5 Positive Things A Day

On August 2nd an old classmate nominated me on Facebook for a 5 day challenge of 5 positive things a day. I really liked this challenge. 
After the 5 days on Facebook I continued this 'new good habit' and every evening I write 5 down in my "diary". I really love it, and because I'm a real human, I do have some OFF DAYS. And it's really a challenge to find the positive things on that days. Because on happy days I easily write 20 positive things :) - Try it yourself if you like :) 

Challenge day 1
1. In the warm sun rays harvest some balcony strawberries for my breakfast. Love this start of the day!
2. It's gay weekend which means: DIY rainbows :)
3. It's gay weekend which means: rainbow sparkling nail polish :)
4. The small Chicken snacks from de spa/sauna in Rosmalen, Oh la la SO TASTY!! I really look forward to this treat, just days before I'll go to the spa/sauna :) 
5. Also very positive of this day is the rain. This means that I don't have to water my balcony myself (which is a real fitness exercise for me) 
  
(in Dutch)
1) In de ochtendzon aardbeitjes oogsten op mijn balkon voor in mijn ontbijt. Dat is zo'n fijn begin van de dag! 
2) Het is gay weekend en dat betekent regenboogjes knutselen  
3) Het is gay weekend en dat betekent roze glitter teennagels  
4) De kipkluifjes van de Sauna in Rosmalen, Oh la la, die zijn LEKKER!! Daar kan ik me echt op verheugen, al dagen voordat ik m´n sauna date heb 
5) Wat ik ook heel positief vind is dat het vandaag enorm hard geregend heeft zodat ik vandaag en morgen niet met volle gieters hoef te sjouwen om mijn balkon te sproeien. 

Challenge day 2
1. Pieces of dark (Belgium) chocolate in my yoghurt: best breakfast ever on sunday morning
2. Finishing the homemade postcards I started yesterday. They are so awesome! :)
3. Doing the dishes with musical help of Calvin Harris' Let's go: easy peasy lemon squeeze :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYZ6gXWZfZM
4. The happy faces of the guinea pigs (summer holiday guests) when I give them veggie treats. Today's lunch was salat rocketsalat with sweet pepper and cucumber
5. Timmy Turtle. Baby's toys. Bought for a present but I like it myself SO much that I bought 1 extra for myself :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKXJkkeuCdY 

1) Gehakte pure (Belgische) chocolade door de yoghurt: ultieme verwennerij op de zondag ochtend 
2) De zelfgemaakte kaarten waar ik gister aan begonnen was, vandaag afgemaakt. Ze zijn echt waanzinnig mooi geworden  
3) De afwas doen met Let's Go van Calvin Harris: t is zó gepiept https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYZ6gXWZfZM
4) De blije snuitjes van de cavia's als ik ze 3 keer per dag een hapje groen kom brengen. De lunch van vandaag was een rucola salade met rode paprika en komkommer
5) Timmy Turtle. Fisher Price speelgoed voor kinderen vanaf 1,5 jaar. Gekocht om cadeau te geven maar ik vind 'm zelf ZO leuk dat ik er vandaag eentje extra gekocht heb voor mezelf  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKXJkkeuCdY (als je geluk hebt nog te koop bij de kruidvat in de sale voor een heel fijn prijsje  

2 months later I'm still enjoying the 5 positive things of the day
It's also very nice to re-read them after a while, makes me smile again :) 
Have a lovely autumn weekend! 
Hug! 

Wisdom collected from Facebook :)

Look to the world as a buffet restaurant
Fill your plate with energizers 

3 years ago I wrote those in Dutch - now with English Translations !!

