I’m always on the lookout for signs – are you?

Ones that tell me I am moving in the right direction or that I am moving away from my goals. I break these down into short term, mid-term and long term goals and the milestones I hit in-between.

The end of 2019 was a challenge after breaking my ankle and being isolated at home for two months – then in march our world really stopped turning, just as I was beginning to get up and out into it again, we were all isolated for the first time in my lifetime!

This week I have experienced added challenges, with the difficulties the world has been in and the addition of the effect Covid has had on all our family in different ways  which has shown itself as many sleepless nights.

Is it the waking effect of my body kicking into gear before a hot flash arrives? Darn this damn perimenopause I shout. I don’t need this continual reminder of the changes happening to my body internally, as I see them externally on a daily (and nightly) basis.

In the light of all the challenges and obstacles I’m connecting with – as I delve deeper into this paradoxical life, I found myself falling into a bit of a funk. Now, if you’re already a reader of this site – you’ll know I love travel. All sorts of travel. Short-term, long-term. Travel which allows me to experience people of different cultures and food from new places. I embrace the psychological challenge it brings as I begin to feel stimulated, alive and in flow.

My mind spoke to me. ‘The Doldrums’ it said.

‘What?” I asked.

You’ve encountered the doldrums it responded.

Now my curiosity was piqued.

I realised I was in a place which I have no control over – all I can do is wait for the weather to change.

It is possible for a yacht to be becalmed for days on end within the grasp of this windless area. Clipper Race

A couple of days later, visuals of kingfishers kept popping in. I found myself thinking about them. The way they fluttered their wings. Their beaks. The colours and hues of their feathers. It was a little conundrum for my brain to get involved with.

So I accepted the challenge the visuals kept bringing and decided to  explore kingfishers online.

The first article I came across was about the sacred kingfisher. It is in Polynesian legend the sacred kingfisher appears, renowned to have power over the ocean and waves – till the winds of change appear. So I decided that I had been given a gift –  a totem – a reminder that even in these challenging and slow revolving times, even whilst in the doldrums – I can retain power. For my family – our group. The spirit animal is the kingfisher.

People with kingfisher as their totem spirit often teach their children how to enjoy life but still be productive at the same time. They teach their kids how to find a balance between a hard work and a happy life. Too much work and no play can make the head dull. auntyflo.com