‘You’ll have to get a wetsuit, Mum,’ he opined as we had a pause after Bruno Mars. ‘Now you’re taking up serious swimming.’
‘But I like feeling the water on my skin.’
‘You’re mad. It’s cold. You’ll freeze.’ He was probably right.
We got to Saunton early, parked and wandered onto the beach.
‘No.’ Twelve-year old shoulders slumped next to me.
‘What?’
‘Look.’ Arm flung dramatically at the sea.
‘Oh.’
No
waves. Well. Just small little flirty ones that slapped in
a desultory way onto the sand. Not the big
sexy whoppers that the surfers love.
I tried
my ‘Never mind, in the scheme of things, this is small fry’ speech but he just
glared. I tried getting him to compare
this Slight Lack of Surfing Waves with Real Humanitarian Crises in the World
but it wasn’t washing. So we sat in the cafĂ© and read the papers and then we
went to the shop and bought a tent and chocolate because by now the sun had
vanished and the wind was whipping up. Every
sigh and scuff of the heels told me this was Not Good.
But then
Jackie and her son turned up and the sun came out. No, really, it did. I’ve been wanting to meet Jackie Stewart for
ages. We stumbled over one another on
Twitter (as far as one ever stumbles over anyone by chance) and I fell in love
with the way she blends elfin spirituality with earthy humour.
She
works with flower and crystal essences which I love as gentle healers. I was introduced to the Bach flower remedies
when I was a teenager and many times I’ve been surprised by their healing
powers. So when Jackie suggested I try a
remedy for deep sadness, I immediately sent off for it. And when she sent me her meditation for
healing emotional wounds, I instantly did it – again and again - and found it
taking me to very strange places, not seemingly from the here and now or even
the familiar past. Powerful and, yes,
healing or at least helping.
And now
I was hearing that gentle Scottish burr for real, and not via a recording, and
seeing the wild corkscrew hair for real and not via a photograph. Which was oh so lovely. Her boy ran off, happy as Larry, for his
surfing lesson, not remotely fazed by the poor quality of the waves. His
optimism rubbed off delightfully on James who grudgingly admitted that the
waves were a bit bigger now and maybe
it was worth pulling on his wetsuit
and tugging the board out there. Which
left Jackie and I able to talk. But not
enough. Nowhere near enough. Because when you’re a mother and your child,
however big and tough and independent he may seem, is in the big wide open sea,
you never truly relax. Your eyes are
always scanning the waves, looking for the right seal-like head to bob up.
But it
was a start, and I know I’ll see her again.
And, in the meantime, I’m suggesting you make her acquaintance too. And take a look at her new e-course, BarefootBreathing.
Barefoot
Breathing by Jackie Stewart (in her own words)
‘I used
to find myself advising clients to have a regular meditation practice and spend
time outdoors every day because I think both are essential for inner knowledge
and healing. Barefoot Breathing is a
combination of both - 100 barefoot breaths in nature with your eyes closed
every day. I'm really blown away by the shifts in myself in the time I've been
doing it - it's opened me up to so much more energy, inspiration, creativity
and inner knowing. It's easy and you can do it anywhere - genius!’
The idea
to take 100 barefoot breaths outdoors emerged really instinctively and it turns
out all these clever sciencey people are writing about the benefits of it. Who
knew? I love the synchronicity of it. Here's a site where clever sciencey
people talk about the health benefits: http://www.earthinginstitute.net
And here's
the page on our site where I shite on [sorry, slight interjection here but don’t
you love the phrase ‘shite on’? See – she’s not off with the fairies, not
entirely] about the 30 day e-course we've created where 100 barefoot breaths
are the core practice. Each day of the course there are gorgeous processes to
get in touch with nature, emotions, creativity, inspiration, inner peace and
all sorts of goodness. I think it might be bloody brilliant...' [er, I do too,
Jackie]
Sooo [me back again],
what are you waiting for? Away with you…leave
this confused mess of a blog and go bathe in crystal waters, stick your nose in
dew-drenched flowers, tip-toe barefoot over the grass and tantalise the
fairies. There is so much beauty and delight in her sites - you can listen to meditations, drink in beautiful images, even print off gorgeous Earth messages to inspire and entrance. Seriously, time shifts there - like when you fall into Tir na nOg.
You know what? I might join you. J
5 comments:
Had me smiling from ear to ear Jane. Truly delightful. Thank you. x
Had me smiling from ear to ear Jane. Truly delightful. Thank you. x
Haha fantastic post..what a great read!
I've known Jackie for many years and it's lovely to see her so appreciated for the very special person that she is - part human, part fairy, all heart! Nikki Wyatt -
The Karma Coach
Great post, I like the 100 barefoot breaths idea, although my breath may get blown away today in these winds.
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