March 13th, 2021

It’s been a tough year! (How many times have I said that this year?!) There have been so many highs and lows and at the beginning of March, I was beginning to fade a bit again.  When I reached for the 16 Guidelines cards, I was really looking for inspiration and I got it! Aspiration is the guideline for March!

‘Aspiration is the profound longing for purpose and fulfillment, joy and happiness, which lies deep – and sometimes buried – in our hearts, and in the heart of every living being. It is the voice inside that urges us to use our life well and to make the best of whatever gifts and passions we possess. The way we choose to respond to that voice will determine all the choices we make in our lives.

The happiest and most contented people are usually those who have found a way to put their aspirations for self and others into practice and have thereby played an active part in creating a better world.’

16 Guidelines Handbook

16 Guidelines is a framework that can help pre-frame and re-frame situations.  Getting Aspiration was exactly what I needed.  It got me back on track and reminded me of why I do what I do.  I’ve been working as AndBreathe123 for 2 ½ years and in the past few weeks, I feel that things are finally beginning to come together.  Sharing tools to support mental health and wellbeing in others is a privilege and something I am so passionate about. It is a vocation.  I want to give people what I didn’t have over the years, when my life was challenging. 

I am just back from an outdoor session with teens, at Haddo Country Park. These sessions have been a highlight of mine since I began AndBreathe123, so sharing what I do with ten teenagers today was special.  I’ve had to cancel the last few sessions, exactly when teenagers would have benefitted from being together in the outdoors. The wait was worth it though! They are a brilliant bunch and a credit to their families. Working together to create dens, make a rope swing, build fires, put up a hammock, make hot chocolate and, I’m not sure if I should share this or not, but they tidied up perfectly!!  

I came home feeling the benefits of being in the outdoors, surrounded by trees, having taken time to appreciate the sounds of nature and socialising with such amazing young people.  These sessions have a positive impact on my mental health too and that’s one of the spin offs of the job I do now!
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Thank you for being part of my journey as AndBreathe123!