My offerings are small things. In the face of a huge, fragmenting world, sometimes all we have to give are small things. These tiny fragments of love, kindness and creativity can be a little bit healing. A little bit of the remaking of the world, little heart by little, lovely heart. Among my small offerings…
Category: Lifestyle
Small Things
I liked that it rained at the park today. It was meant to stay dry, but somehow the rain allowed me a little more room to be quiet and apart from the bigger, chattering groups that had gathered. I liked the way the rain felt as it soaked my hair and face on our walk…
Small Things: Music
This week, I am grateful for music. Music has always been there, a backdrop to all the comings and goings of my life. I remember, as a child, Dad giving me his old record player, with an eclectic selection of records, from Jason Donavon’s Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat, to ELO. As I got older,…
Tightrope
I’m guessing I’m not the only one walking a tightrope most of the time, teetering between exhaustion and joy, anxiety and exhilaration, overwhelm and peace. I think that it might just be that this tightrope is otherwise known as life as a human. I like the tightrope as a metaphor for life, though. Walking a…
Falling back in love
It has to be acknowledged that sometimes, we fall out of love with our lives. Sometimes, our daily grind just doesn’t feel all that captivating. Sometimes, it is bloody hard work. Sometimes, other people’s lives appear altogether more enthralling, more attractive, more colourful. Sometimes, though, it’s easier than you thought to fall back in love…
Comfort
We have needed comfort in our house lately, with long bouts of illness and fatigue getting the better of us for weeks. For the children, that means pyjama days, hot water bottles and chocolate. For me, it’s comfort reads and comfort foods, naps on the sofa whenever possible and plenty of fresh air. Four Comfort…
Christmas Reflections
For us and our children, Christmas is complicated. It stirs up deep emotions about family and past traumas, about love and pain. For our children, these deep, complicated emotions tend to show themselves as huge behaviours, which seem at odds with the supposed sweetness of the season. For my husband and I, it adds an…
It’s the Small Things
“It’s the small, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay…small acts of kindness and love”, says Gandalf in Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Whatever our privileges, our lacks and losses, our talents and our flaws, we all experience darkness in our lives sometimes. This summer, as I look at other people’s social media…
Small Things
A few notes on the small things I’m thankful for this week: *Spotting: Butterflies and Moths In a week when the cool, rainy weather took its toll, and the children and I grew fractious through lack of routine, the few sunny spells were brimming with butterflies. In our garden, we saw peacocks, painted ladies, red…
After the Rain
It rained a little this evening, that gorgeous, soft, summer rain. And afterwards, the air was fresh and the plants and birds were that bit more alive and my own tired body felt brighter, the skin on my face fresher, the smile about my mouth easier. There are always the hot, hard work days, and…
Small Things
I’m a collector, really. I like to look around me and gather close the little moments. I find snippets of life and colour and hold them to my chest for all they are worth, and thank the Lord that there is still goodness in this world. Things like the smile of my baby niece, and…
When
When you’re tired, the kind of tired that others simply won’t understand unless they’ve been in your shoes, there’s one thing that can drag you along, body and soul. When you’re dissatisfied, or wondering if what you have is enough or what you’ve done is enough or who you are is enough, the same one…
Life Lived 