Autumn colours

I wasn't surprised this morning when I woke up and realized I had caught a bad cold! It's almost comical! I have had and have a huge stress load from various sources and the sum of these has broken down my immune system and after a few bad nights sleep, the cold breaks out. When I don't give my body the opportunity to rest and recover it immediately punishes me, bam! And I am grateful! Grateful because I am so sensitive and because I know how my body works.

Last night I wrote that I don't like full days and today I can only conclude that one consequence of full days is poor sleep. At least for me. And then hocus pocus I'm in a vicious cycle. I need time for recovery, otherwise I don't switch off at night and have trouble falling asleep and sleep restlessly. The next morning I wake up feeling like I never fell asleep and that's no fun. Especially when a busy schedule awaits again. Tonight will have to be an early night. Hopefully it will help to break the vicious cycle. And next week I'll have to try to plan better! Sleeping 8 hours every night has not been something I've managed during my autumn detox and it feels like a big failure. Because that part of the detox is at least as important as the food I eat!

I don't like fully booked days, when there is no time for a quiet moment. Today has been such a day. It works sometimes, but not in the long run. Unfortunately, this is exactly how a lot of people choose to live, because it is somehow the norm. That's the way it should be.

I disagree. We all have different choices. There are choices. There are things I must have and there are things I want. There are things I have to do and there are things I want to do. Ultimately, the choice is mine.

I am a trained Postpartum Doula. In California I was never asked what I offer when I work as a Postpartum Doula, now I get asked that question pretty much daily. And I understand why! Sweden has a very different social system built around pregnancy and childbirth compared to some other countries. BUT that doesn't mean Swedish women don't have the same basic needs as women in the US for example. After all, we are all women!

You can use your gut in many different ways, but one thing is for sure, you should never defy it. That's one of my basic principles.

A simple example from earlier today was when I came back after leaving the kids at school and preschool. As I entered the kitchen, my gut told me to check the bags from the US one more time, because that's where the missing Manuka honey lie. I don't know why my intuition was giving me these signals at the time, but I did what my intuition told me to do. And sure enough, at the bottom of one of the bags in another bag lies the honey! Just like that. As I had thought and searched before without getting anywhere. And how appropriate that it turned up just today, as the girls and I are struggling with a sore throat.

Some days are completely impossible. To do lists are long and numerous, the phone rings, important emails pop up that need a quick response, the mobile phone beeps countless times, daydreams take over, meetings interrupt the writing when it's flowing best etc etc.

The ability to focus and be present is the key to good productivity, at work and in everyday life. To focus is to narrow your attention to something specific, to keep your eyes on a specific goal. It is the key to concentration, efficiency and clarity. The problem is that attention is a limited resource and distractions are all around us. There are many different things competing for our attention all the time, and that poses a bigger problem today than ever before. The brain is not built to "have too many balls in the air" all the time.