Eleanor Roosevelt
Running on Empty: Adrenal Fatigue
As I bounced into Juliette Cole’s office the other day for what I now call my annual MOT, I suddenly realised how far I had come. Just four years ago, I was so tired I could not even get out of bed. I felt, and looked, very much like the little blue man, burnt out. Back then I was beyond irritable—so much so that people were frightened of me at work—I craved sugars; a usually joyful soul most of my life, I was depressed. Retrospectively I am surprised that we were not sued during that period as my memory was no-where to be seen. I did not know then that my collective symptoms were common to something called Adrenal fatigue, a term coined in 1998 by Dr. James L. Wilson. I only happened across a copy of Dr. Wilson’s book Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome in Oxfam a year ago, three years after I navigated my own recovery course. Had I come across the book earlier, I would have ticked yes to all Dr. Wilson’s amusingly illustrated signs and symptoms in chapter five and headed straight to my doctor. In my case, not having a single concrete thing [...]
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
“When the pupil is ready the teacher will come,” is probably my favourite proverb. It took me a very long time to realise that sometimes teachers are friends, or even books. As the Year of the Dragon dawned, my friend with a real dragon tattoo came into mind. I scanned the shelves and found a book she gave me on the eve of my departure to South America in 1999. Jonathan Livingston Seagull had lived in my back pack on those adventures, worn and loved, and yet it is only today that it all really made sense. A small book; a unique lay out; a simple story; and supremely evocative photos, what is there not to love? Reading something when you are lost and reading it again when you have a different filter, however, is quite a powerful experience. It’s like reading a different book. “Don’t forget that the reason you fly is to eat,” said Jonathan’s father early on in the book. Fatherly advice to his son. Yet, how many of us realise that those words of wisdom are given to us by parents who have a particular point of view. As I have found reviewing [...]
April’s Fool Awakens
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself – Charlie Chaplin Today is April Fools day. I wonder what pranks are being played around the world? The Archetype of The Fool has been coming up a lot lately, but when it came up as a central protagonist in a reading with Davina MacKail, I realised it was time to see what it was trying to tell me. It’s a card I rather love; I don’t see it as an idiot/fool but more as a happy-go-lucky see-what-the-world-will-offer me kind of card especially the younger Fool of the Rider-Waite deck. It feels like the side of me that wants to pack her backpack and head off leaving behind all the form and process. It’s no surprise that The Fool is a new beginning card. Last month I entered my 20th year as a financial journalist and in July I will have been in this actual job 11 years. Turning 45 in September is more than just entering Year 7 it is actually the start of my 6th nine-year cycle, what am I waiting for? None of this would be nagging inside me if [...]