Bridget McNulty

Creative One’s

// July 29th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogs, Inspiration, Life (and the living of it)

Today I’m feeling much better… calmer and happier and altogether less troubled. Thanks for all the good advice!

I suppose it proves that emotions really are energy in motion, and that if you allow yourself to feel them, they’ll simply pass through you…

Today, though, I have a treat for you! Sofia Barao’s wonderful blog (check it out here) is doing a series of interviews with creative people, called Creative One’s, where she asks the same questions about special ‘ones’. Today she interviewed me… go and check it out (if you’re interested)! And then spend some time browsing through her beautiful website… I’m going to.

Until tomorrow!

Advice, please…

// July 28th, 2009 // 12 Comments » // Cape Town, Life (and the living of it)

I need your advice.

I’m having trouble with a little something at the moment, and it’s something that I’ve often struggled with, and have not yet found a solution for… Maybe you’ve gone through something similar and can help?

I find myself over-extending with friends, making sure I’m always there when they need me, being reassuring and kind and a good friend. And then when I need it back, there’s a vacuum… Nothing. And now, when we’re about to leave for a really long time, I thought certain friends would kick in and be present, but they’re not.

So what do I do? Learn not to extend? Get a thicker skin? Not be hurt by other people not making an effort?

I don’t know. Advice, please!

What can you live without?

// July 27th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Decisions, Inspiration, Life (and the living of it)

It’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately: What can I live without?

Last night I finished clearing and sorting through all my ’stuff’, and I have to say it’s an incredible feeling. I went through my clothes / shoes / jewellery / books / papers / kitchen things and put aside everything I don’t love. I kept asking myself, ‘Can you live without this?’ and most of the time the answer was a resounding yes! I haven’t been foolish, I’m not tossing away things that we’ll need when we get back, but I have done a thorough pruning of the items I own, and I’m left with far less than when I began.

I was saying to my man that I find it such an exhilarating feeling – that I love being less tied down to the world – and he asked me why. The answer I came up with was simple, but it rings so true for me: I want to know that there is less I can’t live without. If for some reason I lost everything, I want to know that I would be more okay (than a few weeks ago, when I had a whole heap more ’stuff’).

I remember when I was a little girl I used to have this fear that an earthquake would split our house in two. Don’t ask me why – Durban has never had an earthquake (ever!) and there was pretty much 100% certainty that our house would never split in two. But I was a worrier as a child, and this was one of my chief worries. It would always reassure me to know that even if our house split in two and my parents, younger brother and older brother were on the other side (because of where their bedrooms were), my middle brother and I would be together. And that meant I’d be okay.

Now I live in a much smaller apartment, and if it split in two odds are my man and I would both be on the same side! But it still reassures me to know that no matter what else I don’t have (as we travel around the world with only one suitcase each), I’ll always have him. He’s the one thing I would like very much not to have to live without.

What about you?

The gentle art of acceptance.

// July 23rd, 2009 // 6 Comments » // Decisions, Life (and the living of it), Time, travelling

I’ve been waiting a lot, lately. Waiting to hear back from sponsors about our journey, waiting to hear about a trip to Durban and Joburg for publicity stuff before we leave, waiting to plan the last six weeks of normal life.

I’m not very good at waiting.

In fact, I’m pretty terrible at it. My impatient nature combined with my control-freak tendencies means I’m always wanting to sink my teeth into things, without waiting for other people to do their part. This is not a very good part of my character, I can accept that. And I’m working on it.

But I am also learning to accept other things. In fact, I’m working on the gentle art of acceptance.

We found out this morning that one of the major sponsors we were hoping would come on board doesn’t have the necessary budget to help us out. A lot of this journey towards the journey has been knocking on doors and understanding that some open and some remain stubbornly shut… But I must admit I was really disappointed when this one didn’t fly open. There’s still a chance that they’ll be able to help us out on a smaller level (sponsoring our air tickets and an iPhone so we can record our daily video snippets), but it looks like we’ll now be choosing Plan B.

Plan B is still extremely exciting, just in a different way. Instead of 16 countries for 2 to 3 weeks each, we’ll do 9 countries for a month each – and stick to South-East Asia and South America (the countries where our savings will last us longer!) We’ll be roughing it more, but more open to adventure and new experiences (as there won’t be any time constraints). We’ll get to fully experience two beautiful parts of the world. And if a major sponsor decides to climb on board while we’re away, we can always add in some of the other countries we’re going to be missing. Or that can be Journey 2. Or Journey 3. The plan is to keep doing this as long as we can!

