Earlier this week I met an elderly woman. She came and set at my table and started talking to me. About the six weeks voyage when she sailed to NZ from Europe in the early fifties. How she and her husband were the only ones on the whole ship who would go to the back of the ship and sit there and watch the sun set. “Oh, she’s like me”, I thought and it made me smile, aThe connection was made.

Then she continued talking, how they would hold hands on their daily walk until her husband passed away. They were married for over 60 years! Now she spends her days visiting the local hospital where she volunteers and spoon feeds patients with dementia. Her age, 87! “Another epic adventure”, I thought, “they don’t have to be big, they happen all around me in my own community. It’s called LIFE”.

The children have always been my teachers... and the elderly my inspiration!

This morning I attended the Armistice Day Centenary celebrations at our National War Memorial in Wellington. Words cannot describe the way I feel when I am surrounded by so many of us coming here together as strangers on the outside, but united on the inside. We are all there for the same reason… remembrance, peace and hope.

There is a feeling of unity and reverence as we observe two minutes silence, and a feeling of pride and joy as we sing our national anthem. I wonder why we can feel so united one moment and so disjointed another moment. And I feel a sadness creeping in. WWI was meant to be the war to end all wars. It did not.

Then I remember that it was my son this morning who wanted to come to this commemoration. And I look at him and then around and I see many more young people, Gen Y, Gen Z, paying their respects. They are here this Sunday morning, showing us they won’t forget the sacrifices their forefathers made. And it gives me joy, and hope. Hope in our future generation, and hope for a future without wars, because if we lose our hope we have lost the war! Lest we forget.

A special Heart moment for you ❤️
Ever since I was a child I’ve had dreams. I’ve held on to them, with a tight grasp. I’ve made sure I would spend time with people who lift me up when chasing my dreams, and I never had much time for the dream stealers. My dreams have always been a matter of the heart.

“Gnothi Seauton” are the words at the entrance to the Oracle of Delphi... Know Thyself.
How can I know myself if I don’t take the matters of my heart seriously, if I don’t listen to the voice of my heart?

One of the lessons in life I am still learning is to let go of what I have been gripping tight to that doesn’t serve me anymore. Declutter... not just the seen stuff, but also the unseen.

Everything starts as a thought and it is from this foundation that my creations and inventions evolve. Good thoughts create good days! Busy thoughts create busy days! I have come to realise that when I feel overwhelmed, for what ever reason, it’s because I am gripping to too many thoughts. And rather than dancing I am tripping and stumbling.

After years and years of tripping and stumbling I am practicing filling my pack with less and less because the less I carry around, the easier it is to dance my body, smile my heart and relax my mind!

My youngest daughter taught me an important lesson today. Right now she is on a science school trip in the Amazon and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. We haven’t heard from her for a while, as you can imagine, wifi is not readily available in the Amazonian rainforest.

I was delighted to get a message from her earlier today. Great, she has a signal, I thought, bring on the photos. But the photos aren’t forthcoming. So I asked her why not? And she replied that she didn’t take many photos. She has been too busy diving with sea turtles, hanging out with the aboriginal people in the rainforest, kayaking around the islands and all the other incredible experiences that will take her by the hand for the rest of her life (in the words of Bev Bos).

I noticed a slight feeling of disappointment, no photos means nothing to show, but quickly I realised the big message here… She has more to show than a memory card ever will. She captured life with the heart lens, not the camera lens! My daughter made sure the steps in this adventure belonged to her, and not her ego! And I am a proud mum :-)

A couple of weeks ago I was hiking around a lake when it started raining. It wasn’t a heavy rain so I continued walking. I zipped up my raincoat, pulled my hat over my head, looked down and upped my pace.

Then the rain stopped. I looked up and around and noticed a zillion raindrops hanging of branches, leaves, rocks, anything and anywhere.

Every single raindrop was a different entity, small, big, large, lumpy. Even so they all were made up of water.

I stopped and looked at them with curiosity. The slightest touch, the tiniest breeze, they were so brittle and yet they were so strong hanging on, shining where ever they had fallen, surrendered to what is. Can I surrender and shine where I land?

The other day I was lighting the fire. My mind was absent, my heart even more. I was cold, and tired and I didn’t want to put any effort in prepping a fire. I scrunched up some newspaper, and threw in kindling and some bigger blocks on the top. Mechanically I lighted a match and set the paper on fire. I was so absent I hadn’t even realised I had lighted it until the big flame that erupted jolted me back to earth. I looked at it and then noticed I wasn’t hearing the usual crackling sound. I knew straight away that this fire wasn’t going to go anywhere. No crackling, no fire! This silence meant defeat.

Reluctantly I rebuild the fire, this time with a present mind and a more caring heart. A layer of newspaper, a layer of kindling, another layer of paper and then a finishing layer of two big logs. I lighted the paper and was rewarded with a steady warm fire... and the sound of crackling.

