In these (becoming more regular) posts, I share five things.
Loves, hates, ideas I’m pondering, places I’m supporting, whatever.
Here we go:
THOUGHT I’M PONDERING:
Today, the UK woke up to the General Election results. The conservatives won by quite a margin and many of the people I know have been deeply saddened and concerned by this result. I shared last week that I would be voting for the party who I believed would most protect the needs of the country’s most vulnerable. And the thought I’m pondering today, and will keep with me this week and into the longer term, is that we each have the power to do good.
I want a government who look after the most vulnerable people in society, but I can also do that. I can be the change. And so can you, regardless of your political alignment.
REMINDER I’VE RECEIVED:
I like to consider myself non-judgmental, and yet sometimes I’m reminded that I’m a work in progress with a long way to go.
This week I was in a phone shop with my daughter when a dishevelled man walked in. I was having my phone repaired (again). My first unconscious thought when the man walked in was one of discomfort, to my shame. My daughter had none of my reservations and marched up to him, greeted him with a grin and asked “hello man, what are you doing here?”
The man answered her, then looked at me and asked if she was my daughter. I said yes. He said he didn’t remember her. He had no reason to, we’d never met before.
And then, I realised what he meant. My daughter had greeted him in such a warm, friendly way he thought she must have known him.
We had a chat while the salesman finished working on my phone, and I left that shop feeling incredibly humbled, and reminded of an important life lesson by the most caring girl I know.
PRACTICE I’VE ADOPTED:
With a broken phone for part of the week, I was forced to take my daily walks without the company of a podcast playing in my ears, and it was a joy to experience silence.
I walked the puppy in Sherwood Forest one day and within just a few minutes, we were so deep in the forest that it was completely silent apart from an occasional crackle of a leaf.
Now that my phone is fixed, I’m keeping a silent walk on my daily to do list.
QUOTE I’M PONDERING:
I’m not sure who to attribute this quote to, but I saw it shared online and it made me pause for thought and really consider how much is enough, and why I would ever want more:
“Billionaire” isn’t a qualification. It’s the description of a person who is hoarding more resources than they could use in 100 lifetimes while other people are starving. It’s the name for a human dragon sleeping on its pile of rubies and gold.
CANDLE I’M BURNING:
Christmas Memories by Yankee Candle is my favourite for this season. It’s so festive!
