I find myself writing this piece today because it was 5 years ago on this day that my dog, Oscar (main photo), passed away from bone cancer at the age of just over 2. He came into my life two days before I started writing my book about self love / self esteem, ‘I Heart […]
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Do what’s in your heart
Do what’s in your heart. Be yourself. We often doubt ourselves and imagine that we have to change so that the world accepts us. We imagine we need to compromise on our dreams, on doing what makes our hearts sing, in order to succeed. But instead of you bending to meet the world, be yourself, […]
My day talking kindness to young children
I spent a day earlier in the week at a primary school where I was talking to young children about the importance of kindness. It was a school outside Glasgow, Scotland, on the invitation of my friend, John – aka Mr McLellan. The school has a dedicated ASD unit. I was a little nervous as […]
The right thing to do
I was in Chicago for a couple of days recently. Among many things, one thing that stood out for me was the number of homeless people who were not asking for money. One was just a young girl, who couldn’t have been more than 18. Some of their cardboard signs said things like, “Please. I’m not looking for […]
“I’m Fine” – How you can sense when someone is lying
Have you ever spent time with someone who said they were fine, when they tell you that everyone was OK in their life, but after you left you had a nagging feeling that everything really was not fine? I’ve felt that on several occasions, usually with a friend or family member, and I’m sure they […]
7 Ways that Love is Good for Your Health
Love feels good. I think we’d all agree on that. But it also has some surprising health benefits. Here’s a list of 7 of them: 1) Love is good for your heart I think we all expect this. Biologically, love produces the hormone ‘oxytocin’. It’s why it’s often referred to as the ‘Love Hormone’ […]
10 Reasons Why Gratitude is Good for You
I think many people nowadays have heard that gratitude is good for us, but if you haven’t, or want a recap on how and why, here’s 10 reasons below. Please share them with others so that more people enjoy the benefits of gratitude. 1. It’s good for mental health Studies show that a regular […]
How my dog being attacked reminded me to live in the moment
I have learned a lot by watching my dog, well puppy. He’s a 9-month old golden Labrador called Oscar. Among other things, as I wrote in a previous blog, I’ve learned to play more and also that I’m worthy of being loved. A few days ago Oscar was attacked by an aggressive dog. It clamped […]
Kindness Dominos
I did an online interview with CNN recently that was all about kindness. One of the questions they asked me was about the ripple effect of kindness and what that means for us. Since I was very young I’ve had a strong belief that a small group of people with compassion and kindness in their […]
You don’t need to BREAK to have a breakTHROUGH
I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently. Many of our deep-help beliefs and assumptions drive our behaviour, and as a consequence, much of what happens in our lives. What if many of us have a deeply held belief that in order to experience peace or enlightenment we need to have a crash first – […]