As well as relaxing on holiday over the past week (back to reality now), I have been busy developing myself some more and have managed to read some new books, which I am really enjoying, one of which is called the Empowered Artist by Bob Baker. After ploughing through this book, which I am still working my way through, I realised my mission has evolved since I first thought about it… I have now updated my home page to reflect this.

The key thing I realised I needed to do whilst reading through the book and thinking through the “homework” questions along the way, was to define more clearly what my mission is in order to be able to set myself some clear goals, in working out what really matters to me and what kind of value I can offer to others. This can then help to guide me towards and translate into the little action steps that I will need to take to achieve my goals, which now more clearly align with my mission, to help parents and people with low energy like myself feel empowered to make positive change in their life through developing a healthy mindset, lots of self-love, good nutrition, music and language.

Have you ever thought about what kind of things you would like to achieve in your lifetime, how you might want to make a difference in some way, both to yourself and others too?

One of the key areas I will now be focusing more on every single day is my love of music, whether it is mindful listening, singing along to the radio in the car or songs on YouTube, or else, more importantly, playing my flute – just making that time during the day for each of these activities, even if for a few minutes at a time, has now become a priority and a part of who I am.

Like with my 10-15 minute exercise routine in the morning, I have decided to develop a new habit, and that is to squeeze in some regular daily flute practice, as I have gotten a bit slack the past few months and generally since my third child was born, and not kept it up as much as I would have liked. I stopped playing the flute for 18 years after I did my A-Levels, took it up again after I had my second child, and reached Grade 5 within a year of having lessons (almost to the level I was at when I was 18 years old). I don’t want to let it slide again, as I now realise I need to share this musical gift I have developed over the years, and can really use it to my advantage to make a difference somehow in the world outside of me, and not just keep it all to myself. It can be very lonely being a mum, and so I, amongst a lot of other mums out there too, often crave that opportunity for interaction with other adults. With all the rushing around and stress of being a mum managing the kids, I have found that music does really help to fill in the gaps, and gives me access to that healthy place to express myself.

Depending on my mood and energy levels throughout the day, there are certain songs I like to listen to everyday that help to remind me of my goals and who I strive to be, the authentic version of myself, and really help to motivate me and give me a boost in energy. The hope is that I can use this creativity to develop a plan of action to help others to understand the important role which music can play in their life, and the way it can really help them to grow their mindset to self-motivate, and to build self-confidence and self-esteem.

There is so much we can do ourselves outside of seeing doctors and taking prescribed medicines and supplements. Although doctors do an amazing job which we can all be really grateful for, it’s not just about what the medical professionals say when it comes to our health. There is so much else you can do aswell.

There are so many alternative natural remedies and supplements I have tried out, bought from health food shops, pharmacies, acupuncture clinics and supermarkets for example, including herbal and Chinese remedies and homeopathic remedies too, all of which I have experimented with over the last 25 years to help alleviate my aches and pains, headaches, migraines and tummy upsets, help me sleep, give me more energy, and help me stay healthy. Acupuncture and massage has also been really therapeutic to me too, and has been a lifesaver for me over the years, especially at the times my aches and pains flare up.

Many years ago when I had Kinesiology, I tried changing my diet and detoxing from dairy, as this is what I was advised to do at the time. I didn’t find it made much of a difference but managed to do this for 3 months, including a trip to the States, which wasn’t an easy place to buy dairy free meals, but somehow I just about managed. It wasn’t worth it to cut out dairy out of my diet at the time as I simply didn’t feel the benefits of cutting it out.

Fast forward approximately 20 years, I have now mostly cut gluten out of my diet, and eat a low sugar and dairy diet, but it was all a very slow process. I started by cutting the white carbs out of my diet and switched to wholegrains instead as it was better for my gut health, and even just making this change, I noticed my tummy upsets subside. However, over time, I noticed that I had to reduce the amount of wheat generally in my diet, even if it was the healthier type, as I just didn’t feel so good after it. All that happens when I get a lot of tummy upsets, is that my back pain just gets worse. So over time, I have been on a mission to reduce the inflammation in my body, and reduce the flare ups I get from my chronic pain with Fibromyalgia. Better nutrition has been key for me in increasing my energy and losing a whole load of weight too!

