In the background, some very exciting stuff is happening out here in my cute but cozy little house (Curious? Keep reading!).
The last 5 years (actually it’s probably already 15 years) I’ve been living a life that’s not really average, and this very strange and wobbly path has brought me exactly where I am today. The next few weeks, I will take you with me on that journey, not because I feel like my life is mega important to expand yours, but because with every bump in the road I learned some pretty valuable stuff. And I feel like keeping it to myself would also keep you from letting another motivational seed grow inside of you.
So as of this week you’ll get: one story and one life lesson. Maybe it inspires you, maybe it doesn’t. I'm already grateful for 2% of inspiration in any way, shape or form.
So I’ll start out with telling you who I am.
My name is Elise, some of you know me as die kleine avonturier (little adventurer), I am 27 (almost 28) years old. In Dutch they count years in amount of spring seasons you’ve lived through and that’s how I prefer to count it too. Because Spring is the best season, isn’t it?
My birthday is in Spring too and I have always loved that bit the most, because after a cold, dark winter, the new leafs & rays of sunshine & new life in nature are so much more beautiful, aren’t they? I used to wonder if the birds stop singing in winter time, maybe they’re hiding or sleeping, because there’s always this one particular day in Spring they seem to wake up and sing so much louder all of a sudden. I tested out that idea this year, this Winter. This cold, long, dreadful Winter during which we were all locked down, and I - after 2 years of skipping Winter by going to places where it’s summer in December - kept looking for fun and coziness & beauty in Winter time in a place where at first sight there’s not that much adventure to be found.
Long story short: the birds do keep singing in Winter time, if you take the time to listen. Here we are, you found the first tiny piece of wisdom that I discovered this Winter time.
And with that, you’ve found the beginning of the story (nope, it’s not chronological, my head doesn’t always work like that) and also a bit of my look on life. I’m a die hard positivo and spent a big part of my life looking at the bright side of life and pretty deliberately ignoring the hardships & sadness by putting them in a dark box somewhere in the back of my mind.
And it’s only very recently that I discovered that by accepting both Winter and Spring with all the perfect imperfections, life is beautiful anyways and always, even when it’s a Winter time that doesn’t seem to ever end. Yes, with that I’m referring to the virus that makes us live life a different way and brings us from one lockdown to another until today.
Actually, I have to say that this particular virus did of course impact me in a lot of ways, as it did for all of us, and honestly it really just made all puzzle pieces align together to make my journey light up even clearer. I will guide you through the process in the next few weeks.
So, this week’s sparkle of wisdom:
the birds do keep singing in Winter time, if you take the time to listen.
Aka: the small joyful things in life are always there. Yes, they’re here in dark times too. So take your time, whatever that means for you, to look for them.
And let me know where you find them, because that inspires me too. Lots of Love,
Elise