During the week I’ve found myself a few times listening for a ‘crackle’, a sign it’s all good...

Two years ago I started the journey of declutter. It’s a long intense journey that continues to this day. For decades I have been filling boxes with anything and everything. Box after box got stored, in the attic, on the shelf in the closet, under my bed, in the garage. Many of them full with sentimental items, or so I believe.

Until I read Courtney Carver’s book “Soulful Simplicity”.

Now, after all those years of ‘stuffing’ I have come to realise that what I was trying to keep wasn’t the item, but the love it encompasses. My sister made me this, my mother send me that, my first report card, my first doll.

For years I have been trying to stuff love in a box! And not just that, I was putting so much stuff in boxes, everything was so important to keep, that actually nothing really was!

As Courtney writes in her book, love doesn’t thrive in boxes up in attics or under my bed. Love lives in my heart where it doesn’t turn into clutter!

It’s weekend, and what do we do? We play ‘catch up’ with our to-do list, rather than our to-be list. We run errands, move a pile of laundry, get the groceries for the week, mow the lawns... and by the time Sunday evening arrives we are exhausted instead of refreshed. We have forgotten the weekend is for resting, reconnecting and refueling. We have forgotten to work on our heart, and instead continue to work on our head.

Let go of the chores and catch up on your heart.

Two years ago I stepped away from owning and running my two preschools. I had no immediate plans other than a holiday which had already been planned and organised before the thought of stepping out even came up in my mind.

Not having any plans is unusual for me. I am a planner, organiser, adjuster and executer. In short, I am a “shipper”, I ship things, ideas, moments, experiences...

It came as no surprise that I had one fear when I left my preschool and my life as I knew it. And that was my fear of boredom.

Now, two years later, I still haven’t had one minute of boredom. In fact, there is not enough time in the day to do all the things I WANT to do.

When I left my preschools and started thinking about my fear for boredom I realised I had an innate strength we are all born with. And it was about time I tapped in to it! It’s called curiosity!

Last weekend I went camping in the bush. I have to admit I was a bit nervous in the lead up. The weather had taken a turn, daylight was much shorter, and I had not previously met the other campers. I was going bush with a group of strangers. Then I remembered our mantra at work... preparation in the head, the heart and the hand. Why not apply this in my personal life?

I started with the head. It was going to be 7 degrees overnight and some rain was expected. That’s crucial information when you are heading into the bush. 
Next I moved to the hand. Cold and rain meant digging up my merinos, packing my rain gear and bringing my down sleeping bag. Those are important items to prepare and pack. 
Now I was ready to move to the preparation of the heart. There was an immense cacophony in my head going on; will I be able to do all the tasks, will I meet the expectations, will I like the people I am spending the next two days with, how do I prevent getting lost? Mark Nepo says it beautifully... "It is the speaking of one's heart that makes a human being human". I acknowledged the self talk, without judgment, and took a moment of silence. Soon my heart was feeling lighter and more open.

I was ready for a new adventure. Preparation had made all the difference! What can you prepare for in the head, heart and hand today? 

A few days ago I felt extremely sad. It made me uncomfortable and I wanted to cover it up. 
Do you feel sad sometimes? Your friend is suffering, or you lost a loved one? You feel compassionate and empathy and you cover up your feelings, wanting not to show this too much to the person in distress, thinking you need to protect that person from showing your own vulnerability. After all, you are supposed to be the helper, not the helplessness?
If you stop for a moment and ask WHY you are feeling what you are feeling, you may discover that the one and only answer to that question is LOVE, for the other person... and what is wrong with that?

Over the last few days I have witnessed the most beautiful Sun rises from my little place here at the beach. 
Jesus calls it love, the Buddha calls it compassion, and here in Aotearoa we call it ‘mana’... the force in us that touches all of us. Unconsciously we ‘charge’ others that come in our ‘light’. It’s an ‘energy’ that has more power than anything forged or fabricated. This is the power we all have, the power to be real and authentic. Like the Sun, let your mana shine, unconditional. Happy Easter!

A little chaffinch had ‘lost it’s way’ and landed on our deck. My goldie Koda walked up to it and I thought he was 'going for it'. Instead, to my astonishment, he bowed down as if to say “don’t be scared, let’s be friends and play”. It was such a special moment to witness. And deep in my heart I wondered why we humans can’t do the same more often.

It’s not about being the biggest, the strongest, the smartest... it’s about being courageous, trustworthy, compassionate and true. It’s about being present with others whilst staying true to yourself. Brave are those who conquer their fear from heart to heart, bypassing their own individual needs for the needs of the collective. What fear can you conquer today, heart to heart?

