This morning I went for an early morning walk and found some delicious coloured leaves which hinted to a pending Autumn. I was so inspired by their hue I made my wife (who was away) an additional Valentines card.
I then emailed it to her. It was nice recycling a bit of nature and I think it made my wife’s day too. MJ
Only a day until the first insertion in the Daily Mail. Nervous? Not us. Not half. Two million readers a day. Another 3 million on-line?
The most visited news site in the world? What is there to be nervous about?
In The Alphabet of the Human Heart we wrote about S is for Stress:
“Insomnia. Heartache. Anxiety. Depression. The cost of stress is never worth the salary that demands it. When designing your work life, make sure that your life works. Stress the importance of relaxation. Exercise, meditation and moderation all release the tension. Drink, drugs, and junk food don’t. So, unwind your mind. A little stress is healthy. Too much can kill you. Deal with it before you snap.”
Easy to say, right? Not so easy to follow. To be honest, alongside all our other commitments, getting the words and pictures together for the column has been pretty stressful: late nights, early mornings, long international telephone calls, anxiety, insomnia, irritability. Two recovering perfectionists falling off the bandwagon…
So, today our homework is to relax. Just relax. To do one, simple thing to shake off the adrenalin that’s been bubbling under all month. I’m going to take a walk on Hungerford common with my family and maybe go to sleep without setting my alarm. Matthew is off on a long overdue date with Ainsley, his wife. And, whether we believe in God or not, we’re going to make a mantra out of the Serenity Prayer:
“Grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,
the courage to change the things we can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.”
The Daily Mail. Monday 6th Feb, 2012.
Bring. It. On.
JK
On Tuesday the 11th of January Alphabet of the Human Heart was launched by Constable and Robinson in the UK.
There were consecutive double page spreads over two days in the Daily Mail which pushed the book to #1 in Self Help, #1 in Motivational Books and #3 in the Top 100 on Amazon UK.
If you’d like to see the link go to www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1345962/The-alphabet-human-heart-Matthew-Johnstonesl-new-bookon-toxic-emotions.html
This is a fantastic start to our little book in the UK. W is for Woo and H is for Hoo!!!