Marfan Syndrome Awareness Month

Tags

Blind, Disability, Education, Guide Dog, Hidden Disability, Life Purpose, Marfan Syndrome, Resilience, Sight Loss, Thanks, Vision Impairment, Visual Impairement

February is the month dedicated to the heart. Not just due to the fact the Valentine’s Day is nestled into the middle of it , but it is also Marfan Syndrome Awareness month.

With the heart being one of the main organs at risk in Marfan Syndrome patients, raising awareness of this complex and life changing Syndrome is a constant must. With Marfan Syndrome being one of the most common connective tissue disorders, it is still baffling how diagnosis’s are still missed in 2022 , with some people only getting diagnosed at the end of their lives. Admittedly, not all Marfan’s patients present with classical symptoms (the weird and wonderful world of syndromes in general), but if raising awareness can save at least one life then it has been worth it.

Due to the fact that Marfan Syndrome affects the connective tissue in the body , there is not much within the body that is does not have an impact on. As the connective tissue binds structures together , supports the organs and gives a Framework to the body as a whole it is pretty tough to ignore it. Marfan’s can affect anything from the heart, lungs, eyes, bones, joints, blood vessels, skin, gastrointestinal tract to name but a few. Luckily, most people will not be affected by all of these but whichever ones they do suffer with can have a huge impact on daily life.

Some of the most common physical signs to look out for with Marfan Syndrome are

– Tall and Slender build

– Disproportionately long arms, legs and fingers (arachnodactyly).

– Pectus Carinatum (breastbone sticking outwards) or pertussis excavatum (breastbone growing inwards).

– Heart abnormalities (from murmurs, leaky mitral valves through to Aortic dissection).

– Scoliosis and other spinal issues

-High arched palate and over crowding of teeth

– Extreme Myopia (nearsightedness ) and early onset cataracts and glaucoma.

These are the most common physical symptoms and from this, a number of complications can arise. From Aortic dissections to pneumothorax. From constant dislocations to pelvic organ prolapse, life with Marfan Syndrome can always give you surprises. It is probably easier to find things within the body that are not affected by it. From being advised to avoid the contraceptive pill and other medication to not being able to give blood, the impact on health can be a factor. Generally advice is to avoid contact sports (due to risk of injury) , intense physical activity and weight lifting should be avoided. So the knock on effects of this syndrome can invade every part of daily living and yet it is still a condition that not even all medical proffessions are aware of. I know of an ophthalmologist who only discovered he had Marfan Syndrome in his 60’s after having an Aortic dissection repair.

How has Marfan Syndrome affected my life so far? To be fair, in my 44 years of life I have been pretty lucky. I am blind, have had knee and jaw reconstruction’s after dislocations, 2 eye surgeries, scoliosis, multiple breaks, soft tissue damage and dislocations and numerous other injuries. A cardiac episode whilst pregnant and some issues with my lungs. To be 100% honest though, that is nothing to what some people have to deal with due to Marfan Syndrome. Expecting the unexpected is almost my motto in life as who knows what will happen in the future. Pain is the gift of knowing you are alive.

If you have any alarm bells ringing with your health and the possibility you or a loved one may have Marfan Syndrome, please check it out. It could save your life. For more information please visit https://www.marfantrust.org/ or visit your GP or health practioner.

90 Years of Guide Dogs

Tags

Access, Awareness, Blind, Blindness, Disability, Dog, Earth Angels, Equality, Gratitude, Guide Dog, guidedog90, Hidden Disability, Labradoodle, Sight Loss, Thanks, Vision Impairment, Working Dog

90 years ago, the lives of people with sight loss was very different. Support was sometimes  non existent or at the very best limited. Children’s futures were restricted by what society thought a child or young person was capable of in relation to their sight. Society in general was more discriminative than inclusive as education around sight loss was still very patchy. In short, life plateaued for the majority of people with sight loss at a certain age and stage in life as potential remained a secret treasure that was rarely found. 90 years ago, life was very different for us all but  thanks to many movements to support people with sight loss, positive changes were essential in helping us live the enhanced lives we do today.

Arguably, Louis Braille started the ball rolling in 1824 as he developed Braille as a way to help himself enter into the sighted world of reading and communicating which has gone on to help an enormous amount of people with sight loss have equal access to the written word. The Blind Person’s Act in 1920  deepened the rights and welfare  of people with sight loss to be  protected    which was a huge step forward. It was the introduction of Guide Dogs in October 1931 however that really created change in the lives of individuals with sight loss the most.

