Taking a holiday

Catherine and I recently returned from a week break on Magnetic Island up in Queensland. It was a fantastic holiday for many reasons, but the main one was that I felt the most relaxed I've been in years.

It is difficult to explain to anyone how you feel inside your head, but last year I literally felt that I had experienced the best of my life. I had struggled with depression for years riding a rollercoaster, from extreme episodes of darkness to peaks of happiness. The brief pauses between each when I rode that flat calm section of track were welcome breaks, but fleeting at best.

Over the last year I have worked at different techniques to calm my mind and better myself. That work has led me to create the book that I will publish at the end of the year (shameless plug!), which contains all the things I have found work well for me. It's no literary masterpiece, but I hope that it will prove to be a useful handbook for anyone going through depression. Perhaps it may even help those not suffering to understand a tiny piece of it and then support their friends or family in that struggle.

Today is a different story to how I felt last year and our holiday away was the time away I needed to show me that. I wasn't overthinking, but just enjoying time relaxing, spending time with Catherine and soaking up the nature on Magnetic Island. It reminded me of all the simple things to marvel at and that sometimes living life means not taking action, or thinking, but just soaking up the environment you are in.

While on "Maggie" I lapsed a little on the meditation practice which I have made a daily focus over the last three months. I was on holiday after all, so I relaxed my regime a little! Since returning to the faster pace of life in Sydney I have resumed normal operations in that regard in order to keep that calm of mind. I am happy to say that my goal over a year ago has been achieved and now I am working on maintaining that achievement. All those months ago I said to myself I wanted to reach a place where my mind was calm and I didn't get caught up in happy or unhappy thoughts and feelings. I can only maintain that through consistent brain work, but it is most definitely worth the effort.

My book whose working title is "Grumpy Man" will be available through iBooks, Kindle and as a PDF at the end of the year. I am sure it will make a useful stocking filler, just be diplomatic as to how you present it!

Are you ok?

Tom :)