The Pulse of Life ❤️
This month has been a reminder that life isn’t meant to be lived in a straight line.
It has its own rhythm. Its own pulse.
Within these pages you’ll find stories of laughter when plans didn’t go as expected, discovering that sometimes we don’t need a holiday as much as we need a different kind of rest, choosing presence over autopilot, learning to reflect instead of ruminate, embracing a first grey hair, navigating sickness, and returning to the simple power of the breath.
None of these moments were extraordinary on their own.
But together they remind me that a conscious life isn’t built in the big milestones. It’s shaped by the small moments that quietly wake us up.
I hope something in this month’s reflections meets you exactly where you are.
Riding the Waves with an Open Mind
This month began with two very different journeys: a family holiday exploring the beautiful coastline of Croatia, followed by a trip to Greece with an inspiring group of women through a Ladies Business Forum.
Travel has a way of taking us out of our routines – but perhaps its greatest gift is that it also reveals how we meet life when things don’t go to plan.
One day, we set off on what was meant to be a relaxing boat trip.
Instead, the boat broke down. A storm rolled in. There were moments of genuine uncertainty.
It could easily have become the story of everything that went wrong.
But it didn’t.
What I remember most is the laughter as the day became more and more ridiculous, the hidden beaches we discovered, the kindness of an incredible tour guide, and the way family and strangers came together to support one another without hesitation.
It’s interesting how the mind remembers the fear, while the heart remembers the connection.
That day reminded me that life isn’t about avoiding uncertainty. It’s about recognising that even in difficult moments, joy, beauty, love and hope continue to exist alongside the challenge.
Sometimes the question isn’t, “What happened?”
It’s, “What am I choosing to remember?”
Our brains naturally hold onto the difficult moments.
Here are three tiny ways to help yours notice the whole story:
✨ Before bed, name one moment that brought you joy.
✨ When something goes wrong, pause and ask yourself, “What else is true?“*•
✨ Before sharing the hardest part of your day, share the best part first.
More than just a feeling…
I thought I needed a holiday.
What I realised was that I didn’t just need time off… I needed different kinds of rest.
💛 Laughter.
💛 Family.
💛 Nature.
💛 Dancing.
💛 New experiences.
💛 Inspiring conversations.
💛 Time to simply be.
The trip reminded me that restoration comes in many forms.
Here are the seven types of rest we all need at different times:
🤍 Physical – giving your body a chance to recover.
🤍 Mental – a break from constant thinking and decision-making.
🤍 Emotional – having space to be honest about how you’re really doing.
🤍 Social – spending time with people who leave you feeling fuller, not emptier.
🤍 Creative – experiencing beauty, curiosity and inspiration.
🤍 Sensory – stepping away from noise, screens and constant stimulation.
🤍 Spiritual – reconnecting with meaning, purpose or something greater than yourself.
I asked followers on my whatsapp channel what kind of rest they’re craving most, and the answer was clear:
Mental Rest
If this resonates with you, I’ve shared a few simple resources that can help you find a little more mental rest. Follow the link below and have a look:
A Lasting Souvenir
The souvenir I hope lasts the longest is remembering how I want to live when I return.
More present.
More awake.
More alive.
More willing to pause long enough to feel the life that’s already here.
#ConsciousLiving
Coming home also brought me face to face with something else.
After all the presence, connection and perspective that travel had offered, I noticed how quickly my mind wanted to slip back into old habits – I caught myself ruminating.
You know that feeling when your mind keeps returning to the same thought… replaying conversations, imagining different outcomes, searching for answers that never quite arrive?
It feels like problem-solving, but often it’s just our mind moving in circles. We revisit the same thoughts without creating new perspective, leaving us feeling more stuck than clear.
Reflection is different.
Reflection creates space.
It gently asks:
- What is this thought trying to tell me?
- What do I need right now?
- What is within my control?
- What is one small step I can take?
For me, that next step has been journaling.
Taking the thoughts that keep looping around in my mind and placing them onto paper. Not because writing magically solves everything, but because creating a little distance often creates a little clarity.
One thing I’ve been reminded of this month is that clarity rarely comes from thinking harder.
It comes from relating differently to our thoughts.
Sometimes it comes from putting the pen to paper.
Sometimes it comes from taking one small action.
Sometimes it comes from simply letting one thought go.
Perhaps, if you’ve noticed yourself caught in a cycle of rumination too, this is your invitation to pause, reflect, and take just one conscious step forward.
When I look back at my life, I can see how everything connected. Looking forward, though, I can usually only see the next step.
The moments that shaped me—choosing my career, finding my way after setbacks, starting my practice, becoming a mother—were all filled with uncertainty at the time. The path only became clear in hindsight.
We often wait for certainty before we act, but clarity usually comes from taking the step, learning as we go, and trusting the process.
So if you’re standing at the edge of something uncertain, perhaps you don’t need to see the whole path.
Simply ask yourself:
What’s my next conscious step?
Then take it—one conscious step at a time. 🤍
WHAT. IS. THAT? 😲
To ‘wake me up’ further on my return – feeling rested, alive, and grateful – I part my hair and discover my very first grey hair. 😳
I was floored. Gasping. Offended. 😂 Surely 43 is still young enough to be getting away with this?
But once the initial shock passed, it got me thinking about the strange duality of ageing.
Getting older can feel incredibly freeing. I’m letting go of expectations, conditioning, “shoulds,” and the need to have everything figured out. I feel more comfortable in my own skin than ever before.
At the same time, ageing can be confronting. It reminds us that life is finite and that we do not have forever to become who we truly are.
Perhaps this little grey hair is not a crisis after all, but a reminder to embrace change, laugh at myself, keep taking the holidays, and live this beautiful, messy life while I’m here.
Although I reserve the right to panic when the next one appears. 😂🤍
July Affirmation
So much of our suffering comes from living as though we’re already late.
Today I’m choosing a different story:
Life is beautiful.
I do have time.
May today hold a little more presence than pressure.
Closing off July with something we can do together 🌿
July breathwork practice:
🧘
Box breathing:
Inhale to the count of 4
Hold for the count of 4
Exhale for the count of 4
Hold for the count of 4
Repeat for 4 cycles
Give yourself the gift of emotional regulation
Consciously,
Bronwyn Russo
Clinical Psychologist
M.A. Clin. Psych. (Curtin University, Australia)
