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Whole People

coaching, counselling and training in Worthing (UK) and online with Pat Spink

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loss

Coming out of lockdown – easy or confusing?

Lockdown, though necessary to contain the initial spread of Covid-19, was hard for a lot of people. In most parts of the UK now, (and in some other parts of the world, too), restrictions are starting to ease and we’re now entering a different phase, a slightly revised ‘normal’.

Whilst these changes are extremely welcome for some – particularly those whose income has been adversely affected and who are now able to resume work – for others, this brings a new level of anxiety in terms of deciding which activities feel safe to resume, and which don’t.

In many ways, full lockdown is easier and clearer to navigate in terms of understanding what we each can and can’t do. It removes most of the element of choice and individual decision-making. Now we’re starting to have to consider different possibilities and to interpret advice and rules which are, to many of us, less clear cut. Continue reading “Coming out of lockdown – easy or confusing?”

Hello! Will we ever shake hands again?

When we went into lockdown we all stopped doing this – some of us had stopped even before that.

It’s something we have tended to do here in the UK – in business and socially.

Maybe it’s a generational thing (I’m in my 60s) and perhaps it’s also more prevalent amongst men than women – although, in my experience, lots of women (in a work context, at least) used to shake hands, too.

A handshake seems like a small gesture, but maybe it represents quite a lot? Continue reading “Hello! Will we ever shake hands again?”

Disrupted lives – what next?

Our lives and our world have been well and truly disrupted by coronavirus and all that it entails.

We have each been living our own ‘temporary normal’ in order to survive and cope.

Many are already talking about what our ‘new normal’ will look like afterwards.

All we do know, for sure, is that no-one is unaffected and that we can’t go back – we can only go forward. Continue reading “Disrupted lives – what next?”

We’re NOT all in the same boat…

I heard a great quote yesterday – not sure who said it first but it was along these lines re the current pandemic:

“We’re NOT all in the same boat,

we’re all in the same storm,

but in different boats.

Some are relaxing in luxury yachts,

others are in rickety old rust buckets, letting in water, having to bail it out

and, of course, everything in between …”

The truth of this really struck me in terms of how differently we’re each experiencing this current situation. Continue reading “We’re NOT all in the same boat…”

Conversations About Cancer

I wrote about how we talk about cancer previously in my blog: She died after losing her battle with cancer…

conversation-1262311_1280.pngAnd I see it’s been in the news again recently.

Evidence suggests that the words we use can land very differently with different people.

Some people find words such as ‘fight’, ‘struggle’, ‘warrior’ and ‘battle’ motivating, whilst for others they will have precisely the opposite effect. Continue reading “Conversations About Cancer”

Tibetan Wisdom

 

To kick off the New Year with some reflection.

From an unknown original source, I think this list contains a lot of good sense and some food for thought:

buddha-1716251_1920

Continue reading “Tibetan Wisdom”

Missing You

On the topic of missing people who have died, at just over 3 minutes, I think Hussain Manawer performing ‘The White Rose’, his poem about the loss of his mother is worth a watch:

She died after losing her battle with cancer…

This was the news this month re Dame Tessa Jowell, a former UK Cabinet Minister.

Almost without exception, the media coverage I heard and read talked about her ‘losing her battle with cancer’ or her ‘brain cancer fight’.

These words bother me.

I’ve wondered for quite a while now whether when we talk about cancer in this way we put pressure on everyone who receives a similar diagnosis to ‘fight’.

And, then, when they do die, the implication seems to be that they’ve somehow ‘lost’ or ‘failed’ – and maybe didn’t try hard enough… Continue reading “She died after losing her battle with cancer…”

‘Life Stripped Bare’ – another chance to see it

movers-24403_640I wrote about this UK Channel 4 Series back in 2016 in my blog How Much ‘Stuff’ is Enough? The Naked Truth!.

If you missed it and you’d like to see it, it’s being repeated – starting tomorrow, Monday 28th May, at 11pm.

Enjoy!

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