I love playing sports. Always have done. And although I am always seeking to go beyond my limits, I am not competitive at all. Instead of competing with others, I enjoy participating with others. To me it is about connecting and engaging in something together.

Anyhow, the other day, I was in the shower after an early morning run in the nearby forest, when the flow of water over my skin brought on a flow of creativity. In no time, an idea popped up. I was going to start a writeathon. A kind of biathlon inspired by the running and swimming I do every week, and combining two other ‘sports’ of mine: writing and photography.

Let’s write together…

Starting Monday, the 24^th of April, I will make a photo every day and write what comes to mind. Analogous to a marathon, I will keep this up for 26 days and post below what I have created. So, wish me luck. Now I mention it, why don’t you join me on my 26-Day Writeathon? All you need is an open mind and a passionate heart, and your imagination will do the rest.

Win yourself a writing coaching session!

If you like, you can send me what you have written on one of the 26 days and you will receive a raffle ticket. Shortly after the writeathon ends, on Friday, the 19^th of May, I will retrieve a random ticket from a hat. The person with the lucky ticket will get a free 1-hour writing coaching session.

Email email@wimbeunderman.com

Image: ‘Digital Camera’ by Alisa_Nicetin on Pixabay

Here goes…

Day 1 – Pushing forward

Running in the rain, I felt the water pouring down my face. ‘Squish squash’ it sounded every time my running shoes hit the soggy forest trail, as if they wanted to drown out the morning concert the birds were giving in the trees and bushes around me. In no time, my mind became cool and calm and my heart warm. I was free and I was powerful. Extremely powerful and there was nothing stopping me from completing my run and thoroughly enjoy doing so. Just like there was nothing in my way to prevent me from living my life with passion. Doing the things I wanted to. I was pushing forward to fulfil my life purpose and to reach my goals. Forever pushing forward.

Day 2 – Mere reflections

What you and I see
Are mere reflections
Of what we think and feel
What we believe is real
But also of what could be
A newfound reality
For you and me

Day 3 – Work in progress

“Hmm…” I sighed, taking in the smell of warm bitumen. They were repairing the road we live on. About time too. I was glad anyway. It made me realize-that everything takes time. And also energy and focus. Whether it’s roadworks, buds bursting open into flowers, children growing up to become adults, or me transforming pain and drama into constructive energy. It’s all work in progress.

Day 4 – Enjoy the little things

With my hands wrapped around a cup of hot black coffee, I looked through the kitchen window to see the golden sunlight trickling through the treetops. A contented smile appeared on my face. This was one of those moments. A moment of consciously enjoying the small things. For, I knew that those are often the good things in life, and appreciating these will only attract more goodness.

Day 5 – Sweet dreams, sweetheart

While you lie there sleeping so peacefully, I wonder what’s going on inside of that sweet little head. What are your thoughts and dreams? How are you feeling? And are you grateful for your life? I want to know if you’re okay. And if there’s anything I can do to make your life more fulfilling. For now, I hope you rest well. Sweet dreams, sweetheart. X

Day 6 – That’s just nog good enough

That’s not good enough, is something I heard a lot in the past. Lately, it’s been rearing its ugly head again. Energetically, that is, in the form of self-condemnation. So, now It’s time for me to embrace this one last time and release it forever.

Day 7 – No bullshit

Oatly is one of those companies that make branding and storytelling fun. With phrases like ‘Wow no cow!’, they make perfectly clear their products are 100% plant based. No cow  and no bullshit either

Day 8 – I’m fed up

Sometimes It’s good to take more than you can eat. Or, metaphorically speaking, to take or accept more than is good for you. Because when you’re fed up, you will realize that it’s time to be more conscious of what you consume. And you can ask yourself whether something is nurturing you or harming you.

Day 9 – An important conversation with myself

Standing in the front yard with my eyes closed, soaking up the sun, I was having an important conversation with myself. I know that may sound silly to some, but I am being serious. For, having inner conversations, helps me to reconnect and realign with who I truly am. Because of this, it becomes easier for me to communicate in a more natural and pure way with the outside world. Proper communication always comes from within.

