Soulful Sundays #11: Step Inside

Welcome to my eleventh instalment of ‘Soulful Sundays’. A weekly share where I post a roundup of soulful reflections, each including recipes, songs, quotes, blogs I have read and/or any other inspirational discoveries to sooth the soul.

For me, Sunday’s have become a day of quiet contemplation and simple pleasures. A time to reflect on the week gone by and to consider my hopes and dreams for the week ahead.

My hope is to extend some love outward and to share some simple pleasures with anyone who cares to receive them.

Soul Reflections

Eudora Welty’s quote resonated with me this week. As my book proposal submission draws near, I have led a somewhat more sheltered life in terms of socialising. I have endured many names such as ‘unsociable, ‘boring’ and ‘hermit’ by my friends in their attempts to coax me out. (All in good humour of course!) They have mostly respected my need for peace. But despite them thinking that I must be having a really boring time of it, I have actually been living the opposite of a ‘sheltered life’. I may have confined myself to the laptop far more than I would have liked to during this beautiful Melbourne sunshine, but I have managed to switch my thoughts of social deprivation into one of complete abundance.

I have had so much pleasure daring to dream, going within – that ‘sheltered’ has felt more like an exciting exploration. An adventure of the soul! And of course, whilst I may have declined social gatherings, I have remembered to nurture myself during this busy period of teaching, writing and preparing for Christmas!  Spending time in nature, walking, yoga, and a holiday to the Sunshine Coast with family have all helped to keep me sane and happy.  Deprived I am not. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time that your friends and family may consider a ‘sheltered life’? When in reality, you are daring to beat to the sound of your own drum? 😉

Soul Strolls

And talking of soul strolls, I am seeing these beauties spring up everywhere here in Melbourne at the moment. Beautiful blue flowers shooting up out of thick green grasses. I even have some growing in my front garden, although I have no idea what they are! So if anyone can enlighten me, I’d be very grateful.

Photography by Hayley Jade Gledhill

Soul Sounds

I love music that soothes the soul. This beautiful track  ‘Balance’ by Tao Lounge sends me into a deep meditative state whenever I listen to it. You can find it on Spotify by following this link.

Soul Food

Today I am sharing this Pork and Pineapple Curry by one of my favourite health and wellness bloggers, Alice Nicholls at The Whole Daily. Whilst I love to cook, my partner’s a bit of a rookie! But he has kindly been helping me out in the kitchen whilst I’ve been teaching, writing and working on my proposal. To broaden his scope, I sent him to Alice’s website for some healthy alternatives to his usual Shepard’s Pie and Mac n Cheese. He chose this, and did a mighty good job of it too! It’s now become his new regular (I’m not complaining) 😉 Enjoy!

Soul Sisters

Today I am sharing Michelle’s post Sunrise Epiphany. This post made me chuckle out loud as well as nod in agreement! Head over to Michelle’s post for 12 things we can no longer afford to keep doing.

Happy Sunday my friends,

In love and light,

Hayley xx