We only moved in our new house a few months ago. When we bought this section we saved the trees from the developers and now the apple tree is loaded with yummy juicy apples, as if to say “thank you”. But it is us who want to say ‘thank you’, to our community for welcoming us.
We’ve put up a simple sign at our letterbox saying “help yourself” with a few buckets full of apples, sharing our abundance with our new neighbourhood. 
The other evening the door bell rang and one of the neighbours dropped of home made treats to say thank you, as a ‘barter’ for the apples she took. The treats were yummy but the feeling of community was more delicious! 
Today, what can you do to to say ‘thank you’ to your community? A bag of grapefruit, or a forgotten box of books in the garage, or the toy no one plays with? A simple thank you can taste great.

The more we know ourselves, the more we will understand others. 
How well do you know yourselves? Do you know what you want? What you need? 
Today, examine what your desire is. Believe hundred percent, with all the passion you have, in something that doesn’t exist, you don’t have.
Commit to getting to know yourself. Pursue what you want. Do that one thing today.

It’s March, how can that happen so fast? It feels like only yesterday I was contemplating new years resolutions. 
If you are like me, chances are those resolutions didn’t last that long, hence I prefer to call them intentions. 
Intentions have power and create awareness. They usually take your “why” and “what” into account. And this is where the power lays. Even when you don’t follow through for the year, which often happens with resolutions, having thought about your intentions is worth the effort. If you build on that, it’s not failure.
Today, on this beautiful Autumn Sunday use the power of your why and what. Let it help you, rather than fail you.

Earlier in the week a big ‘sigh’ escaped me. My husband turned to me and said “What?”. “Nothing”, I said, followed with “Your ‘what’ is such a BIG question”. He looked up again and said “What?“. And I couldn’t help but burst into laughing.

My initial big ‘sigh’ was a respond to my frustration trying to find the answer to some questions that don’t really have an answer. I was pondering on some issues that had come onto my path. The last couple of weeks have been intense and lately one ‘bad’ thing seemed to follow another ‘bad’ thing. I was pondering on all those ‘bad’ things and wondering what ‘good’ I could take away from them, when, before I even realised it, a big ‘sigh’ escaped. That ’sigh’ turned out to be just the answer I needed at that time as the resulting laughter changed the whole energy of the moment.

Laughter is such a crucial part in our lives. When it is spontaneous, heartfelt, and catching it is an Instant medicine that doesn’t need a prescription and comes with free refills. Try some laughter today!

I always thought I don't have any power to make a change in the world. Until I came across some profound words... What is the greatest gift we have received as humans? It’s our will.

We are in charge of our own thinking. We can choose what we think and we can change what we think. That is our biggest freedom. And this is where our power lays.

Changing our thoughts will change our actions. This is what will change the world! The power to use our freedom to change our mind is on us!

One of my favourite songs is Secrets by One Republic. One of my favourite quotes is Secrets by Ludwig von Beethoven. Put them together and you have The Piano Guys. Have you ever watched them play? If you haven’t you are in for a treat. Whenever I need an uplift I watch The Piano Guys, especially their cello guy. Watching him takes me right down to that place where passion lives. It’s feeling passion in action and it’s absolutely catching.

Once you taste passion you can’t get enough, it’s one of those flavours that is addictive and you wish for more and more.

When people ask me where I get my energy from, I only have one answer: Passion + Inspiration = Energy + Motivation. Bring me more passion anytime!

“The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you
Don't go back to sleep!” - Rumi

The other day I was in the passenger seat driving down SH1. It was an early Monday morning, the start of a new week. It was just after dawn, the sun was making its way up across the horizon. I was looking out of the window at the view passing by.

I passed a house that had looked inhabited for ages. This day there was a couple sitting on a seat outside, in their gowns with what looked like a cup of coffee. My mirror neurons were immediately activated, and a feeling of peace and calmness came over me. All because of a couple drinking coffee watching the sunrise.

It made me think how often do I go back to sleep? How often do I see such a peaceful sight, and if I see it, do I really notice it, does it grab my attention? That day I didn’t go back to sleep, and the moment shifted something inside me, presenting me with a much calmer start to the week ahead.

We hear a lot these days about ‘being in the moment’, and if you have been wondering what that means, it means just that…. noticing a couple drinking coffee in peace and harmony.

“For it is in giving that we receive” - St Francis

On Friday I donated some of my time to the local hospice for their annual street appeal. I was to stand with a bucket outside one of the local supermarkets. Upon leaving the house I said to my husband “I haven’t done this before, I am not sure what to do, I assume I just stand there and smile?”

Little did I know there was no need to worry and no need to ‘plaster’ a smile on my face. People were very willing to gift. For some it was a few coins, for others a couple of notes. It didn’t matter. What mattered was the genuine compassion and generosity I witnessed amongst these strangers. I could see it in the eyes, in the smile and in the gesture of these people, who connected through kindness. I couldn’t help myself but smile with every gift. This was what a real smile feels like. The power of kindness was showing its true force!

“I am now seventy-one years old. I feel, still, deep in my mind, my first experience, my mother's care. I can still feel it. That immediately gives me inner peace, inner calmness.” - Dalai Lama 2007.

