We Can’t Change the World, But We Can Change the Way we View Ours

I always sit for a moment before writing to you having a quiet listen to my head. Like yours, no doubt, it buzzes around at a rate of knots running through our never-ending lists, The To-Do List, The Shopping List, The Birthday List, The Who I Need to Catch Up With List, The Forward Planning List which includes diary dates for work and pleasure.

But in this clatter of head noise, only one thought is viscerally shouting above the rest and it’s this. I have never felt so genuinely, and I mean genuinely, grateful for all those things I have previously taken for granted.

Do I normally give a moment’s thought to my freedoms? No, but in these last few weeks having witnessed the atrocities taking place in Ukraine the word ‘cherish’ seems to be at the front of my mind Even mopping the floor this morning (something I normally do through gritted teeth because ‘someone’ with dirty feet or paws hasn’t wiped their feet), but today all I could think of was how much would those women shielding from the bombs in underground shelters or the ones sitting in a refugee camp in a country that’s not theirs, clutching all they have in a carrier bag, would give to be home surrounded by the very basic trappings of normality.

We can’t change the world, but we can change the way we view ours, so let’s savour and be grateful for our freedoms our relative safety, our democracy, let’s pick our battles, and not let the unimportant grind us down.

Spring is here and with true mindfulness of all political refugees around the world we have a duty in their name to totally savour and enjoy what we are so lucky to have.

The people of Ukraine have tragically lost their options, let’s hope that’s temporary, but we are blessed to still have them so, whether it’s Mother’s Day or Easter, put your best foot forward and embrace all the things we have to look forward to. I honestly believe if any good is to come out of this catastrophe it’s a recalibration of our collective consciousness to be kinder to those who are lost.

Helping is good for the soul and it’s a natural human reaction when we see another in trouble, I looked around and picked The British Red Cross to support, they are a tremendously effective organisation that’ve been alleviating humanitarian disasters for 150 years, their work in emergency response is targeted, highly efficient and every penny is used wisely.

Speak to you next week about picnics on park benches.