Navigating Everyday Life

  I sincerely hope that all is well with you and your lovely families and I wish you all a Happy New Year…yes, a HAPPY one! This is not your typical new years post or the new years resolution post people become accustomed to seeing at this time of year, instead it is just a little something to provide encouragement in dark times(or what seems to be dark times,) be it the weather at this time of year or the mood of the country as we find ourselves in lockdown 3. Even if I wanted to, I could not start with the typical New Year post as nothing in today’s world is typical so all I am going to do is offer a little bit of encouragement for you all. I titled my piece altered beginnings and I bet you ask, WHY? If we must be honest, itis not really a beginning at all, instead we find ourselves in the ‘in-between stage’ somewhere between where this all started and when it will all come to an end. A little bit like the dog in the picture, a rather precarious position and one that will not...

F orgetfulness and not knowing if it is Monday or Friday... is it a result of mental fatigue or lack of sleep or a combination of both? Morning Routines Every morning I set my alarm for 6:00am and most mornings I fail to get up at that time because that added hour of sleep to my tired body and mind sometimes feels more needed at the time than the extra 30min of exercise and quiet solitude of being able to order my thoughts, but chaos follow suit as I rush into the day ahead. However in all the chaos I have come realise that it is not the physical demand of the workload – having to juggle 2 extra jobs on top of my normal day job…no I am efficient and I plan my diary well, I set out a plan for the day for my 7 year old, my 12 year old follows hers as set by her teachers and my work diary is well managed. I can cope with having to plan lessons after work and submitting the work they have done throughout the day, yes some days this is overwhelming and I am tired and have little sleep but I...

  I n order for us to truly understand the beauty of art – we need to understand what art is and to do this I will unpack the definition a little. The oxford dictionary defines art as, ‘the expression of a creative skill in a visual form. It can be a painting, with bright and vibrant colours that fill a previously empty space, it could be the creation of an item of clothing never seen before, it could be a piece of literature that inspires or it could be the movement of the body to rhythmic sounds, or to the sound of your inner voice as you meditate. All of these art forms have that one core element of the definition – it is an expression, an outward showing of something. If we break this down a little more, then lets define,   ‘expression,’ the Oxford dictionary refers to expression as a form of communication, of conveying a feeling. Therefore the most simple definition of art is to me the outward communication of my feelings. Okay I can see that you are hitting a bit o...