Do Think Share: January Challenge - Week Three
This week hit the half-way mark of the January Challenge! It's definitely keeping me occupied during the longest month of the year, and bringing a little creative spark to each day.
There's a Facebook group for challengers' too, so whenever I open the app I'm greeted with a stream of pictures detailing how others have approached each prompt, and it's lovely to have such positivity and creativity filling up my feed.
Day Fifteen
Reflect
When we listen to music our heartbeats can actually sync with the rhythm of the piece, and this can also contribute to changing blood pressure, mood, and physical health. Sound and music have been used for thousands of years for health and wellbeing, for communication, or for pleasure, and new effects are still being discovered.
I was having an at-home day today, so I popped some headphones over my baby-bump and played some classical music to Spud; while the 'Mozart Effect' has been disproved these days, playing music has been shown to increase the brain activity of unborn babies, and there is some evidence to suggest that, as infants, babies remember music and sounds that they heard before being born, so maybe a snippet of Pachelbel's Canon in D will calm her down when she's pitching a fit at 3am?
Day Sixteen
Reflect
Balance is defined as either; "an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady" or "a situation in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions".
I find balance in an even distribution of situations; such as making the time during the day for everything that needs to be done; but not getting stressed if something is missed. Life is full of conflicting and competing stimuli, and sometimes it can become quite overwhelming (especially for an introvert!) so finding space to rebalance is especially important.
Building on my reflections; today was not a good day for motivation and this was another task that I spent quite a while thinking about rather than actively doing. In the end I resorted to my trusty crochet stash! In the January Challenge Facebook group a lady had posted that she was doing a '365 Days of Granny Squares' challenge, and, as I mentioned, I do enjoy crocheting. It turns out that this challenge was released a few years ago, meaning that all of the squares are online already, and I'm becoming slightly obsessed with them! The pile is already higher than my amigurumi ballerina, so I'm counting that as my tower.
Day Seventeen
Reflect
When I was much younger there was a game we used to play; a peice of paper was folded into four and passed between friends. The first person drew a head, then folded it so it was hidden; the next person drew the torso and folded; the third person drew the lower body, and the final person drew legs and feet. The final creation was sometimes absurd, or a combination of different animals, but occasionally we were all in sync and this was surprising too!
This challenge took a few days for me to get around to as my partner has been working quite late this week, but, on a quiet morning, I handed him a sheet of paper, and we giggled like little kids as we muddled our way through this game. Part of tapping into creativity is rediscovering this childlike joy in playing, and I really enjoyed doing something silly with my partner, especially as we're about to enter a very serious, very grown-up time!
Day Eighteen
Reflect
I used to wear hats a lot; I love vintage designs and getting dressed up, but I don't have much opportunity to these days. I do, though, have several of these hats around my flat, and they work as decoration for the house as much as for my head!
Initially I thought about almost phoning in this challenge, using an empty yoghurt pot as a makeshift tower hat for my desk-bear, but, as I was taking the lid off the tub I had a flash of inspiration and decided to make something a little better...
I had felt a little flat over the last few days, with very little motivation. It's strange how inspiration can be found in the strangest places, and I definitely felt much more upbeat after completing this challenge.
And I would totally wear this hat: desk-bear looks fabulous!
Day Nineteen
Reflect
I once received feedback on an essay which was along the lines of "sometimes uses very direct language, and occasionally uses long, elaborate words in a seeming attempt to make themselves appear more intelligent." I'm paraphrasing, but that was pretty much the gist of it! But that is how I use language; I enjoy playing with it and using colloquialisms alongside academic or obscure words and phrases - I get that this may make for a slightly jarring experience, but I'm not going to lose my love of language and its myriad incarnations!
Those with long memories may remember one particularly ridiculous tweet from a man who is, apparently, the President of the United States (although it's a long list!) in which he appeared to be in the process of maligning the press (again) as he fell asleep, leading to the closing word "covfefe"... Thousands speculated on the meaning of this word, though my partner and I have cracked it: it's how one asks for coffee when they're half asleep. At least, it's how we ask each other for coffee...
Day Twenty
Reflect
This weeks meme doing the rounds is the 'Ten Year Challenge', where people post a photo of themselves from ten years ago next to a more recent image to show how much, or how little, they've changed in the intervening decade. However, it was taken over by a planetary campaign, showing how much the world has changed in just ten years, and it makes for harrowing viewing.
