Living in the moment...

Recently I lost somebody close to me, she was a kind, strong and generous person and the world will be a duller place without her. Of course, we all experience loss and it is times of sadness and adversity which often serve to create a crystalline focus on what is important in this fleeting life. Now, this post may be a little different from the ones you have come to expect from me, it is not about a restaurant or an event, but rather something a little more introspective and personal which I ultimately hope will resonate with many of you. Life is difficult, this is something we can surely all agree on and there are many tough moments which we all must get through. I suppose it is these arduous moments of heartbreak and pain which make us appreciate the good times, and every piece of struggle makes the moments of triumph so much more worthwhile. Nevertheless, sometimes when you are going through a difficult time it can be tough to see the speck of light at the end of a long and murky tunnel, but I assure you that it is there, believe me I know.

Life is a perplexing tangle, a thorny thicket of ups and downs which can sometimes be exhausting to withstand and when it all starts to feel a little bit much it is essential to find the off switch and spend some time doing the things which make you happy. I adore the work I do; I love writing this blog and I enjoy writing about food and drink for magazines and experiencing amazing things because of my work. Nevertheless, this post is about forgetting work occasionally and focusing on enjoying life. Take the other day for example, I was rushing off to the city and I was surprised to see how deep the carpet of leaves had become on my usual walk to the station. Taking in the copper, gold, russet and amber tones I stopped for a moment and stared around me as more leaves fell from the surrounding trees in a colourful cascade. I realised how lucky I was to be there experiencing that simple yet poignant moment, heralding the change of the seasons.

Autumn is so evocative and I always feel it is symbolic of the slate being wiped clean, ushering in the approach to a new year and all the wonderful possibilities it may hold. Watching the parade of autumnal colours, I acknowledged rather shamefacedly that I had not been taking note of the pleasures which punctuate our every day on this planet, simple things like catching up with somebody over a coffee.

With the perspicacity that only grief can bring about, I resolved to spend this weekend doing simple things which make me happy and in doing so, to press the reset button on my overburdened mind. I urge you all to do the same as I do not think that we always realise how much stress modern life contains and how good it feels just to slow down here and there.
I love to share with you so much content about food and events on this blog, but you may not feel you get to know much about me as a person and I want to say thank you for all the support you show me and how many amazing comments I get from readers around the world.

In the spirit of fun and adventure, we set off today for Llandudno in Wales, somewhere which holds a multitude of good memories for us. We had no fixed plans, no time schedule to adhere to and it felt great. We ate chips and gravy whilst looking out to sea, played games on the pier and lingered over coffee as we watched groups of people strolling by.

Wandering along the sea front, the icy fingers of winter brushed against us and the sea swirled in a tumultuous white mass. I took a deep breath and remembered, life is here to be lived.

Do you think it is important to take a break from the stress of life occasionally and what are the simple pleasures which you appreciate? As always I cannot wait to hear your thoughts and thank you so much for reading this post.

Until next time,

Camille

xo