Day 10 – People don’t read the message

It was a sun-kissed day in May. Birdsong and the sound of people talking blended gradually into the background along with the distant sound of car tires rolling over a concrete verge. Meanwhile, my attention was drawn to a story that was unfolding right in front of me in the flower bed. Very slowly, a fern leaf unrolled under the patient guidance of Mother Nature. Standing there, I could almost feel the pulse of life running through its veins. I was overcome with a sense of wonder and realized once again that people don’t read, see or hear the message. They feel it.

Day 11 – Would you eat garbage?

I can hear you thinking: Are you kiddin’ me? The reason I’m asking, is that I don’t think you would, and I wouldn’t either. I am very choosy when it comes to nourishing myself. I take in fresh, wholesome, plant-based food and very little sugar, alcohol or processed food. That also goes for energy in mental and emotional form. That’s why I don’t read the paper or certain books, don’t listen to what the government or big corporations tell me, don’t pay any attention to drama – mine or other people’s –  or watch certain films, the news and all the other garbage on the telly. I want to keep my system clean, so I can live a pure and simple life. How about you?

Day 12 – Mirror, mirror on the wall…

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the dearest of them all? Judging by the folder I found in the letter box yesterday arvo, it’s my mum. Hmm…sure, she was the first woman in my life. The woman who carried me in her womb for nine months and then went through the intense process of giving birth to me, and I am very grateful for that. However, I don’t fall for this subconscious programming. It’s about creating misplaced loyalty, so that people will sacrifice themselves for others, or the other way round, get others to sacrifice themselves for them. The most important person in my life, is me. So, to answer my own question, I am the dearest of them all. ;-))

Day 13 – One

Stand firmly on the ground
Close your eyes
And breathe deeply
Then you will feel as one
One with all there is

Day 14 – So glad to see you again

Today, I noticed you sitting there in the window sill. You’re always there, never anywhere else. It makes me wonder how you put up with me. I walk by you so many times almost every day and rarely pay attention to you, let alone appreciate you. But I do, you know. I really appreciate you for your patience with me, your never ending faith in me and your unconditional love for me. You know, just like I do, that it’s different this time. I’m so glad to see you again. And now I’ve found you again, I will never leave you, my true self.

Day 15 – The Earth doesn’t need saving

Regularly, I hear people saying that Nature is ill and the planet is dying. Huh…Is that so? Sure, the environment is a shambles thanks to us. And I can see the climate is changing. But to claim that we have a climate crisis on our hands and that the Earth needs to be saved, is unsubstantiated and melodramatic. The Earth is very adaptive to change and so is Nature. The climate is constantly changing. It’s Nature’s way of restoring the balance. So, it’s essential that we realize that we are part of Nature. Once we work with Nature instead of trying to control and dominate it, it will provide us with everything we need. Not just to survive, but to thrive. So, if anything needs saving it’s not the Earth, it’s humanity.

Day 16 – Land of milk and honey

Looking at Flo lazing about all morning, it’s easy to believe she’s living in a land of milk and honey. However, nothing could be further from the truth. She was bred solely for the purpose of being sold and taken away from her mother when she was only a kitten. Pretty cruel, come to think of it. Because of her breed, she has very little natural instincts and cannot survive on her own outside. Her fate is to be locked indoors most of the time and when she goes into the backyard, she’s on a leash. We definitely wouldn’t like to be robbed of our freedom like that. So, it’s our goal as her adoptive parents, to make her life as comfortable as possible with everything she wants and heaps of love and affection.

Day 17 – After the rain

The world is such a magical place after the rain. Everything feels so fresh and vibrant. I look around and take in my surroundings from a different perspective. As if I’m seeing the world for the very first time. It makes me feel more alive and full of expectation of all the good things coming into my life right now. I can feel it flowing. Flowing and beating with the pulse of life.

Day 18 – Eating habits

Over the years, my eating habits have changed considerably. As a young boy, I practically lived on thin air. My poor mum had her work cut out for her, feeding me. The only things I liked were chocolate, peanut butter, bread, cheese, bananas, pineapple, passion fruit and ice cream of course. In my teens, things like pizza, chips, chicken, cheesecake, mushrooms and hamburgers were added to the list. Because my mum persevered, I ended up eating and drinking almost anything by the time I reached adulthood.

