Hello and a happy Friday to you,
I’m writing this to you from Stroud in Gloucestershire where I have stopped off for the night on the way back from a lovely few days away in the countryside.
As I mentioned last week, I’m starting a new job on Monday, so I have taken a week off beforehand to fill my life with things I love. This has involved three nights in a beautiful Airbnb with a hot tub, two friends and a baby. We were so lucky with the weather; candy floss sunrises, low bright golden sun, blue skies and ethereal mist. We enjoyed nourishing food, bright and crisp walks and a day in Gloucester rummaging in the charity shops.
While surrounded by rolling hills and spending quality time with friends, I decided to spend less time on my phone, which was apt as I was reading Emma Gannon’s Disconnected, which is about ‘staying human in an online world’. I love Emma’s writing; it’s down-to-earth and insightful. This book is a practical and thoughtful offering that met me at just the right time, with my phone set to airplane mode for most of the day. I’ve folded down so many pages, which to me signals an absolute keeper of a book that will take pride of place on my shelf and I will return to it.
Who knew that putting down your phone could lead to making a good dent in your to-read list? Despite spending most of the three days chatting to my friends and trying to make an 11-month-old baby say his first words and stop sticking his fingers up my nose, I also found the time to devour Dr Radha Modgil’s new book Know Your Own Power.
As I read the first page, I felt tingles down my spine, as it resonated so much. If you read this newsletter each week, you’ll know how much Dr Radha’s work helps my ethos and every page of this book is filled with her wisdom, compassion and kindness. I want to gift it to everyone I care about. Then again, as the message is self-kindness, why not treat yourself to a copy now?
Just returning to that aforementioned notion of filling life with things I love - I think it’s really easy for us to get caught up in the negative or feel like we have no control over things. Over New Year, I had a really lovely conversation with someone who said maybe the key to life is just doing more things you love. And I think that’s a great way of looking at it. Is there any way you can prioritise doing something you love today, tomorrow or in the next week? It’s your life and you deserve it.
I’ve been having therapy for coming up to a year and one of my main mottos I have worked on in this time is “Don’t do things you don’t want to do”. It might come more naturally to some people, but for me, I can sometimes be inclined to people please, which means I can sacrifice my own needs. Perhaps by filling my life with more things I love and do want to do, there will be less space for things I don’t.
Uplifting News Stories
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Features Worth Sharing
How to stay positive and find joy in 2022, according to a life coach | Independent
Easy wins: five minutes of fun before the work day begins | The Guardian
How to live more joyfully in 2022 | Smiley News
What dolphins reveal about the evolution of the clitoris | New Scientist
Just Because I'm 90 Doesn't Mean I'm Ready To Die ― Or Disposable | HuffPost
And One More Thing
Last Sunday, I attended poet Dan Simpson’s writing workshop: Writing The Journey Into The New Year. It was hosted on Zoom and was a chance to creatively reflect on 2021, as well as look forward to 2022.
This gorgeous event reminded me how nice it is to create a container for being creative, as well as the power as connecting with likeminded humans. Dan is running a writing course if you’re interested in signing up.
Hope you have a restorative weekend,
BB x
This is The Uplift, a weekly newsletter by me, journalist Becky Barnes. If you enjoyed it, feel free to buy me a coffee.
The Uplift will arrive in your inbox every Friday, featuring good news and self care. I also have a podcast about life advice.
A bit about me: I’m a journalist living in London. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram.