Week 2 in Sri Lanka, and it’s been a fabulous holiday. The people, food and weather have all been amazing. The only downside was some inadvertent gluten for my daughter who has coeliac disease and the poor thing wasn’t well for a day, but overall finding gluten-free options has been fine. I’m writing this blog in advance and hopefully the schedule function works, as the next few days I will have minimal or no internet as we are in a remote area (and hopefully seeing blue whales migrating up the East coast!). I’m conscious I have been due an ‘ask me anything’ and have had some interesting questions this month. I will cover this next weekend when back in the UK.
In this week’s video, I discuss a study looking at an artificial sweetener, and its effects on the stickiness of blood and what that might mean for heart attack and stroke risk.
A few things have dawned on me over the last week of being on holiday. Life is usually so busy, I suppose I haven’t got much time to think. Therein lies the problem. I’ve always been a ‘planner’. I love a ‘to do list’ and so when there is less to do, I’ve noticed quite how busy my mind is. There’s always thoughts popping in to my head (usually ‘must do this or that). The best way I have found to focus over the years is meditation.
I’ve written about this before, but in a nutshell it didn’t some easily to me, but after lots of practice found it very beneficial in several areas of my life. I used to use an app which kept a tally, or streak, of how much I used it. Being a competitive sort this worked well for me, but a few months ago I changed app, simply for the change. The new one doesn’t have a tally, and I’ve been less good at doing it daily. I also have got into the habit of meditating before bed, and invariably doze off. I’ve made a point this last week of changing that habit – meditating earlier in the day, and committing to a daily practice. If you’ve never tried meditation, I urge you to explore it. The benefits are huge. The main focus of my meditation this week has been gratitude. I’m so lucky to have had this great holiday with my family and seen these sights.
A regular gratitude practice has been shown to be highly associated with increased happiness. Sri Lanka is a predominantly Buddhist country, and before I came here everyone I met who had been here said how wonderfully kind the people were. It’s so true. Many people here do not have any of the material goods we often associate with happiness in the West, yet seem considerably happier with their lives. There seems a real sense of community that is often lacking back home.
I really hope when I do get home and get back to work I can try and be a bit more balanced with my time. I will try not to cram something into every nook and cranny of my week. I will try to continue meditating earlier in the day. I would love to be able to eat as many different fruits and vegetables as I have here but that will be hard, the variety simply isn’t easily available. I hope whatever you’ve been up to this summer you’ve enjoyed it, and maybe even had time to reflect on how you can make some habit changed in your ‘regular’ life for the better.