There is a really awful woman that lives behind my house. Lets revise that ... there is a woman that lives behind my house who speaks to her whole family in a really awful way.
One of the intriguing aspects of living in a terraced house is being in such close quarters with neighbours. For instance, I was sitting out in our courtyard this evening trying, funnily enough, to read an article in the guardian on mindfulness and one pointed attention, when all that grabbed my attention was 'awful woman's' ranting voice debating something with her other half. If I'm truly honest I have to mention at this point that there is something also tantalising about listening to the awful woman's rantings, it's the same guilty pleasure of the occasional episode of eastenders - getting caught up in somebody else's drama and reminding myself that my life is actually pretty good.

One thing that astounds me in all this, is that I only learnt to make my life good via falling into working in the mental health field by default. It suddenly dawned on me that I have a choice in the language I use, the behaviour I carry out and the actions I take. I'm not saying I get this right all the time, but sometimes it is astounding how little insight people have into how they are acting. Take the awful neighbour - who very rudely commands her children non stop and then expects them to talk to her with respect. Talk about getting back what you give out!
I've been interested in mindfulness and one pointed attention for quite a while. My Dad once said to me that the secret of happiness is to enjoy all the simple things in life - such as doing the washing up, watching a bird in the garden etc. Part of this is keeping the mind focused in the present and not letting it wander on to a different channel of useless wanting and comparing or getting stuck in the past.

I have also found the philosopher Eknath Easwaran really inspiring at times, although I do find it hard to let go of my inner pangs telling me I NEED chocolate, wine etc etc!!!!!!
For anyone interested in this you can read the article on mindfulness by AJ Jacobs here and visit Eknath Easwaran's website here, I find the thought for the day good (don't be put off by the religious content - he draws from lessons from religion from around the world - but isn't necessarily advocating religion - if that makes sense :-).