Happy 41’st Birthday Ms Lauryn Hill !
Such an inspirational woman, her music should be what the youth of today are listening too. Always wise words and always heart spoken! Real music about real world issues.
Here’s one of my favourite Lauryn talks –
Music is supposed to inspire
How come we ain’t getting no higher?
What other artist out there today could record a full album live in a studio with an audience like that and sell platinum ?
I was watering one of the plants on my window sill, at first it seemed like everything was normal. But as I got closer I noticed on one side one all of the leaves on one stem were slightly brown and droopy with broken edges.
Oh, maybe this one didn’t get enough sunlight.
But I know that if I water it and nurture it every day, and pay a little bit of extra attention to this part, slowly but surely I can bring it back to life again. I knew I must be careful to not break the leaves any further as they were quite fragile. Eventually with the proper nourishment the leaves will turn bright green again, they will be full of life and any dead and broken parts will fall away.
I met a person once, at first it seemed like everything was normal. But as I got closer I noticed they were actually kind of rough around the edges, kind of broken.
Oh, maybe this one didn’t get enough love.
But I know that if I love and nurture them every day, and pay them a little bit extra attention, slowly but surely I could help bring them back to life again. I knew I must be careful not to break them any further as they were quite fragile. Eventually with unconditional love and care, the unhealed parts of them will heal, they will be full of life again and the broken parts will fall away.
When I noticed the broken parts of my plant, I didn’t look at the plant and judge or blame it for being broken, my first instinct was to help fix it. My point is this, we are all living beings and we are all a little broken. Our first instinct on coming across another living being who is broken should be to help them heal.
All human action is one of two things, an act of love or a cry for love.
If you come across somebody who is a little broken, a little closed off, afraid, confused, even mean or hurtful or acting out.. do not judge them for where they are at, but instead show them unconditional love, for it is lack of unconditional love what made them this way. Show them that they are good enough, show them the light.
Some Monday words of wisdom from the Dalai Lama. It’s always important to me to start the week on a positive note, new intentions for this week and new aims. This is an excerpt from a book I’m reading which i think is the perfect mindset to go on with. Although i do not personally follow any religion I am very interested in Buddhism and many Buddhist practices are a big part of my daily life, i think there is something beautiful in the way they choose to live. Always mindful, always compassionate, always on the pursuit of happiness.
The Dalai Lama’s understanding of the factors that ultimately lead to happiness is based on a lifetime of methodically observing his own mind, exploring the nature of the human condition, and investigating these things within a framework first established by The Buddha over twenty-five centuries ago. And from this background, the Dalai Lama has come to some definite conclusions about which activities and thoughts are most worthwhile. He summarized his beliefs in the following words that can be used as a meditation..
Sometimes when I meet old friends, it reminds me how quickly time passes. And it makes me wonder if we’ve utilized our time properly or not. Proper utilization of time is so important. While we have this body, and especially this amazing human brain, I think every minute is something precious. Our day-to-day existence is very much alive with hope, although there is no guarantee of our future. There is no guarantee that tomorrow at this time we will be here. But still we are working for that purely on the basis of hope. So, we need to make the best use of our time. I believe that the proper utilization of time is this: if you can, serve other people, other sentient beings. If not, at least refrain from harming them. I think that is the whole basis of my philosophy. “So, let us reflect on what is truly of value in life, what gives meaning to our lives, and set our priorities on the basis of that. The purpose of our life needs to be positive. We weren’t born with the purpose of causing trouble, harming others. For our life to be of value, I think we must develop basic good human qualities—warmth, kindness, compassion. Then our life becomes meaningful and more peaceful—happier.”
The pursuit of happiness – The Dalai Lama
These quick and easy to make egg cups are amazing! They keep in the fridge for up to a week so great to make in advance and just grab one on the way out of the door in the morning. They also freeze really well so if your like me and like to cook all your meals and freeze them these are perfect.
Ingredients. – Makes 12 Egg Cups.
12 Eggs
1 Bag of Spinach
Olive Oil
1 pack Mushrooms
Method.
Pre heat oven to 160
Line the inside of a muffin tray with a thin layer of olive oil, make sure you cover the inside properly as these do stick!
Chop & fry your mushrooms in a tablespoon of olive oil.
When the mushrooms are almost finished add the spinach into the frying pan to wilt.
Spread the mushroom & spinach mixture evenly into the muffin tray cups.