Last year, I also did something called a 6 week adrenal detox through a local homeopath, Tracey W Lockwood , and although it did feel a bit slow at first, by the end, my energy had picked up some more and I felt my brain fog had cleared a bit too, which is always a good thing, as it helps me to be more productive during the day. We had to stay in contact regularly over the course of the 6 weeks as my remedies had to be changed and strengthened as time went on. Tracey was lovely to work with too, very responsive to my messages and attentive to my individual needs.

As we all get older, it is so important to look after ourselves and be sensitive to our own body’s needs in order to get the best out of life. It is hard work but you are worth the effort. We only get to live once after all…

For those of you who are film enthusiasts, I saw the Green Book at the cinema on Saturday night, I was a bit unsure what to expect though I did hear good reviews about it.

It was a mix of a sad, heartfelt but also an uplifting film about an African-American man in the US who was a famous pianist who went on a tour of the Deep South of America, and the battles he had to encounter purely because of his race and skin colour.

Despite the hardships, challenges and hostility at that time for the black people (early 1960s), he had achieved so much for himself, but he didn’t feel like he fit in, even with his own people – he was so scared to shine his light over his own people as he thought they would judge him in a negative way purely based on the fact that he had done really well for himself. He kept himself and his true shine hidden and didn’t share it for a long time.

There was such a heartwarming moment in the film, where he finally played for a big crowd of black people in a bar he went to after being treated badly, and they absolutely loved him, his energy, his music, his gift. And only then did he realise, yeah he can do this again – and I could really feel his emotion in that part of the film, how happy he felt, more than just the regular smiles at the end of each of his performances. He could just be himself and nothing else mattered. It was quite a special moment.

So don’t be afraid to shine. The world needs your light. Don’t dim your light to make people feel comfortable

And go and see this film!

I realise I have been holding back from talking about something in particular that I am very passionate about, that has played a really important role in my life and part of one of my struggles I managed to overcome, learning foreign languages with moderate hearing loss.

Language is the essence of who I am despite my struggles and imperfections. As well as of course being an enjoyable experience, it was hard for me learning foreign languages, especially when it came to understanding conversations in groups or during listening tests with lots of background noise, and simply just learning in a large class. I remember in my late teens, my audiologist was really excited and proud for me when he found out I did really well in foreign languages at school and had gotten into a good university, and he did his best to support me at the time. It was unusual for someone with my level of hearing loss to excel at that kind of subject.

On this note, I have realised that these language skills I have are in fact my “hidden gem” and I need to get it out in the open and flaunt it as this is what I am all about, what makes me valuable, the talent I have been gifted with, that I would like to share – it would be a shame not to share it. Creative writing has been extremely healing for me, and even though it is a skill that I have discovered only recently, this is something I have realised I am naturally good at and need to show off more!!!

I hope I have given you some food for thought and inspiration!

Are you someone who doesn’t like to stand out from the crowd and just wants to fit in and be like everyone else? It’s a nice concept in theory, but the truth is that we are all different, every single one of us is unique, though we may of course share common interests and similar personalities. We don’t need to follow people like sheep!

We should all celebrate our differences and be proud of who we are and what we have become, whatever race, religion, disability you have, as it does not define you in terms of limiting what you can achieve. If anything, be proud of the struggles you have overcome, your achievements, and push beyond what you have always thought you were capable of, your limiting beliefs, as this is what puts up a big barrier to achieving what you want to in life. Embrace who you are, your imperfections, and love them – there is nothing we can do to change them.

It’s much easier to accept your imperfections and give them the credit they deserve rather than doing the opposite which can make life hard to bear and suck the joy out of you. We need to make the most of the life we have been blessed with, and count our blessings as much as we can, and just be grateful for the life we have been given. We don’t have a choice – be proud of who you are and your scars. They all have a unique story to tell, YOU.