We all get difficult days, but this year in particular I have seen many people struggle and despair. This week I thought I would share my long-term experience of dealing with difficult days in a gentle and simple way. Creating rituals and keeping things simple always helps. Welcoming Difficult Days “All things are difficult before they are easy.” Thomas Fuller I know, and I understand, that we just don’t want difficult days to come up. But whether we want them or not, difficult days will inevitably occur. Living with chronic illness, I have daily limitations I cannot avoid or predict. The real surprise is when a day goes a bit better and I don’t feel so bad, but generally I expect most days to be bad ones. I just do my best with the worst, and over the years, it has become easier to deal with difficult days and find meaning and contentment within that circumstance. To be truthful, although these days are always challenging, they also are a brilliant opportunity to get to know myself ev...

This is one of my favourite topics. I spend 99.9% of my time at home, so the relationship I have with my space really has to work well. This week I am happy to share some of my favourite ways to make a soothing home. What Making a Soothing Home Means Although there are many things that do contribute to creating a soothing atmosphere, making a soothing home is not really about owning a list of special objects, because we all have different tastes and needs. Some people find the noise of trickling water soothing in a home and it really helps them to relax if they have a little fountain near them. While I love the sound of water in nature, I would not find it soothing to have a fountain in my house.  For me making a soothing home is about being clear in my preferences and purpose, what each room is used for and what my needs are. It might seem obvious that a kitchen is for preparing food, but in my case it is also my painting studio, and as long as that purpose is very clear and honou...

The Beauty of Dreaming Small In a world where we are always pushed to dream big, to go beyond, to work out of our comfort zone, to do something new, to challenge ourselves, I think we have forgotten the knack of finding delight and contentment right where we are in our own little corner, from where we can do so much. We can grow and thrive even if we feel cooped up and pinned down. One of the many ways to expand seemingly unshakeable limitations is to cultivate the pleasure of finding mini worlds. After all, many illuminating children’s tales take place in mini worlds and are essential to shaping the imagination and resourcefulness we all need to get by in life.  Through the Eyes of a Child As far as I can remember I have always been fascinated by miniatures. One of my favourite tales was Thumbelina, and I used to long for a tiny friend I could share my secrets with. She would sit in my pencil case during classes to keep me company and travel in my breast pocket whenever I was out....