Physical Dimension

We may laugh and be excited for a time, but due to the nature of human life, this feeling or mood cannot always dwell within us. Read more about happiness and the ‘art’ within this blog!

Given all the negative messages that most of us received about sex when we were young, it’s no surprise we rarely talk about sex in an overt setting. Unfortunately, a lack of informative sex education means most of us don’t even have access to relatively basic information. In our society, sex is still not fully accepted as a topic of conversation, at least not in its entirety. Being silent about sex keeps us ignorant though, so it’s vitally important that we begin to normalise talking about sex in our society, and this should start as early as school.

A few years ago, my daughter gave me two books for Christmas, both covering the same topic: solitude. At that time, I still didn’t feel or see the value of solitude, in fact, I couldn’t stand it at all, even though I was thrust into it unwillingly over many years.

I perceived solitude to be a sort of curse but my daughter, who was observing from the outside in, saw it as a blessing that had arrived after my divorce.

With time and lots of practice and experience, I have learnt that life is not about what happens to us. It is about how we react to what happens and, above all, what we do with that. Do we resist or surrender? Do we ignore and deny, or do we embrace and feel grateful?

Yes, this year I contracted Covid-19, and I went through the experience completely on my own. My daughter lives in London, and my mum (aged 81), in Italy. I am currently in Barcelona - one of the worst-affected cities in Europe when it comes to this pandemic – and, at present, a city that is in a state of alarm.

“When I first chose to get help from a counsellor, I was 37. After seeing myself repeat learnt negative patterns and behaviours as a mother and wife, I chose to go beyond the shame and taboo of sharing my inner world and my history with a stranger. My intuition told me that this decision would set me on a new path of awareness and help me find freedom. Soon after, I did.”

Our desire to deny our real age as we grow older is not a new phenomenon, but why is it such an ingrained reaction?