Bela Pedra, my Portuguese Farm: Part 7 OLIVE HARVEST

Living the Slow Life (Waiting for PORTUGAL)

Bela Pedra, my Portuguese Farm: Part 6 (Chemical vs Composting Toilets)

BELA PEDRA, my Portuguese Farm: Part 5 GOING SOLAR

BELA PEDRA my PORTUGUESE Farm: Part 4 (GETTING THINGS DONE)

The Power of Yet

One of the sure facts of life is that we don't always get what we want, when we want it. This can lead to anger, frustration, anxiety and disappointment. Those feelings then lead to other feelings which ends up creating a domino effect in our lives. If we believe we can't succeed at something, then our negativity can prevent us from ever succeeding. This can then flow onto every task we try and do and that's not good at all. Nobody wants to feel like they are a failure at everything. So, how do we change this mindset?

The beginning of this past school year I thought about how I would handle a challenging class that had caused their previous teacher so much grief. They were a class who had frequent meltdowns and in-fighting. I did a little research and came upon the mindblowing concept of The Power of Yet. That simple three letter word 'yet' could literally change your life around. I decided to introduce it to my class from the get-go of the school year.
What blew my mind away was how quickly the children embraced it!
The meltdowns, in-fighting and all those tantrums from the previous years have been rare events this school year. Now while my teaching assistant and I might like to take the credit, it is not us but instead the power of that little word 'yet' that has brought such a radical change in the group. To this day, towards the end of the school year, they will still say things like "I can't do long division ... YET!" and they will stress the 'yet.'
I have found that because of the 'power of yet' working so well with my class, I have begun using it with myself, and this has helped me to cope with disappointments and relationships and frustrations. You get the picture.
We seldom get what we want when we want it. And when we do we take it for granted. When we have to wait a little, we tend to value it a lot more.

The 'Power of Yet' is definitely not just  a growth mindset for children. It works with us as well.
In April over Easter, I was supposed to be traveling to Portugal to buy a farm. Instead the pandemic arrived. Norway was put on lockdown as was the rest of Europe (except maybe Sweden, but that's a whole other story!) Initially, I was disappointed and the disappointment lasted for half a day until the 'power of yet' kicked in. I thought to myself, I can't go yet, but I will eventually get there to buy that farm. So what can I do in the meantime? I can research. I can make videos of my research. I can save more money to put into the farm I buy.
This is the Power of YET.
YET gives you more time to get everything in place. YET gives you time to develop those skills, do more research and be better prepared. YET is hope. It gives you a positive, optimistic outlook on life.
I wish I had discovered the 'power of yet' sooner.
But then again, maybe some of us have that power built into our psyche but because we didn't know it was there, we never fully harnessed it.
I have always been a glass half-full kind of person. I joked that it was because my blood type was B Positive. But with the power of YET I've found that I can achieve so much more.
Things don't have to happen immediately and that's okay. Everything in the universe has a time and a season. Sometimes it's just not the right time or season. Sometimes, you need to get more skills, do more research, fix broken relationships, be a little patient, for the time and season to be right. If it doesn't happen straight away, or you can't do it immediately- it just means that you can't do it YET. Sometimes you might have to use critical thinking skills to find other solutions. A little 'out the box' thinking. But if you don't give-up and harness the power of YET, the answers will come to you.
Embrace the Power of YET!
Cindy Vine is a teacher and author currently living and working in Norway. Her most recent goal is to buy a farm in Portugal. You can follow her Journey to buying a farm in Portugal on Youtube by clicking this link. Cindy is the author of many novels, including Defective, Hush Baby and The Freedom Club. All her books are available on Amazon in both ebook and paperback formats. Many of her books are also available in different languages. Find out more at http://cindyvine.com

What it's like to walk in fresh snow

All my life I used to think how pretty snow looked in the distance on top of the mountains.  My first experience of snow was when I lived in New Zealand.  We were fresh off the boat, so to speak, had only been in New Zealand a few weeks and decided to drive down to the Lake Taupo region to look at the snow capped Mount Ruapehu.  We were excited.  We were actually going to touch snow for the very first time.
Well...
We did not realise that you had to wear proper clothes for the snow.  So to say we were under-equipped, is a gross understatement.  My youngest daughter had a beanie and wellington boots.  My son had a beanie and a jacket.  My eldest daughter and myself didn't have anything suitable for snow.  We found out the hard way, that snow is cold and wet and not powdery dry stuff.  Jeans and sneakers are not proper snow gear.  After standing around in the snow without gloves in icy cold wind for about five minutes, my youngest started crying and wanted to go home.  So we trudged through the snow to the restaurant, had a hot chocolate, and drove the 4 hours back to our home in Pukekohe.  That was our first snow experience.  We subsequently went to Queenstown in winter wearing the correct clothing and it was a much better experience.
As a family we experienced snow in South Korea, and again when we lived in China.
But I guess as an empty-nester I have experienced the most snow - when I lived in Ukraine and now that I live in Norway.
While I love sitting next to the window watching snow gently float down to earth outside, I am not a snow fan.  I reckon it's genetic.  Although my DNA test does have me as 10% Norwegian and Swedish.  Many of my friends around the world who have not yet encountered snow as I have, often ask what it's like to walk in snow.  Well let me explain it like this.  Walking on fresh snow is like a combination of walking on bubble wrap and thick sand.  With each step the fresh snow cracks and pops as if you are stepping on bubble wrap.  But then the effort of walking on snow is the same as the effort of walking in thick sand.  I do enjoy walking on fresh snow though.  Old icy snow is a different story!
Cindy Vine is a South African author and teacher currently living and working in Norway.  She is the author of Not Telling, Hush Baby and The Freedom Club - all available on Amazon in both ebook and paperback formats.