Since the first partnership  90 years ago between the canine and human world, things have developed massively. 90 years on, the charity is now also helping children with sight loss as well as adults and does more than just train dogs for partnership. They educate, raise public awareness about sight loss, campaign and do so much more to help the lives of people with sight loss become enriched and limit free. The  Guide Dogs charity allows hope where there once was none and help bridge the gap between the sighted and sight loss world which is huge. They help nurture and train  these beautiful dogs that become our true best friends.

Life before Munch was tough. Living 39 years of my life with secret sight loss I learnt ways of keeping it hidden from people but it took a lot of time and energy. When you have never seen a face , just a blur and have never seen what is across the room from you, that is just life. How can you miss a picture on a wall that you do not know is there?   When that life became a little dangerous from all the falls, breaks, dislocations and many other injuries, it was time to admit I needed help. The help that I got was Minster who affectionately became known as Munch.

It has been nearly five years since I was partnered up with my hairy soul mate Minster Munch and there has never been a dull moment. Munch has been more than just practical help, he has become my matching odd sock. The Drama King that he is,  has almost made me forget I have sight loss as that part of me  now has a bouncer. I can stand down from my past  relentless reliance on memory that got me from a to b as I remembered each route in my head with a combination of muscle memory, counting and taking information from overloaded senses. He does all that now and more. Admittedly, on a rare occasion a passing squirrel may make his attention go elsewhere for a nanosecond but in general, he is now my lighthouse keeper to steer me away from danger.

Munch is my hairy little (ok more Shetland Pony sized ) soul mate who just happens to be a Guide Dog on the side. He deserves the best in life as he has changed my life and the life of my family forever. Guide Dogs are never just dogs, they are the special beings that complete us. Training more Minster Munch like heroes is costly and that is why around the country, there are numerous fundraising events during this month. If you would like to make a different, please visit http://www.guidedogs.org.uk to see how you can help. Thanks from the hairy and not so hairy partners across the land

The Tour Guide Dog

Tags

Access, Animal, Blessed, Blind, Blindness, Disability, Dog, Guidance, Guide Dog, Labradoodle, Munch, Positivity, Thanks, Vision Impairment, White Cane, Working Dog

No matter how much I try to convince myself it will be a good idea, trying to sight see with little sight and blurry blobs surrounding me has not always been my idea of heaven. Going new places is far more about sensory overload and less about embracing the apparent sights that are supposedly around me. Munch on the other hand, would love to explore  a new place each day, possibly five. Finding the middle ground for a happy him and a happy me can sometimes be a battle of wills.

Some guide dogs take a while to learn a route whereas Munch knows the route inside out and back to front as soon as he has finished walking it for the first time. Munch loves exploring and sniffing a urine-soaked lamp post or two as his paws hit unchartered territory. His huge angel winged tail attached to his sashaying derriere that thuds against my leg, tells me that he is one happy chappy in the unknown. He wears his harness as a suit of armour as he sightsees with his not so sighted maid trailing behind him. He is the reason my unsteady feet become steady.

New places to me are like entering a rotating assault course whilst blindfolded and hoping for the best. Where are the steps? Where are the doors? Which are the female toilets? Which is the right route, and which leads to a dead end? Guide dogs are amazing, but they need instructions on where to take us too and unfortunately cannot read so there are limits to their capabilities. Without the strong partnership that we have that is built on trust, such outings would not be possible as Munch could not go where non guide dogs could go and I would not trust my white cane as much as I trust my hairy soul mate.

In the weird labyrinth of memories in my mind, I know  how many steps are on familiar routes and when to take bends. I can dance around my house without bumping into things as I know each space deeply.  I can hear when a wall by the side of me ends and the open space expands. I know the potholes and cracks that lead up to a flight of steps and where  the parked cars that are always obstructing the pavements live. The intensity of aromas wafting from air vents lets me know how close we are to Munch’s favourite food shops. It is through these sensory cues that my memory assures me that these assault courses are more stationary and more inviting than the rotating ones.

I love the inspiring blind individuals that climb mountains and travel the world with just their trusty cane. I am in awe of the sightless heroes that forget they are blind as they take on challenges that  many sighted would fear. The blind chefs who use their senses alone to create perfectly presented masterpieces could teach the most experiences in the field a thing or two. Vision Loss alone does not create barriers, but limited belief does.