Crack and whisk 12 eggs into a large bowl, and then pour evenly into the muffin tray cups on top of the mushroom & spinach.
Put into the oven and leave for about 20 minutes until the egg is puffy and cooked through.
They will rise when in the oven but after cooling they will drop. Leave to stand for about 10 minutes to cool.
They do tend to stick to the muffin tray so i usually would use a knife to carefully cut around the edges of each one and then pop them out the tray.
Although mine are pretty basic they are my favorite, but you really can add anything you want in to these so just experiment. You could add peppers, cheese, bacon pieces, tomatoes, anything! I actually like to keep mine in the fridge and eat them cold as a snack but they are really good warmed up in the microwave to. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Up to 64% of contaminants from products you put on your skin are absorbed into the bloodstream. For underarms this can be up to 100%. The majority of products on the market today contain carcinogens, allergens and other toxic chemicals. Now knowing this, it’s time to be more mindful of what we put on our bodies !
Going shopping and trying to look on the lists of ingredients of every toiletry you are buying is so time consuming and very confusing. The list of ingredients to avoid is endless and it’s very hard to find the right products with no toxic substances in. This is why i decided to start making my own. It’s too costly to buy all of your toiletries from a holistic shop or online. These quick and easy to make products are all made from a very small list of ingredients and are easy to store in containers.
Toothpaste.
Ingredients – Peppermint Oil, Coconut Oil, Baking Powder.
Mix 1 Part warm coconut oil to 1 part baking powder in a tub, add a few drops of peppermint to taste, and leave to set. – The baking powder will make your teeth extra white !
Deodorant.
Ingredients – Coconut Oil, Baking Powder, Eucalyptus oil
Mix 1 part warm coconut oil to 1 part baking powder, add a few drops of eucalyptus, and leave to set.
The coconut oil will absorb easily and keep your underarms hydrated, the baking powder will act as an antibacterial agent and will also absorb any underarm moisture, and the eucalyptus will soothe the area and stop it from becoming irritated whilst also giving the deodorant a nice smell.
Vapour Rub.
Ingredients – Eucalyptus Oil, Peppermint Oil, Coconut Oil.
Add warm coconut oil into a container and add a few drops of peppermint and eucalyptus oils until the smell is strong enough for a vapo rub, and leave to set.
Exfoliator / Face Wash
Ingredients – Coconut Oil, Baking Powder
For exfoliator add two parts baking powder to one part coconut oil until it is a thick paste. This is a great face and body scrub, especially good for removing blackheads!
For face wash add two parts coconut oil to one part baking powder so it’s a lot thinner and milder.
Lip gloss.
Ingredients – Coconut Oil, Tea Tree or Peppermint Oil
Add coconut oil into a small tub with just a few drops of tea tree or peppermint oil.
Coconut Oil on it’s own can be used for so many other things, heres some ideas –
Hair serum
Moisturiser
Make up remover
Oil pulling
Tanning oil
Hair deep conditioning treatment
All of these items can be bought from from most supermarkets or health stores, i personally buy mine from nourish and would highly recommend you to buy these products raw/organic. Raw/organic products are much better for your skin and for the environment!
I decided to start writing this post as i’m sitting out on my rooftop soaking up what is likely to be the most sun we see in Dublin all summer. It’s moments like this, the small seemingly meaningless ones, that actually give life meaning.
One of the best lessons i ever learnt, was to be grateful. Not just for the big things, but for the little daily things that make life a blessing.
Anyone can be grateful if they receive a big sum of money as a gift. What really changes lives is learning to be grateful for something as little as a cent. If your not grateful for finding a cent or a euro, what on earth makes you think you deserve more?
Learning to be grateful is one of the most powerful internal tools you will ever need. It changed my perception in such a massive way that it changed my full life. Now as soon as wake up in the morning within about a half hour i could tell you so many things i am already grateful for about the day so far.
For example – tomorrow when i get up for work, immediately i will be grateful that it’s Monday, my favorite day, it’s a new week & a fresh start. I will be grateful that the route i walk to get to work is down the canal and it’s so beautiful that time of morning. I will be grateful that on my way to work every morning i get to see the sunrise, which always takes my breath away. I will be grateful that i get to walk in while most people are still in bed and the only sounds out are nature, it’s so serene that early down the canal. I’ll be grateful that my work is only 4 kilometers away so i can actually walk in instead of having to get the bus (which i hate). I’ll be grateful that as i get to the bottom of my road every morning Andy the postman stops to have a chat and ask how i am, this always makes me smile! I’ll be grateful when i get to work that i have a job which i love, working with people who i really enjoy being around. All of these thing’s to be grateful for and that’s before 8:30am!
