Archive for the 'Love is all that matters' Category
Lessons in Life and Love from a Banker and a Lawyer
Over the last few months since the passing away of my father, I have had support and encouragement from a lot of people. Sometimes this support has come from people I had least expected it from or from people I hardly knew.
One such person is a young banker who my father got to know over the last year and who helped with sorting out some banking matters. A few months ago my father even connected me with the banker and gifted him a copy of my book.
I shall hereon refer to this guy simply as the banker, but he knows who I am talking about 
It’s a Dog’s Life - Love Yourself Uncondionally!
A few days ago, I came across the above couple in Regents Park. They were literally taking their dog, Dino, for a ride around the park.
Dino the huskey dog is now 15, which apparently makes him over 90 in human years! Suffering from arthritic knees, he now gets treated like a king every day.
Talk about unconditional love! This reminds me of a great book by Don Miguel Ruiz called “The Mastery of Love” - and he talks about how your pet such as a dog never holds any grduges against you, is always excited to see you and totally loves you unconditionally.
Now what would it be like to love everyone unconditionally? Would you ever be mean to your loved ones, if they were your pet?!
And who is going to cart you around the park, when YOU are 90?!
Valentines Day 1 – Just WHAT is Love?
It is Valentine week, and as usual in the Western world we are bombarded with all sorts of commercial pressure to go out and spend a fortune to show the true merit of our love for someone.
I am guessing that this is now also the case in the rest of the world, as the developing world clamours to catch up with the “enlightened” ways of the West
I find it amusing to see so many people rushing around to prove their true love for that “special” person in their life.
To me, love has been commercialised to the extent that we have forgotten just what love means anymore.
Lessons in Compassion from my Father
Just over a month ago, my father suddenly passed away after a short bout of flu and a chest infection. The time since then has been rather tender and yet surreal as we come to terms with our great loss.
It seems only yesterday that I wrote about Father’s day and how it was time to remember just what your father has done for you
What has kept us going during our time of grief has been the support and love from so many friends and family. It is amazing just what compassion and kindness people are capable of showing at such times.
Lessons in Compassion from Tsunami
It is 3 years to the day today since Tsunami caused so much distruction and death in South East Asia.
On 26th December 2004, the world changed for ever.
As the Tsunami waves caused death and distruction, the world re-discoverd what it was like to be compassionate.
Then in 2005, Katrina devastated New Orleans and the surrounding region; and there was a huge earthquake in Pakistan. Again there was a huge “outbreak” of compassion.
But just how do we harness this force for good? How can we encourage people to carry out acts of kindness and compassion during “normal” times and not just during a natural catastrophe?
Mother Teresa on Loneliness, Love and Peace
Mother Teresa left behind many poignant and deep quotations about LOVE.
The common theme of her words reflect her work with the lonely, the sick, the dying and the destitute. Her unending love came through in her work and in her words. She was forever compassionate towards the loneliness felt by “wealthy” people who on surface had it all. She was also very concerned about the breakdown of families.
Here are a selection of her words which say it all:-
What would Mother Teresa say about the last 10 years?
It is ten years today since Mother Teresa passed away amongst her favourite people - the dying and destitute of Calcutta.
As she passed away the same week as Princess Diana, it seemed at the time that her passing away was hardly noticed. Yet, here was an amazing human being who spent decades helping the lonely, the poor and the dying in the worst possible environment for such humanity.
The day Diana died
Incredibly it is ten years today since the death of Lady Diana and Dodi Fayed in a car accident in Paris. And yet it seems like it all happened only yesterday.
Everyone remembers just where they were and what they were doing when they first heard the news. Just where were you when you heard the news?!
Get over It, Girl!
I recently wrote about how it was time to let your light shine.
During that talk by Marianne Williamson in central London, she spoke with a lot of humour and compassion about supporting the people around us.
Supporting the people in our lives is all about empowering them, helping them to connect with their highest self and encouraging them to be the best they can.
Be human and allow yourself to be vulnerable…
My friends Jim and Emma Wheat at Go Smell the Flowers posed an interesting question on their blog today:-
How do you react when you see someone in a wheelchair? A quick shift of the eyes away from theirs or do you acknowledge them?
Living with Acceptance and Friendship…
It is another gloriously sunny morning in London
As I planned my day, I flicked through my oldest journal and came across a poem by Amanda Cater, called “If a Child” :-
Hold your own Friend’s Picnic anywhere in the World :-)
If you are not able to attend my annual “Friends and Friend’s Friends Picnic” on Sunday 19th August in Regents Park, London, then how about organising your own?
No matter where you are in the world, it will be a great way to bring together friends, old and new.
It is a crime to go around with a miserable face!
In one of my articles last week, I talked about joy and spreading it. This reminded me of someone I met a year ago.
Every now and then, I come across someone who truly inspires me through their work, their words and most importantly their way of being.
Comedy show marriage proposal - Love is all that matters!
On Sunday evening I went to the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park to watch their annual comedy show. This event featured players from the famed Comedy Store.
I have managed to watch this show every year for the last few years and is a highlight of my social calendar.
But this year was even more special, as just before the interval, the MC announced a very special request. Alex Sperling had requested permission to propose to his girlfriend, Mel, during the show and it had all been pre-arranged to happen just after the first half of the show.
Let us all bring more compassion into our lives
A few days ago I pleaded everyone to bring more compassion into the world
As we seem to face increasing turmoil and tension in the world, my plea was about just how can we learn from the events of the last few years to bring more compassion into the world?
A few weeks ago I attended a workshop about compassion at the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University. It was quite an inspirational afternoon, and certainly left all of us feeling more compassionate towards ourselves and each other.
Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon!
A couple of days ago I wrote about cooking with love.
Love and food are so intertwined. Maybe one can’t even have one without the other. To love someone is also to want the best of everything for them - and that includes the best food and nutrition. So how would you go about cooking for the love of your life? And how indeed do you LOVE that special person?!
Love is the magician…
I recently wrote about how with the arrival of spring it was time to find THE one.
Last Saturday, I attended the wedding of one of my best friends in a central London hotel. It was my first ever major muslim wedding and also one of the best weddings I have been to. Amazing how 12 hours just went by in a delightful cocktail of food, music, dancing and conversations with new people.
The Universal Language of Love
After all my articles of Love on Valentine’s day, a friend sent me a wonderful list of saying “I Love You” in a number of different languages.
Such a list can of course never be complete to encompass all the languages in the world but hopefully you will now just what to say to your loved ones in whatever major language you choose
I am sure there are a few errors in this list, both spelling and phrasing, but at the end of the day the essence of the message is the same - love is all that matters.
Valentine’s Day - Make your Relationship even Better…
If you are in a relationship, is it what you always dreamed about?
In a dream relationship, you bring out the best in one another and make yourself stronger together as a team than apart. Such a relationship helps you become a better person and provides you with the happiness that you deserve.
If you have been together for a long time, you could take each other for granted. This does not imply that your love for each other is fading, simply a lack of effort. Be willing to make the time and effort for each other.
