2020 has been hard. Sometimes it felt like it will never end and other times you might have wished it would never end. 2020 has been eye-opening in so many ways. What I have learnt: 1. It doesn't lead to happiness if you try to please everybody around you. You are more likely to lose yourself on the way. 2. You can't control what other people do and think. But you can control what you do and think. 3. Some people will come into your life for a season, a reason or a life time. 4. Use your energy and time wisely. 5. You can't change anyone; you can only change yourself. 6. Accept that you can't be loved by everyone. 7. Surround yourself with good people - people who make time for you, are listening to you, are interested in you and care about your feelings. 8. Be grateful for every single day. 9. Enjoy the moment without worrying about the future. 10. Change isn't stoppable and bad - it's necessary to grow. 11. Everything happens for a reason and every experience brings you closer to where you are meant to be. 12. You don't always get what you want but you get what you need. Life gives you lots of moments and it will all make sense at some point. You only need to believe and be patient. AuthorMichele Reiher, Christchurch
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Please note, if you are reading this and not looking forward to Christmas, you are certainly not on your own on this one. It can feel like that, it can feel like everyone else has something organised and to look forward to, but I promise you it is not the case… For the last couple of weeks I have been having conversations with clients around Christmas, whether it be about spending it on their own, or the memories or pain that it brings up for them. I have also had people message me for ideas around getting through it, so thought I would put some of them down here for you.
Please remember, this too will pass. As I often talk about, in any given moment, we can come from a place of fear or a place of love. Be gentle on yourself, choose the things that are kindest for yourself right now. If you have any further thoughts or ideas, please do comment and share them below. P.S. If you are reading this and have Christmas organised with loved ones, maybe spare a thought for those that don’t. Is there someone you can reach out to, connect with, or invite. It may not be on Christmas Day itself, but it may give them something to look forward to, to feel thought of, seen and heard. AuthorLiz Fry, Life Coach Sometimes it's so hard to just be and to enjoy the moment. How often are we mind-wandering in the past and the future and the here and now literally slips away. We are super excited when we do or see things for the first time. But when we start to get used to them, we might not pay as much attention or actually appreciate them. Unfortunately, sometimes we realise too late that what we had was very special. I have been living in New Zealand for 4 years and I'm still excited to see a sheep. Sounds silly right?! Some people do smile or laugh about it. But I hope it will never change. AuthorMichele Reiher, Christchurch I am light, I am light I am light, I am light I am light, I am light I am light, I am light I am not the things my family did I am not the voices in my head I am not the pieces of the brokenness inside, I am light I am light I am light, I am light I am light, I am light I am light, I am light I'm not the mistakes that I have made Or any of the things that caused me pain I am not the pieces of the dream I left behind, I am light I am light, I am light I, I am light I am light, I am light I am light, I am light I am not the colour of my eyes I am not the skin on the outside I am not my age, I am not my race My soul inside is all light All light, all light yeah All light I am light, I am light I am light, I am light yeah I am divinity defined I am the God on the inside I am a star, a piece of it all I am light Do you know this song?
Music plays an important role in my life and there are so many memories which are attached to various songs. When I listen to one of them it brings up the specific situation or person who is connected with this song. It’s actually incredible what our brain does. “I am light” will always remind me of the Retreat and Te Rau. Te Rau was singing this song at the last evening of my stay. It was a night with a starry sky and she started playing the first chords. Her amazing voice was so powerful and her words literally touched my soul. Tears were running down my face. It felt like she was talking to me. She reminded me that even though I have felt quite lost and alone for some time me and my light are still there. Maybe it doesn’t shine as bright but it still glows. Do you think food can make you happy? I think so. But have you ever been to “dessert heaven”? During my childhood I loved when mum was doing some baking – my sister and I used to be there just in time to make sure we won’t miss out on some cookie dough or cake batter. I had the pleasure to meet a chef at the Retreat and one day she decided to do some baking. When I came into the kitchen on that special day, a sweet, warm and buttery smell of baking was in the air. Tina was behind the kitchen counter and bowls & muffin trays in front of her. I couldn’t wait to find out what she was doing and where this delicious smell came from. Until this day I have never heard of “Brookies”. And I bet my face must have been full of question marks when Tina was talking about them. Now I know Brookies are a mix of brownie and cookie. After finding out that a combination like this actually exists, I got even more excited as I do LOVE cookies and would potentially never say “No” to a brownie either. Thank god that some of these Brookies were already in the oven so the promised tasting part wasn’t far away 😊. The whole place smelled soooooo good. But besides that, it was great to see what food does – It creates memories and connections. And I also realised once again you can always learn something new every day – if you want to. You just need to be curious and open. The tasting of my first ever Brookie: The freshly baked and still warm Brookie looked very similar to a muffin. The base & the outside part was made out of cookie dough so it isn’t as soft as a muffin and more like a crispy cookie. The inside/middle part of the Brookie was made out of a lemon brownie and was soft, creamy and mouth-watering. I was enjoying every single bite of it and far far away in “dessert heaven”. Fortunately, Tina made heaps of them so everyone was very lucky to get to try a Brookie. But to be honest I’m glad my sister wasn’t around so I didn’t have to share. But I will happily make them for her at some point as Tina has kindly shared her recipe! Tina’s BROOKIES COOKIE BASE 200g butter (melted) 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 T vanilla essence 3 cups plain flour 1 tsp baking powder Grease muffin tray. Beat butter and sugar for 1 minute. Add eggs and vanilla, beat for 1 minute. Stir in flour and baking powder. Dough should look and feel soft. But not sticky. Roll into 30g (or Table spoon size) balls and press into muffin trays, dough should come up at least 3/4s to the top. CREAM CHEESE FILLING 1 packet of cream cheese (250g) 4 T sugar Mix sugar through cream cheese. Spoon into cookie cases. (1 big teaspoon) LEMON BROWNIE 250g butter (melted) 2 cups white sugar 1 tsp vanilla 4 eggs (I use size 6) 1 1/2 cups plain flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt Zest of 4 lemons Juice of 2 lemons (You will use the other 2 lemons to juice for the lemon glaze.) Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Combine butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs, flour, baking powder, salt until smooth. Stir in lemon zest and juice. Spoon over cookie cases. Just to the top. Try not to over fill. Bake for 15 – 20mins. LEMON GLAZE 3/4 cup of icing sugar Juice of 2 lemons Hot water if needed. Add lemon juice to icing sugar. Stir until smooth. Add a teaspoon of hot water if glaze is too thick. Glaze should be thin enough to drizzle over the BROOKIES with a fork. AuthorMichele Reiher, Christchurch Kindness My mum used to say “Be kind to others” and as a child I had no idea that kindness will be so important to me one day. Being kind is the hug you give a friend who is going through a difficult time; the message you send to check in on your sister who is sick or the cookie you put on the desk of your colleague who seems to be having bad day. You don’t even need to know the person to be kind. A simple act of kindness can be the smile you give a stranger in the supermarket; holding the door open for someone or the “Good morning” to the bus driver. It doesn’t take much to be kind and you can literally start straight away. Little and bigger acts of kindness can make such a difference in people’s life. It makes them feel noticed, cared for and valued. But it will also make a difference to you. It will fill you with warmth; joy and will most likely put a smile on your face - because you did something good for someone else. Kindness is limitless. Kindness is free. Kindness is magic. AuthorMichele Reiher, Christchurch A beautiful gift of writing kindly contributed by a recent Guest of Taranaki Retreat |