To all you beautiful mothers and to all of those mothers who have loved and cared for us, who are with us today, or in our hearts forever - HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

In his TEDX talk “The Happy Secret to Better Work” Shawn Achor mentions that “If you can raise somebody's level of positivity in the present, then their brain experiences what we now call a happiness advantage, which is your brain at positive performs significantly better than at negative, neutral or stressed. Your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, your energy levels rise.”

If we can train our brain to become more positive, to create a happiness advantage, we become more happy. And happiness predicts success, contrary to the much accepted believe that success creates happiness. How can we train our brain to think more positive and build up a happiness advantage? Spend time with your loved ones, exercise, meditate/pray/silence moments, random acts of kindness and nourish your own "happy place".

The last ten days I spent traveling through the upper part of the South Island, exploring bush trails, caves, beaches and mountain tops, and enjoying being in, on and with nature. I hiked several hut trails and, to my oh so pleasant surprise, I met several families tramping with children. And, to my even greater surprise, most of them were women alone with children. I talked to some of them, curious what brought them out there and what a pleasure to hear them talk about unplugging their children during the school holidays and taking them bush... “dad can’t get time of work so I take them by myself”. This has given me hope, seeing there are still kiwi kids growing up spending their holidays in the bush or at the beach, in a bach or hut without electronics... playing in the biggest playground on earth... the great outdoors!

I wanted to share that today, because it put a smile on my face, and I hope it does on you too!

Here at the Heart School we believe that sharing what we know and love is worthwhile. We feel in our hearts that there are people out there crying out for words of inspiration, but to have confirmation is a very special thing. From time to time we receive feedback from people like you, teachers who share their kindness and thank us for the work we put out. This is always a special gift to us, these words, this acknowledgement, and it drives us to continue on the path we are on. 
What is in our hearts is also in the hearts of others. We can use our flames of knowledge to light the candle of others. Whose candle are you lighting today?

Presence, a word that gets thrown around a lot these days. Ample books have been written about it. In a nutshell, presence goes beyond the story attached to a feeling. The story is in the past. Presence is sitting with what you can actually feel directly, in this moment. 
What if you let go of the story and not be influenced by your reactions to that story? Instead, you relax, let go of any resistance, desire or preference that comes up and go with the flow of life. 
What will you be doing if you put the present in the driver seat today?

A whole new year. What is on the menu? Is love going to be one of the ingredients? “Love between you and the other”, whoever that other is, your partner, your child, your parent, your sibling, your colleague”, is about creating moments of engagement and connection. For some of us that may feel risky, and be a struggle. But if love is on our menu then we can’t remain in the bud. Blossom... engage and connect, and the menu will be all the richer.

In our suburbs we have a man who walks the streets. Every day. No, he is not homeless. In fact he lives in my street.

Evan picks up the rubbish, and makes a big difference to our community. Not because he picks up the rubbish. Sure, that keeps our environment clean.

The biggest impact Evan makes is that he is a role model. A role model and a change maker.
He is the change we want to see!

Evan is not employed by the council. He is employed by his heart!

At his age, Evan could be sitting at home watching sports, or playing bowls. There is nothing wrong with that, and maybe that is what he does too.
But Evan has employed himself by his heart. He has chosen to take action about something he does not like, like littering the streets.

In our sector I hear a lot of disgruntlement. The sector is dumbing down, there is not enough funding, quality is sacrificed…
We complain, and at the same time we keep going about our usual daily business as we have done all along.

I hear so many voices these days complaining and using ‘the others’ (MOE, managers, owners, corporates) as the excuse for their environments. They complain from the comfy of the seat of their chair…

We can be like Evan. We can change our mindset and do something about our environment. If it isn’t in the seen, it can be in the unseen.

Yes, you may have a manager who doesn’t 'get it', or a team who is ‘passed it’. But we all have a child in front of us. A child who does not know nor care about compliance, budgets and targets. A child who wants YOU and your love, your care, your kindness, NOW. You are in control of WHO you are in front of that child, regardless what ‘the others’ do.

If you want change, then be the change. Act now, in your own little ‘backyard’.
Be like Evan. At the start of the New Year allow yourself to be employed by your heart!

It’s not the fancy food that feeds us, it’s not the expensive presents that make us happy... Christmas is about togetherness and sharing love and kindness with family and friends. The food may feed the body, but it’s the meal that feeds the soul.

Last year I visited a gorgeous bed and breakfast that had small “hobbit” doors in the attic. As I explored the space each little “hobbit” door opened into the most amazing grand room, grand in the sense of beauty, feel and touch... I had been deceived by the look of the small doors... Opportunities and possibilities are often in the smallest nooks and grannies, it’s often the little BIG things that create the BIG little moments... Have courage, and open those little doors...

“Are you an artist?” I was asked yesterday as I was admiring some beautiful bird sketches. “No”, I said, quickly followed with a “Yes, I am, we all are, all of us are creators, it’s in our genes.”

