I still can’t see for all the love hearts in my eyes since my wonderful daughter got married… No, I’m not going to talk about the wedding; I’m going to ask you to reflect back on a time when you’ve been in an utter state of bliss. Think of any occasion, when by you smiled [...]

According to studies a smile is contagious. When you see a smile, your orbit-frontal-cortex activates, which processes sensory rewards. Therefore, when you catch another person smiling you feel rewarded: a good feeling, which causes a smile… Having just enjoyed the best day of my life, my daughter got married last week: I thought I’d share [...]

My wonderful late stepfather said “Hooray” frequently! He’d start and end conversations with the jolly word, and in messages too; though he’d often include the nonsensical addition of the word: “sausages”. Malcolm was great fun, and permanently wore a wide grin; above it was a pair of tatty glasses held together by an old plaster; [...]

As a child growing up with cerebral palsy, I was anything but proud of it!  Because like many people with disabilities, I’d try to hide my impairment for fear of unkindness… Luckily, nowadays, we’re in an era, whereby we hopefully endure less torment; we’re a far more accepting and inclusive society. Actually, back then, the [...]

Some plants are easier to grow than others; cress for example simply requires sprinkling the seeds onto wet kitchen towel and popping onto a sunny window sill. Others like roses, are well-known to be trickier to cultivate. The same can be said of self-discipline: it’s not easy, and of course, growing it takes patience and [...]