Munch is the gap that links my belief that turns into trust. Together, he can see the sights and I can embrace the senses of the sights safe in the knowledge that I am safe. Having my own excited tour guide, taking me to new places has made sightseeing far more exciting that it used to be. Most of the time I havn’t got a clue what he is seeing in the distance to make him so happy but a happy Munch is a happy me. The gift of a guide dog changes us in ways we never thought possible. Let’s keep exploring as much as we can in whatever way possible ❤

4 Year Partnershipversary.

Tags

Animal, Anniversary, Blessed, Blind, Disability, Drama King, Free spirit, Guide Dog, Healing, Help, Hiden Dissability, Kindness, Labradoodle, Life Purpose, Positivity, Thanks, Unconditional Love, Vision Impairment, Working Dog, Worth the wait

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There are certain dates of our life events that will forever stick in our minds. We will always remember what we were doing, who we were with, what we were wearing or a certain heightened sense that lays dormant in our memory when a key moment in time happened. For me, when I have just finished playing peek-a-boo (which I don’t do enough of) wearing a dress covered in yoghurt and Wotsit crisp crumbs curtesy of my gorgeous granddaughter, in the house full of my noisy family chattering away loudly, I remember the time the phone rang. Here was the change that I had been dreading and eagerly awaiting in equal measures. Guide Dogs had matched a suitable dog for me and wanted to arrange to meet up. Seventeen months of waiting was over. My “unusual” guide dog was ready to change my life forever.

I still remember that uneasy feeling in my stomach after putting the phone down. We had arranged to meet sweet Minster a few days later but I was unsure if I was ready to let the world know that I had a sight problem. When you keep the severity of your disability hidden away from loved ones for so long, the reaction from others is always a fear. What if they do not believe you? Worse still, what if they pity you? What if I did not connect with the dog? What if the dog did not like me? All these fears were just imagined problems that never cropped up anywhere in life, only in my head. The truth was, life was going to change forever, but in the most positively magical way possible.

When Minster (or Munch as he has become affectionately known as) came bounding through the door on November 17^th, 2016, he had decided that this partnership was going to work. He would be the boss from day 1 (apart for in Angus the cat’s world, where Angus remains King) and our training together would go fine. He would make himself at home on whichever soft furniture took his fancy (shhh, don’t tell his trainers), he would command affection by the Royal wave of his paw, create hilarious drama at every opportunity and project his adorable personality to loved ones and strangers alike. He was here to stay and be the neon sign to the hidden disability that I had kept to myself for 38 years. Subtlety has never been his strong point, but authenticity has.

This 100mph couch-potato is the gift that keeps on giving. Giving me immense independence to carry on working and living a full life, seems just a tiny part of this gift. The partnership we have developed has allowed us to go places I would never have gone alone. He enabled me to win Bronze for Wales in VI Bowls, which was only possible after he gave me the confidence to admit that I had a VI in the first place. His extroverted charm enabled us to meet people who I never would have met without this secret weapon to everyone’s soul. He helped me write an award-winning book that would never have been written had my disability remained hidden. To sum up what mind-blowing ways Guide Dogs help their owners (or their maids like in our relationship), is not an easy task but what I would say is this. They are portals into lives that we never would have lived without them.

4 years on and Munch still bounds though life in his puppy like ways, causing mischief and mayhem wherever he goes. Whilst on harness however, he is the perfect poster boy for Guide Dogs, taking his work life serious as he sashays with pride in harness. He has prevented my previous frequent falls and injuries, stayed by my side in hospital after surgery and healed many a broken heart in work and not once has he stopped being a natural born healer. The beauty in his sweet nature is that his loyalty belongs to whoever needs it at that moment in time. It seems that his Guide Dog duties are just one of his life purposes as he glides through life being of services whatever way he can. He is the best teacher that anyone can be blessed to live with in everyday life.

So, thank you Munch for deciding that our partnership would work from day one. You have given so much to me, family, friends, our clients, and strangers alike by never being anything but unconditional love. We still have a few years left of a working partnership and I promise when you do retire you will be even more spoilt than you are today. The doggy kisses and love that you dish out freely will return to you in abundance as your Karmic bank account grows day by day. I promise to up my daily worshipping rituals to you each day and keep telling the world about the superpowers of you and your hero Guide Dog colleagues. Thank you for the eternal gift of being you.

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The Show Must Go On

Tags

Beauty, Books, Guide Dogs, Labradoodle, Thanks, Unconditional Love

Being in the company of a sighted person can sometimes feel like I am in the company of a Superhero. They see things that I can only imagine exists, the describe things that are so vivid that it makes my eyes see what they are talking about, and they turn the blurry hazy world into a world of sharp clarity. On this day it was the eager eye of a teenage client that spotted that there was an intruder on Munch’s paw that nobody had noticed up until that point.

