Bliain úr mhaith daoibh ar fad! / Happy New Year to you all!

Bliain úr mhaith do mo chuid léitheoirí ar fad! Cé go n-airíonn an bhliain seo an-cosúil leis an mbliain seo caite... drochthús don bhliain atá ann le dianghlasáil uimhir a trí agus uimhreacha Covid19 níos airde anseo in Éirinn ná a bhí siad riamh roimhe! Ach sin uilig ráite, bhí an aimsir go hálainn ó thús na bliana, tá sé fuar go maith ach beagnach gach lá anseo i nGaillimh ó gur tháinig mé ar ais ó Bhaile Átha Cliath tá an ghrian amuigh agus chonaic mé pictiúir álainn de sléibhte, páirceanna agus bóithre clúdaithe i mbrath sneachta. Tá mé féin go pearsanta ag tógáil an dea-aimsir seo mar chomhartha maith. Níor thosaigh an bhliain rómhaith ó thaobh na paindéime ach tá rudaí deasa go fóill le feiceáil agus le braith, ach b’fhéidir go bhfuil sé níos deacra duit teacht orthu.

Happy new year to you all! Even if this year feels an awful lot like last year....we’ve definitely had a grim start to the year here in Ireland with our Covid cases higher then they have ever been and the whole country in Lockdown 3 BUT with all that being said, the weather since the beginning of the year has been beautiful! The sun has been shining here in Galway since I got back from Dublin and I have seen beautiful pictures from other parts of the country of snow covered fields and mountains so I am taking that as a good sign! With regards the pandemic and Covid the year hasn’t started out too well but there is still plenty of beauty to be found around us all!

Tá mé bródúil go maith faoi láthair toisc gur féidir liom rudaí maithe a aimsiú agus a fheiceáil. Ó gur chaill mé Aoife, mo chara agus Michael, m’uncail bhí an saol i bhfad níos deacra agus is ar éigean go raibh mé ag tabhairt faoi rud ar bith, gan trácht ar rudaí maithe a fheiceáil thar timpeall orm. Sin ráite, níor thosaigh an tseachtain seo, an chéad tseachtain den bhliain ró-mhaith.

And I am really proud of myself for being able to see that beauty! Since Aoife and Michael have died life has been really difficult and I was struggling to get up in the morning let alone to see anything good in the day. But for this first week of the new year I have definitely found lots of beauty around me. BUT I did also struggle this week.

Tháinig mé ar ais go Gaillimh ar an Satharn le go mbeidh mé in ann socrú isteach i gceart sula dtosóinn ar an obair ach bhí mé in ísle brí ceart. Bhí mé ag teacht ar ais go teach folamh agus fios agam nach bhfeicfinn éinne ach i ndiaidh píosa ióga agus codail maith mhothaigh mé níos fearr.

I came back to Galway on Saturday so I would be able to get back into work on Monday after settling back into things here but Saturday evening was tough; I was feeling really down and I couldn’t even pinpoint what had gotten me down (lockdown, January, bereavement; there was just so much to choose from...) but after some yoga and a good night’s rest I started to feel better.

Maidin Luain agus d’éirigh mé go luath le tabhairt faoin lá ach ní raibh mórán fuinnimh agam aon rud a dhéanamh. Tharla an rud céanna maidin Dé Máirt agus ar an gCéadaoin agus mar sin, bheartaigh mé gach éirí go luath ar an Déardaoin – ní fiú é nuair nach bhfuil fuinneamh agam cibé! Agus rinne mé an rud céanna inniu agus tá mé chomh sásta liom féin! Bhí mé ag cur brú orm féin nuair nach fiú é! Bhí liosta agam de na rudaí go raibh orm a dhéanamh agus tá mé á dhéanamh agus ag fáil beagán níos mó codalta ag an am céanna!

So on Monday morning I got up early because that’s what you ‘should’ do when you’re back at work and I didn’t have much energy or interest in anything. The same thing happened on Tuesday and Wednesday and finally by Wednesday I was starting to learn my lesson so I gave myself a lie in on Thursday and felt much better about the day and had much more energy so I did the same thing this morning and I generally feel so much better!

Tá mé ag tosú dúshláin 5 lá saor in aisce i mo ghrúpa Facebook an tseachtain seo chugainn agus an téama atá thart air ná cineáltas! Agus is léir go bhfuil an cur i gcuimhne ag teastáil uaim féin! Más spéis leat a bheith páirteach sa dúshlán ní mór duit ach ballraíocht a ghlacadh sa ghrúpa anseo.

Next week I’m running a FREE 5 Day Challenge in my Facebook group Cultivating Inner Happiness and kindness is our theme and I obviously needed to give myself some of that kindness already! If you’d like to join us all you have to do is join the group here and it would be great to have you with us!

Freisin, beagán tacaíochta a thabhairt do theaghlaigh atá ag streachailt anois leis an scoileanna a bheith dúnta in athuair, gach trathnóna Luain ag 6in beidh mé ag léamh píosa aireachais ó na leabhair Relax Kids. Mairfidh na seisiúin thart ar 15 nóiméad agus beidh siad feiliúnach do dhaoine fásta agus daoine óga. Tosóidh mé an Luan seo ag 6in ag an nasc seo agus bheadh sé iontach cuid agaibh a bheith liom!

Also, to give some support to families during our next round of school closures, every Monday evening at 6pm GMT I will be reading a relaxation meditation from one of the Relax Kids books live on my Facebook page Solas Relaxation agus Relax Kids. The session will take about 15 minutes and is suitable for all ages! My plan is to make this a Monday evening, weekly event until schools open again so hopefully some of ye could join me!

Agus an rud deireanach atá ag teacht aníos ná mo chúrsa aireachais do dhaoine fásta. Beidh an téama cineáltas againn freisin; sin cineáltas dúinn féin agus do dhaoine eile. Tosóidh sé ar an Déardaoin, 21 Eanáir ag 7.30in. bronntanas álainn duit féin atá ann; uair sa tseachtain go hiomlán duit féin, ar mhaithe leat féin ach feicfidh tú buntáistí do na daoine atá thar timpeall ort freisin mar beidh tú ag labhairt leo agus ag teacht chucu ó áit atá níos réchúiseach agus suaimhneach. Tá an t-eolas ar fad ar fáil anseo nó cuir scéal chugam ag solasrelaxation@gmail.com.

And the final thing I have coming up is my mindfulness course for adults. This six week course will also be focusing on kindness; Cultivating Inner Kindness which will involve being kind to ourselves which in turn will be reflected in our relationships with others. We will be starting on Thursday, 21 January and it is a beautiful gift to yourself and to those around you who will notice a change in you and you will be coming into your interactions with them from a calmer place. All of the information is available here and if you have any questions or would like to have a chat with me just send me an email at solasrelaxation@gmail.com.

Idir an dá linn, bíodh seachtain deas agus sábhálta agaibh ar fad agus bí cineálta leat féin agus leo siúd atá thart ort!

And in the meantime, have a beautiful, safe week! And don’t forget to show yourself and those around you the kindness you all deserve xx