“Don’t let your difficult past define who you are today. If you do you will live your whole life as a victim of the past. There is life force within you waiting to shoot out of the ground of the past. Please trust that force of renewal. Bow respectfully to your past and proclaim “From now on, I’ve decided to be a little happier!” Haemin Sunim

These are powerful words coming from Buddhist monk Haemin Sunim. And every bit of the quote is true. I so do believe it is easy to feel victimised by our difficult past and let it define us. But we shouldn’t. As does the weather change , our mood changes however we are in control of our happiness and as Haemin Sunim says we should trust the force of renewal within us to overcome feelings of bitterness or hardship from the past. Not to say it is simple or easy because it is not. But if we make conscious effort to realise we have potential to be happy then I’d like to think we can achieve our goal to be content, satisfied or happy in the present moment.

Realistically, it is natural for everyone to go through the lows as oppose to the highs and sometimes the lows can outweigh the highs. Do you ever find yourself wondering whether you can find happiness everyone is supposedly experiencing? I do. Even when I feel like I’m stuck in a rut do I feel the need to seek comfort in my own bedroom wishing one day someone can sweep me off my feet haha and take me somewhere beautiful. It’s okay to have moments of sadness. But there comes a point when my own difficulties become too much, I am subject to feelings of unworthiness, anxiety, stress and negative emotions. In order to surpass these feelings, I find inner strength to distract myself in doing things that make me happy like reading, painting or writing, or meeting up with a friend. To manage our emotions in our day to day lives is a mental workout in itself. I find balance is important. Eating well, sleeping well, sneaking in some exercise (walking or jogging etc.) and distributing time for others to see your lovely self as well as giving time to yourself is important for recharging our batteries to live a life well spent. So don’t let your difficult yesterday define who you are today. You are who you are today. Let your unique qualities shine and be kind to yourself. Thank you everyone, I hope you have a lovely weekend, God Bless, Big love, Miranda xx

Hello everyone, I hope you are all well and you are taking good care of your health during these unprecedented times. When we look at the whole picture, it is rather a doom and gloom scene created from the outcome of Covid-19. We are seeing a collapse in the financial market, downfalls in the employment sector as businesses are struggling to cling on to life and a huge number of job losses. This I am sure is tough for many, and for me it is also tough to get to grips with a reality one wishes wasn’t real but a nightmare we can all wake ourselves from and get back to normality. However where there may be worry flooding on our TV screens as news broadcasters drill on the consequences of Covid-19, there are blessings within the nooks and crannies of daily living.

For one, I believe we should be grateful we are alive and breathing. There is still freedom to go to parks and walk with a sense of release. Personally, I love walking because it allows me to channel my worries and dissipate them into thin air, just by appreciating my surroundings. There’s something about green, that just makes me feel good and I’m sure makes you feel good too. We can be in the company of our nearest and dearest. We can create time for ourselves in learning a new skill. We can enhance our skills and better yet celebrate them through sharing it with others. We can invest our time into doing small things or greater things for ourselves and for others. To encapsulate hope that things will turn better for the greater good of humanity gives us the drive to accomplish many things in our day instead of dwelling on the negatives. Being prayerful or hopeful allows peace and perhaps a sense of happiness to enter your heart. Sometimes we gotta experience the lows in life in order to appreciate the highs that will follow through no matter how big the obstacles are. Make space for hope that things will be okay, even when you feel hopeless in these times. God bless.