The overriding feeling I have from this, though, is that it’s time for me to walk the talk. I keep saying that life always gives you exactly what you need, and that in retrospect everything always turns out for the best, and sometimes we just can’t see what is best for us from our limited present outlook. Now it’s time to trust in that, to trust in the flow of life. I need to learn to stop micro-managing everything, to trust that if you have the best intentions (and I really do, this cause is something I deeply believe in) that life will give you just what you need.
Only sometimes what that is will look a little different to what you expected it to be.

I’m excited about this journey! Literally and figuratively. I’m excited to challenge myself, to discover new things about life, and love, to explore this crazy world of ours. I’m excited for whatever lies ahead, down the river, around the bend, whatever it is I can’t quite see from here…

PS – Should anyone have any contacts with airlines or big companies who like diabetics or iPhone people, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

What do you want from life-right-now?

// July 16th, 2009 // 6 Comments » // Decisions, Inspiration, Life (and the living of it), travelling

It’s an interesting question, isn’t it?

I was thinking about it last night, oddly enough, when I saw a picture of a hand-drawn robin. You know, the bird? And it reminded me of a fairy tale that my parents read to me when I was a little girl, which made me realise that for one of the first times in my life, I’m not nostalgic for childhood… I’ve been nostalgic for childhood for most of my life – I remember it as a pretty wonderful time, and that feeling of being looked-after is pretty hard to beat (clearly, I’m one of the few people in the world who had a happy childhood!)

So when I realised that the red-breasted robin wasn’t making me want the past, I thought about what I wanted from the future.
My own child? Lordy no, not for a few years yet.
My own home? Surprisingly, no. I’ve loved loved loved being here in my beautiful flat for the last year, but I’m itchy to get moving (unusual for someone so in love with nesting).
A straight career path? Umm… no thanks.
A wedding? Not right now, thanks for asking.

So if I don’t want any of the above (the ordinary answers for a 27-year-old, I think) what do I want?

I want to travel. I want the uncertainty, the excitement, the thrill of discovering new things every day. I want to explore and discover and not know exactly where I’m going next. I want to be nomadic for a while.

Which is pretty good timing, I suppose, seeing as I’m about the embark on a Round-the-World trip, but I’ve never felt like this before, so it’s all quite unusual. Or maybe I have felt like this, I just never took the time to ask myself if I was looking for something out of the straight and narrow.

So that’s the question I’m asking you:
What do YOU want from life-right-now?

PS: If you, like me, are insatiably curious and like knowing a little bit more about what’s around the bend, check out the interview I did on Sweet Life (our Round-the-World blog) with a woman who’s travelled all over the world… with her diabetic husband!

Food for thought…

// July 10th, 2009 // No Comments » // Inspiration, Life (and the living of it)

I got this in an email this morning, and thought it was really rather thought-provoking!

“It is those who have a deep and real inner life who are best able to deal with the irritating details of outer life.” Evelyn Underhill.

What do you think?
Scarily true, perhaps?

It’s only on days when I feel strung out and as if life is all on the surface that those surface details really get to me… What about you?

Are you focused?

// July 8th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Decisions, Inspiration, Life (and the living of it), Time

I don’t think I am, at the moment.

I mean, I’m long-term focused – I know exactly what I want and when I want it (Hello Round-the-World!) but short-term, day to day, moment to moment, I feel like I’m just the teensiest bit scattered.

There’s just so much going on, you know? So many things to remember, and think about, so many people to communicate with, so many balls to juggle. And instead of taking one ball at a time, and juggling it peacefully and quietly, I’ve been juggling all of them at the same time. So far, none of them have dropped. But I don’t like my odds.

So as of today I’m all for focus. I’m going to try that trick that Esther and Jerry Hicks recommend – segment intending. At the beginning of each segment of your day you set your intention (i.e. your focus) for that segment. Sitting down to breakfast? I intend to enjoy this meal, and for it to nourish me and sustain me. And then you sit down and just eat – don’t think about the rest of your day. About to check your email? I intend to communicate in a clear and straightforward way. No extra fluff.

I’m going to give it a go today, and I’ll let you know how it goes. I like the idea of each part of a day being a focused entity in and of itself – and then all those parts fitting together like an intricate piece of machinery… or an orange.

What do you think? Do you think it’ll help?

In the lap of luxury…

// July 7th, 2009 // No Comments » // Cape Town, Life (and the living of it)

So I turned 27 in the lap of luxury. Ensconced in the lap of luxury. It was incredible!

