davina: Hello, my loves. Welcome back to the upgrade edit. I have just come off a beautiful little romantic weekend away. don't get your hopes up. It was with my six-year-old daughter. ⁓ I've I've come back and I've been reflecting and ⁓ it is so crazy what children can teach you, honestly. ⁓ Look, I'm just gonna rewind. We had the blue moon a few weeks ago. I think it was a couple of weeks ago. And that is, you know, the halfway point of our year. I did a really beautiful online group healing for it. But in amongst the chaos of that week, I was kind of going through my own little rituals and release ceremonies and all the things. And it was s a Sagittarius blue moon. So it was really illuminating the things that were just not working for me, but also really illuminating the ways in which I had grown and the woman that I have become and how I really am a living, breathing, walking embodiment of this version of myself that a few years ago I could only have ever dreamt about, really. ⁓ so it was actually like ⁓ really beautiful. I saw a lot of shifts, ⁓ know, a lot of shifts. I had to let go of like some beautiful connections. I had to ⁓ really in on myself. Like I got really clear on ⁓ what needed to change in my lifestyle with my routines, with The way I ate, the way that I was working out, like the way that I ran my businesses. Like it there was just it was honestly fucking wild. I like since then ⁓ everything changed ⁓ in most beautiful, divine way. ⁓ And what I is probably been the biggest thing for me is like The immense gratitude that I feel for my life exactly the way it is right now. Which is really interesting to ⁓ about and say out loud because, like, look, I am grateful for my life always, but I ⁓ notorious for being one of those people who are like, okay, what's the next thing that I can do? ⁓ is the next love of my life? Or, ⁓ know, even like my vision boards were very, ⁓ I guess outside of myself focused. It was like, what is the house gonna look like? What's the man gonna look like? Where are we going on holidays? Like, what's the car? You know, all that kind of stuff. And I even just noticed like my inspiration at the moment is myself and routines and ⁓ my life, like just honing it back in and keeping things really simple and focusing on myself ⁓ only just allowing ⁓ my future to kind of evolve and illuminate itself, but without me having to even really think too far ahead because I'm enjoying the moment so much. Does that make sense? Anyway, I'm I'm known for a ramble. I'm getting there, I promise. But what happened right is a friend of mine has just recently taken over this beautiful ⁓ eco lodge in the Glasshouse Mountains and I just spontaneously said, yep, look, we're gonna come out and visit and we'll stay and just have like a mummy-daughter weekend, just us two. And this is actually the first time that Mila and I have gone away, just us, like without her dad being involved, or without like, you know, my mum or the grandparents or whatever. It was like literally just us. And I was actually like so excited. I was I was excited about it as if I was going away with like a a romantic partner or something. Like as if it was like a beautiful weekend away in the cabins in the woods with a partner. ⁓ ⁓ was ⁓ little love of my life that I got to do this with. So, ⁓ know, it all started with ⁓ picking her up early from school on the Friday and seeing how excited she was and Us driving up there listening to Olivia Dean and just singing the whole time. I was like busting to go to the bathroom and there was traffic, so we had to like veer off the highway and go down some random street and like we in the woods, like even like that kind of stuff. It's just like those memories of us just piercing ourselves laughing, trying to like get through the bush. ⁓ back to our car to get back on the highway to keep keep going on our journey. Like so cute and so funny. And you know, we got there. And I already just noticed myself kind of completely switching off from having to feel I needed to post more for work or promote something or, ⁓ you know, get back people or constantly check my emails. ⁓ Or even, you know, something as little as getting back to the people in my hinge that have like messaged me asking me about my day. Like I usually I've noticed like I actually get like quite overwhelmed being like in the dating world and I give a lot of my energy away just like entertaining, not entertaining, but like feeling like I need to entertain connections, right? so I noticed pretty quickly that like I was very present, like very, very present from the minute that we had started this little trip together. And it was just so nice, you know, being out in nature. And by no means is it like a luxury place. Not that it needs to be, but it was it's just it's an eco-lodge, right? Like it's restored furniture, like it's been there for a very long time. The land is just divine, ⁓ the weather was perfect. And it was just really special to be able to walk around