A reader responded to my previous post, “Believe Them the First Time” with the following: Hi Cressida, this post of yours speaks right to me. I’ve been struggling with forgiveness and giving someone another chance. Yet they keep repeating the same abusive behaviour. And the only peace I receive, protecting my well-being, is when I …
I love this quote by Maya Angelou. “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” It deserves a page all on its own, to stand out from the crowd of words… Be observant when it comes to your world and of those that you permit to share it with. It’s so …
She phones him the moment she returns home, and explains, with a few huffs and puffs, how she endured twenty minutes in a busy café for her date to show up and then walked away. ‘All men are only after one thing! And that’s to get into your brooks!’ he says, agitation evident in …
One of the dearest people in my life spent the weekend with me in London. A different London: feeling the sleepiness of the pandemic, wearing masks on public transport, in and out of shops and only being able to sit outside some restaurants and cafes. While sipping oat milk cappuccinos at Pret in Leicester …
A dearest friend living on his own in an exotic island intensely struggled through the lockdown. A lockdown more oppressive than the UK, but perhaps not as draconian as South Africa… This post is dedicated to people who believe they are alone, feel lonely; to help those discover their worth in a lonely world. The …
The golden rule, according to many religions/cultures, is profoundly simple. Christianity: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Gospel of Matthew 22, 36-40). Buddhism: “Whatever is disagreeable to yourself, do not do unto others” (The Buddha, Udana-Varga 5.18). In a famous …
I recently read the following in a book, ‘Augustine of Hippo said, “Our heart is restless until it rests in thee.” By thee, I take him to mean, well, that entity that sits on a bench with us in our heart space.’ The rest of the quote states: “For you have made us for yourself, …
No matter what happens – joy and sorrow – embrace it and accept it. Life happens; life is an experience, a constantly evolving series of moments. Leave the ‘out of your control’ moments to themselves. Trying to fight change, something inevitable causes suffering. Choose to accept or choose to suffer. There is so much in …
Yesterday an ex-colleague sent me a WhatsApp message informing me that Charlene, another ex-colleague and friend died suddenly a few days ago. Charlene made the best bean rotis for me, and any vegetable curry dish I desired. I passed on the good word and many others from the office asked her to cook for …
“It matters little whether a man takes the right road or the wrong one, provided only that he follows it sincerely and devotedly to the end, for either road may lead him to his goal.” William Blake 1757-1827 How many people really have the ability to be decisive and follow a path that …
A friend I’ve only known for three months sent me a link to an inspiring YouTube video earlier today – Richard Dawkins: We Are Going to Die. The first chapter from Dawkins’ book “Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOXMjCnKwb4 “We are going to die, and that makes us …
He stopped just before the last step, turned back to face her; they had been hiking for three and a half hours, starting at Shoreham Village. She halted alongside him and turned to admire the suddenly elevated view of the village below surrounded by wheat or barley fields. “Which one is it?” she’d asked during …
Max Ehrmann wrote Desiderata, meaning ‘things that are desired’, in 1927. A poet and lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana wrote the poem for himself, ‘because it counsels those virtues I felt most in need of.’ Such wisdom to be passed onto future generations. Desiderate Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember …
I am sorry that I had to leave you and take Blake with me. It is for the best, for now. You will understand, eventually be in a position to understand, this I am certain of. I need to be on my own for a few days, to get my head straight. Blake doesn’t understand …
‘When does it get easier?’ he asked. ‘I’d say, for me, as soon as I hit 30 – as if a lightning bolt struck,’ she said. ‘You mean I’ve got that long to wait before I start feeling better?’ ‘It’s not that long,’ she said and smiled. ‘I didn’t mean it …