Wauw, it has been a minute since I wrote! But I am finally coming back! I've wanted to start writing again for quite a while now, but for some unknown reason, I haven't. But today we are going to discuss social media and the fact that it is so damn addicting but also on how to finally break that nasty habit and live!



So as you may know a while back I wrote this article "Why I deleted all my social media accounts". If you haven't read that yet, GO and read it. It's basically how I have experienced it.

I have heard from many friends that they would actually love to do the same! And when I ask the simple question of "Well, Why haven't you done that yet?" they all have answers like "Yeah but I finally have this amount of followers /I could not live without it /They inspires me ...".
That last one is amazing! If social media is still something that, instead of making you miserable about your life and still keeps you inspired, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. But for so many of us, numbers have become an obsession, and we see all these other people, traveling, full of fashion and so happy, and that is what makes us feel bad.

But why do we still keep clinging to it? Well, it's as simple as the fact that we are afraid of missing out. We are afraid of not being part of a community. Something I heard a lot when I quit for two months was "You are so weird, you don't own any social media accounts?" or literally "that is crazy". But that is our fear! We don't want to be seen as weird, crazy or different. We all want to be accepted and to fit somewhere.
I was afraid of missing out mostly, I had finally gained by then around 300 followers and for me, that was a huge deal, I mean, just put that in one room! Just saying. Most people that I followed back then where travelers and nutritionist and/or photographers (can't really remember honestly), and I wanted to stay, continuously, up to date about their lives. It was an obsession.

And now would be the perfect timing to say that I have two new Instagram account again! Yeah... and I am not going to lie, some days I wonder why I got Instagram again. It is really easy to fall back into a sort of addiction. Waking up in the mornings and directly getting to my couch to sit and have a look at my feed... not the ideal. My accounts are: christel.joelle and christeljoelle_photography
One indeed purely for my photography and the other one for my spiritual, art and lifestyle journey.

Although I am going to take a one month break again (except for the weekend in Paris that I am spending with my mother). And I would like to urge every single one of you to try this out. It is game changing! If you want to know why I urge you, if you still haven't, go read my previous article.



And now the main thing, the reason you actually probably clicked on this article, how do you stay on social media but break the habit of addition? (btw I am not going to bore you with all kind of  extra explanations with it, lately, I haven't felt the need to read those either so here are just easy steps)

• First, it is Acknowledging it, but don't act on it. When you feel like taking your phone and scroll, DON'T. This is the hardest part but don't act on it, just feel. 
• I suggest deleting the entire app for a week, at least. This way you can't just give in and go on it. 
• After that week and you reinstall the app, do a cleanse, every single person you follow that doesn't thrill you, unfollow. Ask yourself if you feel inspired or not, if they make you happy, motivated or not. 
• Go through your own photo's and decide which one make you happy and inspired and delete the rest. 
• Make sure to turn off every notifications.
• Don't jump on it the first thing in the morning and evening, when you are bored try to just look around and not take your phone. If you are a planner, set a specific time where you can be on it and not. 

So here I am sitting. I think I have not stopped crying since this morning. And I know, this is not going to be a funny, inspiring article, but this it is the article we should be open enough to tell. Because it matters.




I haven't been crying for no reason. I have been crying because I feel so separate from the world, from myself, from everything. You know that feeling when everything is about to fall apart in your life because major changes are about to happen? Well, that's the case in my life, just about right now.

And I have questions, so many questions. Only I can answer them... but because I feel so separate from myself, I can't at this moment.  And I know, very deep inside me, somewhere, it will all be okay. But it doesn't feel like that at this moment. It doesn't feel okay.

And when you feel like this, we should let our feelings be. We are not our feelings, and that feels kind of relieving, but we still do feel emotions. And letting it be, is very important. By not letting your emotions be, you'll become ill. For a while now I feel dizzy, spontaneously, I feel like throwing up, I don't feel healthy... Because I have been trying to suppress my feelings. Not talking about them makes it only worse.

So dear reader, if you ever feel down, upset, or lost. Just let it be, talk about it, cry, because crying is not a sign of weakness, it just shows that you have been strong for too long! Sink in that feeling for a bit, and let it be. After all, feelings are just clouds, dark clouds that need to let their rain fall, and then move on. They don't stay.

I have a few old articles, I still believe that negative emotions, stress and all the bad thing in life, cause illness.
If you find this as interesting as I do, here they are:

Let The Tears Roll Over Your Face Darling, IT'S OKAY.

&

Live Your Feelings

I can't even count the amount of times I have tried to find my creativity back but it didn't work. And all that time I was finding ways and new methods, but nothing worked because ... I wasn't calm enough. And I never thought that was the actual problem...



For a while, I wanted to be more creative. I thought I lost it. I used to be so creative and full of fantasies and dreams, and now? I was sitting in my chair, in front of a blank piece of paper AND Nothing Came. Nothing.

