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10 Things That Make Me Happy: Nicola Warwick
What makes you happy? Can you name 10 things that make you happy? Try it! It’s a fun activity and I am thrilled to feature what makes the A Beautiful Ripple Effect community happy :). This guest post is curated by Nicola Warwick! You can read more about Nicola at the end of this post.
1. My tree.
“I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.” – Henry David Thoreau
There are lots and lots of trees in the park but, for some reason, early on in my acquaintance with the park, I singled out this tree as my favourite. It almost stands alone but is part of a row of trees. I’ve taken hundreds and hundreds of photographs of this tree. In every season. But this photograph is the one that I love the best. I have it framed on my wall and it brings me a great deal of pleasure every time I look at it. I go to visit my tree whenever I am in the park. I think there’s something to be said for communing with nature. It has an effect on your soul. There’s a calming nature to trees and I just love being around them.
2. Photography.
This is my absolute favourite thing. I’m always at my happiest when I have a camera in my hand. Whether I’m taking photographs for my own pleasure or taking photographs for other people, it has the ability to take me to a different place. A little switch flicks somewhere in my head and I just get into the flow. It’s as if nothing else exists in the world apart from me and my camera. The feeling of joy that I get from photography is huge.
And looking at photographs I’ve taken is a constant reminder of that feeling and the memory of the day. Having someone compliment my photographs, and knowing someone likes something I’ve created, moves me enormously.
3. Creative projects.
Last year was a year of revelations for me. I’d known there was something that I was supposed to be doing but I couldn’t define it for a long time. Understanding that, finally, and having a purpose, created a big shift for me. The ideas started flowing and I derived a great sense of fulfillment from working on them.
4. Getting up early.
I like the hour in the morning before I have to go to work. I catch up with my blog, I read other people’s websites, I tweet. I really enjoy the hour or so when the world seems as though it’s still asleep and I’m getting a march on the day. In the winter everywhere is still dark but in the summer I can watch the day beginning. It’s a really precious time for me as it’s often the only time in the day that I can work on my ideas and projects. It’s an hour crammed with energy.
5. Wide open spaces.
The place I go most often is the park. I can walk and walk for hours. I take photographs, I invariably have a coffee in one of the little park cafes. I take a notebook and sit and jot while I drink my coffee. It’s a place that is away from the noise of the traffic. There’s always something new to look at, or a favourite tree to check on, a familiar face to chat to. But also it’s a great opportunity to think and contemplate and have some moments of peace.
6. Kindred spirits.
Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 blog challenge in December 2009 was not only a great idea but the added gift it brought was that it connected me with people who are undoubtedly kindred spirits. I suppose you could say I found my tribe. There was an enormous joy in discovering people who are talking about similar concepts and exploring their own ideas. 2009 was a year of kindred spirits. I met several people offline as well who have brought several new pieces of my jigsaw and new friendships have grown.
7. Technology.
I’ve always liked technology. I love gadgets. I like tinkering online, tweaking my blog or building some webpages. And, of course, my favourite thing is my camera. I think the internet is an amazing tool and it’s been very important to me in allowing me to find people all over the world who are talking about creativity. Twitter really came into its own and I finally joined Facebook, both of which have been powerful networking tools.
8. Unconventional.
A big find was Danielle LaPorte’s book Style Statement . The premise is that you choose two words that define you. My two were Sacred Unconventional. I love giving my Unconventional side an outing every now and again. It’s a little hidden part of me that likes to play sometimes. It can be a lot of fun!
9. Synchronicities.
One of my favourite phrases is having your ducks in a row. You just know when it happens. Everything flows. Magic happens. The internet has been a provider of synchronicities for me. Websites have popped up one after another, each taking me to new information or new people. Books have done the same. When I first started exploring the concept of creative divine there were so many references being put in front of me that I would frequently laugh out loud. Sometimes I’ve only had to think of something I’ve wanted to do and it’s been there on the next web page or the next book I’ve picked up.
10. Love.
Love comes in many guises. Love for your family, love for your friends. A brief encounter with love when a stranger shows kindness to you. It all makes me happy because it makes me feel loved. The most astounding love I’ve experienced is the one that endures, through thick and thin. The one that you know will be there for all time, and probably has been there for all time already. Until I experienced that I really didn’t understand what love was.
About Nicola
I live and work in Manchester, in the UK. The big love of my life is photography and I’m most often found, camera in hand, walking in the park or dashing around town photographing an event. I’m fascinated by the idea that creativity is a tool to link to the divine and I started exploring this concept on my blog last year. It was a major turning point for me and is a constant theme in all of my creative projects. I see photography as a key element and want to share my experiences with my camera as “photo therapy” to help others get into the zone and experience a state of flow. I’m also a Reiki Master who loves boxing! Nicola blogs at The Whole Self.
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10 Things That Make Me Happy: Leana May
10 Things That Make Me Happy: Erin Robinson
10 Things That Make Me Happy: Brandon Ledford
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This entry was posted on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 6:00 am and is filed under Guest Bloggers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
7 Responses to “10 Things That Make Me Happy: Nicola Warwick”
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Beautiful post, Nicola! I just moved away from Mancs in September–went to grad school there! Small world! ;)
I love these lists — thanks Carolyn for sharing your space :) Nicola – This list has so many things I resonate with and has given me a lot to think about and try to apply. Also so happy that I found your blog.
Twitter: creativedivine
says:
Carolyn – this looks great. Thank you so much for the invitation to do this. It was a pleasure.
Krista, wow, definitely a small world. Hope you enjoyed living in Manchester.
Erin, so nice of you to drop by my blog. Carolyn’s 10 things does give you a lot to think about too!
Nicola, I enjoyed your list. I can really relate to #3, creative projects. I also have been knowing for a long time that there is something I need to do. It’s evolved into writing online, at my blog, and I think there is more work for me to do in the world. I have clarity around theme at this point – I want to share my experiences and knowledge with others who are struggling to love themselves, let go of the destruction of self-hatred, and discover their passion and true path in life, discover who they really are meant to be. In the process, I hope I do the same for myself!
Beautiful post! I just stopped by to say hello and introduce myself. Looks like we are taking Marisa’s class ‘together’. Looking forward to hearing more from you in class.
[...] Nicola Warwick [...]
[...] Nicola Warwick [...]