Sometimes we really are too busy to notice the beauty, hear the melody or appreciate a fine turn of phrase, aren’t we?

Sometimes we’re even too busy to notice a certain look in the eyes of someone we love. A look that says I Love You.

But it’s those very things, the sunrise that takes your breath away, the beautiful strains of your favourite concerto (played loud), the words of a dear friend or the look of love in the eyes of one so dear.

I strongly believe that surrounding yourself with beauty – and taking the time to notice – enriches your life beyond measure.

The other day, on my almost-daily run between home and horse, I was struck between the eyes by the beautiful sunset to my left across the paddocks. I pulled the car over, grabbed my camera (saying a quick thank you that I had it with me), and reveled in the beauty of the sun, the trees, the paddocks and the simple beauty of the scene. The photo above is one of many… taken just as the light was fading between two big, old gums.

Does beauty enrich your life?

Wild Grass by Kevin Dooley

The winds of life often blow us around… and I’ve certainly had my fair share of that lately. Thought I’d do one of those quick update posts about all the bits and pieces.

Where I’ve been when I’ve not been here

You can still find me around the web, even when I’m not here at The Clearing Space (and yeah, I’m very aware I haven’t been here much):

Join me at Twitter (the newest way to watch time fly by) I’m enjoying meeting wonderful new folk and learning something every day!

At The Calm Space (which does take up the bulk of my time these days, as new and exciting things are cooking on the stove…) – this month you’ll find our incredibly wise contributors (and me) writing about Kindness.

At Joyful Jubilant Learning – where my latest article about my journey post-employment and being kind to myself – A time to consolidate, A time to be kind -  has attracted an amazing array of comment conversation! I’m so honoured to be a part of that community of wise, warm and witty learners.

What else has been happening – off-line

We’ve bought a block of land – big enough for horses – and we’re planning our new home! Please throw me any hints and tips on how to handle the stress of building a house, and selling the current one. We’ve never built before… and have been in this home over 15 years!

One of the reasons for my absence lately was a glorious trip, just hubby and I, to Palau last month. Hubby went diving and I learned how to relax! Yes, I was twitchy for the first few days, and there were moments when I panicked at the thought of running out of books to read (I found no book shops on the island) – but we had a fantastic time with the six other Aussies on our trip.

I snorkelled for the first time ever – in a lake full of jellyfish! Here’s the photographic proof. Those things all around me & in the separate photo are the jellyfish…

So, that’s me all caught up. What’s been happening with you?

With an article to get up at Joyful, Jubilant Learning, I borrowed hubby’s laptop and got to it.

My contribution to the April line-up at JJL is A Time for Space:

Whether we need to clean out the fridge, our wardrobe or the entire house; whether we need to reassess relationships to sort the good from the not-so-good; whether we need to turn down the volume a little and retreat; or whether we need to open space in our diaries, cull items from our to-do lists, ditch some obligations or say ‘no’ a little more often: creating space is about making room for living our best life.

You can read the full article at JJL.

My diary has just reminded me of one further thing I’d like to mention. Whilst posting here at The Clearing Space has been sporadic of late – as The Calm Space soaks up my energy and attention – I’m forever thrilled and grateful to those who continue to read here, those who comment and those who let me know privately their reactions to my occasional postings.

Yesterday, in amongst the kerfuffle of the laptop drama, was The Clearing Space’s Fourth Birthday!

When I began writing here at the suggestion of Leah Maclean, way back in 2005, I don’t think I ever imagined a fourth birthday happening. I took it day by day. Writing here has taught me that occasionally what I need to write is what someone else needs to hear. And that is the reason I have never given it up, despite it looking a little like I was going to sometimes.

If you’re reading this, then you are someone I truly value. Thank you from the bottom of my heart – the birthday wishes are all for you.

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summers day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.

~John Lubbock

Summer, glorious summer. We complain about the heat and about the humidity. Today I found myself feeling very sorry for my southern friends who are frying in continuous days of temps over 40°c. And thank ful for the rain here that cooled things down a little, even as it sent the humidity levels soaring.

Then as I took my lunch outside on the verandah in the company of my dogs, and relished the breeze that sprang up intermittently, I realised.

Is not this the perfect time to rest? To sit very still? To be?

Is that not what summer is all about? A time to be patient. A time to keep our cool. A time to listen, think, breathe.