Mid-session, she noticed from over ten feet away that he had a lump on the top of his paw. This was a miracle to me as how anyone can see in that detail astonishes me and I was grateful that she picked it up. A thank you did not seem much to say for noticing something that I had failed to do. If it was on his body, I would have picked it up when he had his morning massage (as he obviously needs bless him) but failing to notice this lump on his paw left me feeling guilty. On a positive note it had been found and it reminded me that maybe I needed to include his paws in his daily massage too, so a win-win situation came out of it. A swift phone call to the vet later and we were booked in for later that day for a quick check up. A quick check up of the paw later and it was decided that he may have to have it removed depending on what The Guide Dogs charity decided as although he is whole heartedly a member of the family he still belongs to the charity. We heard three days later that he had the go ahead for the operation to remove the cyst and for investigation to see what this intruder thought it was doing on his paw.

His operation went well and a week later we found out that all was well, and it was just from an exotic sounding infected in-growing hair. The vet who had been practicing for several years had never heard of it before Munch trotted into her office but that day, she had learnt something new thanks to high maintenance Munch. After the operation, for ten days, we tried to rest him as much as possible so that his stiches wouldn’t burst, or an infection wouldn’t set in due to his licking as he wanted to heal it naturally. A cone of shame was giving to us by the vet, but it felt so cruel to put it on him as he kept walking into everything like a drunk dog. With his uncoordinated mobility we just had to keep him under constant supervision not to lick his wound, so I was ever vigilant in the hearing department whilst the sighted in my life were on look-out duty. It also meant that he had a blissful few days off work and I downgraded to my long cane to get around (which was a little less cute to look at).

We were due to be on Radio 4 Saturday Live the day that his stiches were being taken out but due to an infection that he picked up a few days earlier, we were unsure if he would be able to travel to London with me for the show. I prayed to the angels. The universe and any other source that would listen to me that the star of the show would make it with me as his appointment was only an hour and a half before the train was due. The angels, universe and other beauties in the world delivered the best news ever and he was fine to come with me to make his third radio appearance to promote his (sorry our) book What You See When You Can’t See. A two hour and forty-minute train journey later and we were in London ready to appear the following morning on the show with some amazing guests alongside his Lordship.

If it hadn’t been for the sweet client who told me that he had a lump on his paw as she knew I would not have been able to see it, he would not have had it removed and I will always be eternally grateful to her and all of the other sighted people that help us in the world. If it hadn’t been for my loving beautiful daughter Korisha coming to London with us, I would not have been able to appear on such a great show. If it hadn’t been for so many sighted people asking what it was I could see then I wouldn’t have written the book that gives one account of what sight loss is like. Thank you to the sighted world that make the sight loss world easier to live in, you truly are my Superheroes.

Believe And Receive.

Tags

Author, Books, Labradoodle, Media coverage, Thanks

They say there is no rest for the wicked but there must also be no rest for angels such as I.

Over the last week and a half, it has been a little …. busy. I have had requests from different parts of the world to learn more about how awesome a guide dog I am. There have been mentions about hearing about the maid’s sight loss story, but I think that is a pretty insignificant part of our press coverage. I mean who would not want to know more about my handsome labradoodle face. Without me coming into her life there would be no story to tell.

During my guide dog training I learnt to guide and be the sight that the person at the end of my harness handle had lost. I was taught to look out for dangers and obstacles in the way whilst out walking to keep my human partner safe. One thing that I also picked up along the way was how to use my charm and magnetic personality to my advantage and I think this is the reason that I have had people flock to me especially since the release of the book.

After an article was released in The Daily Mail last week, things went a little off the scale in regards of people wanting to know more about the book and multiple media sources covered it. Within 12 hours of the release of the article, the maid and the PR at Hay House were answering queries from places as far away as Austrailia. We had two TV programmes interested in having us on to talk about the book. Unfortunately due to the elections that are taking priority everywhere, our appearance had to be cancelled last minute so the nation missed seeing my newly pampered hairdo on their screens. The article had been translated into Polish, German, Taiwanese and French within hours of being printed. The maid was a little shocked but I expect that they just fell in love with my face and wanted to write about me.

