To bury or drown under a huge mass. To defeat completely. To crush. To overpower. To engulf. To surge over and submerge. These are just a few of the dictionary definitions of the word overwhelm. For me, going into overwhelm is not only a state of mind - it’s an emotional, physical, spiritual state as well. When it happens, which it did to me last week, it feels as if I can’t move forward, can’t … [Read more...] about Going into overwhelm and out the other side
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What is the gift of cynicism?
I’m currently reading Debbie Ford’s excellent book The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, which examines those parts of our psyche that we reject and bury in our subconscious. She shows that it is possible to acknowledge and accept what we judge as our “weaknesses” - and that these qualities conceal hidden gifts and strengths. I had an opportunity to meet one of these buried parts the other day … [Read more...] about What is the gift of cynicism?
Integrate this: let everyday joy be unconfined
Having flogged myself by sticking to a post-a-day regimen for the first few months of 2012, this year I’m adopting a kinder, less-is-more attitude to blogging in the hope of cultivating a Bowie-esque mystique. Well, that’s my excuse, anyway. However, now we have had the first new moon of the year, I am feeling a little more focused. This is where 2013 begins - a year that seems less burdened by … [Read more...] about Integrate this: let everyday joy be unconfined
Story of the Day #4: Suddenly One Summer
It is the summer of 1976 - one of the hottest I have ever known. I am 19 years old, and personal secretary to a genial grey-haired transport specialist who is counting the days to retirement. I have been doing this job since I left school at 18. It’s comfortable and undemanding, with a reasonable salary. I have no cause to imagine that my career will not continue along this predictable … [Read more...] about Story of the Day #4: Suddenly One Summer
Story of the Day #2: Sole to Soul
What is it about footwear that is so memorable? I still remember the sandals I wore to primary school – traditional Clarks with spongy soles and a T-bar, and the silvery sparklers I paraded around in when I was crowned May Queen. That was when shoes were fun and easy. When I got to my teens, things got woeful and complicated. All of a sudden shoes were important, shoes spoke volumes about who … [Read more...] about Story of the Day #2: Sole to Soul
Story of the Day #1: A Warm Glass of Flat Cola
I am setting myself a new target: to write a story every day. I may not publish every one of them, but it’s a way of kick-starting myself back into the spiritual practice of writing from which I had become disconnected during a summer of divine discontent. Here is the first story. All of them will be autobiographical, because part of my purpose is to help people understand that their story can … [Read more...] about Story of the Day #1: A Warm Glass of Flat Cola