Think about it, what is your greatest wealth? The ability to create! What is your greatest work of art? Your life!

YOU are the single biggest influencer in your life. Every day is a new opportunity for growth, make today count.

Rituals help with celebrating positive moments in our daily lives. They are a way of staying connected with the other members in our family. They mark special moments, big and small and recognise key times of belonging. Today have     a think about what rituals you have in your family. From patting the dog when you get home to Sunday brunch at the local cafe, a daily after dinner walk or a hot cuppa with your partner to reconnect after a busy work day. Rituals are celebrated moments of connection.

Deep listening is not listening to words, but listening to what is behind the words. Parents tend to ‘deep listen’ to their infant, they recognise their needs without the infant having to use words. We tend to stop deep listening once a baby starts talking. We stop deep listening because we start listening to the child’s words. And we continue this right into adulthood. The clutter of the words can colour our perception. Today, when you are engaging with another person, see if you can ‘deep listen’ to what they are really saying. 

Patience is “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset”.  Today participate in something that encourages you to be patient. Turn of the computer or tv, engage your hands, and your heart. Create, act, wait... for the birds to visit the bird feeder, the sun to set, the moon to rise, the dough to rise, your child to wake up. Focus on time to be, have faith, and patience will come as a natural response.  

Today, find your sacred sense, the one we don't register with the brain. The one we can only notice with the heart... it’s where you find love. 

There are many ‘how to’s’ available to us today, we only need to google what we want to learn and we are inundated with YouTube video’s, blogposts, podcasts, images, webinars and so on. The information and practical ‘how to’s’ we have access to these days is overwhelming. But accessing a ‘how to’ or ‘step by step guide’ does not change our heart, the driver of change and does not make us do things differently. To really make a change we have to change our ‘eyes’.

I find myself often saying “I know, I know”. And yes, I do ‘know’, in my head! But knowledge is different from wisdom. What if today, instead of ‘knowing’ we focus on ‘feeling’? What if we stop the thinking for a moment, the operating from the head? And start the feeling, the operating from the heart? Will we find wisdom?

Do you have days you wake up and feel instantly happy? Do you ever wake up and wonder if you will feel as happy today as you did yesterday? Why were you feeling so happy yesterday, but not today? What is different today from yesterday? Could it be your thoughts?

We are living in a world of instant gratification, instant buying, instant dating, instant fun and instant work. The external world of ‘instant’ is leaving little room for the ‘internal’ world of ‘life’. We are taking our work home, we keep our social media status up to date, we watch the latest reality tv shows. How much time and freedom do we have sit with our own thoughts, dreams and passions? Today, take time out to take time in, dream or do something you are passionate about. Loose yourself! 

Sometimes you meet a person and they just ‘drain’ you, they ‘zap’ your energy. Other times you meet a person and they ‘gain’ you, they add energy and together you are more than the sum of the two of you together. It’s called synergy. Today look for synergy. Find someone to hang out with who ‘gains’ you, not who ‘drains’ you. Find the one who equals 3, not 1…

Want to connect this beautiful Sunday. Laughter, song and dance create connection. Don’t worry about what other people think. Be yourself, let go of being in control and looking cool, let the heart speak!

We are living in an age of disconnection from human beings and connection to ‘virtual beings’. More and more people are living alone or in loneliness, regardless the fact we build more concentrated housing blocks. Many of us don’t know their neighbour, don’t talk to the girl behind the counter at the cornershop or never say a word to the bus driver. We are ‘cell-fishly’ attached to our cell phones, vastly losing the social skills necessary to maintain a basic relationship. 

New science points to the importance of relationships and how theseaffect our health and well-being. Human’s can’t thrive without the human bond... a safe, trusting and caring relationship. Emotional isolation has been found to be more dangerous to our health than smoking! 

We have a need for belonging and support. So today, as Sue Johnson suggests in her book ‘Love Sense’ reach out, take someone you know, or maybe someone you don’t know, for a latte today. It’s good for your health! 

This one is for all the dad’s today. One of the hardest parts of parenting is having confidence in our own instincts and abilities. With parenting being a ‘learn on the job’ role, there are many times we come into uncharted territories and feel out of our depth. Today, celebrate the thousands of little moments you have had and that are still to come being a dad. From soothing your newborn to catching your child in your arms as they are learning to ride their bike. Celebrate the letters behind your name that really matter. Happy Father’s day to all our dads! 

We humans are social beings. We like to be in the company of others. We thrive on friendships.  Today, think of one of your friends and when was the last time you added value to them. Go and spend some time with them. Are you their fan or are you their friend?   

How many dreams do you have that you don’t follow because of your deep fear of failing or disappointing others? So what? Authentic people make mistakes and they learn, they disappoint and they are real, they are imperfect and vulnerable, they struggle and they are strong. Let go of who you think you are supposed to be and embrace who you are. You are enough! Now chase that dream!

