MY THREE DELIGHTS FROM NOVEMBER

As I mentioned at the beginning of January when I chose "Delight" as my Word of the Year, I thought I'd round off each month with three delights.

MY NOVEMBER DELIGHTS

As I mentioned at the beginning of January when I chose "Delight" as my Word of the Year, I thought I'd round off each month with three delights. November is my birthday month, my blog's anniversary month, and one of my favourite times of the year. 

So, without further ado here are my three delights from November...a group of delightful outings, a birthday delight, and a blogging delight, with a delightful quote to round it all up....

REINVENTING RETIREMENT: 5 AUSSIE ADVENTURES THAT KEEP YOU YOUNG

Whether you're already retired or dreaming about what comes next, these five adventures might just spark something wonderful.

INTRO

Today on the blog I have a great collaboration that focuses on some suggestions for how to make retirement more interesting and engaging. I know a lot of people who worry that retirement is going to be boring, and wonder how they'll fill their time. I love the slower pace and unplanned days of doing whatever takes my fancy, but if you'd like a little guidance I'll hand you over to see what's on offer....

5 WORDS THAT WILL INCREASE YOUR HAPPINESS BASELINE

Hannah Fry encourages us to use "these are the good days" to increase our happiness baseline. I think it sounds like a great idea.

WHAT IS A HAPPINESS BASELINE?

I didn't realize that we all have different happiness baselines. A happiness baseline is the level of happiness or wellbeing that we return to despite the ups and downs of life. Apparently it's influenced by our genetics, our circumstances, and making intentional choices about how we see our world.

Regardless of the starting point we're each at, we can gradually lift our happiness baseline which makes us more positive and more resilient in how we approach life day to day. Recently I came across a really interesting two minute video on how to lift that baseline with 5 simple words....

WHAT DOES "COMMUNITY" LOOK LIKE TO YOU IN THE SECOND HALF OF LIFE?

Does our definition of community change in the second half of life? Showing up regularly keeps our relationships connected and alive.

WHAT DOES COMMUNITY LOOK LIKE IN MIDLIFE?

When I was younger I would have defined "community" as a large and diverse group of people who I interacted with regularly. But, as I immerse myself in Midlife and seek out what feels authentic and comfortable, I find that community looks quite different to how it did back then. I'm finding that I've become quite averse to large groups of people - trying to find my place in a large group feels stressful and I always end up with a headache afterwards.

But does that mean withdrawing from community and living in isolation? No, but it does mean that I seek out what feels like a good fit - and for me that comes in smaller bites these days...

FEELING EMPATHY WITHOUT TAKING OWNERSHIP - FINDING THE BALANCE

Healthy boundaries means we can show empathy and compassion to others without absorbing it into ourselves.

WHEN COMPASSION FEELS OVERWHELMING

Life often brings things into my world that hurt my heart. As time moves along I bump up against hurting people, unfair outcomes, difficult situations, and inexplicable events that I don't understand. It's a little overwhelming at times when the pain from what's happening around me swamps my mind and crushes my spirit.

Recently this hit home very strongly, and I realized that I still have very porous boundaries when it comes to being touched by other people's pain...