I’m on leave, so this is a in-case-you-missed-it post. I asked right-hand chick Jo to highlight her favourite posts from the year. Here they are:

(PS. this pic above is one Jo took from her flat…she sits here to think each morning…)

1. I love this post: The best reason I’ve ever found for backing the f*ck off. Yeah! Basically because of the title . But also because it talks about pacing yourself, slowing down, ‘smelling the roses’, and focusing on making choices to do life well. “The clear message: just choose to start stressing less. Be gentle. Choose wellness.” Which is something I have on my radar. I’m determined to attempt to do life well. Also, I made some key decisions around the time of this post, and applied for my job with Sarah four days later (on my brother’s 30th birthday  – which is why I know the date).

2. I like spending time on my own, checking in with my inside people (I’ve never had such a fun way to describe it before). That’s why I love this post. The ocean is my favourite place to refuel. And while I’m refueling, I’m checking in on myself. My soul sorts through stuff when I create the space for it. I’ve LOVED Uge since I read this post (I think it’s been a year or so now). I recently met him and he was everything I expected him to be and more… GENUINE GOOD PERSON. Love him. Love this concept.

Every few weeks or so I feature one of Eugene Tan’s wonderful beach pictures on this site. I know many of you love them. Woah!, now you can buy the book.

Uge has become a great mate after years of running into him down at Bondi in the mornings where, for the past 11 years, he’s been found taking beautiful pictures of people being happy in water… which he then posts on his site aquabumps. 40,000 people check in each morning to view his work. And thousands have bought his over-sized prints. I’ve seen them hung around the world.

You might recall, I’ve written about Uge before. He taught me about “checking in with your inside people“. And I can safely say, Uge is one of the happiest people I know. He smiles when he surfs. It shows in his book.

Plus a gratuitous shot of our mate Gezza x

I reckon it’d make a great Christmas present. Happy, fresh, summery. This you might like to know:

* It’s a massive coffee-table spectacular (almost a metre across when open).

* It’s designed by Ant Donovan

* It’s $150 and you can buy it in Uge’s gallery on Curlewis St or here:

Have a great Friday xxxxxx

I like this nice little reminder from DailyOM on having breaks when you’re going hard. I’m a big fan of having light and shade in life. To sprint and rest. It’s hard to remember to create these contrasts, sometimes.

(The pic below is a ripper….courtesy of Eugene at Aquabumps, he of the “checking in with my inside people” philosophy.)

A New Approach
Taking a Break from What You Are Doing

Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in our thoughts that we wind up going round in round in circles, finding it difficult to concentrate on things and, because we are so distracted, not really accomplishing much. There may be signals˜mental, emotional, and physical˜that tell us we need to slow down and relax. Since we are so involved in things that are external to us, however, we may easily overlook what is really going on inside of us. It is during these times that we need to step back from the things that occupy our minds and take time out to connect with our inner self, giving our minds, bodies, and spirits the time they need to reenergize and heal.