From my heart to yours as you leave home.

Day 14 (Wednesday 14th December 2016)

14 major earthquakes (with magnitudes of 7 or above on the Richter Scale) 

have occurred during 2016 (compared with 19 in 2015, 12 in 2014 and 19 in 2013).

The worst earthquake of the year, with a magnitude of 7.8, occurred in Ecuador 

on 16th April (see photo) - with a death toll of 673. The second most devastating for 

human life, although only 6.2 in magnitude, was in Italy, 

on August 24th, and resulted in the death of 299 people.

What amazing blogs we have shared to date, full of highs, lows and love. Today's is one brimming with maternal devotion - a piece written by Maggie Marriott: it is a personal message to her two daughters (who are both now away at university). Maggie proposed all her own pictures and you might like to know that the drawings were actually done by her daughters to whom this post is addressed.

Maggie is a leadership coach and business consultant and the owner of the Gloucester-based organisational change consultancy Enki. She specialises in designing bespoke solutions for organisations that need or wish for change and has a personal flair for delivering difficult messages and working with troubled leaders. Maggie is a highly qualified Gestalt practitioner (she won the British Gestalt Journal Essay Prize for 2015) and she believes in enabling humane change via the approaches she devises. Being highly analytical and systematic, Maggie commenced her career as an IT programmer and worked for many years in the Public sector moving from a technical team leader to a business change specialist. Maggie believes in supporting and encouraging others; since 2014 she has been a mentor for the Aspire Foundation. You can connect with Maggie on Twitter - her handle is @maggiermarriott. When not working or helping people, Maggie is a voracious reader and relishes learning and gaining new experiences. I think the advice she provides below gives a good feel for Maggie and the way she views life.

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From my heart to yours as you leave home

On love…..

Never let gender, race or religion limit your love for someone.

Your heart will be broken and you may break hearts. Love anyway.

Some people will be in your life for just a short time. It’s ok.

Choose curiosity instead of judgement

On the future….

You don’t need to know what to do in the future, just take the next step and new choices will emerge.

If you don’t make a mess you won’t make anything. Take risks. Make a mess.

Say yes to as many things as you can and say no when it feels right.

Make sure you can always look yourself in the mirror

On being human…

You’ll get things wrong. Forgive yourself.

Listen to your body; it’s always talking to you.

Eating a little bit of what you fancy does you good.

If you like what someone’s wearing or what they’re doing, tell them. Tell them now, even if you don’t know them.

And always know…

I will be here for you if you call, ready to help you fly high again.

Do You EnJoy Shopping?

Day 2 (Wednesday 2nd December 2015)

The 2 second rule is a rule of thumb for a driver to ensure that they are following at a safe distance
a simple and common sense way of enhancing road safety. A driver should note as the vehicle
in front passes a stationary object (such as a road sign), the driver's own vehicle should
pass the same object no less than 2 seconds later.
Mind you, the above van would encourage you to keep your distance.

Today I am delighted to introduce a joyful piece from Phil Marsland, the Head of Talent and Resourcing for the Portakabin Group. Phil lives and works in Yorkshire (in England), but he can also be found on Twitter - his handle is @FulfordPhil. Please note that this is his second ever blog (you'd never guess if I hadn't told you). Phil is renowned for his dedication, focus and strategic approach at work (being a fine chess player perhaps helps) and he is respected by those who know him ( in particular for his authenticity and enthusiasm). He has a genuine passion for life (and Manchester City Football Club - his enthusiasm for football began at school, where he was Captain of the school team). It is a pleasure having him as the second contributor of this year's Advent Blog series. 

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It a time of Joy and glad tidings, and all those other Christmassy proclamations, but why do we tend to think and talk this way once a year, or perhaps at special occasions, birthdays and the like?

And what is Joy anyway? I’ve just looked it up and I find that it’s ‘a feeling of great pleasure and happiness’.  So who wouldn’t want that? It must be stuff that’s a really big deal, great things, things of enormous importance and note. 

Or is it?

Before I go any further I do just want to acknowledge that there are awful things in the world, everyday, and people in awful circumstances, and help that is needed.  In such circumstances its very hard to feel Joy – there are immediate practical things like safety, security, health, food and warmth. 

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

I’m not talking about the poor people in such circumstances.  I’m talking about every day, ordinary life.  Where people are ok, and safe and have the Maslow basics.  The general “us” who are lucky enough to enjoy safety, security, consumer goods, health care, education, good food, entertainment from shiny screens and night’s out and heck we even are allowed to speak up.

So do the general “us” feel Joy everyday?  Do we thrive and feel alive and feel Joyous and reJoice?  Are we alive to the Joy and warmth of human interaction, of meaning something positive to those around us and feeling the same in return?  Are we making this choice or are we making a different choice to be miserable?

I have a test for you.  Next time you walk around your local supermarket notice how you feel – are you trudging up and down, begrudging shopping, and people getting in your way, and it taking too long at the checkout.  Or are we noticing the choices we have from packed shelves, and feeling Joy that we are so lucky, as many others are not, and that this moment is part of our lives?  And then take a look at others in the supermarket.  

How many have their shoulders hunched, with frowning faces and down-turned mouths.  They are choosing to be miserable!  Choosing to be miserable about this moment in their lives. Perhaps, choosing to live a miserable life.  And what about interacting with others?  Is that allowed in a supermarket?!  Well of course it is and you would be amazed at the different reactions you get with a smile on your face and a few kind words – ‘sorry’, ‘no, after you’, - try speaking to the staff on the till too – enJoy the interaction and see them light up, a little bit.  It costs nothing, and is worth so much.

So its not all about the big things and events.  Its about all the little things, and the choice you can make.  Let’s all do it.  We could be a group, or a cohort, or a division…….a Joy Division!

Not many JOYful songs by Joy Division, so here's Pharrell Williams