Do you get it yet? The big moments, like a promotion, a holiday, a great night out with friends, the moments that it’s easy to be grateful for. The big moments actually make up a very small portion of your life. What your life actually is, is all of the small moments in between the big ones. The little things? The aren’t little. Don’t spend your life waiting for the big events, find things to be grateful for in every moment of your life and i assure you – the more you consciously make an effort to do this, the less you will have to try. Once you start, you will no longer have to stop and think what am i grateful for today? You will find yourself radiating endless gratitude and finding more and more things you are actually grateful for.
Why bother, why is this so important? It’s all about perception. Like i said, it is learning to be truly happy for what you already have and genuinely be thankful for it, which will make you appreciate everything in your life a lot more. And most of all, gratitude is a MAGNET for abundance. The more gratitude you feel, the more and more likely you are to attract bigger and better things to you. Being grateful for what you already have is the most powerful way to attract more of what you want. But we’ll leave the law of attraction for another day, today lets just be grateful.
Try this.
For the next 21 days, all you have to do is first thing in the morning when you wake up – take a few deep breaths and think of 5 things you are grateful for. Then when going to bed do the same, when you close your eyes just before you go to sleep, take a few deep breaths and think of 5 more things that you were grateful for today. That’s it. Just give it a try and in 21 days time see what it has done for you. Such a small thing can have such a big impact! And even if you don’t think this will make a difference, humor me. Do it anyway, it takes about a minute out of your day. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
If the sun sets on the most beautiful day you’ve ever seen, should that day become any less beautiful just because it’s over?
To me it makes the day even that more precious.
If I told you that today was going to be the best day this year, you would really want to make the most of it, enjoy every second of it because it won’t come around again.. right?
If I told you that this year, spring would be the most beautiful season there ever was & there would never in your lifetime be another like it. You would truly want to immerse yourself in every single aspect of it.
I guess what I’m getting at is to just enjoy each moment as it is, for what it is. The only constant in life is change.
With a day or a season or a year, we know it’s going to end but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy it. In fact we enjoy it even more because we know the time is limited.
It’s all about perspective.
If I were to tell you today, YESTERDAY was the best day of the year. You would be sad right? You didn’t know it was going to be the best day and so you didn’t really take advantage of it. If only you had of known you would have went out and really experienced everything, been out under the sun, & really made the most of it.
Don’t wait until the day has passed you by to appreciate it, be fully present in every moment and every experience that life offers you. Treat every day like the most beautiful one there ever was, enjoy every mouth full of food like it’s the best meal you will ever eat, enjoy every summer as if you’d never see another like it. As the simple fact is, you won’t. You won’t get to experience that again.
Tomorrow the sun will rise again and a new day is born. Although it will never be the same as yesterday, it will be magnificent in it’s own way. Again, a day to be lived to the fullest. A day to be fully present in.
Don’t wake up one day and be sad that you missed the most precious moments of your life because you were not fully there. Whatever it is, be it an ice cream you’re eating, a job you’re in, a day, a season, a road trip, a relationship – wherever you are and whatever you’re doing… Be all there.
And when the sun does set, don’t be sad that it’s over. Be grateful for the experience and the memories you’ve gained, and look forward to the new ones that the next sunrise will bring.
May every sunrise bring you hope. May every sunset bring you peace.
Summers on its way and for me that means less cooked meals and more salads and raw foods. This broccoli and tuna salad is one of my favourites, its so easy It only takes about 10 minutes in total to make and keeps well in the fridge throughout the week. Perfect for meal prep & of course high protein.
Ingredients.
1 Large Broccoli cluster
Light Mayonnaise
1 Jar Beetroot
1 Tin Sweetcorn
5 tins tuna
1 Large pack of Cherry Tomatoes
1 Lemon
Feta Cheese
Method.
Chop the broccoli, beetroot and cherry tomatoes.
Blanch broccoli for about 1 minute (The less time the better as this stops it from going soft in the fridge after).
Add all ingredients above into a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, sweetcorn, Tuna & Mayo.
Squeeze lemon and add the juice & mix everything together.
When serving crumble the feta cheese on top.
