What is it we love about New Year? I’d argue, it’s about hope. There’s so many different sorts of hope: Hope that leads each of us into new things, or back into an old thing that we once gave up on. In days when we didn’t have that hope, hope for a new day,...
You’ll be No Smaller.
The things that we don’t get a chance to say are always the things that we think about the most. Often it’s a tiny thing: reminding a friend that you’re there for a chat; or just a smile as someone slips out of that party they’re tired of being at, only the two of...
Learning with Heather – 1. Listening, Learning, Lamenting
The chances are that you, like me, have been watching and reeling at the news from around the world – and if you’re anything like me, you’re probably finding it all a bit overwhelming. It can feel like there’s more suffering than ever in the world, and that the problem is too big to...
This Too Shall Pass: thoughts from Tom, Tom and Newt.
Hello. I’m Tom – Heather’s boyfriend: we’ve been locked in my parent’s house together for two months now, having only known each other for nine months when that happened (yes, really!). Heather told me very early on about the I Am Project; I read her book, which she sent me in the post before...
Body Positivit-ish: Part Two
A couple of years ago, I wrote a piece called Body Positivit-ish, discussing the great relationship (or massive lack thereof) that I had with my body. That post blew up a bit: it was helpful to a lot of people, and I had so many great conversations around the way that we see our...
Now is the Time // A Poem for Now
Now is the time for Caution. Caution is wise and and firm and smart and tall; she guards and she plans and she waits. Caution does not throw herself to the winds of change, tossed from here to there with the tide. But Caution can be found, always, in her chair by the fire,...
Harry and Meghan: what can we learn about mental health at work?
Let’s imagine, for a moment, shall we… You’re in one of the most important job roles in the country. You’ve been aware, for the whole of your career, that your every action is being watched, scrutinized, and any inappropriate behavior will have a huge impact on not only you in your role, but the...
Home: an Irrevocable Condition.
“Home wasn’t a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together. Not a place but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life,...
Don’t (Just) Tell Me that it’s Going to Be OK: How to Sit with Those that are Hurting.
I had the privilege, early this week, of sitting with a group of people who are all walking through some really difficult things. There was a real sense of burden in the group that night: they were as lovely as ever, but as we chatted I began to see some of the weight that...
Alternative Small Talk.
“Ask me what I remember most about my Granddad. Which coast I always have one foot planted on. Whose hand I can still feel on my palm if I leave it out of a pocket. If my femininity really protects me from only truly being able to cry when I’m on my own. If...