Friday 17 April 2015

Law & Peas.



'If you're good, you can have a treat at the weekend'

'If you eat all your dinner, you can have dessert'

'If you hit that target, you'll get a work bonus!'


How often have you heard these phrases? How often have we heard sentences such as these during our lives?

As children, we are often coaxed into good behaviours by the luring promise of treats or special treatment. If we ate all our peas, we could have something sweet for afters. If we behaved well, we would be allowed those vital extra few minutes to play our computer games. Enduring broccoli meant later savouring the sweet, creamy sensation of ice cream as it gloriously filled our mouths and slipped deliciously away. The offending green vegetables were quickly forgotten.

As a 9 year old, I was allowed to stay up and watch 'Gladiators' followed by 'Blind Date' with my parents - both programmes were past my bedtime at the time! I don't remember a week when I wasn't allowed to watch Wolf battle his latest competitor on my favourite programme, but the threat of missing it was quite enough to put me off from straying too far from the law!

The lure of a treat or a special experience is undoubtedly a powerful one. We all desire to be treated well, and to have the things in our lives that we want and enjoy. Indeed, to spoil someone is a wonderful thing. When was the last time you treated yourself? When was the last time you took time out just for you? When did you last turn down something you felt obliged to attend, so as to take time to nourish yourself in whatever way would be best for you and your wellbeing?

A few weeks ago an unexpected free afternoon in London presented itself after a morning work meeting. And so, on a whim, I took myself off to The Imperial War Museum. I last visited it as an eleven year old, with my Dad. Now almost 27, the only difference between myself and my younger counterpart was the type of packed lunch and notebook I was carrying! I spent a telephone free four hours wandering the museum's great halls and learning about a period of life that I didn't have vast previous knowledge of. I had a sketchy overview of the two Wars that shook our world to it's core. But I was missing the detail with which to build a more accurate understanding. 

I was moved to learn of the sufferers of The Holocaust, and to read of the war crimes inflicted upon so many innocents. It had a profound effect. Yet I couldn't help but be inspired to learn of the true potential for goodness that the human heart holds. A recurring theme within everything I read was of immense hope. Hope that goodness would prevail. Hope that loved ones would and could be saved. Hope grown from love, and indeed love grown from hope. 

The museum is full of letters from soldiers to their beloveds left at home. It's glass cases proudly hold diary entries of some of the bravest people I have ever heard of. There are video interviews of people who faced horrendous atrocities, yet still went on to live lives of love, giving, and goodness. There are stories of roomfuls of Jewish prisoners breaking out into song and dance in spite of their situations. There were men and women who risked their lives to stand up for their beliefs despite knowing what it could implicate. I arrived that afternoon with a head full of fret about money, career options, and small scale daily problems. I left it's doors with far greater perspective.

My experience at The Imperial War Museum (which I highly recommend - it's free, too!) turned out to be an influential one on the life I have lived in the past few weeks. My day there taught me the value of doing something for no other reason than the utter joy of going about doing it. It was a form of personal investment that I hadn't yet considered.

After my 'day at the museum' I have naturally and almost unconsciously begun to read more after weeks of excuses as to why I wasn't finishing the books I started long ago. I am walking the long way to work, so as to be able to walk through the park. I am eating healthier and more than ever, paying attention to the fuel I give to my body. A smoothie maker has a been a fun new addition to my morning routine! A cheap and colourful way to eat breakfast, I would highly recommend it. If you have any recipes then feel free to give me a shout - I'm addicted! 

I am paying attention to the cells, eyelashes and freckles of my life body, figuratively speaking. I am tending to the plants of my life. The result? I haven't felt this content in a long time, in all honesty. I have felt extremely happy, of course! Contentment is a new found friend that has come to settle here - a welcome friend indeed. 


None of us were issued with a 'how to' guide on what to do in this life, or how to go about doing it. We are all eternally learning to walk. As my favourite lyrics of George Ezra so beautifully explain; 'You don't have to be in the Army, to fight in the war."Wise man Ezra cleverly here reiterates the fact that we are all fighting our battles, and we are never alone in this. You never truly alone, despite how it may sometimes feel in busy rooms and congested news feeds. 

Readers, I set you a challenge! This week I would really like you to give yourself some special attention. A treat, for want of a better word. It could be an elegant new pair of socks (fancy feet!) or booking on to that course you've always wanted to do. It could be spending some time with yourself, peacefully. Or perhaps discovering the noisy joys of a smoothie machine, to make your own colourful breakfast concoctions! Whatever it is, enjoy it to the full. Truly be the change you wish to see in the world, as another very wise man once said. 

Be the gift giver to your own life. There's only one of you, and you know yourself better than I or anyone else will ever know you. You already knew what your gift of choice is, perhaps by the second line of this paragraph. Enjoy - and feel free the share your treats and discoveries with us all!

With all of my liberté,

Helen Victoria.