It's always fabulous to enjoy one without the other, however to combine both at the same time...pure bliss.  A catch up with Stosyth is a guaranteed laugh a minute, thought provoking, topics aplenty, educational experience. I always leave thinking yes, laughter is indeed medicinal, I've just learnt something and we now have even more material for our podcast. As for the love of chocolate milkshakes, who knows where that love derives.  The Mockingbird J's Mr G thinks they take me back to a happy place from childhood and maybe that's just it - eight years of age, enjoying chocolate milkshakes and ham, cheese and tomato toasted sandwiches for lunch at the DJ's cafe in Sydney with the world's best mumma bear, my grandma and the bum gummer.  

Such gratitude and thanks beyond thanks for chocolate milkshakes and to Stosyth and my beloved mates for filling my cup with love, friendship and of course delicious sustenance. 

The Svelte Brown Fox

...celebrating the little and simple things which make you smile and remember life is good

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A mild case of nostalgia

A mild case of nostalgia: a condition of sentimental longing or attachment for a period in the past (source: the dictionary of life, according to TSBF).

It was always going to happen when I started to "declutter" my garage and study. These two rooms seemly act like magnets for the "stuff" we hold onto but rarely use or still need. I started pondering the past, the choices and decisions made to date, the journey through life thus far, a few tears here and there, feelings of frustration...the self diagnosis = a case of nostalgia indeed, level of serious unknown. 

The process of removing of those once sentimental items  from your life as they no longer fill your cup, is an interesting one.  Potentially it sparks some intriguing thoughts and reactions.  It did for me; definitely a case of nostalgia, moderate level of severity. 

I found myself fighting the thoughts, becoming increasingly frustrated with myself for thinking such things, for reacting in such a manner. But all the while knowing I just had to go with whatever was rising to the top, just be with the endless thoughts and reactions, but not attaching to any of it. It was hard to resist the temptation to bottle it all up in the name of being stoic, almost as though I wanted to keep my cup full of such thoughts and feelings which no longer help but hinder.  But what good would that have done?

So I just let go.  I called a cease fire, enthusiastically waving a white flag at my mind and the internal battle which was well underway.  Slowly allowing the process of letting go wash over without attachment to the thoughts and reactions, in turn lessening my case of nostalgia but increasing my level of acceptance and realisation just how truly grateful I am for what was, what had been but more importantly for what is now.

Hasn't society done this exactly this with the unrelenting and ever changing world of technology? It seems we move with the times without too much thought or reaction except if we feel an overwhelming sense of "need" to have the latest and the greatest. We don't attach and mourn the loss of those items of technology which no longer serve us in terms output and expectation. We don't really think or react to the change and the rapid speed at which it occurs.  We just accept it's the way of the world, update our technology as necessary and move on. Digital cameras may have resulted in the end of photography and film processing as we knew it but video didn't kill the radio star and even if it had, the case of nostalgia would have been mild at most. 

The Svelte Brown Fox

...celebrating the little and simple things which make you smile and remember life is good

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Tea for two

I so enjoy getting my hair cut. That fabulous feeling of your hair and scalp being washed and cleaned thoroughly, the banter with your hairdresser (TH) and the removal of the old and brittle, allowing the new and fresh to grow and flourish. To share a cup of green tea with the completely gorgeous, uplifting, super talented TH throughout the ritual...sheer bliss, making it such an uplifting occasion. Thank you gorgeous TH. 

The Svelte Brown Fox

...celebrating the little and simple things which make you smile and remember life is good

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The true beauty, joy and gift of unconditional friendship

Friendship, the invigorating tonic of engagement, almost always results in some of the most wonderful and memorable moments in time. What attracts us to certain people and why we connect and build amazing friendships is unique, hardly a cookie cutter formula.  There are those friends we have because of similar lifestyles or social groups, our friends we spend our working hours with, our friends we grew up with, our friends we went to school or university with, our friends we see or engage with infrequently but pick up as it no time has passed, our friends we make in those serendipitous moments, our friends we make through our parents friends, our friends we make through our siblings or through the friends of friends, our friends we make through our children, our friends who are also our relatives. 

I always smile and feel such thanks and gratitude when I think of my friends and the joy and love they give each and every day. Each of you are a gift, giving when you don't even realise through a myriad of ways...your time, your smiles, your words, your hugs, your laughter, your acceptance, your presence, your thoughtfulness, your wisdom, your insight, your patience, your compassion, your heartfelt gestures, your compromise, your understanding, your, energy, your tolerance, your listening, your trust and most importantly your unconditional love.  

And yes, like any relationships, there is give and take with our friends. There will be those friends you give more to and those friends you receive more from.  But that's the true beauty of unconditional friendship and the roles we play in each other's lives.  When we open up our hearts to such friendship, without a single expectation and thought of who is doing what and just be, we open ourselves up to an oasis of immense growth, joy, peace, compassion and love.   

The Svelte Brown Fox

...celebrating the little and simple things which make you smile and remember life is good

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