Your own backyard or nearby park of forest is home to many flowers and animals. Marvel and share these treasures and moments of awe and wonder with your partner or children. Nature creates many opportunities to share connection time that has special meaning for anyone involved. Today is the perfect day to connect. 

3-in-1! My real, my reflection and my shadow. I, me, and myself, all going for a walk... 

Invest in yourself! Rather than robbing your family of time, you are filling your own vessel in order to be able to give even more to them.  Investing in yourselves is an investment in your family. Make today a joyful day. Invest in yourself and enjoy to be in joy! 

Are you trying to move forward but feel threatened by competition? Do you see others as a hindrance to your goals? Do you have a habit to compete others? Have you considered they can be an alley instead? As Ken Blanchard says” None of us is as smart as all of us.” Together we can achieve so much more. If you feel you are not moving ahead the way you would like to, do some soul searching. You know how to optimise your strength, but do you know how to go about your weakness? Team up with someone who can complete you or share with someone who you can complete. Together you can move from good to greatness. Complete rather than compete!

Not many people like receiving criticism. Especially destructive criticism. We prefer to hear how wonderful we are and how good a job we are doing. But criticism is also a building stone to greater goods if you learn to use it as an opportunity to growth. If you want to be better today then yesterday, you will have to come out of your comfort zone, be an initiator, and be prepared to receive criticism. In the words of Aristotle: “Criticism is something you can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.”Leave the nest and fly!

Start small and believe big. Invest in yourself, day after day and see what happens. The one thing you CAN do to grow your life is to start with the one thing you are GOOD at and doubling it’s value, day after day. Move on from survival, go past maintenance and invest in progress. Find your thing of excellence and practice it daily.

All mammals play! It is a crucial part of their development towards survival. Play is not just preserved for the young. We need play in all stages of our life. Adults tend to meet that need through playing sports. But sports is a very different kind of play. Most sports people play to win. What if for once, we do what children do and we play to play. We play for the sake of the pure pleasure of using our creativity and imagination, rather than for the outcome of a victory or defeat. Go out and play, to play!

Thoughts create chemicals that create emotions. Emotions create actions, actions create results. Good or bad. What we do with them is what determines how we move forward. “You are today where your thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” - James Allen. Changing your thinking will change your feelings, which will change your actions, which will change your life!

Feeling rushed? Deflated? When we are always on the go, our mind going in turbo, we tend to miss opportunities. We act more reactive, less responsive, and less intentional. Slowing down creates more space in your life to be more creative. Say No today to multi-tasking, say Yes today to presence and creativity will follow!

Enjoy this day a little bit more. Be happy. It’s here, right now, in this moment. The sun said ‘hello’. You got to open two gifts today, your eyes! Today is a good day. Take your happiness for a walk and let it shine.

What goes around, comes around. What ever you do, everything has a result. You are the creator of your life. The choices you make, the thoughts you think, you are responsible for your actions, for your thoughts, for your speech. Act kindly, think kindly, and speak kindly. Smile to a person in the street, think “she is doing her best under the circumstances” when you are lined up at the supermarket counter, say “thank you” to the driver when you leave the bus. Take kindness on a date today.

Today give yourself the gift of silence. In this overstimulated world taking a moment for a ‘time out’ can make all the difference for having a ‘good’ day or a ‘bad’ day. Find a quiet spot, a moment to create stillness. Only in silence can we hear the whisper of our inner voice. What is it saying today? 

Families are busy. School, work, sports, music... it’s easy to get distracted by all the things happening and forget about connecting with your loved ones closest to you. Take time to connect today. Gather around the table for lunch or your evening meal. Ask each other questions, listen to each other’s stories. The family dinner is endangered! This is where family values are created and modeled. Handmade! You can’t buy family values, happiness, joy, love. These treasures are all made at home.

Draw your energy from the beauty that surrounds you. As Liane said ’surrounded in beauty the soul grows’. Today, be surrounded in beauty. Pick some flowers for the kitchen bench. Take a walk in the bush, beach or park. Observe the birds in your back yard or park. Listen to music that makes your heart sing. Watch the stars twinkle at night. Notice the colours on the autumn leaves. Feed yourself some beauty today.

Stillness, appreciating the quiet moments to imagine, to question and to dream, to be alone with your own thoughts often connects us with our inner selves, something we often forget about. Today sit in silence and make new discoveries.

Allow situations in your life to become your teacher. Rather than resisting with the risk of keeping them alive, surrender and nurture. Have confidence in your own basic goodness, respect yourself. You have the power to meet every challenge as an opportunity to open your heart and soften. Make friends with your feelings.

Happy Easter! Today is a good day to be in awe! In awe of the colours of the autumn leaves on the trees, the twinkles of the stars in the sky, the brightness of the moon, the pristine of the water, the majesty of the mountains. Looking for inspiration? Be in awe of all the miracles around you.

