We’ve all experienced heartbreak, and who enjoys it? No-one! When a relationship finishes our feelings don’t just automatically stop. So, what do you do with them then? Options: Stuff them down (your feelings), bottle them up, try and pretend you’re OK by putting on a brave face. Mope around, telling everyone who’ll listen (and many …
Author: Karen Lighthouse
Hello from the Other Side
New Zealand Fern unfurling - a symbol of hope and new life Don’t live your life by default If you were abused It’s not your fault You can live a life Free from pain Breaking the cycle Again and again. Reach out And start to love yourself With therapy Writing And self-help The future …
Don’t Wait
View from Long Point, the Catlins, New Zealand. Tea and cake around the world makes me a happy girl! Don’t wait for a better future Before enjoying your life Wear your best dress today Get out your finest china Notice the breeze kissing your face The blossom offering up her scent Life is in the …
Your Mental and Emotional Warrant-of-Fitness #7 Gratitude
(A Warrant-of-Fitness is the New Zealand equivalent of an M.O.T. in the UK, being a certificate to say your vehicle is road worthy.) The benefits of gratitude have become more widely understood and appreciated in recent times. Research shows that simply expressing gratitude or having an attitude of gratitude actually changes our brain chemistry. It …
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Your Mental and Emotional Warrant-of-Fitness #6 Avoidance
(A Warrant-of-Fitness is the New Zealand equivalent of an M.O.T. in the UK, being a certificate to say your vehicle is road worthy.) Nature hates a void, a vacuum. I am a lover of words, a logophile, and when I found this name for “a lover of words”, I was delighted! I love playing with …
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This Polar Blast!/ Polar Opposites
Manuka trees in the Catlins Coastal Rain Forest, South Island, New Zealand Flax leaves gently bow and turn, Yielding to the weight of raindrops and snow Moving with every nuance of wind. Spindly manuka collectively sway Grounded Yielding to what is Dressed for the weather. Razor-sharp wind Showers of snow and Hail stones, Like tiny …
Nurture the Seed and it will Blossom
Nurture the Seed and it will Blossom. I saw these words on an add on my FB page for planting a native tree. I couldn’t help but relate this to raising a child. What a beautiful metaphor. You may not have been nurtured the way you needed as a child but you can nurture yourself …
Ode to the Queen
It would be almost sacrilegious to not acknowledge the passing of the Queen, who's been a steadfast, enduring presence throughout my entire life, being crowned queen before I was even born. I've never professed to be a Royalist yet her transition from life to death touched me at a level I was unaware existed. It's …
Your Mental and Emotional Warrant-of-Fitness #5 Assertiveness
(A Warrant-of-Fitness is the New Zealand equivalent of an M.O.T. in the UK, being a certificate to say your vehicle is road worthy.) Assertiveness is that sweet spot, where you can speak up about your needs or opinions. You are neither passive nor aggressive, the two opposites on the continuum of communication styles. To be …
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Can I have a dose of self-discipline please?
I made myself laugh out loud today when I was thinking about my writing. The neighbours probably think I’m crazy walking about, talking and laughing away to myself! But the older I get the less I care what others think. For example, I have low tolerance for technology not doing what I want it to …
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