Here in Australia, today marks the first day of winter. In many parts of Australia winter is nothing like the winters of the northern hemisphere. We hardly have snow, and ice skating is something that happens in ice skating rinks! But as the days become shorter and...

What determines what you get in life? Knowledge, drive, determination, courage, application, luck….? Many of these are key components, but the critical element is your focus. What you focus on determines what you achieve. You will know of stories of people who didn’t...

When a small child has a tantrum, they can scream, stamp their feet, curl up and hide, throw things…. A carer who is aware will often be able to recognise that the toddler is tired or hungry, or anxious about something. In this context, the tantrum is not ‘bad’...

When I went to capture this glorious sunrise, I bemoaned the light poles and parking lines taking away from the beauty of the scene. When those elements are removed in the second photo, is the sunrise any less beautiful? What I registered after having that internal...

My mother had a poem in the kitchen that said -    “God grant me the serenity  To accept the things I cannot change,  Courage to change the things I can and Wisdom to know the difference”   With a tribe of kids to care for and a constant juggle for money, there was so...

Would you like people to love and appreciate you more? Would you like to enjoy more joyful, connected relationships? The journey begins with you. With loving and appreciating yourself just as you are. This warty, lumpy succulent is not the most attractive plant. It’s...

We loved the mantra to ‘just do it’ when it arrived. It’s punchy and powerful and speaks to the idea of just getting on with all you’d love to achieve and enjoy. It’s the simplicity that really grabs us. Because we humans love to overcomplicate things. A dog will lie...

This poem came to me at a day for piano students to share their compositions and their learning journey. I was deeply moved by the question at the end, and by the beautiful piano piece two of my fellow students had composed when inspired by the poem. Mary Oliver...

Whatever age you are, you have within you a desire to do something that will make your heart sing. Something that will nourish you and challenge you to grow beyond what’s safe and comfortable, beyond what others expect of you or even what you expect of yourself.  Do...