Come my 48th year, I went vegetarian and 2 years later, I ate entirely plant-based. Although, nowadays, I regularly eat eggs from chooks that literally run around a farmyard down the road. A year and a half ago, I drastically reduced my sugar and alcohol intake, and I feel fitter, healthier and more energetic because of it. Despite the fact that I don’t eat many things anymore, I still enjoy my food very much, partly because my girlfriend is such a good cook. And I still regularly enjoy a good snack, albeit very different from my pre-sugar free life. One of my latest snacks is Dutch rye bread. Something I wouldn’t have dreamed of eating as a kid. I guess this only goes to show how adaptive to change I am.

Day 19 – Gone bananas

Gone bananas is one of those expressions that made me laugh as a kid. It still does. I reckon it’s because it’s a very innocent and harmless way of saying that someone has gone crazy or is mentally unstable. Here are some more: gone nuts, off his rocker, out of his skull, out of his tree, two tinnies short of a six pack, he keeps roos in his top paddock, lost his marbles, he’s not all there, gone troppo, and gone ballistic. I could go on for ever before ending up at the less subtle and unkind expressions. What’s your fave?

Day 20 – Mother Nature always finds a way

No matter what, Mother Nature always finds a way. She’s a master at adapting to change. An example for us to follow. It begins with the realization that we too are part of Nature. So, by following Nature, we will always find our way.

Day 21 – Time on my side

Increaaingly, I experience that time is on my side. That’s when I’m focussed on what I’m doing and forget about time, and just go with my own flow.

Day 22 – One with the power of creation

It starts in the heart. In an instant, I decide how to act. My actions feel effortless and the effect manifests itself right before my inner eye. I see my creations unfolding all around me, as they shape my life. Everything unfolds according to a higher plan, when I am one with the power of creation.

Day 23 – Pain is power

Yeah, sounds a bit weird, eh? But, it’s pretty logical when you think about it. In quantum physics, everything is energy, and so, pain is also energy. Energy is what gives us power. So, pain is power. I came to this conclusion about a year ago and decided to start my own little experiment. Whenever I felt physical, mental or emotional pain, I closed my eyes, focused on the place in my body or my mind where I felt the pain, and just felt it. I kept feeling it until it was gone.

I found out that by simply feeling it, I was accepting it and absorbing it into my body. In turn, this made me more conscious of the cause deep down inside. The real cause. Once I had absorbed the pain – the energy – my body transformed it into a feeling of relief, followed by a feeling of being energetic and being able to put things into perspective. So, the process is: feel – absorb – transform.

Nowadays, I’ve integrated this experiment into my system and I practice the process without thinking. It almost comes naturally to me. My next step is to channel the power to where I need it or to a place where I can store it. Imagine what we would be capable of if we transformed pain and other energy into power on a large scale. What do you reckon? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Day 24 – Taking time to refuel

Regularly throughout the day, I take time to refuel. Just a few minutes, some times longer, to restore any energy imbalance and to realign myself. This helps me to stay on my own course, so that I spend my time and energy efficiently and on the right things. After all, my time in this life is limited and I want to spend it wisely.

Day 25 – Go with the flow

What does that even mean, to go with the flow? And what flow? Or whose flow? These questions came to me when I was filling the sink this morning. I found myself staring at the constant flow of water into the sink and at the multitude of bubbles forming near the plug hole. It fascinated me, as it often does. A constant flow of water. A form of energy flowing. And it made me realize that everyone and everything is part of one big flow and every individual has their own flow that integrates with the greater flow. I am grateful for my awareness of this, as it helps me to go with my own flow.

Day 26 – Where do good ideas come from?

In my experience up till now, good ideas and inspiration in general come when I least expect them. Often, they come when I’m in the shower, walking or running, relaxing with a cup of tea, listening to music, looking at interesting images, sleeping, or watching a movie or video. What it comes down to is that my mind is not actively thinking. It’s at rest and I am in touch with my essence. I’m curious. Where do your good ideas come from?