Growing Pains How many of you have had children who have been given the fairly unscientific diagnosis of growing pains? A fair proportion of you I would imagine. Non-specific aches that don’t really seem to be connected to anything (other than wanting a day off school!) I started to consider growing pains mainly because I had an attack of global achyness last week. It was … Read More
Spending Time
Spending Time As you know I engaged on a life coaching course and one of the things we do is coach each other. I was saying to a fellow student that I can get very rigid about how I manage my time. I feel as if I am in a box with lots of compartments each allocated to some task or other. It … Read More
Symptom Free?
Symptom Free? During the holiday week I developed a stiff and painful back (physician heal thyself!). Naturally I have given some thought as to why, there was no incident or injury. I had a wonderful week with friends and family; which also involved more sitting than usual (pantomime and a play); couple of long drives, plus eating differently, a little alcohol and later … Read More
Walking the Lanes
What would the world be once bereft,Of wet and wildness?Let them be left, O let them be left,wildness and wet;Long live the leaves and the wilderness yet.Gerard Manley Hopkins I have been lucky enough to be staying in the depths of Devon for a few days. This morning was a particularly beautiful one; frosty, cold and sunny. A mixture of fields covered in … Read More
Circles of Life
Circles of Life In the west we tend to see things in a very linear ways; you go to school, pass your exams, maybe go to university, get a job. You start at basic level in your work, you learn new skills and make your way upwards.You date and gradually find your life partner, eventually you may settle down together. All very satisfying. But … Read More
Social v Essential
Social v Essential I was having a cup of coffee in a hotel in Oxfordshire (beautiful county) which inevitably led to the trip to the smallest room! I was struck by the gait of the women in front of me who was walking in a very careful way. Which I recognised immediately as someone wearing heels who usually wears flat shoes. She looked … Read More
Yes, it’s actually news!
Hello, I hope you have had a good August despite it feeling like September! Fingers X’d for an Indian Summer. By the way; a good way of counteracting anxiety is to develop curiosity; when we are involved in being curious it is almost impossible to be anxious. So I was curious about what is the origin of the phrase an Indian … Read More
Dulce Far Niente
Dulce Far NienteSweet Idleness I was away on holiday with friends recently and I introduced them to the notion of Dulce Far Niente; the sweetness of doing nothing, sweet idleness. The phrase was made popular in the film Eat, Pray, Love. In the film one of the Italians was making the point to the Americans that they were always told that you have to … Read More
What do you think you want?
Desert island with a question mark What do you think you want? For the last five years I have been looking for a pair of sandals with a kitten heel. Not a wedge; flat or stiletto. I am too short for flats and find it difficult to walk in wedges or stiletto’s. Kitten heel sandals don’t exist….really they don’t. I have even … Read More
Building a solution
How many of you are grappling with a problem of some sort? Everyone I expect. Whether it is deciding whether to move house or change job or the smaller daily decisions what to have for dinner? How do you go about this? Obviously thinking about it a lot, probably talking about it to friends and family (especially the bigger decisions). Maybe … Read More
Why so Serious?
Why so serious? When did you last laugh out loud? Who remembers the Jack Nicholson joker? His catchphrase was “Why so serious?” I didn’t use his picture as it’s a bit sinister. (plus there are royalties to pay 🙂When do you last laugh out loud, laugh until you cried or your stomach hurt?How far do you have to cast your mind … Read More
Stoking the Fires
Stoking the fire.But not too much…. Inflammation is at the root of many problems; anything with ‘itis’ means inflamed. Arthritis inflamed joints, tonsillitis inflamed tonsils. Inflammation is also part of the problem in some gut disease (chrohn’s, ulcerative colitis etc), heart disease, diabetes, lung conditions and dementia. As we age we become more inflamed which is probably partly why we get more aches and … Read More