Friday Thoughts

I work a nine day fortnight so I’m very lucky that today was my day off. I like to spend my non-working Fridays making sure I get out into nature whether it’s surfing or on my bike to create space for reflection and to process the week.

Today that was cycling and I kept it pretty short and local (about 40km) because I’m surfing tomorrow and taking part in a 130km event on Sunday so I need to make sure I don’t exhaust myself.

I use riding as a form of green therapy and use the space to move through my thoughts. I thought I would share some things that came into my mind today.

• An overwhelming amount of gratitude for ‘Freedom’

  • I found myself thinking about how lucky I am to have so much freedom in my life. The ability to choose where I work and live, spend time outdoors, and keep learning and growing aren’t things I want to take for granted and fully understand what an amazing privilege this is. I’ve read enough books to understand the cliche that “wealth isn’t a financial figure, it’s the freedom to spend your time how you choose”. Although it is a cliche, it’s kinda right - so much of my happiness and joy is directly related to this.

• Acceptance that I’m a flawed person but I’m also trying to be better

  • It’s really important to me that I show up in a way that supports others and shows that I care for the people around me (because I genuinely do). Sometimes I make small mistakes and sometimes I make big mistakes whether it’s in work, friendships or people closer to me. If I do make a mistake, I usually end up in a spiral where I’m not kind to myself and can be quite self critical which only pushes me further into it. This week I started counselling again to work through this, I’m trying to go into that space knowing that I am a flawed person but I do have good intentions even if I do mess up sometimes. Practicing self kindness isn’t natural to me but today I did that.

• The season is shifting fast

  • Today I stopped to eat blackberries and there were SO many of them! I ride so many trails and really get to know the woodlands I ride in so it was a big lovely surprise to see so many blackberries there for the taking. You can bet I stopped and ate as many as I could reach. This always acts as a reminder that summer is not a finite period of time (even though I wish it was) and autumn is slowly on its way.

    

• I have shifted my energy a lot this year

  • The main thing is I’ve just let go of so many things, I used to be a serial planner, always pencilling in big adventures and filling up my weekends and now I just don’t do that. I’m enjoying

    intentionally not filling up my time, I want to leave space to see how I feel closer to the time and ensure that I’m using my energy on things that feel right.

• I’m ready for a change

  • I’m so grateful to have a wide comfort zone in the things that I do and the people I have around me. I have been reading a lot on the concept of ‘change’ this year. How it’s important to not resist change and to welcome it, since it is inevitable. Change is a natural part of life and indicates movement and growth. I realise that you can wait for change to happen to you or you can catalyse change yourself. I’m looking to make a small change & move closer to the coast, even if only for a short while. I’m ready to leave my comfort zone and see what else is out there.

Rambling of thoughts over, if you’re reading this today - I hope you have a great weekend full of rest, nature and eating all of your favourite food.

Take care.

Jake