It's been a question I've asked at a few conferences this year where I've been lucky enough to have been asked to speak. Also at a graduation day, at a couple of webinars and lectures.

It's from my talk which is called The Joy of Homeopathy - which clearly jumps right off the book title. However it's really more a talk about joy, than about the book and includes a few things we might do when that joy seems a little less tangible. I may call it The Joy of Life and keep it going for audiences other than homeopaths. I've a good friend or two who thinks it should be shared wider.

So back to the question - and maybe I give you a minute to ponder. Is your glass half full or half empty? Or as I ask the homeopathy students, how full is your homeopathy mug? ;)

It's really a rhetorical question. I don't think our glass needs to be percieved as half full or half empty. Or at least not for us to identify with that all the time. Afterall, if we have the same amount of something in a glass for too long it's going to be pretty disgusting - I know, I did plenty of half full tea mug 'experiments' in my room as a teenager, and I see simlar from my teenager these days.

I recognise my glass is refillable, and as dynamic, changing, emptying, filling at different times, perhaps with different activities or even times of the day. Some days it may be half empty, others 3/4 full, others overflowing, and other times there may be nothing left in it. The idea of a static assessment of ourselves doesn't work for me anymore. Driving many miles perhaps empties my glass a bit (even though I love driving), hanging out with inspiring people at the end of my long drive - fills it up again.

What I've also come to recognise is it's important we learn what tops it up and what doesn't. I use the analogy of going to a bar and asking for a drink. It's not likely to get us very far. We need to know what we want to put in the glass.

I'm having conversations in clinic with just about every age group who are often telling me their worry about the state of the world. Totally valid concerns I believe. And yet at the same tme often there's not so much we can do about them. Often we can end up paralysed by the inability to effect enough change, to solve world crises or end other challenging scenarios. And there are plenty of challenging scenarios.

One thing that has struck me for many years, being a lover of neuropsychology, is that our brains aren't equipped for the amount of information we are exposed to every day. Most of us have a pretty strong relationship going with a smartphone these days, which, whilst I am firmly in that camp, I'm aware that it may not be the smartest relationship to nurture. Information at the tip of our fingers, from the other side of the world... is perhaps not what we're always ready to encounter, especially not on first waking! Our system can go into fight or flight, and our adrenals get ready to respond to this instant emergency - thousands of miles away.

Of course I'm not saying don't be aware, but be aware that we may not need to be aware of everything. All the time.

In 2016, at the height of the Syrian refugee crisis, I remember sitting in my kitchen sobbing at the state of the world. At how we as humans can do things they do to each other. At how I felt to be drowning in plastic. At how useless I felt to do anything about it. And a small, 9 year old voice over the next few days piped up...

Out of the mouths of babes. There's me feeling bleak, disheartened and despairing and my wise 9 year old suggesting that we take some action. So we did. We clearly solved it all. Not. The loss of our organic fruit and veg shop in town has driven me back to the supermarket but back then, filled with hope, we took action. And over 19,000 peope signed our petition. At one point Change.org phoned me to see what my plan was - I hadn't got as far as a plan, one step at a time... and by the time I spoke to them we had a family health situation going on so there was less energy for taking on the supermarkets - single parenting, working and helping family meant the focus had had to go elsewhere.

Other petitions, Greenpeace for example, have over 2.5 million signatures on their petition to halve supermarket plastic packaging - and this one on 38 degrees has 86,000+. Change is taking place and whilst I'm pretty sure ours didn't have an enormous impact, I'm very proud my 9 year old's little voice in the darkness reached so many folk. This morning I found this article:

Supermarkets face ban on fruit and veg plastic packaging

Maybe we contributed a drop in the ocean. Or maybe not. I guess it's that thing about planting seeds. We don't need to check on them all the time to see if they're growing. Plant the seeds where we can and let them take if they're going to. We don't always need to know the outcome.

When we can't see the wood for the trees, taking action feels important. One little step. It doesn't take much to set up a petition, but it can have an impact. Back in 2016, I didn't feel that I could head out to refugee camps in Calais (refer to single parenting above and being begged by my daughter not to leave) but I could make up packs of remedies and post them to those who were going. Taking action, however small, can have a huge ripple effect, or none - either is totally fine. Sitting with despair was a part of the process, it felt so important to feel and acknowledge it; whilst longer term, taking action felt a more dynamic way for me.

Can you flip it?