with her and, you know, Chris, tell us about the fruit trees that are on the property and how to find out which citrus fruit is what, like how you scratch it, then you sniff it and you can smell if it's mandarin and or an orange or a lime or a lemon. And just looking at her little face, like her the curiosity on her face and just wanting to learn and absorb all this information, like got me really excited about it as well. And then I found us, you know, talking about citrus fruits on the way to our little cabin. Like it was just divine. And that night ⁓ I took her to a restaurant, like a nice restaurant. Well, it was a part of the Australia Zoom. It was like at the Steve Irwin Lodge, where people can actually stay. So you can go and have dinner there, and there are like kangaroos and emus and stuff just waltzing around in the back. And I felt like I was on a date. Like we dressed ourselves up. She was so excited to like, you know, unpack pack her bag that she had packed and Hang everything up and like get dressed for me and like I put a little bit of makeup on for her. Like it was so sweet. We went to, the restaurant, the lighting was dim. ⁓ I a red wine. She got like little apple juice. ⁓ And just sat there talking. So even just having dinner together was ⁓ really special and it put me in at this ⁓ frequency just pure abundance and gratitude. Like ⁓ that was all the love I could ⁓ ever. ⁓ needed and just the best date I could have ever asked for. Came back home and we watched a movie in bed and fell asleep together. And also she's been sleeping in her own bed Like we were co sleeping for a long time and then yeah, she's now got she now wants to sleep in her own bed. So it's it was just really beautiful. Like our time away we were sharing a bed and we got to snuggle and ⁓ was really nice. So anyway, the next morning we woke up and had breakfast together. we went off to Australia Zoo. Mind you too, guys, like this was like peak period for me. Like I usually, when it's that time of the month for me, like when I'm on my bleed, I just wanna hibernate. I wanna stay at home. I just wanna like Chill out, do do less. ⁓ but I had started my bleed on the Friday, and I just had so much fucking energy. So again, like I'm like, what has happened in this blue moon? Because like we did 30,000 steps or something crazy at Australia Zoo that next day, and we had the best time together. And then we left Australia Zoo at about, ⁓ I'd say,
3:30-ish, got home and got out. I brought some paints like watercolor paints and some paper because I thought it would be nice for us to do a painting for our friend Chris, who had just taken over the Eco Lodge for him to keep at the Eco Lodge. ⁓ very presumptuous of me for to think that he would actually want to frame and keep these paintings, but bless he did. and so we just spent the afternoon outside. With music playing, just creating and painting together. we stayed out there until it was ⁓ like until we could not see the piece of paper in front of us. ⁓ then went and got pizzas, ate pizza together in our little cabin and finished off our movie from the night before. And again, like my heart, you guys, ⁓ bursting at the seams. ⁓ this, like I ⁓ You know, it was just me stripping everything back and just connecting with my girl. No work, no deadlines, no rushing, you know, not having to just do anything for anyone else, but just be fully 100% present with her and create with her and play with her and be curious with her. And it was everything. yeah, then the next morning we woke ⁓ Had a beautiful, beautiful sleep, woke up, had breakfast together again. They do like a beautiful continental breakfast together at the lodge. we our breakfast, we went and did a hike. So there are lots of different hikes that you can do. And we did ⁓ one that was suitable for, little kids as well. ⁓ ⁓ this was her time a mountain as well. ⁓ And ⁓ That in itself, you know, no phones. Well, obviously, I took a couple of photos and videos because it was so cute. How could I not? But it's just her and I with our eyes just straight in front of us, noticing, enjoying, experiencing nature, saying hi to all of the people that were walking past us and just cheering each other on. Because there were some parts that were a bit difficult, you know, we're out of breath, we're struggling. but we got to the top of that mountain and we just looked at each other and we were like, ⁓ my god, we did it. Like, how cool is this? And it was just the best feeling. We then finished, came back down the mountain, finished and came home in time for a little friend's, one of her friends going away parties at the golf club ⁓ and had early night together and she just looked at me in bed and just said, Mom. This was the best weekend I could have ever asked for. And I was like, well, what was your favorite part of the whole weekend? And she said, just being with you. Like, and that was just her full answer. Just being with you. And ⁓ the way it just completely it was just