A visit to a forest, walking the dog in the park and any opportunity to pause with plants or gaze at the sky are core to my daily practice of Mindfulness. Opportunities for connection with nature (even lucky bamboo plants on the windowsill!) provide ‘natural punctuation’ in my day.

As avid gardeners, spring is a time of renewed enthusiasm and commitment to the garden for my partner and me.  We enthuse daily about the progress of tender seedlings and dormant foliage bursting back to life.

Musicals were part of our lives as children.  We went to many films and live shows.  Records of the ‘Sound of Music’, ‘Mikado’, ‘Funny Girl’ and ‘Mary Poppins’ were often played.  We enjoyed singing along and knew many lyrics by heart.  One song from ‘My Fair Lady’ I will never forget is ‘Why Can’t a Woman Be More Like a Man’. Professor Higgins sings to Colonel Pickering:  “Can’t a woman learn to use her head?  … Straightening up their hair is all they ever do.  Why don’t they straighten up the mess that is inside?”   Lyrics are by Alan Jay Lerner, 1964.  No one would dare to write these today!!