My man and I arrived at the One&Only hotel in Cape Town on Thursday afternoon and were promptly shown to a BEAUTIFUL room. I’m talking huge soft bed, enormous bathroom with bed-sized bath, huuuge shower, and twin basins (love the twin basins). We were shown round the whole hotel, which is entirely like a different world, a world that I would love to live in full-time! (You can read all about it on Just the Planet soon).

Dinner was at Nobu restaurant, this extraordinary Japanese restaurant, where we were treated to a 7 course tasting menu (wow) and then we fell asleep… Only to wake up with a full view of Table Mountain from our window. *sigh!*

My birthday began with tea in bed with my man, and then a delicious buffet breakfast (fresh baked goodies, fruit, yoghurt, all my favourites!) and then (oh then!) an hour and a half pedicure. It was heaven! A Bastien Gonzalez pedicure, which is apparently the Rolls Royce of pedicures. I felt like I was floating…

After my luxurious stay, I went for lunch with my parents, which was simply delightful, and then came home and played with my adorable neice for the afternoon. Then I watched a DVD while my feast of a dinner was made for me… And then we ate until we were stuffed. Delicious!

It was such a laughter-filled, family-filled, delight-filled day. I think it bodes well for the year ahead! My year of learning how to be easy going, of letting go…

My (fun) disaster:

// June 18th, 2009 // No Comments » // Life (and the living of it), Strange Nervous Laughter, book launch, travelling

The plan seemed simple enough:
While in New York City, organise a relaxed, informal reading somewhere pretty (i.e. in Central Park) and bake cupcakes to give to people so they have a little something to snack on while I read. Then invite all my friends and contacts in New York (check out the lovely invitation here), and get them to invite all their friends and contacts.

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, global warming. In a word (or two).
You see, NYC is not usually wet or rainy in June – it’s summer, it should be deliciously sunny. But the weather has been a little crazy of late, and the craziness did not work in my favour… The forecasts said scattered thundershowers would hit at 6pm. They hit at 2.30pm. My reading was at 3pm.

We’d already baked delicious cupcakes, by this stage (chocolate with vanilla icing and mini M&Ms… yummy!)

And we’d figured out how to transport them across town on the subway (by buying a couple of doughnut boxes from the doughnut store across the road)…

When we exited the subway, it was breezy and warm, and we thought we’d missed the morning rain and were going to miss the evening storms. But when we arrived at Central Park…

The heavens opened. It poured. Bucketed. Deluged us with rain. So that anyone in their right mind, looking out the window in the hour before the reading and deciding whether to come to an outdoor event in the park, would have decided against it (I was already there, so I couldn’t change my mind!)

Still, I had a couple of extremely loyal friends who decided to brave the weather, most notably my Number One Fan, Jess (in her handmade t-shirt)…

Once we realised that the rain was not going to let up any time soon, we traipsed off through the park handing out free cupcakes. It was so much fun! I started off on the baseball field, and people came flocking towards me when they heard the magical word ‘cupcake’ (combined with the equally magical word ‘free’)… and then we walked through the park and I approached people and asked if they wanted a cupcake. They were either totally delighted, or looked a little scared. It was very amusing!

We ended up in a Starbucks (because it was warm, cosy, and quintessentially American)…

Where I gave a short reading, after all…

It was, to all intents and purposes, a complete disaster. But it was a really fun disaster! As I led my merry band of wet friends through the park, handing out cupcakes, I was loving it! It was great fun.

Now, this could have been because I’d had an amazing hour-long interview on Cosmo Radio the day before, and I felt as if I’d already done my bit for book marketing; or because it was the end of a really wonderful three week friend tour all over the East Coast of the USA; or even because I have recently realised that I don’t like organising publicity stuff for myself any more (give me online stuff to do and I’m happy, organise something for me to do and I’m even happier, but don’t put me in charge please!)

It might even be that I am slowly, ever so slowly, learning to let go and see where life takes me. That I am finally learning to be a bit more easy-going and not trying to control everything. Whatever the reason, I had myself an extremely fun disaster of A Reading in Central Park.

More Blog Touring!

// May 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogs, Inspiration, Strange Nervous Laughter

Ready to discover yet another wonderful blog?

Today I’m guest posting over at This Ordinary Day, a really inspiring group blog that focuses on our ordinary lives, and why they’re really rather extraordinary…

Sound good? Head on over and read up some of their archives, I guarantee you’ll leave feeling happier!

PS: Don’t forget to write a creative comment about love here, for a chance to win a copy of the US version of Strange Nervous Laughter!