On this Sunday, don’t sleep in. Instead, wake up! Open your heart just a little bit further. Do something different. Take an interest and be curious. Have a sense of humour, pay attention. Notice and appreciate. Dance, sing, play.

Communicate to your heart today. What does it need? A laugh with friends, a good book, some time away, silence, music, love? Give your heart the gift of you. The more you are kind to yourselves, the more you will become kind to others. “Make friends with yourself and you’ll make friends with the world” - Pema Chödrön.

Feeling disheartened, desolate, deflated, discouraged, disillusioned? We all have 'di and de' feelings from time to time. After all, we are human. Acknowledge them, don’t hide from them. Taking care of your feelings is taking care of yourself. Give yourself a ‘re’ day. Re-fresh, re-energise, re-fuel, re-store, re-coup and you may feel re-alive again! 
“Go back and take care of yourself. Your body needs you, your feelings need you, your perceptions need you. Your suffering needs you to acknowledge it. Go home and be there for all these things." Thich Nhat Hanh

This Sunday we invite you to engage your senses. Listen, see, smell, taste, touch! Come to your senses, go outdoors. Take a walk on the beach, a stroll through the park or a hike in the bush. Even a walk through town will take you outside. 
Stop and smell, stop and look, stop and listen, stop and taste, and stop and touch. Sensorial experiences are of vital importance, not only for children, they are important for adults too.

Rest is sacred. It is there we can listen to the quiet voice inside of us. The soft whispering words that speak the voice of our heart. Lay the loud voice of your head to rest today and invite the quiet voice of your heard to sing!

The pursuit of happiness! Much has been said and written about finding happiness in life. As buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh said; “There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way.” Be content with what you have, rejoice where you are, be grateful with who you are. Your happiness is here and now!

Nature is part of who and what we are. Nature is our own being and we should treat it with uttermost respect, just like we treat ourselves. Nature is not just a retreat to go to for a rest or for recreation. Nature is not a place to visit now and then. Nature is not a far away land. Nature is here, right where we are!

The soul feeds on beauty!

Shall I do this or that? Shall I go here or there? Shall I say yes or no? Decision making. We do it all the time, consciously and unconsciously. Often we engage the head to make the decision. What if today you consciously engage the heart?

Slow down this Sunday. Have a heart moment, a sacred moment. One of those moments when you observe something that opens your heart and fills you with reverence. You will find these moments when you observe, rest and enjoy your ‘here’.

Opportunities are determined by how you look at what happens around you. Take a fresh look. If you don’t like what you see, change your perspective. Life is full of opportunities, you may just have to change the way you view them.

Every day can start with new intentions. Today, on this beautiful Sunday, celebrate the present moment, celebrate you!

Are you that person who writes a goals list every year on the first day of the new year? 

You want to lose weight, run a 10k, read more books, finish that study. You look back and set resolutions to do better in the future. You think about your future self, and get lost in your dreams of desire. And by the time day 15 comes along, yes that is today, you feel overwhelmed, disappointed and a whole range of emotions about your lack of progress or ‘stickability’. 

Toss away the resolutions, bring in the intentions. Intentions are just that, intentions. No judgement, no expectation. No past, no future, just the present day!

A very merry Christmas to all of you and your loved one, the ones who are with you and the ones who are in your heart. 

While it is a busy time in the year, may you find space to take time to reflect and rethink. Decide what is worth carrying into the new year and drop the rest. Take some time out, find yourself a peaceful quiet spot, go within and find yourself. We are doing just that and unplugging for a few weeks. We wish you all a Happy New Year and will see you in 2017.

Remember the joy and kindness in people in the days in the lead up to Christmas? You will not find love and happiness and peace under the tree if you have not got it in your heart. It’s nearly the night before Christmas. This Sunday sprinkle some fairy dust on yourself, go and make magic and meet your best friend, YOU!

As adults we tend to have lost awareness of what is happening in our own backyard or local park. We tend to close our heart, shut our minds and keep our hands on our gadgets. Today, unplug from your gadgets and plug in to Nature. Go and explore, see the patterns, feel the textures, smell the fragrances, hear the crickets, taste the berries. It will recharge YOU for the busy days ahead!

How much energy do you spend on things you don’t like. Avoidance, resistance, anger, disappointment, rejection, the list goes on. We are good at pushing away that which we don’t like. The biggest lessons are often in the biggest mistakes. Embrace the ‘bad’ stuff, and learn a lot.

So true but not always easy to maintain...Life changes constantly and things change just when we least expect it. Happiness is NOW and it is not hinged or connected to those things that..might be...could be...!

Give yourself full credit for who you are TODAY, in the moment. Forget about the past, don’t think ahead to the future. Relax in what you already have or already are.

