Its obvious that in order to elicit change, one has to make an effort to step out of one’s comfort zone. No-one is denying this. Quite often the measures that one needs to take are so simple, so obvious and ordinary and yet, they become this unattainable quest and seemingly impossible. It is only when one takes that first step that one can look back and realise that it only requires a simple decision. However, just stepping out once doesn’t effect any lasting changes or benefits. The key is to continue along this new route until it becomes commonplace and…
RELATIONSHIPS
THE KINDNESS CHALLENGE
As has happened numerous times in my life, more times than I could ever calculate, my desire to successfully implement and execute the desire to follow a programme or challenge to myself has backfired. It was all a bit of a damp squib. Not that the earnest desire and good intentions weren’t genuine. They always are but in the end, everything I set out to do takes a backseat to my obsession with food, my rituals and my repeated behaviour. I’m talking specifically about the 30 day Kindness Challenge and the 7 day Kindness quest I set myself. In the…
KINDNESS
I love it when signs point towards a specific theme or issue that I have already been open to. My desire to make contact with someone in need for 7 days was further endorsed and enforced when I came across The Thirty Day Kindness Challenge .The challenge is to be kind in words and actions to someone or several people you know for an entire 30 days. The hope is that like all habits that form when there is consistency and repeated behaviour, one can also train oneself to develop good and positive habits. The benefits are huge, not only…
A FRIEND INDEED
It was all going so well. I had driven about 100 kms from our house in France en-route to London. I was listening to some soothing classics as I sipped a shake I had made in lieu of breakfast. A long day’s driving lay ahead but I love driving, particularly in Europe and I am used to the trip and know the way well. I was considering listening to a podcast and so I cast my eyes to the floor of the passenger seat where my IPad was. Well, where it supposedly was because it wasn’t. Instant panic. I looked…
READ ALL ABOUT IT!
I’ve just been to the library. As a child, this was where I found my solace, my nourishment and my escape. Without a father and with an absent mother, I would spend hours wandering between the shelves, the smell of old books pervading my nostrils and the silence strangely comforting. Without the distraction of television and well before the advent of social media and technology, books ( and the occasional film ) were the only means of escaping into a world of fantasy . Through reading and books I learned how to numb myself , to remove myself from reality…
RAISE THE ALARM!
I watched a trespassing cat in my garden in France this afternoon as it clumsily ( it was a rather portly cat )attempted to stalk the little tits that frequent my bird-feeder. The birds immediately sent out a chorus of warning signals until the danger had passed. Wouldn’t it be amazing if humans did likewise, rallying round each other, looking out for each other , constantly vigilant and issuing warnings whenever the slightest hint of danger seemed apparent. So often we become insular, looking the other way, scared to offend or interfere, looking after our own but neglecting our neighbour.…