everything. So ⁓ I really, had to stop and think. And I ⁓ understood like we don't get this often, you know, like we don't do this enough for ourselves and we don't have this kind of quality time with our kids as much as we would love, especially if you are, you know, a single mom and a working mom and you don't have family close by. Like ⁓ is really hard to be juggling all the things all the time. And even a lot of the women that come on my retreats, they say, look, like I want to come on retreat, but I have such mum guilt because like I I just feel terrible leaving my kids at home. Like they don't get the best version of me at home anyway. I'm already stressed and overwhelmed now I'm leaving them. I was talking to Chris ⁓ and I was saying, like, how amazing would it be ⁓ to be able ⁓ create ⁓ a retreat You're encouraged to just slow down and connect with your children. And you also get that added bonus of meeting other mums and other kids and all being able to just connect with one another, be in nature, explore, do activities together, and also just connect back to your play, like connect back to your inner child and allow yourself to just fully embrace the present. So, That download came to me hard and fast while I was there. And I it was just an undeniable full-body fuck yes when I was thinking about it. So we've officially launched The Village, which is a mama and child connection retreat ⁓ that I will be holding at the Glasshouse Mountains Eco Lodge at the end of this year. Dates and everything to be confirmed and set in stone, but it's all happening. it's going to be beautiful. I've got so many amazing ideas for it. And especially like ⁓ just having a private chef there to cook for all the mums. ⁓ we don't have to worry about that. ⁓ you know, just yummy easy meals for the kids. And then all we have to do is focus on play. How amazing is this? ⁓ ⁓ it really kind of taught me was that so often, you know, we think that our happiness will come at the next milestone, you know, at the next big achievement, or with the next man that shows interest, or whatever it might be. But sometimes it is as simple as stripping everything back, literally just coming back to presence and coming back to connection. And Realizing that like where you are right now is so special and you are already so abundant. And if we just took the time to stop and smell the roses, like we wouldn't feel like we are so behind, you know? Like I it's kind of changed the way I'm looking at life at the moment. It's making me actually want to do a bit less. Like it's making me want to preserve my energy more to be able to give just fully receive the present. And I feel like I'm quite good at that at the best of times. Like I feel like I'm quite good at presence and embodiment and being here now. But I don't know. There was just a new learning in here for me that nothing actually feels quite as good as what this does right now. Yeah, that was a big one. Right now feels really fucking good. And I don't want to miss this. You know, there were so many moments over the weekend that I just like stopped and got to witness and was like, damn, I'm so glad I didn't miss that because that was fucking special. And yeah, like I think this is the point where I'm at right now. I want to prolong this. I don't want to miss her at this age. I don't want to miss me at this age. You know, you always look back at old photos of yourself and you're like, ⁓ fuck, I was so beautiful back then. Why did I spend so much time hating on myself? Or why did I spend so much time like dieting or doing this? Or, you know, like you don't realize what you have until you don't have it anymore. So just really allowing yourself to stop and be present and relish in this moment and enjoy without needing to fix just being able to be. I also think this weekend has rewired my reticular activating system, right? Because I was surrounded and just felt so abundant and so much gratitude. It has now allowed me to come home and I am really noticing what is around me and how good it is. ⁓ and the funny thing about our RAS, our reticular activating system, is because When we are constantly focusing on something, it doesn't matter what it is. Like, say if you are constantly focusing on how stressed you are or how unlucky you are, like your brain will believe you that r a s will be like, okay, right, like this is what is true, apparently, because she's thinking it all the time. So I'm going to seek out more circumstances, situations, people, places, things that prove her theory right. So you will literally, notice more of the things that bring you that same vibrational frequency. But because the last few days has just been so different. I noticed so many different things. I felt so different in my body. I felt so different about life. I felt so different about my connection with my daughter and about the way I'm mother or me as a mother as well. ⁓ home, ⁓ looking at my home different. I'm looking at how I mother different. I'm taking