I really like the flip it concept, and the first time I did it without realising was when my parents had had a sh1tty note from a neighbour about parking in their space. I do ask in my talks about who else has parking wars where they live... it seems many of us do :) My rationale was that a note was one thing, a rude note uncessary.. however obviously not for him at that time I guess.

Flipping it involves some kind of alchemy I believe. We take the not so fun experience and decide we're actively going to do something kind - for ourselves or for others. That time I decided to invite neighbours round for tea and cake which was lovely. Another incident inspired me to buy flowers and put them in a bucket near a walkway with a note that 'it seemed like a day for a random act of kindness... please to help yourself if you'd like some'. That was a particularly favourite one - one negative experience turned into several bright bunches of flowers. No magicians hat in sight.

We may be in a dark time in our human history - we may be struggling with many enormous challenges globally... reading through history shows me there have been plenty of dark times before.  And my study of homeopathy encourages me that there is never dark without light. Polarities, or opposites, are everywhere and one can't exist without the other.

Our Kindness Book Club started out reading Rutger Bregman's Humankind. A fantastic read to remind us of the good of humanity - something the 'news' frequently forgets to mention. I've mentioned it before in the blog, well worth a second mention here.

We have an awareness that opposites exist together - and yet sometimes forget this I think. The yin and yang, the dark and the light, day and night. Many novels have the same battles - The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, even the Narnia series - the battle of evil over good. Perhaps we always need both sides. Perhaps our cup can be both half full and half empty. It's not necessarily one or the other. How are we filling it up feels more important to me. Taking action can be a part of that.

Remembering to rest is another relevant action - many of us are exhausted, burn out, overwhelmed - and still slogging onwards. I believe resting is an act of rebellion in our fast paced world. Stepping out of that stream for a while feels key to our mental and physical health.

Finding the support we need feels relevant to mention - whether that's a homeopath, other therapeutic approach, a night out with friends, a walk somewhere beautiful or inspiring. Just as important as figuring what could go in our glass, what can support us right now. Many of us are supporting others and I think it's time to remember to be self-ish... especially women, seem to keep doing for others - it's time to remember us too.

Making a joy list is worth doing - perhaps a blog for another day, but it's fairly obvious... however remembering the joys that we can weave through everyday life feels really important to note. We haven't all got time or the budget to head away on holiday, the ability to go to that uplifting motivational speaker, the transport to get to the sea, but there are usually simple things we can weave into our day. Joy weaving feels an important area to me at the moment. Where can we say thank you for simple things, where we can create rituals of gratitude - all can help wire our brain to see the light around us instead of just the dark.

I love to hear what's on other's joy lists - we have time for sharing in the talks I give... feel free to share here if you like, and if you haven't got a list of things you can weave into your day, perhaps you might like to create one.

Here's a few of mine for starters...

• Dancing in the kitchen is high on my list, alone or with my boyfriend or daughter.
  
• Walking barefoot outside.
• Looking at the stars.
• Sitting with a book - preferably outside but curled up with candles inside is great too.
• A good Netflix binge worthy series.
• My feet touching the rug I've known since I was a baby when I get out of bed, and last thing at night and saying 'thank you' each time.
• Laughter - hearing others laugh or laughing myself.
• Remembering to cleanse and moisturise my face - it takes a few moments and is so lovely to remember to do - twice a day if I can.
  

With love - and joy,

Em xx

It's not always easy. And perhaps one of our biggest and most important challenges of our time, of anytime.

Back in 2021, a group of four folk, some friends, some unknown to others, set up a small group to come together with an aim to help increase the amount of love energy in the world. Aware of the division going on, which, they felt, was perhaps driven by certain agendas, they wanted to step outside of this, accept all comers and just focus on love.

I'm one of the four and it's been an amazing experience to be a part of. We're still a small group, but we meet every Tuesday at 9am and 8pm and have done every week since our inception (even the session where I, responsible for the tech side of things, managed to forget, others hopped onto WhatsApp and still made it happen).

It strikes me that seeing division or separation may perhaps be a part of human nature - the other perhaps at times is regarded with suspicion. If that other is a sabre toothed tiger about to attack, perhaps rightly so. A shark, maybe, though I'm also fascinated about the disservice the film Jaws did to sharks, and intrigued by those hopping into the water to highlight the majesty of these ancient creatures.

I'm curious too because I love my work, and yet I see finger pointing going on around that. Dr Samuel Hahnemann, the (IMHO) genius who founded homeopathy as a system of medicine, was no stranger to dismissing the 'other' - the practitioners of orthodox medicine certainly didn't get glowing praise in his writings. These days homeopaths have been used to being dismissed at times from the 'other side' too.

