Monday Matchstick Challenge #4
Sparking a sense of adventure in everyday life
Hi, I’m Holly - coach, mindfulness facilitator and author of Zestful Zen. As well as this weekly adventure challenge, I write about self-care, personal growth, mindfulness, and purpose. If you like life to be full of zest and energy, complemented by a zen, calm mind, Zestful Zen is the community for you! Join us now. ✨
Hi friends, I hope you all had a fabulous weekend (lots of gorgeous sunshine for those of us in the UK!) 🌞
I also hope you enjoyed last week’s Monday Matchstick Challenge as much as I did 🙃
Our challenge was:
Look for hidden treasures in nature or at a garage sale or thrift shop.
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I love looking for little treasures in nature when I’m out walking - it helps me stay mindful and focused on my surroundings, instead of my whirring thoughts. So I was pretty confident I could tick off part one of this challenge easily.
The thrift store treasure took more conscious effort, but I popped into a few charity shops and quite enjoyed browsing without much of an agenda. I found a couple of cute bargains in the end, with the added warm fuzzy feeling of helping a good cause.
Some of the treasures I discovered while exploring (clockwise from top left):
Lovely wildflowers
Charity shop bargains
An oak knopper gall (learned something new this week!)
A cute acorn that bounced off my head as I ended my nature walk relaxing under an oak tree
An iridescent bug that landed on my leg
Beautiful patterns above when you look up - leaves and clouds floating by
Overall, this challenge helped me to slow down, really pay attention, and to just enjoy the experience of being in a space, whether out in nature or flipping through colourful clothing racks. How about you?
This week’s Monday Matchstick Challenge is:
Leave a gift - a note, a book - in a public place for the next visitor to find.
I’m excited for this one and already imagining gifts and locations I can try 🎁
Join the challenge and share your experience in the comments.
I can’t wait to hear about your Sparked Adventures!
Have a magic Monday 🪄✨
What is the Monday Matchstick Challenge?
The idea is to have some fun together trying new/random things.
Every week, I select a faux matchstick at random from the game Spark Adventure – 50 Ways to Explore and Discover, and post it to Substack.
I try to deliver on the challenge by the end of the week, sharing my attempts/the outcome with you here.
Fellow Substackers also dive in, have a go and share their anecdotes.
Photo by author, Holly Bailie
If you’re new to the Monday Matchstick Challenge:
You can read about the genesis for the challenge here: Monday Matchstick Challenge #1.
Previous Monday Matchstick Challenge posts are available on the Zestful Zen homepage, if you’d like to have a go at igniting your sense of adventure in everyday life!
If you enjoyed this post, it would mean the world to me if you’d comment, hit the heart button, share with others, or subscribe to Zestful Zen for free! Thank you lovely people ✨
This is a lovely challenge!! I remember once a person in front of me at Starbucks paid for my order, so I paid for the order of the person behind me. There was another time I was out to dinner with my teenage daughter. When it was time to pay --- we were told that the older couple that just walked out the door paid for our meals. There is so much kindness in the world. I'd love to add to it this week!