What Helped Me Feel Better in 2025 | Week 4

Winter wanderings, a short film about snails, listening to the rain at night, the kindness of a stranger - and pirates (yes, that's right)

Feeling better …

I deeply enjoy giving attention to the good things I encounter throughout the day. They can come in all forms and be of all sorts, big or small. They can be inspiring or beautiful, laughing-out-loud funny or just silently stunning, kind, warm or moving, they can provide comfort or new insights.

They are seldom life-changing, but to focus on them day by day can become life-changing.

I’ve chosen JOY as my word for this year and I’d love to share with you what made me happy helped me to feel better in the past week.

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Happiness wasn’t on the cards last week, but …

I haven't had a good week, to be honest. I was tense, dealing with severe anxiety, panic and self-made pressure (yeah, that again *sigh*). Happiness wasn't on the cards last week. I even wanted to skip this post because I just couldn't see anything good this week.

But then, as the tension slowly eased at the end of the week, I realised a lot of small things that did me good, that helped me feel better. And that’s the next best thing, isn’t it?

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What helped me feel better last week:

Hayley’s winter wanderings

I’ve been following Outdoor Simplicity for quite a while now and I deeply enjoy Hayley’s beautiful notes, photos, stories and poems inspired by nature at the Jurassic Coast. Have you seen her pictures? Just stunning!

Her recent post Winter wanderings, however, came at the perfect moment for me when I was so stressed and overwhelmed and didn’t quite know what to do about it while I’ve been waiting for an evening appointment to start. In short: I needed just this.

Reading her long beautiful post made me feel calmer and more in tune with nature. I loved her observations and the thoughts she was sharing. I deeply enjoyed following her on her walks. And her pictures are just gorgeous!

By being more in tune with myself again, I had a lovely evening that I probably wouldn’t have had otherwise. Thank you, Hayley!

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A short film about snails

Snails are the definition of slow living (and they are quite cute, aren’t they?).

I stumbled across this beautiful short film last week by Thomas Winward, nature writer, environmentalist and filmmaker. It’s about slow and mindful living, about snails, and it’s accompanied by a narration of a powerful poem that deeply resonated with me.

'Scroll less, stroll more.’ - Thomas Winward

For me it has become almost like a meditation to watch this film.

Highly recommended!

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Listening to the rain at night

You might know that I’m a lover of natural sounds, which I find unexplicably soothing.

When I woke up the other night, I heard the rain pouring down. I caught myself smiling. I listened to it for quite a while, feeling comfortable, grateful and safe.

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Watching the perfect movie

When I don’t feel well mentally, sometimes the right movie can help. Not a new one - it’s not the right moment for gambling, mind you - , but one that I know well und love.

Last week I settled for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

For me, it was the perfect combination for this mood: the adventure and the powerful imagery to distract me from my thoughts so that I could immerse myself in the film, the characters for the heart, to inspire and empathise with, the humour for the lightness, the ingenious lines of dialogue for my language-loving brain (and to talk along with) and a stellar (mainly British) cast to marvel at. Perfect!

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Kindness of a stranger

I had a doctor’s appointment last week. Nothing special, nothing serious, just a check-up appointment. (And it wasn’t the reason for my anxiety issues all week.)

My appointment was shortly before closing time, the last appointment in the evening. I’ve never met the young doctor before, she was new.

I had expected a business-like, efficient, time-pressured person, as usual, even - understandibly - stressed after a very long day, longing for the end of her working day. But I certainly wasn’t prepared for the young doctor I met. So kind, so empathic, so calm, so attentive and caring, she even apologised (twice) before I even entered her treatment room that I had to wait because it took the previous patient a bit longer to get dressed again. (Absolutely no apology needed, and I was happy to just sit and breathe in the quiet waiting area anyway, but I’ve never experienced that in a surgery before.) I wasn't just a number here. I was a person, a human being.

Her kindness caught me off guard.

She made my day, which meant a lot to me, because I had been so stressed out for days.

A small act of kindness can make a big difference. You just never know when someone you meet might just need a friendly word, a smile, a moment of attention.

Until next time and have a lovely week!

Claudia