Uncluttered

  In the hush of the Australian bush, wombats dig with quiet determination. Their burrows are more than shelter — they’re blueprints for a life lived slowly, wisely, and close to the earth. As someone learning to move through the world with softness and intention, I find myself drawn to these sturdy little architects. Here are five wombat-inspired ways we might reimagine our own rhythms. 🌿 1. Build Deep, Not Wide Wombats don’t rush. Their burrows stretch deep underground, with winding tunnels and hidden chambers that stay cool in summer and safe in fire. Echo for us: Let your sanctuary be layered. Whether it’s a playlist, a journal, or a quiet corner of your home — depth brings comfort. Go slow. Dig in. 🪶 2. Rest Like You Mean It By day, wombats retreat into their burrows, conserving energy and avoiding the harsh sun. They know rest isn’t laziness — it’s wisdom. Echo for us: Honour rest as a rhythm, not a reward. Let your downtime be soft and shaded. A nap, a poem, a moment...

  Creativity Doesn’t Go Completely AWOL — Eventually It Finds New Ways to Flow Back in the day, classical music was my second language. Piano, trumpet, French horn — they were part of my vibe and how I communicated. I didn’t just play music; I lived it. (I was pretty ordinary at the brass instruments, by the way, but I had my moments.) About 22 years ago, Fibromyalgia moved in like a speeding road train on the Warrego Highway in Queensland, and my right hand completely seized up. Playing became painful and mostly impossible. For a while, I didn’t know how to find my way back to music — but over time, I softened to the idea that things can be done differently. Turns out, creativity can flutter back like a happy butterfly with more longevity than your average lepidoptera. These days, I compose using Notion Mobile — no strain, just space to breathe. I bring my classical background into this digital world and rework pieces I used to play. Some are gentler, more spacious. Some ar...

I've had a few incidents with spherical items ending up spread all over the ground. Why this is interesting to me at the moment, I cannot tell you but here goes! 1. Recently, I arrived home from shopping and somehow dropped a bag that contained quite a few cherry tomotoes. These small round red things dutifully rolled all around the garage forcing me to exert an inordinate amount of energy hunting them down. Not ideal. 2. A couple of years ago I had a similar incident involving blueberries. The difference that time was that the garage door was open, and seeing as though we live on a slope, the items started rolling down the driveway onto the street. Fun times. I didn't really need to pick the blueberries up seeing as they were organic, outside and not causing too much trouble. It was an interesting spectacle seeing them going down the hill - like slow motion. 3. Years ago, I started working at a new school and there was a beanbag in the room that I was assigned to. My co-worker...

  Some relaxation music featuring brass, piano and bass. Originally, I wrote this music to go with the traditional words of Silent Night. When I listen to this, I tend to feel my muscles untighten, so that's positive!  https://youtu.be/HLdf7FoHg-Y

  Light Upon the Mountains by Ruth Ladley Some relaxation music for you to enjoy (hopefully). https://youtu.be/F_njcAvKfuY

  Looking through photos on my phone, I was struck by this image looking like the tree is being bowed down by the moon. A heavy load! I can relate to that pretty well, with the last comment my doctor made to me being, "you might be a bit stretched." Hence, there has been a bit of a delay between blog posts. There are things in life that cannot easily be discarded - things such as housework - which will persist with their demands despite physical pain and time constraints. In these circumstances, I guess the trick is to not unnecessarily exacerbate the situation and only think about the housework when actually doing it.  Another useful strategy is to set a couple of achievable, or at least semi-achievable, goals at the beginning of the day. These can then be ticked of, thus dismissing unhelpful and generally inaccurate thoughts such as, "I did absolutely nothing around the house today."  One of my nephews and I sometimes work on our computers in an office in our hous...