On a personal level, my challenges with a neighbour continue, and she is currently appearing to be enjoying whacking our plants (which do slightly go above and outside our garden border but so too do others' in the street) as she walks past (though only if we're in the garden - if we're inside the plants remain unscathed) and loudly muttering things. It's been good training. How do you deal with active hostility on a daily basis? I don't have huge reams of advice, but for me the main ways I've come to terms with it is accepting it's not my business (thanks Byron Katie), and I love the Mel Robbins 'Let Them' theory for her. If it's making her day feel OK to have this response to me, I need to step out of my indignation about it. The plants will bounce back. As did I.

Some things are clearly not OK to allow and I've been loving the counter movement here in the UK. Flipping it is something else I love, which I've done several times with the aforementioned neighbour. When there's been acts done which I've percieved as being intentionally to irritate or annoy me, at times I've turned it on its head and gone forwards with a random act of kindness for someone else or even several folk. If we look at something like this - I wonder if we can outnumber the 'bad' to the lovely, loving acts carried out in the world. Sharing words of love, remembering so many people have it tough or are struggling and being kind where we can feels to be a gentle way to rebel in a world that is fast - and seems to be constantly telling us we have to choose a side.

If everyone does even just one act of something lovely for someone else each day - or - which I took a long time to learn - for themselves - I truly believe we can create a world of love. It took so long for me to recognise that whilst others may have said hateful things to me, I've said worse to myself plenty of times. It took me years to recognise Mother Theresa's 'peace starts at home' didn't have to mean in the home-home - but perhaps in the only home our body, our mind ever has, in ourselves. Stepping into love with ourselves feels so important right now. With ourselves, with one another wherever we can, and with this beautiful planet we live with.

I think fear creates division and a need to choose sides. Love creates unity.

I'm choosing love. Kindness. Compassion. Wherever I can. Which if I work at it, really is everywhere.

With love,

Em x

PS if you fancy coming along to hang out on a Tuesday 9am and 8pm UK time, you're very welcome. There's more info here.

PPS Well worth a read is Rutger Bregmen's HumanKind - full of fabulous examples of where perhaps the reported take on the situation wasn't quite the same as the kind reality.

I don’t think this is a book for homeopaths. You guys know it all. Maybe for students – for those starting out with this really rather marvellous medicine. Maybe for those stepping into it, in the early years. It could be that it’s worth investigating as a book to recommend to clients who may be interested in hearing more about the potential of homeopathy.

I've kind of thought of it as a book for those who say 'Oh I love homeopathy. What essential oils* do you use for that?'

* replace essential oils with herbs/massage/whatever suits. We've all been asked those questions, by those who are totally curious but know very little. It's a great question. So that's who I've often thought about it for. And as I say, perhaps students too as they start out.
 
However, Andrene Mills Principal of NWCH recently disagreed with me when I said it’s not for homeopaths in her graduation speech which followed my ‘The Joy of Homeopathy’ talk. She thinks it’s for all of us, an uplifting read if it’s been a tough day, a reminder of how epic this thing we do is.
 
Others suggest it may be useful too. Sue Asquith, Retired Homeopath says: ‘I wish I had had this book available to me when I was in practice.’
 
Dr David Lilley past-dean of the South African Faculty of Homeopathy said:
‘Em has crafted a homeopathic gem, which happily fills the gap between professional works and self-help books for the public. The book also gifts the practitioner an engaging and instructive text to be recommended to clients desiring to know more about the unique, individualising methodology of homeopathic prescribing.’
 
My lovely friend Josie who has used homeopathy for years said she would ‘thoroughly recommend this book both to those familiar with homeopathy and its uses, and to those who merely have a curiosity to learn.’
 
Outside of homeopathy, Naturopath, Nicola Corcoran said:
‘I will be recommending this book to my own clients to deepen their learning about this incredible holistic healing modality.’
 
On a similar note, Jen Armstrong, Professional Musician and Singer Songwriter, said: ‘Using real-life case studies, it is a beautiful and powerful aid for anyone interested in learning about homeopathy and the benefits it can have on our health and well-being.’
 
It does come with a warning though. Geoff Johnson VetMB MA MRCVS RSHom VetFFHOM PCH warns:
‘Read this book at your peril. You won't only want to use homeopathy, but become a homeopath.’

As these things do, it's taken a little longer than initially anticipated... but I feel sure it's going to be worth the wait.

When I was nearing completion of writing, I thought that if one person is helped by it, then it was worth the effort.

