Picture the scene if you will. Your visitor is due in half an hour. You are frantically clearing the dining table of bits of paper which have been put there to wait for a convenient time for you to file, shred or recycle them. The kitchen needs a clear up from last night’s meal, and …
Falling Off The Stage
Anyone who saw the Brit Awards earlier this week, or indeed the headlines which followed, will know that poor Madonna fell backwards on stage during her performance. She said afterwards that she was fine and, quoting the lyrics of the song she was performing, said ‘nothing can stop me and love really lifted me up’. …
Men Have Feelings
Regular readers may remember a Thought for the Week in September focussing on World Suicide Prevention Day. A couple of days ago I read a piece on BBC News which quoted figures on suicide on the UK from the Office for National Statistics. The ONS said that in 2013 6,233 people over the age of …
Gratitude
Being grateful reflects an ability to be aware of the present. It’s easy to have a tendency to long for the things we don’t have, and sometimes that’s right to focus on, for example if you find yourself out of work. Gratitude reveals a level of contentment, and a sense of inner peace. There is …
Being Clarke Carlisle
I was sad to read about Clarke Carlisle this week. He had admitted that he was trying to take his own life when he was hit by a lorry just before Christmas. Clarke had made over 500 appearances as a professional footballer, and was chairman of the Professional Footballers Association. He had also appeared on …
Old to New
Imagine for a moment that you are in a room, and the room represents your life. What does it look like? Is it large or small? How is it decorated? What can you see in the room? There is a door to another room. Now, you may be completely happy in your room and so …
The cost of Christmas
Apparently, yesterday (Saturday) was ‘Panic Saturday’. This is a term coined by retail researchers and refers to the last Saturday before Christmas. On this day it was expected that some £1.2bn would be spent. The Centre for Retail Research thought that around 13m consumers would each spend £92 per minute on gifts and groceries. The …
Teach Your Children
This is the title of a song written by Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills & Nash fame. It encourages communication, love and understanding between the generations. I thought it was particularly poignant given the news this week that hospital admissions for young people aged 10-14 who have self-harmed have risen alarmingly in the last few …
Advent
The word “advent” comes from the Latin “adventus” meaning “arrival” or “coming,” particularly of something having great importance. It is a season in the church calendar which begins in the Western church on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day. It is a time of spiritual preparation in which Christians look forward to the coming of …
Advertising Christmas
How should companies advertise their wares? There has been a lot of noise in the news and on social media in the last few days concerning two adverts in particular. The John Lewis advert is a cute story about a pet penguin who yearns for true love. Sainsburys however have opted for scenes from the …