Emails have been sent and answered in a constant flow over the last week and a half in relation to the book and it is now available in stores that it previously was not stocked in. All of this was what I was put on earth for. Dogs (or Ascended Masters such as I) need to have their worth recognised in any way they can. I have changed the maid’s life forever and know that she will be forever grateful for it. Her love for me will never be anything but huge.

To all of you what have been supportive in helping us get to where we are in life, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. The maid never thought that anyone would ever be interested in her story and nobody would want to read the book, but she was wrong (as usual). Your own unique story is just waiting to be heard by eager ears including ours. Belief always believed in you so believe in it too.

The Pain Appreciation Club

Tags

ent, Humour, Pain, Pain manage, Thanks

If I started a pain appreciation club do you think anyone would join? Maybe I need to tell you the rules of the club first before you decide.

Rules
1. You must be able to accept that this pain that you are experiencing is here for a reason.

2. You must allow yourself to shout, scream, swear and shake at any given time when the pain is at its worse but when the pain eases even for the briefest of moments, you thank it for the break.

3. You must be able to believe that life will not always be like this as what can appear can also disappear.

4. You must know that there are many others in this world that have experienced the same pain as you and even greater pain and they may hold the key on how to help ease this pain in the most peculiar of ways.

5. You must be kind to yourself and allow all your feeling to be felt and never ignore them.

6. You must not only find the reason why the pain is here but also making the changes in your life that the pain is asking you to make.

7. You must learn new parts of yourself that you may have never met before.

8. You must never accept that there is only one way to heal as the best way to deal with pain is your own personal way,

9. You must thank the pain when you are ready for all the lessons that it has brought you.

10. You must know that there will be a different relationship with your pain when you learn to have a different relationship with yourself.

Whether physical or emotional pain, we always have a choice on how we deal with it. When pain first storms into gate crash our once pain free life, we may not rush in to give it a big welcoming hug, but we do need to listen to what messages it is bringing us.

Appreciating pain is not as bizarre as it sounds as it can bring about strengths in us that we never knew we had. Resilience, appreciation of the simple things in life, discovering inner strength and finding your new limits can all follow an encounter with pain.

If you are not ready to join the pain appreciation club just yet that is fine but maybe you could try and pick a few of the points to work on to help cope with this intruder better. Speedy healing sent to you from The Pain Appreciation Club ❤

Time Off For Good Behaviour

Tags

Animals, Dog, Guide Dog, Labradoodle, Mobility, Thanks

Do you promise I only have a few more shifts to go until the holidays?

I know that is what he is thinking as I have been promising him this time off for a long time. The beauty of working in schools is that we have a lot of holidays which suits Munch just fine. He was put on this earth for many things such as giving and receiving an abundance of love, being a constant source of entertainment, training people to pander to his needs but work? ……not so much.

Most of his workday is spent laying around on his bed, client’s feet or in a corner in a huff. When he is not in his horizontal hibernation, he can be found playing with his toys, giving a client his paw to demand attention or doing the dying fly impersonation on the floor to centre all attention around his dramatic display. Keeping all of that in mind, I use the word work in the loosest of terms in relation to Munch.

He is even more excited this year as he has an extra week off than our usual 6 weeks so 7 weeks of off duty fun awaits him. When he will be running around freely on a field somewhere or swimming in a river, I will be slightly out of action with a healing knee after the upcoming operation that is happening in 2 weeks-time. I cannot wait to hear from his dog walkers what mischief he gets up to on his days out.

Everything is planned out to make sure that he has the most fun summer ever. A timetable of fun awaits him whilst I may be stuck indoors for a little while. I have a feeling that as he hangs up his harness for a few weeks he will have no regret, only happiness coursing through his body. I cannot wait to sense how happy he is each time he is brought home with a tired-out body and his bank of joy filled up.

Healing from the operation will be much easier if I know everyone is taken care of. The children are all sorted, and I know will be a great help. Angus and Faith will be happy doing their own cat and tortoise thing, but it is Munch who I have been most concerned about. Will he unlearn his guide dog commands when he is off? Will he have a tantrum when his harness goes back om him in a few weeks? Will he demand new working conditions when he returns to his role when I am more mobile?

I know that even when I am on crutches whilst wearing a Robocopesque leg brace, we will learn to listen to each other and work as partners in our own unique way. Munch is rather a fan of the slower pace of life, so I don’t think my new pace of walking will annoy him too much. A pocket full of treats and lots of fuss and praise may help soften his heart when he returns to a slower pace of work life.