Last week I heard that had already happened, so I guess I need a new goal! 10, 100? It's strange following your heart in a project - and feeling so guided in the creation of it, it almost feels like I've done my bit - though of course I need to share the finished product and get on with the odd bit of talking about it I guess. All a new (and exciting) learning ground for me!

I've been delighted by the reception it's had from beta readers and reviewers and very grateful to those who've promised to buy a copy. I could do with a few Amazon reviews as it'll be on there too - so if you're an Amazon shopper and wouldn't mind I'd HUGELY appreciate that too.

Pre-launch sales (hardback only) open here on my website on 4th August, and I'll be posting those copies out as soon as I have them... then the book launches in ebook and hardback format on the 3rd of September.

Have a read to see the reviews - they're all here: The Joy of Homeopathy - reviews and more :)

Tho there's a few here too:

A perfect book to read for those that are interested in homeopathy in practice. The title reflects the author’s passion for homeopathy, which comes from years of experience and witnessing the healing in both humans and animals. A ‘Joy’ to read!
Gill Graham, MFHom (Int), Vice President, Faculty of Homeopathy
 
Em has crafted a captivating book on homeopathy, presenting the elegant science through her eyes and clinical experience. She intricately blends concepts, history, statistics, critical analysis, meta-analysis and, most importantly, the diverse experiences of patients and homeopaths from around the globe. Delving into this book will inspire the inquisitive mind to leap forward in the world of homeopathy.
Dr. Bhawisha Joshi M.D. (Hom) & Dr. Shachindra Joshi M.D. (Hom)
 
The Joy of Homeopathy is packed with stories from a dynamic homeopath’s life--stories to enlighten the reader about the breadth and depth of homeopathy and about the potential for healing that’s possible with this lovely modality. This little guidebook is full of inspiration. Oh and joy! 
Miranda Castro, FSHom, Homeopath, Author, Educator
 
Reading Emma Colley’s The Joy of Homeopathy was a great pleasure--indeed, a great joy. From her many years of experience in homeopathic practice, Em has crafted a homeopathic gem, which happily fills the gap between professional works and self-help books for the public. It provides ideal reading for anyone interested in understanding the principles upon which homeopathy is based and, through charmingly-presented anecdotes, affords rich insight into what a wonderful friend this gentle, yet powerful, healing modality can be in family life. The book also gifts the practitioner an engaging and instructive text to be recommended to clients desiring to know more about the unique, individualising methodology of homeopathic prescribing.
Dr David Lilley, past-dean of the South African Faculty of Homeopathy
 
In this book Em shows the process of healing with homoeopathy beautifully through stories that are relatable and authentic. A must for anyone who wants to understand what a curative journey may look like, or to delve deeper into a homoeopathic healing journey.
Camilla Sherr, FSHom. PCH

More reviews:

If you belong to an organisation or group that reviews books and would be interested in doing so please get in touch with me on [email protected]

More news soon,

With joy,

Em x

Inspired by an image a wise friend shared this morning, I recalled the feeling I had as I was giving birth. A powerful sense of connection to all women before, during and after my time. A fierce, compassionate, warrior energy. A deep knowing, awareness that it could not be other than thus. I have no idea where it came from, and plenty of times I have forgotten it, and yet this morning that sense awoke within me again.

Thanks to Paddy! And that feeling rising within me also reminded me we're not just solo tapestries, we are woven together, intimately connected to each other. Connected in ways many of us don't think about on a daily basis. Whenever I see coffee I think of certain people, at times I recall our trip to Tanzania in 2004, of the people who supported that trip both in Tanzania and from the UK, the animals we were lucky enough to see, the food we ate, who harvested the food, made the drinks, transported everything, those who flew us there and back, the others on the planes. The homeopath who packed the kit I took with me - the homeopath who designed the kits before they sold the idea to Helios... so many connections before I've even really started to properly think about it for long.

We are a beautiful, interconnected, messy mess of beings, exquisite in our differences, dependent on each other for aspects we rarely ever consider. Thank you for being a part of my beautiful, interconnected, messy mess - I am grateful!

As the wisest bear out there said:

I'd add, and more connected than you'll ever know.