I mentioned during Week One of the challenge that we're attempting to become more environmentally conscious ourselves, and trying to make choices which will have a lower impact on the planet, and, during this prompt, I reflected on how beautiful and inspiring our world can be, but on how much we take it for granted. I think I would take many of the qualities of Earth to our new planet, but leave behind some of the qualities of its human inhabitants to promote a kinder, more tolerant, less wasteful society... We can dream, right?
Day Twenty-One
The third Monday of January is sometimes called Blue Monday; supposedly the most depressing day of the year. So, to counteract this, many news outlets are featuring articles on upping your happiness quota and boosting mood, which is a lovely way of finding the good things in an otherwise rather bleak news cycle.
In my quest for a more mindful life, I try and reflect each day on three things that I am grateful for; big, little, and everything in between. And there is so much to be grateful for even on the most miserable days: I have a lovely home to be in, a supportive and wonderful partner, and three mad cats who make me laugh every day; we have food in the fridge, electricity, heating, and clean drinking water; I have so much stuff that makes me happy when I look at it, and people in my life, family and friends, who make me happy just by being there. So every day there's that to celebrate, even before anything actually happens.
Conclusion: Week Three
Several of the prompts this week have encouraged me to reflect on the many good things that I have, and the things that I am grateful for. I have had a particularly challenging few days this week, so the distraction has proved very welcome, and, through prodding me to focus more on the good things than the bad, I have made steps towards turning around my mood regarding a couple of lingering issues.
I especially enjoyed Day Eighteen's challenge (even though I spread it over a few days as I was waiting for glue to dry at various points!) as, even though it's not the most beautiful end result, playing with glue, scissors, and craft supplies was wonderfully therapeutic!
Week Two
Week One
There's a Facebook group for challengers' too, so whenever I open the app I'm greeted with a stream of pictures detailing how others have approached each prompt, and it's lovely to have such positivity and creativity filling up my feed.
Day Fifteen
How does music impact your mood and the atmosphere around you?
Reflect
When we listen to music our heartbeats can actually sync with the rhythm of the piece, and this can also contribute to changing blood pressure, mood, and physical health. Sound and music have been used for thousands of years for health and wellbeing, for communication, or for pleasure, and new effects are still being discovered.
To see in the New Year my partner and I had a wander around London to take in the Christmas Lights before they came down. The string quartet in Covent Garden played some of my favourite classical pieces, so we lingered a while to listen.
I was having an at-home day today, so I popped some headphones over my baby-bump and played some classical music to Spud; while the 'Mozart Effect' has been disproved these days, playing music has been shown to increase the brain activity of unborn babies, and there is some evidence to suggest that, as infants, babies remember music and sounds that they heard before being born, so maybe a snippet of Pachelbel's Canon in D will calm her down when she's pitching a fit at 3am?
Day Sixteen
What does balance mean to you, and what do you do to create balance in your own life?
Reflect
Balance is defined as either; "an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady" or "a situation in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions".
I find balance in an even distribution of situations; such as making the time during the day for everything that needs to be done; but not getting stressed if something is missed. Life is full of conflicting and competing stimuli, and sometimes it can become quite overwhelming (especially for an introvert!) so finding space to rebalance is especially important.
Building on my reflections; today was not a good day for motivation and this was another task that I spent quite a while thinking about rather than actively doing. In the end I resorted to my trusty crochet stash! In the January Challenge Facebook group a lady had posted that she was doing a '365 Days of Granny Squares' challenge, and, as I mentioned, I do enjoy crocheting. It turns out that this challenge was released a few years ago, meaning that all of the squares are online already, and I'm becoming slightly obsessed with them! The pile is already higher than my amigurumi ballerina, so I'm counting that as my tower.
Day Seventeen
How was the doodling duet experience for you? Were you in tune with each other, or did your final sketch surprise you?
When I was much younger there was a game we used to play; a peice of paper was folded into four and passed between friends. The first person drew a head, then folded it so it was hidden; the next person drew the torso and folded; the third person drew the lower body, and the final person drew legs and feet. The final creation was sometimes absurd, or a combination of different animals, but occasionally we were all in sync and this was surprising too!
