Better Life Archives - Page 7 of 14 - Miranda van den Heuvel

Walk

Miranda2022-11-12T23:54:30+02:00July 25th, 2022|

When I was a kid, my parents always took us on Sunday walks in the woods. I loved them as a kid, less as a teenager and when I became an adult the whole purpose of walking or hiking was lost on me. In my thirties I started hiking. Even did some serious mountain hiking. When I had babies, taking them for a walk was my own walk to sanity as they'd instantly fall asleep. Later as kids they loved to roam the woods and explore and equally started hating our hikes when they turned teenagers. 😂 Now I [...]

8 easy steps to worry less

Miranda2022-07-15T15:41:39+02:00July 15th, 2022|

Apparently I am the worrying kind.... Sure, I worry about my kids and their future and happiness. I worry about my health, the state of the world and money sometimes. Those are the big ones. But they don't occupy my mind daily. They pop up when something happens or doesn't happen (school results, a blood test, bad news etc). Then I worry. For a while. And then, if I can, I usually do something about it. Like make a change, an appointment, get more information, talk to someone for a perspective. [...]

What does self-care look like for you?

Miranda2022-07-11T15:33:13+02:00July 11th, 2022|

It looks different from one person to another. We all need, like and crave different things. Self-care can even look different from one day to another. 🦋 What does self-care look like for you? 🦋 There are the obvious: sleep, healthy food, exercise, meditation etc. But it can also look less obvious... ✨Hugging a tree ✨Taking a walk ✨Making art ✨Reading a book ✨Hugging a pet ✨Noticing the little things ✨Lighting a candle ✨Picking flowers ✨Looking at the stars ✨Going for a walk ✨Walking barefoot in [...]

Do you journal?

Miranda2022-06-30T10:32:09+02:00July 6th, 2022|

Journaling. I used to write a diary as a girl. In my teenage years I wrote and wrote and wrote: journal, stories, poems, a book even. In my twenties I still wrote but added collaging to it. In my thirties and forties I wrote less. I started painting more. A decade further I feel the need to write more again. But also dribble with paint and collage. So art journaling is ideal. 🦋 Do you journal? 🦋 These journals have my artwork on them and are available in my Redbubble or Society6 shops. [...]

The problem is, you think you have time.

Miranda2022-06-30T10:18:34+02:00July 4th, 2022|

The problem is, you think you have time. I have quite some time on my hand at the moment as I'm on sick leave, recovering from 2 surgeries in 1 month and resting up for what is to come in the next four weeks. Time is tricky. Sometimes it passes fast. Sometimes it slows down to a halt. I always liked to organize my time and plan. But when time and plans get thrown overboard a little, that's when time shows its real face. Time is a matter of perspective. When you're young you want it to move faste [...]

The opposite of order is not chaos. Maybe it is freedom.

Miranda2022-06-30T10:14:54+02:00July 2nd, 2022|

The opposite of order is not chaos. Maybe it is freedom. From the book The Dance Tree By @kiran_mh I've always been intrigued by opposites. It's quite a creative exercise to come up with the opposite of things. As an artist you learn the opposite of colors on the color wheel. As a human you are told the opposites of good and bad in people, emotions, actions. But are opposites really always obvious? Like what's the opposite of wood? Or rain? Or, like in the quote, of order? When I read the quote [...]

Accept

Miranda2022-06-30T10:11:49+02:00June 30th, 2022|

Accept. ✨That it's too hot to do anything and stay inside to rest. ✨That your kid gives you trouble and trust that he will find his way. ✨That change happens and some things will never change. ✨That some days you feel great and others not so much. ✨That your body is constantly changing and that is okay. ✨That one year you're fit as hell and the next you seem to go from one issue to the next. ✨That work may not always be what you wish and that you can only do what you can with the means that you [...]

When nothing is certain, everything is possible

Miranda2022-06-02T16:41:41+02:00June 2nd, 2022|

Nothing is ever certain, is it? Things can change in the blink of an eye. ✨Kids get shot in school. ✨People get a diagnosis they didn't expect. ✨Plans don't work out. ✨Love is ended. ✨Projects fail. But also: ✨The project is a success and suddenly you're projected into something huge. ✨ You find the love of your life when you had given up hope. ✨ What happened after the failed plans is even better than the plan! The only constant is change. And the more we worry about it, struggle against it or [...]

100 things I love

Miranda2022-04-30T19:24:33+02:00July 30th, 2021|

A happy life is just a string of happy moments. But most people don’t allow the happy moment, because they’re so busy trying to get a happy life. – Abraham Hicks We all have busy lives. Job, kids, partner, friends, parents. We try to juggle it all, fit it all into one day. And we manage. And we are happy. Sort of. We are chasing success, perfection, happiness. Because that is what is expected of us. Right? This chase can very quickly become an obsession. We need to be better, faster, more perfe [...]

How to talk about ‘uncomfortable’ subjects

Miranda2022-04-30T19:25:39+02:00July 16th, 2021|

We've all been there. We want or need to broach a 'delicate' or 'uncomfortable' subject with someone: with our partner about sex with a good friend about returning money to us with our boss about a raise ... and we chicken out, we postpone, procrastinate, pretend everything is fine and we don't need to talk about it, let the subject go around and around in our heads until it hurts. We're afraid of messing it up, of 'bringing' the subject in the wrong way, of getting emotional, of looking stupid [...]