I saw someone this week in the local shopping centre with this printed on his T-shirt: ‘Give me a moment and I’ll try to look interested!’ All very tongue-in-cheek I’m sure, but it started me thinking about whether this person was really disinterested in anyone who might want to talk to him. It’s very likely …
Falling Off A Ladder – part 2
I’ve been thinking a bit more about my ladder experience of a couple of weeks ago. Believe me if you’ve fallen off a ladder it really does play on your mind as well as your bruises! I said at the time that I had been complacent with my own safety. There was an assumption on …
Falling Off A Ladder
I think it’s fairly safe to say that falling off a ladder is not a good idea, yet it’s something I did last Sunday. I was too complacent about health and safety, and the feet of the ladder slipped away on a wooden floor so down I came. The only injuries I sustained were some …
Being with a Person
I’m writing this in a hotel room in Germany. I’m away on business, but only for a couple of nights. It’s surprising how long a couple of nights can seem though, if you are away from the person you love. Sure, we can text, phone, even Skype, but it’s not the same as actually being …
Floods
You will no doubt remember the floods earlier in the year, particularly if you’re anywhere near the Somerset Levels. The water table was so high that it did not take much rain to cause flooding, both from the rain directly falling on the land and also from the increased amount of water coming off the …
World Suicide Prevention Day
Wednesday 10 September is World Suicide Prevention Day, organised by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP). The theme for this year is Connectedness. It is estimated that over 800,000 deaths occurred worldwide in 2012 through suicide. In richer countries three times as many men take their own lives than women. It is also estimated …
I lay my head to rest
I lay my head to rest And in doing so… Lay at your feet the faces I have seen, The voices I have heard, The words I have spoken, The hands I have shake, The service I have given, The joys I have shared, The sorrows revealed, I lay them at your feet …and in …
Self-Esteem File
I was reading a blog about how to like yourself more. The writer was suggesting eight steps in all, but one of these was to have a Self-Esteem File. The idea was given to someone, let’s call him John, by a therapist to write down a list of strengths that he felt he had. John …
Robin Williams
I was sad to learn of the passing of Robin Williams earlier this week. The comedian and star of such films as Dead Poets Society and Good Will Hunting took his own life. He had been battling with depression and it has been more recently reported that he was in the early stages of Parkinson’s …
Why does grief hurt?
I wanted to follow on from last week’s thought, particularly the idea of a journey from grief to understanding. The reason grief hurts is because there is an inextricable link between the level of pain we feel when a loved one passes and how much we cared for that person. If we wanted to protect …