2026 - Mindful Living and Connection

leftatthetrafficlights

Previous thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6493531/slow-living-doing-it-old-style/p1

I've decided to start a new thread as life has developed and changed since I started my previous one and my focus is definitely shifting! 

Being more frugal and living a slow life has definitely been an uplifting and joyous experience and this will continue; but 2026 will be more focused on connections and unity, mindfulness, frugality, an ethical lifestyle and health. 

I'll go into more detail in my next posts but basically, this thread is about trying to live mindfully, frugally, ethically and healthily by:

1) mindfulness practices (more later on these and how they relate to everything else)

2) using up what I have

3) making and/or growing my own stuff where possible

4) buying (if needed) ethically where possible

5) foraging

6) repurposing

7) reusing

8) reducing 

9) spending only when necessary

10) establish and embed healthy routines 

More detail to follow in next few posts! 😁

leftatthetrafficlights

Saved for follow up

leftatthetrafficlights

A bit of an explanation post....

The past year or so has helped me build a much clearer understanding of how I can build my finances, my health, my lifestyle choices and my mindfulness practices and grow a unity in mind, body and essence which will bring real joy in my day to day life. 

I have spent a lot of time over the past couple of years studying a number of philosophies and I have adopted some practices that have been transformative in my day to day life - the yogic practices of asana and yoga nidra along with the engaged buddhism practices of meditation and mindfulness - I really want to build on those practices and become much more consistent with them. 

What has been reinforced through those practices, is that I still want to tread as lightly on the earth as possible so I need to up my game in living as ethically as possible - in some respects that increases what I have to spend but also reduces it in other ways. It's important to me to be as frugal as possible so that my money can be spent supporting my ethical choices and not lining the pockets of the greedy! 

I will make my own household products where possible (I will use up what I currently have first then I can reuse the containers!😉); I will cook from scratch; I will buy in bulk where practical; I will use free resources where available; I will reuse wherever possible and I will try to limit/reduce my consumption of anything which has a negative impact on me or the planet/environment.

I want to build a practice of mindful gardening which will help support veganic growing of veg, herbs and fruit for consumption at home and also capture carbon, reduce waste and build a wonderful environment for a multitude of creatures. 

Spending time with older relatives over the holidays really highlighted the need to look after myself - I want to get as strong and healthy as possible then maintain it for as long as possible - losing weight will certainly help me get healthier so I am going to pay much more attention to making progress this year as well as doing what I can to become fitter, stronger and more flexible. While my yogic and mindfulness practices will definitely feature heavily in improving my health, I'm also going to start doing more general activity as well as some targeted activity to build and maintain strength and stamina. 

I want 2026 to be a year of living in the present moment and making sure that my present moments are building a better environment and future 😁

Wednesday2000

It seem we have similar goals for this year. I am doing exactly the same and want to make myself as physically strong as possible this year as I will be turning 50 in a few months.

I did the opposite and went out for two long walks last weekend and have exhausted myself. Lol. There was a double page spread of one of the walks as it started with two men who wanted to combat loneliness in the local community with the group walks and it has grown so much and over 100 people were there last Sunday.

I did do a YouTube upper arm workout a few days ago so I am planning to do it again tomorrow as I read women over 50 should do strength training 2-4 times a week.

I bought myself a book on Buddhism that is arriving today as from last year I do meditation classes a few times a month now. It is called Buddhist Boot Camp - Timber Hawkeye.

Brie

OH has declared (at last) that we need to get fit and eat more healthy.  I shouldn't really say "at last" as he says it often but then nothing ever happens - however I think this time he means it.  So I'm trying to focus on the healthy eating side initially.  His previous ideas on this has focused mostly on eating ready meals - nice for an occasional dinner perhaps but to me this is not healthy eating.  His idea was portion control.  Yes, but doesn't take account of the amount of salt and other gubins that lurk in processed food.  So today I suggested I make a cottage pie, it's something he really likes and I'm more than capable.  Beyond that we've agreed that we will keep meals simple, so chilli will mean just that, not starting with a huge plate of nachos etc.  

Part two, when there's not quite such a cold breeze we are going to start walking - we've lived in this house for nearly 8 years and rarely walked around the neighbourhood.  Hopefully this will be soon enough for us to build on the walking we did while on holiday.  Given that we used to walk in the alps our fitness level has really nose dived (nose doved?) and we both need to lose a decent amount of body weight.  I've no illusions about joining a gym because I know it will just waste money so keeping things simple.

Part three is to get better at keeping our surrounding clean and tidy.  It's got to be a joint effort and while I'm loathe to take charge I think we need a to do list.  I know tidying, decluttering, lifts my spirits and I hope it will have the same effect on the OH who often is overwhelmed by the world.  I looked around the dining room this morning and realised it made me happy - and that was just from removing all the Christmas cards and a few decorations we had.  Proper cleaning on a regular basis will make things much better.

So not mindfulness in the meditation sense but more in the awareness of myself and my surroundings and what brings me small bits of happiness.  I need some this year.

leftatthetrafficlights

@Wednesday2000 - we can cheer each other on! 💪 I definitely need to do some strength training but will ease into it gently - I've done very little in the last 9 months and want to concentrate more on building consistency first 😉 I'd love to know how you get on with your book! 😁

@Brie - Mindfulness isn't just about meditation and I think your plans embrace the very essence of mindfulness! Awareness of what you are putting into your body and how you are eating it; being aware of your body, meeting it's needs, maintaining and utilising it; looking after your immediate environment and finding joy within it - all of that is about living in the present moment. The end goals may be in the future but the actions are taken in the here and now 😁 I hope 2026 is full of happiness for you! 

