A room of one’s own

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  • Fight for the light

    Fight for the light

    In these dark, freezing January days, light and warmth become a top priority. The short days and long stretches of darkness make it difficult to feel happy about anything. Looking back over this first week of 2025, I have found a lot of aspects of life a real struggle and I know I’m not alone.…

  • Be amazed every day.

    Be amazed every day.

    ‘Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement,’ writes Rabbi Abraham Heschel because ‘everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.’ As this new year stands full of potential for you to enjoy and explore, it is as much for you as for anybody…

  • ‘Fragility, humility and strong will power.’*

    ‘Fragility, humility and strong will power.’*

    I heard Macron saying the words above and I thought that they could serve as a resolution for anyone daunted by the next year. Wanting to make it significant or simply to survive it with your head held high? It can be painful looking back at hard times from the last year, but think again…

  • It isn’t finished yet.

    It isn’t finished yet.

    I have been reminded, or have reminded myself, that there is more to come in the future. More beginnings, more chances, more new opportunities.

  • One hundred candles

    One hundred candles

    Have you ever said yes to something that realistically you can’t do? Two weeks ago, I said ‘of course I could write something about light on one hundred candles’. It didn’t take long for me to realise that there was no way I could write on tiny candles with my shaky hands. I did find…

  • Clinging on

    Clinging on

    I noticed the final leaf hanging on for dear life on a birch tree in our garden. Do you ever feel like that? Someone once described themselves as ‘ hanging on by my fingertips’. Not great then.

  • Instead

    Instead

    This is where I live these days: when you can’t manage things, you either end up doing nothing or doing something ‘instead’. That can be as good as the other impossible option, but mostly it takes more positivity and perseverance. Right now, ‘instead’ of driving my son to his piano lesson, I am sitting under…

  • See the colours

    See the colours

    There is a prayer I read every day that talks about the God of life and colour. Of course, He can be in the mundane and dull too!

  • Start your day with laughter.

    Start your day with laughter.

    I read a joke this morning that had me chuckling all day. It wasn’t that funny so I’ll not re-tell it but the principal is true: laughing at the start of the day is much better than crying When I look back on potentially hard times, I can remember the funny gems that glimmer in…

  • Better things

    Better things

    Are waiting for you. So I’m out the other side of our trip to Rome. Sadly, the reality I thought I was prepared for was worse than I expected. The cobbled streets were almost impossible to get across on my wheelchair, and some sights were out of reach this time  I was so thankful that…