This is my first bike, the one I learned to ride on, and subsequently my children learned to ride on. My dad was always making up potions. He was the person to go to when we had stains or marks on our clothes or other things. So when I announced that I wanted to take my little bike with me to New Zealand he jumped into action, mixed some chemicals together and spend many evenings in the garage, cleaning and polishing my bike to make it worthy to travel to the other side of the world. On this father’s day, a shout out to my dad and to my little bike that traveled more than 18,000 km, carrying love and memories!

Treat yourself to the theatre of Nature. It is on the wide screen and has a new programme on every day.

Life is full of possibilities, opportunities, it is up to you to choose which ones you use and which ones you don't. Look at them like windows, every window gives a different view. Every opportunity gives a different outcome. You choose which window you look out through, but sometimes you have to look through a foggy window to see how clear the other window actually is.

Most of you will have had an interesting week waking up to the Earth covered in a layer of frost or in some areas of the country, a blanket of snow. Even the beach on the Kapiti Coast had a layer of frost, which is very unusual. During one of these days I went on my daily wandering at sunrise, as I really wanted to experience the frost on the sand and the light of the rising sun over the sand dunes. To my surprise I did find something else as well... An obvious invitation to stop thinking ahead of all the things on my to do list and take a moment to REALLY enjoy the scene that Nature was putting on that morning.

Today is a great day to spend time together and nurture the relationship you have with your child. You can go for a beach walk and make hot chocolates with marshmallows when you get back. You can sit in front of the fire place to share stories about your childhood. Or you can cuddle up in a sleeping bag and read, role modeling to your child it is okay to chill out with a book. There are many new amazing ‘board’ games out there that are not ‘boring’. Time is the one thing in life we can only give once. It’s the best gift you can give your child. Giving the gift of time is the only time your child will remember.

Every child needs someone who, no matter what, champions for them, defends them, loves them, hugs them, talks to them, is there for them. Every teacher needs that too. 

Be patient, trust nature’s plan and let go. Just like the leaf on the autumn tree lets go when it is time, let go of your expectations and attachments and be a champion for the child and for yourself!

As they say, ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’. You can’t argue about beauty, there is no right and there is no wrong. If you want to put more beauty into anything and everything you do start looking for spunk, spirit, character, kinkiness, personality, surprise, heart, lively, playfulness, desire, pain, in the most unexpected. It will not only show you beauty, it will give you a kick!

Everything once started as a thought and it is from this foundation creations and inventions evolve. Our emotions are the barometer of our thoughts. Be aware of the emotion then you can catch the thought. When you catch the thought, you have the choice to change the thought, and change your day. Good thoughts create good days!

We are all marvels, human beings destined to love, to care and to create in an ever changing world. We worry about fitting in, but we aren’t happy with the status quo. Change is eminent and we are all born creators. So start creating, today. Get out of the box, pick up the pen and start writing your own story. We need you!

The beauty of teaching from a heart place is admitting that we as teachers too are on a learning journey. As with every journey, there are side roads, intersections, detours, scenic roads, fast lanes and more. Any one of these may or may not lead to the same destination. Don’t like the scenery, there is always a turn off. What road are you taking? 

I am writing this Sunday Heart moment from the Red Woods on the West Coast in the US. I love road trips and I love wilderness, and it’s this combination that makes me come alive. It’s these alive moments that leave rich deposits into my heart bank. It’s what makes me a better person, a happier person. What better investment can I make than investing in myself? What are you doing today to invest in yourself?

Patience, a virtue that is much harder to come by. Our fast paced society has people wearing busyness as a badge of honour. Instead, focus more on time to be, to dream, to work things out and center the source of your patience on your believes, without expectations of gratification. Have faith and patience will come as a natural response. And with patience comes beauty and kindness.

We want children to have a strong sense of who they are so it is critical they are around adults who have a good strong sense of who they are too! Work more on who you are and less on what you do. Start today!

Teaching is a heartfelt calling. Have a rest. Get out of your head and reside in your heart. It’s the perfect way to spend your holiday weekend.

Spend time with your family and friends. The relationship is ALL that matters!

After all that rain, wind, hail, thunder, cold and even a mini tornado, it's time for Sunday's Heart moment. Even if you are cozied up in front of the fire, take some time today to open the door!

I have been blessed to be taught by the best teachers in the world, the children. It is with gratitude I thank them for letting me dance with them, for as the Tao says: “The life of a child is in harmony. Everything is perceived in its most simple, natural way. Delight is the companion of discovery, and the sounds and sights of existence are the dance of life itself.”

From the known I am stepping into a big unknown. And here too the child teaches me another most valuable lesson, for as the Tao says: “Let your heart be the trusting heart of a child. Let your heart resound with the joy of meeting the world for the first time. Let in unknowing, and enjoy the freedom it brings.”

"Woman do not have to sacrifice personhood if they are mothers. They do not have to sacrifice motherhood in order to be persons. Liberation was meant to expand women's opportunities, not to limit them. The self-esteem that has been found in new pursuits can also be found in mothering." - Elaine Heffner

Thank you to all the Mothers! Happy Mother's day!