We've a pear tree that was a dwarfing stock 'ideal' for a container, which grew in there for a few years and then developed a fungus on its leaves. I reached out to a plant homeopathy chap and got advice - which I tried to follow but was super complicated tbh! - I don't think most plant based homeopathy is that hard to follow, maybe our tree was special, or I was rubbish at following the instructions. Anyway, not much changed (but I think that may have been on my part) and my partner after reading Finding the Mother Tree and Entangled Life, decided to plant it near some other trees. Two years in and the tree has never looked so well. Which has made me ponder if putting a tree in its own little house (or tub/pot etc) and then creating connection for it, what does it really do for so many of us? We may be more connected than ever via our technology, but we're also the most medicated we've ever been. Most mentally and emotionally struggling. Loneliness is a major issue, and been shown to contribute to depression massively.

Beatifully, interconnected, messy - and I believe it nourishes us so much.

With love, connection and gratitude,

Em x

One of my favourite mugs (and t-shirts) talks about the mouth of a sailor and it's got me pondering... of course the idiom 'mouth of a sailor' is well known but my musings go beyond that. The adventures, joy and exquisite things sailors get to see is a total inspiration - and whilst you wouldn't in a million years ever get me doing some of the sailing my partner can and does do, I am very grateful to have experienced a week on the sea back in August 2019 with some incredible experiences.


Below: A view from a night at anchor in Two Rocks Bay, Greece. Watching the moon rise/swimming under the moon/swimming at sun rise are all some of my very favourite things too!

Another of my current loves is John Denver. Actually it's not all that current really; past, present and very likely future me will have that love. In particular I have a love for his music - and word-smithery and his love for the world around him.

During the period of writing the book (which is now in the editing stage - yay - and how long does editing go on for?!?), I'd return on school runs with Calypso playing loudly in the car.

In particular these lines really resonated with me...

 
There's so much in the song that I love and I learnt how the song was written to celebrate Jacques Cousteau's boat Calypso. Earlier this year I finally picked up Jacques Cousteau's The Human, the Orchid and the Octopus book and prompty fell firmly in love with Jacques too and his curiosity, his love of the world and those around him.

I thought I'd celebrate the mouth (and mind) of a sailor share some quotes from him - firmly anchored as one of my very favourite sailors.

His curiosity about the word, his enquiring, exploring mind takes a lot to rival - and his book was a delight of exploring with him - both the world and the huge range of what being human entails. His playful spirit in particular appealed and I'm grateful for the insights he shared. From the mouths of sailors. It's well worth an explore if you've not read it. His passion and love for others, strength and gentleness are all inspiring.

With love,

Em x

Searching for sailing quotes I also came across this site, which I explored and had a lovely time pondering. Sharing in case it's of interest :)

It's been funny exploring instagram again, with having a wee account for the book (here if you like), and I find myself having opinions on lots - sometimes it's remedy advice - 'if you feel these three symptoms take this remedy for several weeks' (I have to admit to occasional cringing and shouting 'but we need to individualise - those symptoms could fit any number of homeopathic medicines'). I had a browse of the search term 'homeopathy humour' this morning... and found the usual sidesplitting memes... one similar to this, which made me ponder a while.

Of course I've several thoughts, as ever. One is that frequently surgery is amazing, lifesaving and I'm grateful for so much about it. What an incredible privilege it is to have it available. That's forefront of my thoughts on the topic.

Another is that the 'nothing' philosophy is based on a fairly reductionist view of medicine and science and that many remarkable scientists, for example Luc Montagnier for one, who got the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his discovery of HIV sat in front of me (and many others, at a conference, not a private audience) and said 'high dilutions of something are not nothing'. Others, such as Dr Jayesh Bellare who features in Ananda More's Magic Pills film, described how unfortunately mentioning homeopathy seemed to act as an innoculation against getting published in scientific journals in future. The film website describes: "Along with his students, he discovered nanoparticles of source material in high potency homeopathic remedies, which were previously believed to be impossible.

Nanoparticles, interestingly, seem to be gaining interest in the conventional scientific world as curiousity grows around the topic.

The third, and to me, perhaps most intriguing thought is that sometimes the 'nothing' seems to avoid the need for surgery afterall. Looking at tributes to vet Chris Day recently, I discovered another story similar to ours about our horse's eye. This one they were faced with blindness in the eye due to uveitis (same condition as for us), and had two years of conventional treatment that hadn't helped. Another eye saved. Also have a read of the link, so lovely as a testimony to Chris, and also to the potential of homeopathy and other CAM modalities.

Many years ago I talked with someone who told me he'd been told he needed surgery, then after a homeopathic medicine came back and showed me the full extension of his arm, that he couldn't do previously. My partner also avoided minor surgery with a cyst that homeopathy helped after antibiotics had done nothing for.

