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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.

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:

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.

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.

Every day another tragedy - they come thick and fast, leaving us unable to comprehend why.  The world seems to be in chaos with fear and uncertainty prevailing.  Hope seems to be in short supply.

Life is like a dance, and for the dance we need to be fluid, fearless, and aware.  Everything in life is in a state of constant change, ebbing and flowing, waxing and waning, but we need to trust in the process of constant regeneration.

A year ago I set out to fulfil a long-held dream, but I got more than I’d bargained for which made me appreciate just how precious each day of our lives is. I boarded a flight on 25 April to Kathmandu via Abu Dhabi with five friends.  Ultimately we were bound for Tibet and our expedition had been planned for many months.  As our visas and permits for travelling in the different regions of Tibet were being handled by an agent in Nepal, we were intending to spend some time there before flying on to Lhasa.

I was interested to read about last week’s new moon in Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, and the fact that it was also a Supermoon, coming into close alignment with the earth.  After the various eclipses this year, it apparently, according to astrology, heralds a new beginning. This coincides with my own view that it’s time for us to wake up!

We live in extraordinary times of complex and escalating change.  Crises seem to confront us wherever we look, and these crises are largely the result of our limited consciousness, and our attitudes and behaviours.

Mindfulness and meditation produce changes inside our brains. The new science of brain imag­ing shows how critical networks in the brain become activated. The parts of the brain associated with positive emotions like happiness and compassion become more active as we meditate regularly. So it’s not just a question of feeling peaceful whilst practic­ing as the benefits carry on beyond. It seems we can literally rebuild the brain’s gray matter and increase our wellbeing and the quality of our lives.

To read the article in full, click on the link below

All of us want to flourish – to live a life that makes us feel happy and fulfilled and be the best we can be.