I'm also going to be walking more (currently not an option due to the weather - it's not worth risking a fall! ) this year - my intention is to do a mindful walk daily. I have beautiful surroundings and I want to see sunrises, listen to the waves, hear the wind across the fields and through the trees. I'm looking forward to it becoming ice free again! 

Tomorrow I'm starting a 30 day programme for asana, meditation and yoga nidra practices based on where I feel I need the focus at the time so it's going to be pretty fluid potentially! 🤔😂 I do have a loose plan but I'm going with whatever feels right.

I'm also having one 'Day of Mindfulness' a week as described in 'The Miracle of Mindfulness' by Thích Nhất Hạnh. It's going to take a lot to achieve a full day but hopefully by the end of 2026 I will have developed my practice enough to be able to do it 😁

I have several areas of mindfulness practice that I want to develop and make a part of my everyday life - cleaning, gardening, cooking, walking and eating spring to mind currently. I want to be completely connected to what I am doing, fully aware and present in the moment. It sounds a lot easier than it actually is though - I constantly battle with 'monkey brain' - jumping from one thought to another with the speed of lightening isn't something that is simple to subdue but consistency wins out in the end! 🤞🤔😂

Hopefully we'll encourage each other when it gets tough, celebrate our wins, accept our challenges and offer alternative views, thoughts and ideas when we potentially need a different perspective 😁

Edgeoftheburn

Hello 👋 
This is a thread I feel echos where I am aiming for in 2026. For this year my focus is the following........I am surrounded by and have access to abundant resources. For now this means noticing and being grateful for what I have and seeking those that I can connect with mindfully, while respectfully finding ways to share or learn from each other. I am sure this will morph and grow through the year. 
I am currently trying to use up ingredients in the house by cooking forward, making something that lasts more than once or a future meal that I will be grateful for. The other thing is tackling one annoying job a day from the extensive to do list. 
Look forward to following along and being inspired by you all.

leftatthetrafficlights

Welcome aboard @Edgeoftheburn! 😁 

Today I have been doing some mindful cleaning, cooking and writing. It's lovely to become  completely immersed in what I'm doing - it helps me feel very grounded and serene. It's going to be a long time before it becomes second nature to me but I'll keep doing the work - it is becoming a little easier every day 😁 

Tomorrow is my day of mindfulness where I'll spend all day in practice - it will be interesting to see how I manage it....I'm hoping that the weather is good enough for me to be able to go out for a walk in the morning - I quite fancy a walk to the beach 🤔 

Dinner tonight is going to be green lentils with savoy cabbage, roasted carrots and black grapes in a maple balsamic dressing, broad beans, steamed beetroot and coriander buckwheat. I'm looking forward to it - I'll probably add some rocket and berries to my plate too - I'm still craving salad!! 




ETA: piccie added, forgot to do the buckwheat!! 🤦‍♀️😂

Tonight I will do the menu for the week - I'm going to use as much as possible from the storecupboard & freezer - I have veg to use up in the freezer (carrots, brussel sprouts, parsnips), some in the fridge (red cabbage, carrots, new potatoes) some in the greenhouse (spaghetti squash and a couple of butternut squash), and in the garden there are leeks, Jerusalem artichokes and some herbs. I think that with the addition of fruit and salad leaves, we should have enough stuff for at least ten days. I'm going to do a pasta dish when we've used up all of today's food - I want to use up the tin of banana blossom this week so I'll do some as bolognese and some as chilli - I like using stuff up! 😁 

I checked out my yoga room today and made sure that its all cleaned and sorted ready for tomorrow's meditation practices. I've chosen the practices I'm doing tomorrow and I've also decided on my asana and yoga nidra practices so I'm feeling very happy and prepared for the next part of my lifestyle change that starts tomorrow! 😁

Wednesday2000

I have to do the strength workout tomorrow before my hair appointment. It is only 10 minutes so I will do it. Of course it is meant to be raining as it always seems to be after I get my hair done at a salon. *Rolls eyes*

I have three classes this weekend and I'm going to pick up a book on Buddhism from the library at some point as it is ready to be picked up.

leftatthetrafficlights

@Wednesday2000 - I hope the workout and hair appointment go well! 😁 enjoy your classes and your book! 

I've decided that I'm going to do my mindfulness day tomorrow - I had to pop to the shop today so my plans went a bit squiffy and I have a bit of stuff to do to sort some space for my ds as he's staying here for the time being - I have nothing on tomorrow though so I can concentrate on me then. 

Dinner tonight will be leftovers - I need to use some more spaghetti squash too so may pop a couple into the oven to roast today; we'll eat one with dinner and tomorrow I'll make some soup with the other one for lunch. I'll probably make a small loaf to go with it - I quite fancy a rosemary focaccia so I'll do that and make a banana blossom pasta dish for tomorrow's dinner to finish the bread 😋 

I'm going to spend today reading - I'm just about to start Being Peace by Ticht Nacht Han - and doing some writing. I am aiming to read at least one book a week - I normally read a lot faster but I've been spending time writing down things that really resonate and exploring the ideas a bit more. It's helping me get more from it 😁 

Anyway, latte is calling  - have a fab day 😁

Brie

Not sure this qualifies as mindfulness but I'm aware that the post holiday laundry pile is going down.  I can really only do 1 load every other day to ensure things dry properly before putting away.  But once the pile is cleared (currently on the bed in the downstairs room) we'll be able to see the suitcases and then they can go away and we'll be able to start clearing the rest of the clutter in that room.  I want to keep it at a 5 minutes away from being ready for a surprise guest.  That means that once the tat is cleared I'll be able to take down the curtains and wash them too - that's likely a month away at least so they can dry mostly outside.