23 December 2014

Practising kindness

This time of year can be hard for many people for so many different reasons. There is the stress of added financial pressures, of keeping up appearances, adjusting to the end of another school year (at least in our part of the world) and the uncertainty of the year ahead. Perhaps we are spending Christmas apart from our nearest and dearest or we have lost someone close to us and it is felt more keenly at a time when traditionally, family comes together. If you're feeling overwhelmed, whatever your reason, be kind to yourself, and if you are able to, surround yourself with people you love and those who love you back, who value your friendship and who's company you treasure. Be grateful to have this choice. If you know someone who lives alone or is just feeling lonely, reach out. Just reach out. You may not know exactly what is going on in their lives yet a simple act of kindness is a great gift if it comes from a place of selflessness - and it costs nothing. Be kind. Always be kind. We cannot control the thoughts and actions of other people, but we can control how we choose to treat others. And I choose kindness. Every time.

I chose this photo to share with you so you can see how Christmas Day is going to look at our place. It must be strange to people reading this on the other side of the world to see that it is summer here. It has been such a gloriously hot day today that I have the doors flung wide open at the moment to let in some of the breeze.
Those photos up on the shelf are special to us, not least of all because two of the people in them are no longer with us and I think having them with us in our little dining area makes me feel like they are not forgotten.

Don't let the tranquility of this photo fool you though. My husband's extended family and some family friends are coming to spend the afternoon and evening with us on Thursday and with around 25 people here, this place will be filled with wonderful food, noise, mess and chaos (and probably a broken glass or plate if my sister keeps up her record - heehee) which is how we do Christmas. This is our first time hosting for Christmas so we've had to do a little bit of furniture rearranging to accommodate everyone, but we love the idea of having everyone all together at the one table. See all the gaps on the kitchen shelves? That's not due to tidiness - we have reached our crockery and cutlery (and seating) threshold hosting this number of guests and every plate and glass we own is on the table.
Our family went on a little outing up into the hills a few weeks ago to collect some pinecones to decorate our table. Spray-painting them was a fun little activity for my husband and the girls. The hydrangea were foraged on another little outing yesterday. I did have a little laugh to myself while gathering them as some other people must have had the same idea since it was quite obvious that the bush we chose had already been "pruned" and only the topmost, hard-to-reach heads were left.

Merry Christmas, dear readers. Thank you for reading. Thank you for your comments, support and advice throughout the year. I have loved sharing parts of my creative and family life with you this past year. You can expect more of the same from me for as long as I feel I have a voice to lend to this community of bloggers. This is my last post for 2014 as I will be devoting my time and attention to my family and friends over Christmas and the summer holidays. I will still pop in and read your blogs when I can and will no doubt share a few pictures of my view on the world over the next six weeks on Instagram. Or I may not. In any case, I won't be far away and I will see you all again in 2015.

9 comments:

  1. Lovely thoughtful post. Merry Christmas and enjoy your gathering! I hope your guests help with the dishes ;)

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  2. Merry Christmas Leanne. I love your table setting and the foraged pinecones. I'm raiding my lovely neighbours garden tomorrow (with his permission of course) - he has hedges of spectacular hydrangeas. Have a wonderful day with your family. And a happy, safe and sun filled New Year. Elaina xo

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  3. Looks lovely! We're just having a very informal barbecue. Have a great Christmas and new year! x

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  4. That table looks gorgeous, so festive yet so simple. I think the most I have had at my place for Christmas was 13, and of course it was too cold to be able to eat outside like I had planned.
    Merry Christmas, all the best for 2015.

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  5. So beautifully written and wonderful thoughts and sentiments. I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas and that your family meal is a great occasion! Happy Christmas! xx

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  6. Just lovely, thank you. I have white hydrangeas and rosemary lined up down the centre of my table too. Have a happy, happy day. x

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  7. Hope your Christmas was wonderful and all ran smoothly. Merry Christmas again and hope 2015 is off to a wonderful start xx

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  8. This is such a gorgeously written post, I have kept it in my reader and read it quite a few times over the last few weeks. I have so enjoyed reading your blog this year, and I look forward to hearing more from you in 2015. I hope you had a lovely christmas and holiday period and see you on the other side. xx

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