A gift from me to you

Did you manage to download the FREE 30 Days of Life-Changing Journal Prompts yet? If you missed it, you can grab it here https://www.shift-yours.com/gratitude-journal - It won’t be what you expect. I know you’re going to love it.

I’m going to keep this one a little shorter (I do try!). It’s our last few days in Italy now and I’m writing this standing guard in Venice train station, next to our suitcases while my family forages for train food (okay, they’ve gone to a local patisserie). We got here via water taxi after two fabulous days in Venice, which followed four fabulous days in Tuscany (Monteriggioni to be precise).

No, I can’t believe I’m writing these words either. I feel so bloody lucky. I do not take a single second of this for granted. Back in the days of anxiety, panic attacks, and deep debt and unhappiness, I never foresaw any of this.

The contrast between Tuscany and Venice is unbelievable! Equally beautiful, but in totally different ways. In Tuscany, we didn’t leave our beautiful, rural countryside setting. The greenery, cobbled buildings, and tranquility were incredibly relaxing for all of us. Just what we needed. The kids’ fave place so far (mainly because they were allowed to be kids in the pool and play - YES!)

I really, really relaxed in Tuscany. It was beautiful to find my deep inside self again, to hear my own thoughts and feelings. It made me so incredibly creative, especially with ways I can deliver the work I do to help YOU.

Plans are already afoot for a retreat in Sorrento next year. It will be beautiful, powerful, transformative, and loads of joy! Based all around creating genuine happiness in your life. Real life happiness. Not trying to be happy, not pretending to be happy, not ticking the boxes of happiness that we’re all told help us get to the top of the happiness rope… No, real genuine feelings of happiness that come from inside you. I have some great speakers and guests lined up to help me already!

Okay, back to Venice.

Venice is like a whole new world, every single corner is picture-postcard perfect. I was told it stinks in the summer. Not so.

I spent quite a bit of time mooching around on my own as everybody was exhausted. Honestly, it was precious. Me time exploring a new city, alone with my thoughts, eyes drinking in the beautiful new sights and experiences, heart completely full, eyes lined with tears of gratitude.

Venice included lots of shared time together in awe, we all love it, and lots of time alone. The perfect balance for me, for all of us at this stage in the hols.

I just feel so genuinely, soul-level grateful.

At this point however, I feel it very important to not just paint a rosy picture. The kids are ready to go home, there have been homesick tears on occasion, hormonal outbursts, some mine, and it’s getting harder to muster them to do anything other than eat ice cream… Something I find hard to manage as I want to do everything possible and make all the memories!

In fact, I find anyone’s lack of enthusiasm and joy really hard in life, because I’m so tuned in to the short time we have to experience it all. That’s something I need to work on, because what others want to do is really none of my business.

Back to Venice (again)…

The water taxis are ace! What an experience! And of course, we had to do a gondola. It was just beautiful, so relaxing. For some reason, I had the theme tune of ‘Allo ‘Allo in my head the whole time, which I realise is completely the wrong country! The only reason I could think is that they were wearing stripey T-shirts. Oh well, who knows, that’s my brain for you!

So again, the people in Venice and Tuscany have been a real delight. Warm, engaging, friendly, and great with the kiddos. Starting to fear leaving Italy a tad. I know I’ll be returning though, so that’s an exciting, happy thought already!

Oh actually, while on the subject of happiness, I’ll be speaking at Ideas Fest on that very subject on 13th September. I’ll pop the link here as I have a 25% discount code for tickets for you and I’d love you to come along https://ideasfest.uk/the-big-festoon-ideas-fest/

I cannot tell you how life-changing events like this are. Hearing people speak, changing your whole perception of what’s really possible; ideas come up seemingly from nowhere, ideas that were already inside you and you just didn’t know existed!

So please, if you can, I hugely encourage you to try something new and enter the world of mind-expanding events like this one.

Right, I’m going to hop on our final train very soon and continue to write the talk I’m delivering at Ideas Fest. I’m only really working whilst on transfer journeys here, which is quite beautiful! The rest of the time I’m reading mind-expanding books and listening to podcasts and audiobooks (hit me up for recommendations by replying). Weirdly, I haven’t listened to a single bit of music since I’ve got here (who am I?), just learning, being still, and actually done loads of course and content writing. I guess we just do what we need in that moment and our body always tells us what that is, if we allow ourselves to get quiet.

So now for our final destination, five days in Lake Garda! I will update you next week.

So actions for this week:

Download the FREE journal here: https://www.shift-yours.com/gratitude-journal

Grab your discounted Ideas Fest tickets here: https://ideasfest.uk/the-big-festoon-ideas-fest/ and…

Make some time just for YOU. This bit is an order!

Make it a beautiful week.

Georgie XX