A Window Opens Somewhere: on being with ‘not knowing’ Donald Rumsfeld famously said, ‘There are known knowns…, known unknowns…and unknown unknowns.’ As I remember, his quote received quite a bit of comedic response. But at the time I heard this it did make me stop in my tracks. The concept of unknown unknowns had never … More That Mindful Monday Moment
Micro Zen: A return to the self Getting stuff done, fulfilling the big tasks, fitting it all in. They’re all important. But it’s so easy to get overwhelmed, to keep going even when our minds and bodies are tired and to think that taking a few moments to rest is a time-wasting indulgence. So often, even when we … More That Mindful Monday Moment
Happy National Haiku Day! Not only is this weekend an important celebration or holiday for many, it’s also National Haiku Day. ‘Hoorah! Put down the chocolate egg and pass me my haiku anthology immediately,’ I hear you cry! But you could do worse than searching out a Haiku today, or looking up how to write a … More A Breath Between Two Moments – in praise of the Haiku
The Peace of the Un-Captured Moment Sometimes inspiration comes at you from unusual places. In the aftermath of a migraine, I was struggling to get my mind into gear and to think of a subject for today’s post. To distract myself, I allowed myself to stray into my emails. “When do you feel most at peace?” was the … More That Mindful Monday Moment
Side-Stepping the Perfectionism Parrot “Perfection is the enemy of good,’ said Voltaire. I can’t tell you how often I’ve stared at the blank screen or the empty page – into the silence of the unknown – and actually felt butterflies in my stomach at the thought that I might be about to create total c**p! Letting … More That Mindful Monday Moment
Here’s something I’d like to try… Every Monday (life and migraines allowing!) I’ll offer a teeny, tiny mindful moment based around a text, an image or a thought. I hope you enjoy this first week’s offering. The Orchard Within How often have I done it – grabbed a piece of fruit from the bowl, bitten … More That Mindful Monday Moment
This is the 18th Mother’s Day (yes, I’m still counting) I will wake as a childless person. Of course, I was ‘childless’ in the years before those 18 but those were either years of hopeful wishing or of blissful ignorance of any desire to be a mother. I’ve spent more Mother’s Days than I care to remember … More ‘This being Human…’ The Childless Mother on Mother’s Day
…and our hopes such as they areinvisible before usuntouched and still possible. W.S Merwin (see whole poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54327/to-the-new-year) And what of the year that was? What will we choose to carry with us? What will we choose to unload, lay down…thankful to feel that weight fall from us? Perhaps a weight we never even knew we were … More Finding Inspiration at the Motorway Service Station: imperfect thought fragments for the new year.
Pre-dawn Thoughts and a Poem on Mother’s Day As of last night, I had no words to put in my usual Mother’s Day post. When I went to bed I had decided that it was okay just to leave a silence, a holding space. And that was that. But, as often happens for me, somewhere between 4am … More Pre-Dawn Thoughts and a Poem on Mother’s Day
It’s just before dawn on Christmas morning 2020. The first few brave birds are sending out their song into the darkness. As I sit to write this post there are still things left to be done: a few stray presents to wrap, the soup to make for lunch and the cat is nudging me for his breakfast. … More Early Morning Reflections – On Being Childless at Christmas
Without Issue 