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Ring Out Wild Bells 2019

 

We're living through a period which seems more challenging than anything we have faced in decades.  On every front there is widespread, rapid and profound change which many are struggling to comprehend.  Western democracy is under threat and we seem to lack real leaders who can do anything to solve the complex problems we face.

Against such a backdrop it's a constant struggle to remain optimistic about the future.  If difficult personal issues and tragedies are also plaguing us, then we may feel broken and despairing.


Do you need a pick-me-up?

 

Would you like a friendly guide with a big heart?

If you’re feeling down in the dumps, either at the state of the world, or your own life – then my latest book, available now, can help you with a fresh perspective.

 

The Book of Hope, published by Orion Spring in the UK and ANZ https://amzn.to/2GwI4KS,

 and in the USA and Canada under the title The Woman’s Book of Hope, published by Conari


The importance of feminine values in today's world

Are we seeing a shift in consciousness in the way women are viewed and treated?  Is it possible that there will be real change that can result in a more enlightened culture and society?

This week, with International Women’s Day, there was both a celebration of women’s achievements on the one hand, and a continuing call to action for equal rights on the other.  First observed as long ago as 1909 in New York as Women’s Day,  the 8 March became the following year International Women’s Day. 


Are we at a tipping point?

Every day the world's crises seem to get worse.  Whether it's Trump threatening North Korea and yet at the same time failing to condemn neo-Nazis, or whether it's another weather-related disaster, another terrorist attack, or rigged elections. We have ongoing political, environmental and economic crises,with the rich getting richer, and the poor poorer.  We also have the threat from developments in AI where new machines could wipe out millions of jobs, and we have illegal immigrants flocking to the West in huge numbers.


The arrival of Spring

Spring has arrived in the northern hemisphere!  It's been a gradual, day-by-day dawning in reality, but it seems simply to have exploded after the sun and the rain.  Everywhere I look green leaves are unfurling, blossom dances in the breeze, daffodils wave their cheery golden heads, and bees and butterflies say hello.  On my daily walk I stop to lean on the fence and wonder at the tiny lambs bleating and gambolling in the field. The birds seem to be competing with each other as to who can sing the loudest.  Clouds there may be, but I know that blue sky isn't far behind.


There are reasons to be hopeful about the future!

 

 

With the arrival of the Winter Solstice, it’s time for our traditional celebrations, taking stock, and looking to the future.  Although there’s much to deplore in the world - the continuing atrocities of war, terrorism, injustice, corruption and deprivation, which our media constantly remind us of - there are still reasons for hope, which largely go unreported. 

In his book Progress: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future, Johan Norberg documents the ways in which, from a historical perspective, the world has become a better place:


Hold on to the light!

 

 

On Armistice Sunday when we remember all those who died in two world wars, and those who have died in action since, we might wonder why we fail to learn the lessons of war and hate.


Is world peace ever achievable?

 

Today is World Peace Day and while war continues to be waged in Syria and other parts of the world, along with atrocities and injustices of every kind, we could be forgiven for depairing that peace can ever be achieved.

Deep down everyone wants the same thing.  We long for peace, but first we have to make peace with ourselves.  Without that, nothing changes.