“Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draws it.
Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.”

– Buddha –

It’s a pretty simple one today. It’s very easy to fill our heads with bad things, worry, sadness, fear, anxiety, nervousness, anger, pain and hatred, especially as a result of watching or reading the news everyday or scanning our day for all the bad things happening in the world and around us.

It is equally as easy to fill our heads with peace, love, joy, happiness, warmth, kindness, compassion and empathy. Essentially it boils down to what we want to think and feel in every moment.

I choose to look for the silver linings, to…

It does all end, you know; the night feeds, the nasty nappies and poo and piles in places you’d rather they weren’t. Plus the fading opportunity to sit still for five seconds without worrying that the kids have gone suspiciously quiet.

It feels like it will be forever, those sticky chins, soggy faces pressed in your neck and an adoration that is always yours simply because you’re mum.

But of course it isn’t. And you don’t really get that till twenty years or so have passed, when you have to work harder for your adoration and you suddenly appreciate those gems of parenthood collectively because they’ve moved on by.

As I pass into this new phase of parent-to-adults – well; more best friends really – I wonder what I would say to those of you at the beginning of your parenting life?

Like others before me, I could say it’s…