Yesterday, I was really creative, and all of a sudden I could tell what had changed. I was calm, no anxiety, no deadlines, no phone! Yes, no phone or electronic devices (only for music though!). And I felt so good. I did yoga, meditation, cleaned my room, ate the most delicious egg ever (the white was nice and tight and the beginning of the yellow also but in the middle, it was soft and squishy! This is like the main reason I can't be vegan! But I am trying to figure out a way to be vegetarian, I'll write about this in another blog post because it is kind of a difficult thing to explain, why"I try", and why for now I am not an official vegetarian). I took a piece of paper and I started drawing from the heart, letting it all go. I can say, for now, I am really happy with the sketch and the beginning of my watercolor painting.

Here are the steps for a creative day!

1. First, yes, put your phone, from the beginning of the day, away, at a place where you can not see it or hear it. Learn to live without it! Damn, we are so attached to that thing that we can't even work normally without checking it every single minute! It's really no life that way!
2. Make a list of all the things you would like to do, and set your intentions right! This helps you to keep going and not feel the need to grab your phone. Also, do the things you have been neglecting for the past week, months maybe? Come on, get your ass working, clean that floor and do for once the dishes with your bare hands instead of using a machine that uses 10 times more water than you need. Clean your bathroom and declutter that drawer that has been nagging you every time you lay your eyes on it.
3. Start your morning mindful, do some yoga or a workout, meditate if you like to, put some healing music on and do what you gotta to do. I feel like cleaning the house with cleansing music helps a lot and I kind of enjoy it more and more.
4. So first you did everything that desperately needed to be done. Once you are DONE, doesn't it feel amazing, your home is clean, (take a shower, you always deserve a good shower), you are clean, your mind is free from distractions! Now you can finally relax. Sit for a while, read that book you wanted to read for so long, take this moment to do what you feel like you need to do FOR  YOURSELF!
5. And now, you are done. Get that calmness back, relax, go outside, go to the dog park, be in nature and breathe. Breathe all the way into your belly, not your chest, your belly ... ... breathe out all the air and repeat this step. Enjoy.
6. I have a question for you for this step: what is your kind of way to be creative? Is it drawing, painting, taking photos, dancing...?
   Start doing it. Try not to think too much, just do it, and we will see where the ship ends up.

When I look back at my years at school, I can't say they were fun, nor exciting. I found my way of getting through this and I'll tell you how I managed to get through it in a second. But can you also believe me that even though I hated it, I had fun and "friends"?



 I am proud of the way I got through this even in the hardest times. A week before my exams we had to euthanize our dog, I saw the vet doing her thing, and I cried, oh how I cried... Then during the last week of my exams, our family got into a huge fight with our neighbours... The cops even came over... I mean come on, can a student these days not learn peacefully?

Anyway, I have my diploma, I graduate and I am so thankful that I did!

And I am flabbergasted, how did I manage to get through these exhausting days at school where it seemed that all my energy and wanderlust was taken away from me?
So I started looking back at my days. For some magical reasons I can recall mostly beautiful and good memories, but let me tell you, those are only a few. Mostly from last two years. This last year was definitely not easy but it was better than the years before and I started actually connecting with more people.
Nevertheless, I never felt really understood by my teachers. Nor supported. Finding friends wasn't easy and most of my time I remember myself hoping between different groups of friends.
But the funny thing is you'll start getting used to that.

So first I want to say to you, start appreciating the things you have instead of the things you haven't. I didn't have a solid group of friends but I knew that in art class I would be with "those" people and I started making a good time. Well I have to admit too that when I am tired I get weird, and I laugh at a lot of things, even the most stupid things, so art class was last period and it was always fun. The girl I was with ended up being the girl I got to with prom. Back then she was just a girl who was nice, now we are friends, and I like that.

Second of all, I want you to stay true to yourself. People know when you are trying too hard, and this will only give the opposite effect of what you want. I know a girl whom I think tries too hard to be special and different. She is passing the entire point of being different. Being different doesn't mean you should be outstanding and explicitly dressed, it just means that you are who you are. Let me explain this with an example: When you see someone who has a bohemian vibe but dresses like a street girl, I mean, it doesn't feel right... do you get me? Don't be that girl, find your style, your vibe and let it resonate with the person you are from within. This way you'll attract like-minded people into your life. It's freeing!

I think I said this one before, but please, please, please, love yourself. You are special in every way! There is only one person on this earth that is like you and you are unique! And let's be honest, the only person you'll have to live with your entire life is yourself, so why not just start, at least excepting that! It will make life so much more fun. And that way, you will start attracting people who see the greatest in you.

And my last one for today, don't be with the wrong kind of people. I think this was my biggest, biggest struggle. And even now, I still do regret not having done this before. A lot of people will never want you to succeed, they say they do, but behind your back, they will talk shit about you. I think that saying this you'll already have some people in mind. Get rid of them, unfriend them, remove them from your phone and let them live their life. Their energy will only bring you down, and you'll lose yourself because of them. Please don't let this happen. Stay true to yourself and your beliefs.

