If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits eighty-eight miles per hour... you're gonna see some serious sh*t.

Not quite back to the future but I am talking to you in the present, from the past, whilst writing to the future you…

It’s Friday and this is a weekly round up with a difference because it will be missing half the week!

I’m off for the next couple of weeks at least, I had a hysterectomy on Sunday (weird writing that in the past tense, it’s only Saturday now…

And so I will be resting and recovering.

No cone of shame necessary, contrary to Scott’s hilarious quips…

I’m looking forward to spending the next few weeks and months looking after myself more than I ever have, in all aspects.

My nutrition to support healing, resting, talking to people who lift my spirits, doing some creative things, meditating (if you haven’t tried it it’s so good) and when I’m ready to get out and get some gorgeous lungfuls of clean Devon air!

If you’ve had a hysterectomy, I’d love to hear your experiences.

//Ikigai - the Japanese secret to a long and happy life//

Being afforded a bit of Ukiyo to do a lot more thinking lately and have started reading more physical books as well as audio. And I’m reading about Ikigai.

The idea that a secret to a long and happy life is to keep busy doing what you love, your purpose, being in the moment and enjoying what you are doing. Even if that thing is something that right now you think you don’t like.

What’s your purpose? I don’t necessarily mean your work, but what is your raison d’être? The things that make life worthwhile?

There is a rural town in Japan called Ogimi that has the highest life expectancy in the world. Not only that, they are happy!

It could be the temperate weather, or the diet rich in fresh fruit and veg and plant based proteins.
#or it could be that they have a connection with each other, a culture of support and community, that everyone is there to help everyone else.

So much so, that They have a principle for it: Ichariba chode which means “treat everyone like a brother, even if you’ve never met them before”

Feeling unhappy, dissatisfied with life and yourself is what prompts the most frequent searches on Google - how to lose weigh/lose belly fat/be happy again.

But what if this season of discontent is nothing to do with your body not being good enough?

What if the story that you’re told that you need to change what you look like and then you’ll be happy is a big pile of horse shit?

What if the physical is a symptom of the low level malaise that you feel in a day to day basis... just a feeling that everything is a bit “off”

Yes, moderate physical exercise, eating a balanced diet, resting, drinking water are necessary.

But they become a lot easier if you feel connected to others, you laugh often, have a common goal and a purpose. The happiness that comes from that sense of belonging and acceptance.
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What is your ikigai? What is your purpose?
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Who are your people?
Maybe some ukiyo is what you need to start to figure it out.

But what if you're missing out on something really amazing just because you're scared?

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9 years ago, I was a totally different person. I was very guarded, literally zero interest in dating after what had been a difficult marriage and an even more difficult process of disentangling myself from everything that came with that.

I'd spent a couple of years going out, expressing a freedom that I hadn't been allowed before when I was married, and discovered that I loved being a free spirit, a bit of a rebel.

For me this didn't include dating. Being with someone equaled losing the freedom I had so carefully cultivated, that had taken me a long time to get brave enough to embrace. I had made friends, and thought that I would lose that too.

One day I met someone. Well actually I met him a long while before when I wasn't ready and neither was he. But one day something changed and I was scared because I realised I felt something and this scared me.

When we have been hurt or have failed, it's a very scary prospect to put yourself in a position where you risk it again. I knew this man was different, but you're still faced with the scenario where you have to make a choice.

Do you take a chance or do you stay where you are?

In the end the clincher was that he said to me "What if you're missing out on something really amazing because you're scared?"

And so here I am.

There have been difficult times as with everything but anything that is worth it, anything that is life changing involves taking that first leap of faith. I haven't regretted or doubted it for a second. Even when things were tough. Things are better and stronger because of it.

I’m more like myself than I’ve ever been, healed a lot of the past hurts, calmer and more self assured.

None of that would have been possible if I’d kept running and avoiding because of that fear.

What have you been scared to do? have you missed chances because you were frightened of getting hurt or of failure?

Or maybe you are on the edge of doing something and you're just scared to make that final decision because you are scared of what could go wrong and it's the wrong thing?

But what if it's the right thing and you could be missing out on the best thing ever to have happened to you?

If you feel moved to, you can share it in the comments below, or drop me an email back x

Recipe of the week

As I sit here writing this I am on no foods at all, and am absolutely bloody starving. Scott has just sat and eaten a pizza and garlic bread and frankly I’ve got a bit of a cob on about it. I am the very definition of hangry.

So I am consoling myself with writing about food.

This week has been veggie week in the Academy

A chance to consciously include more veggies in your diet, increase your fibre and nutrients and fill up without making a huge dent in your calorie budge.

As life is too short for shitty salads, this has been the focus for the week.

When you making up your meals, if you have a bunch of veggies (2 fist sized portions), some protein (1-2 palm sized servings), carbs (1-2 cupped handfuls of cooked carbs) and 1-2 thumb sized servings of fats, you’ll have a meal that keeps you satisfied and not needing to reach for snacks.

For example:

Chicken (P)

Couscous (C)

Roasted veg (V)

Sprinkle of feta (F)

OR

Tuna (P)

Roasted new potatoes (C)

Boiled egg (F)

Tons of your favourite salad (I like rocket and watercress, tomatoes, red onion and cucumber) (V)

This is a favourite of mine, I only recently discovered tofu, get the texture right and it’s amazing, is super simple, filling and absolutely delish.

Tofu Salad (This salad has tofu, snow peas, ginger and garlic- yum)

• 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce

• ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

• ½ (1 ounce) package extra-firm tofu, drained and diced

• 1 cup snow peas, trimmed

• 2 small carrots, grated

• 1 cup finely shredded red cabbage

• 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts

Directions

• Step 1

  In a large bowl, mix the chili sauce, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Place tofu in the mixture, and marinate 1 hour in the refrigerator.

• Step 2

  Bring a pot of water to a boil. Immerse the snow peas in the boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes, then immerse in a a bowl of cold water. Drain, and set aside.

• Step 3

  Toss the peas, carrots, cabbage, and peanuts with the tofu and marinade to serve.

And finally…

"What's the difference between ignorance and apathy?"

"I don't know and I don't care."

Catch you next week

Lisa and the Rebel Team xx