We try to subvert the natural order of things when we wish the season past already. For without the summer, how could we appreciate the approach of autumn?

Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jewelled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world.

~Ada Louise Huxtable

When you stop doing something you’ve been doing for as long as you can remember, (in my case, working as an employee), you fully expect to free up these huge gobs of time every week. And in those enormous hours, you’d be justified in thinking you’d get all those things done that you never had time for before. Wouldn’t you?

Hmm… so why isn’t it working out that way?

It’s always been my ‘theme song’ to clear space in my life to let the good things in. And I know that the universe abhors a vacuum – if you clear space, something will always rush in to fill it.

What I hadn’t experienced before is the speed and sheer ferocity with which the space gets filled!

Last night, as I was feeling once again like I was waaaay behind as I shovelled yet another load of whiltes in the washing machine, I realised my problem.

I had ‘expectations’.

In the planning for my ‘retirement’, I may not have been able to imagine my days without work, but what I was able to do was develop this huge list of Things To Get Done When I Retire. And that list? Whew – if I work at it solidly for the next 10 years or so, I may make a dint.

Did I really think that all that would get done, quickly, completely and with ease within the first four weeks and then I could relax and get down to the serious business of growing a business?

The problem isn’t the list.

It’s my expectations that freeing up some time was miraculously going to get this all done. Especially when the universe, in it’s infinite wisdom, has decided I need to do other things.

It is so time to toss out those expectations and start developing a workable and inspiring lifestyle. With plenty of room left in for the little things that always crop up.

A Clearing Space Moment

What unrealistic expectations are you beating yourself up about? Are you doing the best you can do with what you have?

Then why are you beating yourself up about it?

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.

~E.F. Schumacker

I don’t profess to be a genius, and I know that I often tend to complicate matters when I think I am simplifying them, but this quote resounded with me. It does take a lot of courage to move against the flow… and to move against expectations and the pressure to conform.

It seems to me that we get to a certain point in our lives – and for each of us, it’s a different point, caused by different circumstances and influences – and we feel the need for simplicity. We long for order, calm and a simple life – free of the pressures, demands and chaos we’re incessantly bombarded with.

For me, it was a disillusionment with the corporate world, coupled with the realisation of the need to feel grounded and reconnect with nature.

Simplifying my life has meant going within, seeking beauty and joy, and looking less for happiness from external sources. It will be a life long process.

This month at The Calm Space we’re talking about Simplicity. Each of our expanding team of contributors talks about simplicity as it relates to their own particular genius, and I feel blessed to read their inspiring words, and see their beautiful photography. We’d love to have you join the conversation.

(And for the Aussies, nope, not that sort of SOB.)

This sort of SOB:

It stands for Successful and Outstanding Blogger. And it’s very much a badge of honour.

Thank you Liz - you’ve included me with some pretty amazing people, which makes it doubly special!

If you’ve followed over here from Liz’s place, welcome! There’s lots to see and do, the kettle’s always just boiled and if the kids haven’t invaded, there should be some home-made biscuits in the jar.

You’re welcome to browse around as much as you like… there are no locked doors or barred windows here.

And once you’ve had your fill of The Clearing Space, I’d love you to step on over to the hot-off-the-press June issue of The Calm Space.

This month, the gorgeous (oh, and handsome, now – can’t forget our guys: ) contributors have all shared their unique talents and skills on the theme of FREEDOM.

It’s a hefty topic, and there are some great, thought-provoking posts, some good reads, a beautiful Breathing Space (once again using Amy Palko‘s gorgeous photography) and lots more besides…

[And for those of you who are curious about me, the person, you'll be interested to meet our newest contributor at The Calm Space, writing The Money Space. That's all I'm going to say... you have to go over there to find out more. Hint: check out my editorial here for the goss.]

PS I’ve been travelling and resting and recharging the last couple of weeks… lots to tell, lots and lots of photos to show you… as soon as I’ve had a chance to catch my breath I hope to find time to share some of it with you. Until then, keep well and be free.

Let me see if I can explain.

I love this thing called blogging. And I love the connections that the internet brings my way, that allow me to make friends in far off places. If you’d told me 10 years ago that I’d know two wonderful women in Scotland, I might not have laughed in your face, but I certainly would have been sceptical, no matter how shiny your crystal ball.

