Into another Lockdown and what better time to look after ourselves?

When asking students to divide a circular cake into sections as if the cake represented the whole of their day and each sector they cut was to demonstrate how much time they spent on work, play, sport, family, and themselves it was not surprising to see that themselves was 99% of the time the smallest of all the replies and often only 5% of the cake.

It is the responsibility of us all for the sake of everyone to abide by the regulations put forward by our government, wherever we live. In this time round the Police here in the UK have decided to act having gone through the process of advising and asking people to be sensible and not to attend raves, demonstrations or parties and are now issuing fines where the rules are obviously flouted, with organisers of such gatherings find up to £10,000.

Most are still finding it difficult to cope with staying at home apart from those who can work from home and fill their time accordingly, even to deciding not to wear mask or face coverings in shops or in crowded places for which they too may be fined. In certain circumstances these restrictions can be dangerous, especially where there is the threat of abuse in the home, nevertheless they must be followed, and I implore the local authorities to act to help in these perilous situations for the sake of the physical and mental health of all residents thus challenged, especially the children who are often most at risk.

Where we can find a little space and hopefully peace and quiet no matter the time of day or night, these precious moments can be put to good use by cutting a larger slice of the cake and spend this time on ourselves. We need to love ourselves!

Many will spend time on the physical side of their existence and when that or, instead of that is over and done, a beneficial activity, so long as it does not annoy or hurt others, is to join in with a singsong or an On-Line Choir. The voice has a calming effect on the mind and the body enabling us to get through the otherwise vacant space that proves for many so difficult to fill. Even on our own we often burst into song. Please don’t say, you cannot sing:

When I was a choir boy at the age of 10 our vicar was tone deaf but still continued with the versicles and responses and in those days the church was full.

Contrary to many beliefs the mind does control the body.

We spend so much time in concentrating on the things out there that seem to control us and don’t give the mind a chance to exercise it’s own power, which comes down or up, whichever way we look at it, to belief.

A master when asked why we cannot regrow a lost arm or leg the answer came:

“Because we do not believe that we can.”

In these changing times there are moments when we can find a few minutes to exercise our mind control. It need only take 5 minutes and like me you may find that the 5 grows to 10 and maybe more, the more practice we allow ourselves to follow.

It has been referred to as the still small voice inside and it is true that at first it may seem like your own voice in faint response to your own questioning thought. But the more we persevere and believe that the response is in fact a true reply the more it will seem and become just so.

Just like meditation which to begin with is best accomplished in peace and quiet but in fact can be achieved in a crowded bus, train or plane on the way to or from work or on holiday and in time we can create in the mind a threshold of sound which we can rise above and exclude from the consciousness allowing us to hear the all important voice.

It has been a great help to me as it is there constantly while I am following my passions of gardening or doing my stuff at the DIY workbench, including misplacing so many items and helping me to find them.

More importantly it can be of tremendous help when confronting the various issues that one’s body has had to deal with over the years and for me there have been many. Wishing that I knew of this way of loving the self and helping it to grow, live, and love within and without when I was young.

On a birthday card from my eldest was a badge for me to wear which said:

“It has taken me 80 years to look this good.”

I love that and have to say that I am much blessed and can look upon the current restrictions as just another challenge for me to face and to prove that I can live with whatever andwherever it takes me. Wishing all my readers the same tranquillity of mind. And to listen carefully, (for, I may say this more than once,) to the still small voice inside.

With Love, Hanukah & the Angels