New things are about to happen! A change will come on my blog, not so much in the layout, but more in the content. I am going to let my mom write on my blog too. We decided to do this because she has so much knowledge in her and I believe she could help a lot of you out with her advice.

The cold weather is coming to us, winter is near by, and I think we all know what this mean... Welcome Christmas light and blankets... but how to you make that night routine that fits all your needs and give you the joy of winter? I'm here to help you with that.

My school has been nominated as "Excellent and fun". I couldn't agree less. Not to be mean or something, I mean school stays school right? But this doesn't mean school is a fun place nor that it is excellent...

care series #3: Get moving, but I find myself so out of it that I can’t help you with it either and I need your help! So please leave a comment below telling us how you got back into working out!

Hiiiiii, how y'all doing. Today I finally came up with my new topic for the next two weeks! These two weeks we are going to focus on The Ultimate Self-Care, because its important to show yourself some love!

So once in a while you need a day off, and not just the waching netflix the entire day day off (what I have been doing for the past view weeks...), no I am talking about the "Soul Feeding" day off. We all know how it is to be not creative, have a writers-bloc (for you writers out there), not being able to come up with a solution for a super small problem... And these are the moments you actually need a "Soul feeding" day off.

There are a lot of benefits to a day off, but more and more I feel like watching movies the entire day is just an escape from real life. If you want to be able to get yourself back in the game every week you need sometimes to take a good "Soul Feeding" break, something that makes you want to live life again to the fullest and enjoy what you are doing.
First I am going to explain how I will do this, and then next I will tell you how the people around me take their day off and what I have read.

I most likely see a day off as a SPA day... you know the "treat your body right" day. But sometimes I feel like going deeper than only showing some love to my body. 
Here are the things I like to do:

• - Write down all the things that I like about my personality
• - Write down all the things that I would like to work on
• - Write down how I can work on the things I want to work on.
• - Meditate... without timer, just as long as I feel I need it
• - have a walk, a jog, riding my horse, go into the city, look around...
• - find inspiration (looking at people, what is their style? Seeing things they do where I can write a post about...)
• - Read an inspirational book like The secret, The power, Deepak Chopra, Happinez, Paul Arden, Kevyn Aucoin ...
• -Photograph everything that makes me happy
• -Do nothing and listen to the sounds around me
• -Really enjoy what I am eating

It's quite something hih, but I really enjoy days like these.
Here are the things people around me do to  have a "Soul feeding" day:

1. Learn something new, like a language or playing an instrument
2. Have a magnesium bath, this helps to relax and feel better
3. Read
4. Go to a nature place and feel the pure air entering their lungs
5. Listen to music
6. Start a painting
7. Practice gratitude
8. Strength the body
9. Get a massage

❤️

Succulents, indoor plants, I wasn't really that kind of person that could take care of plants. Until recently. I have a fair amount of plants now... So I thought, why not share with  you all my indoor plants!
Lately, I have been obsessed with plants. I love having green in my room! I actually always was a plant lover but a fair amount of times they started rotting and dying and getting ugly due to an overdose of water. Those poor plants... I killed quite a lot of them... R.I.P plants!
But you know what they say "From your mistakes you learn". and so did I. In the last month two chlorophytum comosum variegatum died... So sad because I really loved them, My fault... I forget to put them back inside after a beautiful day and then at night it started raining... and they got an overdose of water. So babes... rest in peace. So I decided to look how to take care of them (because I still have a baby one in my room) so that the next time, it wouldn't happen again.
So today I am going to share with you all my plants. Most of them are succulent plants and some, and that's just one or two plants, who aren't succulent.
The reason I put these three together is because they actually are together in one pot. They sort of need the same treatment. What I love about these is that, except for the Echeveria, they also have stripes! Hehe, I like stripes! hihi. I don't know, together they make the perfect combination. I love it.
For them all count that they grow slow, (duh it's a succulent you may think, but some succulent grow faster than you may think!), they don't need to much water except in the hot summer day (wich we barely have here in holland but he, good to know right!). What I do is use a spray and I spray if over the ground, not on the plants. If you do that you will see some white dried water drops on it and that's not really lovely to see. They all love the bright sunlight, and the ground needs to have somewhat of drainage in the bottom. I don't have any pot with drainage so what I do: I put a fair amount of little stones, put them on the bottom, add ground, put another layer of small stones and plant the plant.
And finally, the Aloe Vera. So happy I got this one! It's known for its medical remedies when you burned yourself, it is also used a lot in facial cleansing products and hair product, actually in all kinds of product. I got it because a lot of time I want to buy the gel and then I see the price and I am "Oh... little expensive..." and so I decided to give it a go and try it out. It's actually quite a lovely plant to look at. I just don't know where to place him yet in my room. This plant also needs a drainage hole but I just did the same as above. In the winter it barely needs any attention, maybe once every fortnight a little bit of water. In the summer, it needs more water due to the warmth and risk of drying out. You can water it every week BUT make sure that the soil is completely dry before rewatering!