My partner is definitely the better artist!
This challenge took a few days for me to get around to as my partner has been working quite late this week, but, on a quiet morning, I handed him a sheet of paper, and we giggled like little kids as we muddled our way through this game. Part of tapping into creativity is rediscovering this childlike joy in playing, and I really enjoyed doing something silly with my partner, especially as we're about to enter a very serious, very grown-up time!
Day Eighteen
Would you wear this hat in real life? What does the design say about you?
I used to wear hats a lot; I love vintage designs and getting dressed up, but I don't have much opportunity to these days. I do, though, have several of these hats around my flat, and they work as decoration for the house as much as for my head!
Initially I thought about almost phoning in this challenge, using an empty yoghurt pot as a makeshift tower hat for my desk-bear, but, as I was taking the lid off the tub I had a flash of inspiration and decided to make something a little better...
I had felt a little flat over the last few days, with very little motivation. It's strange how inspiration can be found in the strangest places, and I definitely felt much more upbeat after completing this challenge.
And I would totally wear this hat: desk-bear looks fabulous!
Day Nineteen
Samuel Johnson said “Language is the dress of thought” - what does language mean to you? How do you use language to express yourself?
Reflect
I once received feedback on an essay which was along the lines of "sometimes uses very direct language, and occasionally uses long, elaborate words in a seeming attempt to make themselves appear more intelligent." I'm paraphrasing, but that was pretty much the gist of it! But that is how I use language; I enjoy playing with it and using colloquialisms alongside academic or obscure words and phrases - I get that this may make for a slightly jarring experience, but I'm not going to lose my love of language and its myriad incarnations!
Covfefe and books (my life)
Those with long memories may remember one particularly ridiculous tweet from a man who is, apparently, the President of the United States (although it's a long list!) in which he appeared to be in the process of maligning the press (again) as he fell asleep, leading to the closing word "covfefe"... Thousands speculated on the meaning of this word, though my partner and I have cracked it: it's how one asks for coffee when they're half asleep. At least, it's how we ask each other for coffee...
Day Twenty
What did this challenge make you think about? What qualities of Earth would you transfer to your planet and why? What would you leave behind?
This weeks meme doing the rounds is the 'Ten Year Challenge', where people post a photo of themselves from ten years ago next to a more recent image to show how much, or how little, they've changed in the intervening decade. However, it was taken over by a planetary campaign, showing how much the world has changed in just ten years, and it makes for harrowing viewing.
I mentioned during Week One of the challenge that we're attempting to become more environmentally conscious ourselves, and trying to make choices which will have a lower impact on the planet, and, during this prompt, I reflected on how beautiful and inspiring our world can be, but on how much we take it for granted. I think I would take many of the qualities of Earth to our new planet, but leave behind some of the qualities of its human inhabitants to promote a kinder, more tolerant, less wasteful society... We can dream, right?
Day Twenty-One
Celebrate the good news- and remember the little things, the big things and the things in between.
The third Monday of January is sometimes called Blue Monday; supposedly the most depressing day of the year. So, to counteract this, many news outlets are featuring articles on upping your happiness quota and boosting mood, which is a lovely way of finding the good things in an otherwise rather bleak news cycle.
In my quest for a more mindful life, I try and reflect each day on three things that I am grateful for; big, little, and everything in between. And there is so much to be grateful for even on the most miserable days: I have a lovely home to be in, a supportive and wonderful partner, and three mad cats who make me laugh every day; we have food in the fridge, electricity, heating, and clean drinking water; I have so much stuff that makes me happy when I look at it, and people in my life, family and friends, who make me happy just by being there. So every day there's that to celebrate, even before anything actually happens.
Conclusion: Week Three
Several of the prompts this week have encouraged me to reflect on the many good things that I have, and the things that I am grateful for. I have had a particularly challenging few days this week, so the distraction has proved very welcome, and, through prodding me to focus more on the good things than the bad, I have made steps towards turning around my mood regarding a couple of lingering issues.
I especially enjoyed Day Eighteen's challenge (even though I spread it over a few days as I was waiting for glue to dry at various points!) as, even though it's not the most beautiful end result, playing with glue, scissors, and craft supplies was wonderfully therapeutic!
Week Two
Week One
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