But wonder of wonder, the crystal ball would have been correct. I have met (virtually) and got to know Joanna Young, who is now a good friend and a valued contributor to The Calm Space. Through Joanna, I met Amy Palko, and her beautiful photography graced this month’s Breathing Space.

Ever since hubby and I spent time driving through Scotland in our just-married and childless years we have loved the place. It doesn’t hurt that I married a Wallace – and that my father-in-law’s name is William! We both can trace our roots back to that small, cold, so-picturesque country on the other side of the world.

I have often said I want to go backand have Christmas in Scotland in a castle … coldness and open fires and woolly jumpers and mulled wine and snow balls and all that magical, fairy-tale stuff that a hot summer Christmas in Australia just isn’t conducive to.

Um… so what does this have to do with the title of this post?

Well… the Scots, you see, they have their own language. Yes, they speak ‘English’ but they have another, beautifully rich and evocative language that is uniquely theirs. And sometimes they talk about things, and I have no idea what they are talking about.

Recently Joanna went to Chicago for SOBCon08 and gave Brad Shorr a book of Scottish words and phrases. Brad gleefully shared some intriguing words from the book. One of them was Thunderplump.

Say it out loud. Thunderplump. mmmm…

I read his post (thanks to a pointer from Rosa - another magical connection) right after a thunderplump had passed through here on Saturday.

Here’s a couple of the photos I took (as inspired by Amy, I’m learning to see things through a lens…)

Typical sub-tropical storm – came in from the west and down it poured. The gutters just cannot cope…

The storm retreats over the mountains to the north…

The beauty of a rainbow to the east… taken from my front door. Hope remains.

Yes, a thunderplump is a thunderstorm… don’t you love it? Can’t you just hear the word, rolling around the mouth before exploding out in a barrage of scottishness?

What magical things have exploded in your world lately?

Slowly I grew in confidence while all the time searching for the right thing to say.

I knew, right from the start, that I was meant to do this. It was in my blood – that calling – like some ancient knowing.

At times, I came close to addiction – unable to simply walk away. There was always just. one. more.

Then life would interrupt, or I’d feel insecure and inadequate. Or I’d simply change my mind, and move in an entirely different direction.

But I kept finding a path. At times well trodden, where others had gone before. Other times, I needed a machete to slash away the undergrowth and forge my own path ahead.

And those times I struggled to find the path often led to beautiful vistas, found unexpectedly as I crest a rise, or round a corner.

Friends have helped me, held me up when I couldn’t do it alone, forever encouraging me on my journey.

Some have made sarcastic or dismissive comments about this journey of mine. They just make me stronger and more determined.

I am a very different person today to the one I was three years ago. My growth and my learning on this journey have been incredible.

I have made sacrifices, but hold no regrets.

I will stay on this path I have chosen, wandering the trails and hidden lanes, the open paddocks and the mossy streams. And I reserve the right at all times to change my path – to decide a detour has become the route. To change direction and to move with the seasons and the ebb and flow of life.

I’d love to have your company on my journey – for a moment or a lifetime, or any space in between. I know we’ll have fun.

Today is the third anniversary of The Clearing Space blog. Thank you thank you thank you.

Passion is our theme for April at The Calm Space.

I’ve had a couple of funny looks from people when I mention it. Passion? Calm Space? It doesn’t really ‘go‘ does it?

Here’s why it does…

We’re all passionate women who write for The Calm Space (soon to be men too!). And I believe passion is what gives you energy, it is what gets you out of bed each morning.

A passionate life is a life full of energy, movement, light and colour. That is living.

Being calm isn’t about being dull or lifeless. And it’s definitely not about sitting in a trance all day long.

Being calm is about remaining at peace with our life, no matter the busyness and chaos that surrounds us. It’s about not getting so caught up in all we have to do, chores, goals and to-do lists, that we forget to live. It’s about being happy, most of the time. It’s about coping – or doing even better than ‘coping’.

And passion, glorious passion, is one of the ways in which we can make our life worth living. It adds spice, it fills our tank, it makes us more attractive and good to be around.

Do you think passion fits at The Calm Space?

Send us your answers: one line (50 words max), a photo, a link to a move clip or a piece of music…

Or leave us a comment at The Challenge Space (or both).

Are you in?