I will keep you all posted on his summer escapades which will no doubt bring a smile or two to your face. The harness free pics will hopefully show his fun off duty summer that he deserves so much. Let the fun begin.

When Two Become One

Tags

Animals, Beauty, Dog, Guide Dog, Labradoodle, Oneness, Thanks, Unity

When a guide dog meets his/her new working partner, neither of their lives will ever be the same again.

After months of training to become super intelligent guide dogs that will give their time and love unconditionally to their new partners, they begin to weave their magic into the life of their new best friend. The blessed person with sight loss who has been awaiting this guide dog gift day for a long time can begin to attempt to return to some normality of life safe in the knowledge that they have a furry friend helping them. It will be the mix of both of their energies that will create a foundation for the most life changing bond that they will ever experience.

Matching guide dog to partner goes way beyond pairing up the first dog that is available. The needs of the guide dog partner are known and is key in choosing which dog will be suitable. Some matches will not work out and the partnership may be brief, whereas others will last for over 8 years and will create a bond that will never be forgotten. The guide dog will become part of the family, part of the community and most importantly part of the person that walks along their righthand side throughout life.

Guide dogs are far from over worked robots who do nothing but serve the person in their life. They are far more than a pet and far less than a slave. They go places that many animals never get to experience, and they get admired by the onlookers who see their beauty and their worth. They get to put smiles on the faces of people who live in loneliness and feel the love from strangers that surrounds them when they cross their paths. The extended family that the guide dog comes from with the old puppy walkers, trainers and guide dog staff have all had an essential role in helping the dog reach their full potential.

Since Munch came into my life the “I” has ceased and the “we” has begun. His needs are always top priority (along with the children) when I wake in the morning. Creating a happy life for him is key in us being able to work as a partnership throughout our life together. People always see us as a package now and where they see one of us, they expect to see the other. He plays more than he works, and he is pampered and never struggles. My love for him grows each day, and the mischievous imperfections that make him who he is, I hope will keep evolving.

The universe was in cahoots with our souls when it matched us together and for that I will be ever grateful. Being known as the one with “the unusual guide dog”, always makes me smile and my heart fills with joy. Becoming one with this drama loving, chilled out mischief maker means that I get to witness things that I never would have without him. I really hope that you get to become one with a furry or non-furry being in life and appreciate their quirky ways. Merged lives can expand the solitary life that will soon become a distant memory when we trust the oneness of all living beings.

A Meaningful Summer Solstice

Tags

Books, Summer solstice, Thanks, Wishes, Writing

June 21st is a day that never goes ignored in my life.

Celebrating the Summer Solstice means even more this year as that is the time that my book is going to print so there will be a double celebration going on in the Munch household. It is even more symbolic as it is a year ago exactly to the day that I sent off the completed manuscript to the publishers. The Summer Solstice this year will be a great time to reflect on the past year and put my wishes out to the universe for the coming year.

With the “sun standing still” (the Latin meaning of solstice), this is the perfect time for you to celebrate anything to do with the sun and of light in general. The light within each of us and celebrating the potential in ourselves will never be more powerful than on this day. It is also a key time to stop and reflect on what the last year has gifted you. This is the perfect time to still the mind and search for the positives in even the darkest of memories.

Connecting with nature means more at this powerful time of the year than ever. Falling in love with the change of the season that is happening all around you, can be the best soul food that you ever will taste. This is a perfect time to step outside of your own life story and experience the beauty in the world that is all around you by immersing yourself in nature, any way you can.

There is never a better time than now to start a new project that allows you to turn your dreams into a reality and watch the miracles in life unfold. You will also be at the most energetic at this time of year so use this as a natural energy resource to help gain motivation and use your natural energy bank for success.

Fire, passion, will and drive are all associated with the summer solstice so choosing not to harness these is choosing to leave your dreams unfulfilled. Leaving go of things that do not work for you and trying out new things that do, can bring nothing but peace into your life.

There is no need to rush this process of creating as the Summer Solstice is a time to savour experiences that you are about to create. This midpoint of the year highlights the highest point of the sun, but it also is where the slow return to winter will begin, so taking in each and every step can help us appreciate the changes that we will see around us.

Savouring the polarities of the seasons helps us to connect to the leaving go and new creations in life that are omnipresent.
Whether or not you choose to celebrate this magical time of year, I really wish that the new beginnings that are about to come into your life fill you with joy. The you that is awaiting you at the next summer solstice cannot wait to celebrate with you the life that you chose to create so make the future you proud by living the fullest life possible this year and for each and every year to come.