Another story in the book tells how Kay had two surgical interventions to try and help chronic sinutitis but still had copious amounts of snot. She'd have about 2 and a half hour of relief every day (from 12 - 2.30pm) then symptoms would ramp up again. The start of the story is on the blog here. The end of the story is that last thing I heard, Kay described herself as 99% better. Earlier in the story, her medical team had said there was nothing else they could do about her sinusitis symptoms, they were latterly focussing on her ears. She had some impairment of hearing, her ears would pop and she would get intense pain if flying. Several months in to working with homeopathy, she was discharged from the ENT team as her ears were great. No pain flying, no excessive wax, hearing improved.

So maybe, just maybe, there's a time and a place for a 'pass the nothing' afterall :) It'd be lovely to explore that further - if you've a story how homeopathy came to the rescue and avoided surgery or other intervention I'd love to hear.

It's not, for me, about one or the other, but these accounts - and many more, illustrate to me that there's a place for CAM and conventional approaches to sit together in our world.

Have a lovely joyful day!

Ooh speaking of joy, I've just read a newsletter from my editor/publisher about an amazing opportunity in the Hebridian Islands. Here if you want to know more.

With best wishes, Em

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/luc-montagnier-homeopathy-taken-seriously_b_814619

https://magicpillsmovie.com/

Re-reminded of this quote after watching Brené Brown's Netfix show, I shared the following with students this weekend. I find it a good reminder to keep getting out there, doing, sometimes not doing quite how I wanted to, and getting on with it again.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

I also shared a more modern take, Brené's quote below. I can't do a Texas, or even American accent, so they had to go with it in my own Northern style, but if you can do a Texan one (or listen to Brené deliver it somewhere), I'm sure that adds to it really...

“If you are not in the arena getting your ass kicked on occasion, I am not interested in or open to your feedback. There are a million cheap seats in the world today filled with people who will never be brave with their own lives, but will spend every ounce of energy they have hurling advice and judgement at those of us trying to dare greatly. Their only contributions are criticism, cynicism, and fear-mongering. If you're criticizing from a place where you're not also putting yourself on the line, I'm not interested in your feedback.”

― Brené Brown

I'm not sure any of my words right now can add to that, so I'll leave it there.

With love xx

Lots has been going on and I thought I'd share a wee update on the book here on the blog.

I've almost finished annoying Lel, my graphic designer with tweaks and changes... almost anyway!

I'm loving where the front and back covers have got to. I'm loving feedback in general. My project is unlikely to be without criticism - it's a book on homeopathy afterall, so am in a 'bring it on' phase before it heads out to the wider world! Tweaks, edits and more are afoot.

When I think about it all, my biggest sense is gratitude, and it's possible my Acknowlegements section could be complained at for being like some kind of Oscar waffle... I am incredibly grateful for those on my journey to getting to where I am, and for those helping with the book.

I can have a bit of "I can do this' attitude at times, but in reality it's never without a team, or if nothing else a safety net, to pick me up if I'm struggling, give me a kick up the ass or a hug. All are appreciated at different times. There have been so many people involved with this, and still are to come, from those who feature in it, helped educate me and so much more. A friend described it yesterday as feeling like some beautiful woven mandala with some gorgeous threads interweaving together. That feels about right. I'm giving birth to this book but there is so much more than me involved with it.

Russell Brand did a sticker give away and after I'd sent off for and received Russell's stickers through the post, I started playing with designing stickers to accompany the book. Of course I handed over my random designs to Lel... who came up with the idea of stickers that double as bookmarks...

And ta-dah! Here they are!! I love a world where I think about creating something then, would you look at that, it exists now. What kind of magical existence are we having?!

The book has been with two people I respect HUGELY in my wee homeopathy world for their thoughts on all/aspects of it and is now with Helen at Bold Fish Publishing for her to organise my thoughts into something coherent and more readable (I don't think it's terrible already but looking forward to even better!)

We meet in two week when she'll be almost done with her work on it. March heralds, as well as possible storms, snow, spring flowers and more... the book heading out to beta readers and those I'm asking for potential endorsements on the text, or short comments for the front and back covers... April is the month of collating changes, improving the text further and hopefully the end of April here it comes!

Copies will be available in ebook, paperback and hardback versions and it'll be on print on demand, plus I plan to have copies available to sell direct too.

Thanks for reading and following the progress!

With gratitude,

Em

PS. The ISBN number above here is a mock one for space holding purposes, please ignore any details from it!

Pre-sea swimming with Nicola August 2021