As we suffer together in lockdown, it may be hard to see the reason behind it all. What is God's plan in all this? How can I accept this plan if it is a source of suffering for me or for those I love?

A friend informed me last year, to my near-horror, that I was too ‘old school’ when I told her I needed to write things down in a diary, and like to keep a ‘To Do’ Checklist. She keeps up-to-date with the latest tech news, and has tried and tested every Time Management app, planning tool, and productivity management system that one can think of.

There’s nothing quite like a good night’s sleep. You waken well-rested and ready to face the day’s challenge. Yet sometimes the effort of trying to get a good night’s sleep can tire us out; plumping pillows… right room temperature… no screens before bed…warm milk…soothing app…good book (but not too good).

Do you feel as if your relationships are as good as they could be, or are they sometimes a little stuck?

Here we are again, third lockdown, this one more serious than the rest. I don’t know about you, but my anxiety was at its highest over the holidays and into January. What a relief we are now in February!

In my mind, I divide beauty up into two types: visible and invisible. Visible beauty is the obvious one. A physically attractive person, an ornate building, a person’s movement or dance, the colours and shapes of the natural world, an exquisitely decorated room.

In this podcast episode, we talk about how to get that motivation back into our work. We discuss how you can be proactive and get out of the rut. Why stepping outside your comfort zone avoids the slippery slope of mediocrity.

I don’t think I’m alone in being thankful that 2020 is finally over and feeling that there’s an even deeper sense of hope and relief with the beginning of this new year.

Do you sometimes wish you had a different personality? But how do we truly know ourselves? We are joined on our Guest podcast series today by Jennifer Kehoe.

As I write this blog, I am aware of the bin men on the road moving up and down and emptying the huge rubbish accumulated over Christmas. I also see the postman trudging through the snow to offload the letters and parcels for all my neighbours on the street.

Once upon a time...ah, the start to our beloved fairy tales. Stories that teach us how to dream, how to be brave, how to persevere and what to build our houses with (bricks of course). But what about the stories we make up, the stories we create in our minds to make sense of the world? Sometimes created unconsciously, these stories can influence our actions and beliefs for years to come.

As we step into our third lockdown, 2021 New Year’s resolutions can seem somewhat irrelevant. We could have a sense of why bother. Do we need to look at things differently in 2021?

Over Christmas I was attempting to read – not Twitter Feeds or Memes, but Books. We all know the theory. But the practice is a different matter.

I recently received some Christmas cards in the post. It’s such a novelty, because receiving actual post which isn’t a shopping item or bills is unusual. I enjoyed checking the postmark and looking at the handwriting to figure out who had sent it. The anticipation of opening a card from someone I’ve not seen in months forms part of the excitement!

We are now heading into the Christmas season. And for many people, it just isn’t the same!

On an 80s movie binge a few months back, we rented the film Working Girl, a Cinderella tale of class and gender struggles in the cutthroat financial world of Wall Street. I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but I have to say that it surprised me.

Nine years ago Maria Kilcommins was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. In today’s episode Maria tells us about her personal journey and that of her 4 kids and husband.

Yesterday, after much discussion, I agreed to find another guinea pig for our lonely little one. I need to mention that I needed another pet in the house like a hole in the head, but I had promised my children they could have another guinea. So, my search led me to find two more, a total of three. Forget that I’ve taken on three volunteer jobs that absorb my mornings, I had to take on three guinea pigs. My husband thought me mad.

In this episode, we talk about the Catholic Church and how we can see it for what it is. Touching on topics such as the importance of the saints and how the Church is a family.

Sounds incongruous doesn’t it? To link work with heaven. Or does it??