Sometimes in life we tend to take a lot of things for granted. Simple things that a lot of other people don’t have. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the things we don’t have and would like to have and wallow in a depressive mood because we have not achieved what we would like to in order to have those things we want.

I am a culprit of this just as everyone else can be. I sometimes forget how lucky I am to be able to live where I do on a large plot, with all my animals around me. For my health, a loving and caring mother, water and an endless list of blessings and small things that are easily overlooked but never should be.

Stress is inevitable. Challenges, rough times and bad situations are also unavoidable. I have learnt over time that you will never live a fully perfect or happy life with all the unexpected bombs that are thrown your way, but that it is possible to build and protect your inner peace.

This is easier said than done. I have by no means mastered the art of inner peace. But I am trying to change my inner world so that no negative outside energy can affect me. I realized that in order to receive more of what you want, you truly do have to be in a somewhat positive mindset. Don’t mistake this for performative positivity. They are two very different things, and one is possibly even more toxic than negativity itself.

Bad days happen, mood swings exist and no one should ever be expected to be in a constant state of happiness and positivity, especially if you don’t feel happy and positive deep down. I mean, a positive mindset in a general sense, to prevent yourself from falling into a deep and dark hole that could ruin your potential and your life. People often slip off the rails and begin to self-sabotage themselves by turning against the ones who love them most, isolating themselves to the point where even those loved ones have no choice but to walk away.

Rough times and bad situations are what test us; to see which road we will take. Those that slip off the rails are the ones who did not know how to cope with their overwhelming emotions in the beginning and buried their feelings rather than sitting with those feelings or expressing them out loud to someone they trust and allowing them to flow through them in order to be able to overcome the bad situation. It’s sad but it is true.

I almost slipped off the rails myself, countless times, during my yachting days. The owners, the guests onboard and the crew members would drive me insane. And not insane as in they just made me mad and after a while I got over it. They drove me insane to the point that I would end up in tears, full of an abundance of frustration that I could not release onboard without being fired, so I actually needed to simply run off the boat, onto the dock and somehow cool down before the boat left for the new port. It was intense.

Looking back on all those tough times I went through in yachting, I remember that after each intense moment, I somehow found the courage to remind myself to be grateful for the opportunity to be working where I was. Looking at the sea was my biggest route to gratitude. It was one of the main reasons I joined yachting in the first place. The captivating unknown of the deep waters pulled me into depths I did not foresee. Yet after each boat, I was still desperate to find a new one. Working on the yachts was my anchor to being close to the sea.

The point is, even now that I am at home, grounding myself, finding my footing in the country I was raised in and yachting getting further and further away in sight, I still catch myself with negative or ungrateful thoughts. It’s natural I suppose.

The self-awareness I have activated is a guiding light to leading my life more with gratitude than stagnant negativity.

I tend to find gratitude in the very small things, such as looking outside the window and seeing the beautiful garden, the dead trees that are dead for a reason and will come alive in a few months. Gratitude can be found from unpacking the dishwasher, from taking a relaxing bath or intentional shower, from your pet that looks at you like you are their whole world (because ultimately you are their whole world).

The more you look for the good things in your life, the more the good will outshine the bad. The more you are self-aware, the more you will respond and not react to the challenges life throws at you. I have learnt that you can never control what happens around you in life but you can control the way you respond to what happens and the way you respond. It’s not an easy lesson to pass, but it’s worth it if you just try, even little by little.

I was in the field with my horses, walking to check their water buckets and trough which needed filling up. I found it annoying that the new tap that was placed near the water trough wasn’t working because the tap was wrong and the hose pipe was not fitting on properly. That meant extra effort in fetching the far hose pipe and turning it on. Why wasn’t the new tap able to just work?

I did it anyway and walked all the way to get the long hose pipe, keeping in my mind that I needed to ask my stepdad to fix the new tap he just installed. I was forgetting that I was even privileged enough to have a hose pipe and clean water flowing from the different taps.

As I unplugged the water trough, I watched as the old, grassy and musky water swirled down the drain. I imagined it was all my negative thoughts and energy that flowed out with the water. Bits of grass was stuck in the drain that needed to be lifted out and I pictured that as the extra, stagnant, old and negative beliefs that I keep stored in my mind that needed extra help to be fished out. That could be sorted through journaling, finding out why they are so stuck and eventually, eradicating them. I used my horses’ water trough as a beautiful metaphor for life.

I cleaned the bathtub, spraying water on all the bird poo, getting rid of little brown marks from when the horses drank water after eating. It was a fresh start.

I put the plug back in and stuck the hose in and let it fill up. Watching it fill up was mesmerising and magical. The way the light reflected against the clean, cast-iron bathtub was beautiful. The water was new, crystal clear and most importantly, it was moving and flowing to create soft, subtle yet magical light reflections.

My hand instinctively went in the water and decided to play with the flowing stream from the hosepipe and the collaboration of my hand and the flowing water was so simple yet impactful for me. It made me happy. I knelt down to observe the moving water and suddenly wasn’t wishing for the hosepipe to hurry up so I could move on and do something else. I wanted to stay in that bubble of peace I had found forever. No phone, no iPad, no technology, just my horses and myself in the field renewing their water trough.

 We can create magic in our own lives too if we really want to.

Moving the body, decluttering our space to help declutter our minds, watering the flowers, playing with our pets, or kids (if you have any), are all ways to move stagnant energy pent up in us. It’s like smoke clearing up in our minds, to open up and breathe in fresh air and remember that no matter what, the sun will still rise every morning. That is enough to be thankful for. So, if you struggle with a positive mindset, start simple. Think of the joy your coffee brings you, or sitting in the sun, or listening to your favourite music, or your loved ones. It really improves the quality of your life if you slow down your thoughts and remember the good things you have. If you are not grateful for your current blessings, you will unfortunately never be fully satisfied in life.

I thought stars were only found in the sky, when the sun had gone down and the darkness took over so the sun could rest. Yet I discovered magic in my horses’ water trough. I found that once the trough was full and the tap was off, a slight flicker of movement in the still water created little stars that sparkled in the sunshine. I was reminded to be grateful for small tasks that tend to take longer than others, that wherever I wish to find magic, magic will appear. The stars were a symbol of hope and happiness to me which is why I am sharing them with you, to uplift the world rather than bring it down. I hope you can find your own magic in your life that lights your soul up with joy, no matter how small that magic is, with the gentle reminder to always appreciate what you already have. The more you are content with what you have, the more abundance will flood your life.