pieces ⁓ myself from the weekend back to my home, you know, our ⁓ Our breakfast routine has looked a little different. Our lunch box making routine has looked different. Our connection with bath time. Like all of this stuff. It's just been a little different. Like it was like the reset I didn't know that I needed because I do tend to rush mothering a lot. Especially, you know, the mornings and the night times. ⁓ it can just feel a little tedious sometimes. And I know you know what I mean. ⁓ but I've really Yeah, being able to notice how special it is and really being able to enjoy without needing to rush these moments that I always had, but I just needed that reminder. ⁓ also even the fact that I came up with this download while I was there because I actually had space to think. You know, like it's crazy how intuitive women are, ⁓ much. ⁓ knowledge and innate wisdom we have, but it's not until we actually allow ourselves the space and the freedom to be able to actually access those parts of ourselves. There it's all waiting there. We just don't give ourselves enough space or presence to be able to allow it to all drop in. So I was like, ⁓ my God, I love that this all came so easily for me because it was like organic and natural and aligned, right? I I I was open to receiving this information to be able to put this out into the world, to be able to offer something new. So yeah, it feels really nice. You know, you guys have been along with me for this ride for a while now, right? Like you've seen me go through the breakdown of my marriage. You've seen me do the the three years of celibacy. You've seen me come back into the dating field. You've seen me have like beautiful connections. and one thing that has really stood out to me is how much now I guess I understand that this life is based, well, the quality of this life is purely based on how much effort and love I am willing to pour into myself. And no one else here is going to save me, right? Like I have to choose myself. I have to choose my family. I have to choose happiness. I have to choose health. I have to choose all these things because it's like if I don't I will just end up being a sheep again. I will end up running on autopilot, being a victim, or you know, just being someone that life happens to. And now that I've had a taste of what it feels like to consciously create a life that actually feels so beautifully delicious, like I can't go back to just letting life happen to me anymore. Like I have to choose to be present. I have to choose to see the good. I have to choose to create good in my day, with my family, in my work, all of the things. Like I have to choose to surround myself with good people. I have to choose to put myself in spaces that make me feel good, spend time in nature, all of those things. so you know if if you're listening to this and you really are feeling like you are. running this rat race or you are a hamster on a hamster wheel and there is, you know, there's always something that you're trying to achieve, or the next thing that you get to will be the time that you become happy. Like stop and look around you. Life is happening right now. Like we cannot afford to miss it anymore. And this weekend was like such a big beautiful reminder, you know, as even though even someone in this work Who is a coach and an embodiment coach and all of the things, like it is it is easy for me to just get swept up in all of this. In all of that. But the beauty ⁓ is what's right front of us right now. And there is always something beautiful to ⁓ notice and to in. We just need to give ourselves the time and space in order to appreciate it. ⁓ So ⁓ that my that's my little ⁓ Head over to Instagram. My Instagram is Davi D-A-V-V-Y-X. And I've put up a little carousel of our time together and little snippets of what we did over the weekend. And yeah, if you are interested in more information, make sure you leave a comment or sign up to my database if you head over to my website, The Upgrade by Davina, and head to the retreats page. Right down the bottom is my wait list And database, so you can pop your email in there, and as soon as all of the info is ready to go, you will be the first to find out. But I'm excited, I'm really excited. And look, I run retreats all over the world, like healing and slowness and spiritual, you know, development and all the things. But fuck me, there's something so special about just play. You know, just connection with the babies, with our babies, the people that we love the most, time on the land and connection with one another. Like it doesn't have to be perfectly curated. It doesn't have to be luxury. We just have to be. And sometimes that is the most healing part of it all. Anyway, Thank you so much for listening. I'm very excited if you can't tell. But I am back in the again in a few weeks' time. So ⁓ yes, we have some juicy podcast episodes coming up, I am ⁓ But until then, ⁓ love you, appreciate you. Thank you for here, and I'll to you very soon. ⁓