De Huppeldepup (=getal) geboden voor relaxt revalideren 
The so many rules for relaxt rehabilitation/recovery

1. Rust regelmatig uit! Elke middag een dut
1. Take a rest! A nap every afternoon
2. Maak geen plannen voor een andere dag dan vandaag
2. Do not make any plans for another day than today 
3. STOP!! voordat het pijn doet (oefenen!! dmv trial & error)
3. STOP!! before it hurts! (so practise!! use trial & error) 
4. Wat vandaag niet lukt, komt morgen wel, of volgende week
4. If you can't fix it today, than tomorrow, or next week 
5. Je mag kwetsbaarheden en emoties tonen
5. It is allowed to show your emotions and vulnerabilities
6. Wees lief voor jezelf (de kaboutertjes doen het niet) en voor anderen 
6. Be nice to yourself and others (the gnomes won't do it) 
7. Doe leuke dingen! Met de timer op max 15 min. Voorkom uitputting!!
7. Do nice things! With the timer on 15 minutes. Prevent exhaustion!! 
8. Als het vandaag goed gaat, wees dankbaar en gelukkig! Niemand weet hoe het morgen zal zijn!
8. If you have a good day today, be grateful and happy! Nobody knows how it will be tomorrow! 
9. Woorden als: opschieten, haast maken, spoed, tempo, vlug en alles wat daarop lijkt of mee te maken heeft zijn VERBODEN!
9. Words like: hurry op, speed up, go go go, quick, fast, rapid, rush and everything related are totally FORBIDDEN!
10. Loop met grote passen (of achteruit)
10. Walk in big steps (or backwards) 
11. Doe geen taken die de thuiszorg doet. 
11. Don't do things the cleaning lady does.
12. Wees niet zo eigenwijs, dat doet pijn!
12. Don't be so cocky, it hurts!
13. Stel jezelf regelmatig de vraag: Wat is nou écht belangrijk? Geef eerlijk antwoord en haal diep adem
13. Ask yourself frequently this question: Is this REAL important? Only honest answers and take a deep breath.

I'll be Back :)

Where to start? 

Last week I joined a very special Wake up Mindfulness & self compassion retreat @ Eiab in Waldbröl Germany. This was my first retreat with people from my own age and that makes it SO more special. In that week it was very clear for me to re-start this blog and write my stories/experiences/activities in English, because I have some good reasons for it: 
* Sharing is Caring <3 
* I've been through years of illness (mental, physical) Like "been there, done that" 
* I never gave up
* How hard it was, for 95-99% of the time I looked to the bright sight of life 
* I discovered that a lot of things I did/create during my long time of rehabilitation were (very) mindful so why keep it for myself if I could help another with :) 
* Everyone knows anyone who can use a bit of (extra) sun rays

In the last 3,5 years that I'm recovering from Walking Problems/Burn Out XXXL/Conversion Disorder I found so many things, joyfully sparkles in a dark period of my life. My life changed mindfully. I really like to share this creative & spiritually journey with you.

So I will start. When a memory pops up in your mind, and another will follow,  and another, and another, they won't be very chronological. Freedom is the word :) The time is now! Autumn 2014 it is! Now I clearly realize that I didn't have much information about me, about life in general when I became ill in spring 2011. I couldn't walk anymore, I was exhausted, totally overstimulated, and the only thing I knew was "I need a big change in my life but I really don't know how". My legs just stopped walking because this is the only way to show me how necessary it is to change. That was a real hard lesson, but earlier signals I just didn't understand the right way. And I knew that this (recovering) would take a lot of time because of the big change. 

Picture this: A very busy colorful creative bee that crashed on the couch and the only she could do was look at the clouds and see how the orchids on the window will start flowering, and that for months ... 

After 6 months of 'couching' I had my first appointment with Jos, a very special psycho-therapist in Den Bosch. And in that hour everything changed. This is what he said to me: "There is nothing wrong with you. In your life people told you so many bullshit, and you believed that, you couldn't do anything about that, but you became your illness." 
And he told me something else "Your golden time starts now, you have the unique chance to write a new operating system for yourself, in your own pace/tempo, so there will be no more blue screens in your future" And I was very grateful for those words. 

Over 3,5 years I collected some wisdom, about myself, about life, about love, about emotions, about inner peace, about how big my heart is, about give the answer NO to a question and so much more! 

The difference is clear in these 2 pictures, spring 2011 and spring 2014 <3 

In the first 6 months of my illness this picture helped me through <3

Till next time! 

Love, Peace & Happiness

Marieke