And now we go again...

Baileys_Babe

January has been going on so long and there is still nearly a week to go. The days are slowly getting a bit longer, this time next month sunset will be around 5.30 pm 😊

EssexHebridean

MaB I wish it had been Friday today!  

BB - I noticed as I left the office last night that there was still just a little light in the sky and it wasn't *quite* fully dark - it's getting there isn't it! 

PennysIntoPounds

Aw the Big Garden Birdwatch sounds delightful, hope you have a lovely time in your garden!

Well done on holding out for a better gift with your cl!niq*e purchase too, good thinking 

milann

Hope you spot lots of lovely birds. We used to get lots of sparrows and robins then we had new neighbours who chopped the bush they used to sit in down so we only see magpies and wood pigeons these days. There are too many cats about the area too. 

LadyWithAPlan

I do like a voucher but well done on waiting til you can use it on stuff you will use...

I am determined to get down my toiletries pile ....  especially if I am buying soon - i think i will allow myself to buy mascara (love Macstack and YSL faux cils), toothpaste (just bought 3 x floss)  and thats it til the pile starts depleting .. I have £42 of boots voucher but I want a certain thing which they dont sell at boots so I am planning to buy what I can from the voucher and save the cash for my 'wish list thing - the lash serum stuff that seems to laste for ages and works) 

Light in the sky woohoo - still v dark in the morning

savingholmes

Thanks for the reminder about it getting lighter. I much prefer that. It's hard this time of year with the length of time in the dark.

lucielle

It’s started getting dark at 4.30 ish but still light enough at 5. 

L

jwil

Happy Friday!  I might have a go at the birdwatch this weekend too.

Greying_Pilgrim

EssexHebridean said:

 
Cheery - I think it's such a good habit, and the first step on it is to recognise the behaviour when it's occurring isn't it. I heard someone say something on a podcast yesterday that is something I've been reminding myself of for years - you can't control the way anyone else chooses to behave, you can only choose your own reaction to that behaviour. True, or what?! I've realised though that the first conscious act when you can feel a "reaction" brewing is to remind yourself of that - and then actively choose what your reaction is then going to be. That's going to be something I'm going to try to stick with. 

EH - I agree entirely about 'how you respond' and seeing it written down here, reminds me of a quote of Viktor Frankl's - "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom"

As someone who has been struggling with 'how I respond' and generally been getting my self and my brain cell in a tizzy over the daftest of things, I can see that in addition to helping myself by using that 'space' or 'pause' to respond appropriately (even if sometimes it is appropriate to not make a response.....), I help myself longer term by being less inclined to over-analyse the situation, or mentally berate myself for shrieking when a simple 'no' would have sufficed etc etc.  I'm certainly not finding it easy, but I can see how things are changing (for the better) around me, when my 'reaction' is much more measured/appropriate.  And in turn, if you see improvement from measured responses, you are (perhaps) more likely to adopt the habit of measured responses, overtime.  'Tis still v. much a work in progress mind.... 😉

Oh, birdwatch....... I had the most magical encounter with a wren this morning, walking back out of Greying Town, it was only about 4 feet away from me - I could literally see every feather in such detail.  It flitted away after about 10 seconds, but such a treat!

Greying X

Blackcats

when I was working and staring at a screen for hours in meetings I would  remind myself that the difference between a reaction and a response can be as little as 10 seconds.  My mum always did the counting to 10 technique - but she did it loudly enough so that you knew you might have made her cross!