When I push the shutter release, I close my eyes.

(Annelies Strba, from Shades of Time)

breathe, 2014

I have done a lot of reflecting during this holiday period. I’ve read a lot of blog posts and facebook updates about fresh starts and being thankful and realising what’s important, and all that. I’m not knocking any of it. It’s all good and true, of course. It’s been refreshing, and liberating, to have some time to just be without the pressures of work and the day-to-day (of course I know this is only a temporary state, so I’m bracing myself for the full onslaught which comes with immersing myself back into the deep end of life). One thing which has struck me head on, though, throughout all the great stuff (and there is lots of great stuff!) is just how busy 2014 has been. And not entirely in a good way. I always like being busy. I need busy. But I have learned it is definitely not good to busy yourself to the point that you find yourself collapsing in a crumpled heap over the finish line on your hands and knees with a white flag between your teeth. It ends, usually, in tears, frustration and wounds, the kind of which you can’t slap a plaster on; the kind which take much time and effort to heal. It benefits no-one in the end, least of all you.

So at the start of this year. This shiny, brand spanking new clean sheet of a year, I am going to gift myself some much needed advice.

Just give yourself a moment.

Just breathe.
Breathe in
and out.

Look.
Close your eyes
and
see.

Happy New Year to all, and I wish you a peaceful, fulfilling and inspiring year ahead.

© images and words Emily Hughes, 2015