Just Emma

     Hello, lovelies.            They say patience is a virtue, but given half a chance, I bet most of us would take the easiest route possible. It’s not that we want to jump the queue or be rewarded for skipping the boring bits, it's just that we all have so much to do, that putting in the time, money or effort needed is sometimes a step too far. And I find that I don’t have the time to do any of the things that I want to do. Honestly, I am never going to read a third of the books that are all neatly piled up on my overflowing bookshelves. I have still to paint my bedroom, which has been on my to-do list for about two years now. And as for my beloved allotment, I cannot tell you where my days have gone, because I can never seem to find the time to go there. Why can’t all the things in life be easy? For some, they can pick up something quickly, whereas, for me, everything just takes such a long time. Like writing this blog, for example. I hav...

       Hello, lovelies.        Yep, it’s that time of year again. We went from a scorching hot summer to instant autumn all in the blink of an eye. Last week I was sleeping with the fan on, and this week I’m wondering where I had put my autumn jumpers. I both love and hate this time of year. For years September has meant new school uniforms and an endless list of stationery my children needed for the new term. The roads that had been traffic-free for the summer holidays are now jammed with stressed parents as they drag their children off to school. And once again, I have failed to reach my summer goal of having a beach-ready body. No, all I am prepared for is cosy nights in, wrapped up tightly in a nice warm blanket and working through my watch list on Netflix. But mostly, the autumn means that we’re creeping our way up to Christmas. And that means money. Lots of money. And that is the one thing that I don’t have. We’ve gone from relaxing on the w...

      Hello, lovelies.            Is it true that once we’ve discovered what we want to do with our lives, we all work as hard as we can to achieve it? That we can all reach for the stars and the sky is the limit? Surely the glass ceiling has been smashed by now, and our destinies are in our own hands? With all our potential nothing can hold us back. But that’s not what we were drip-feed as children. Our bedtime stories told us that if we lived our true authentic selves, no matter how humble, the prince would come and sweep us off our feet. All we had to do was work without complaining, put up with domestic slavery, open our French doors and let wild animals in to help with the unending cleaning. All so that we could live our lives as small as possible and that one day someone would save us from the humdrum that we were born into. Because there was no way that we could save ourselves, right? And that only once we were chosen, we could or woul...

        Hello, lovelies.           They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That one person's trash is another’s treasure. There are so many versions of the truth, how is one to know if we’re ever right or not? Mostly, we strive to create a world in which we can grow, learn, love and be the best version of ourselves. But what happens when our idea of who we are doesn’t reflect how others perceive us? How can we bridge the gap when someone sees us so differently than how we see ourselves? Which version of us is true? The way we feel about ourselves versus the way others see us? Can we be certain of how we come across? And what happens when we are confronted by others about who we are and have to work out how our version is so completely wrong? Are we really how we see ourselves? Or do we have a blindside to all our foibles and idiosyncrasies? Are we really who we think we are? Or should we take what others say about us with a p...

          Hello, lovelies.                  How much truth is in the old adage, go big or go home? How much stock can we hold to the meaning, that bigger is better? Is having more of something always an advantage? Can you have too much of a good thing? Be loud and proud. In today's society, we’ve been led to believe that having more means that we’ve made it in life. More money, more success and more stuff to fill our homes and empty our bank accounts. How many pairs of shoes are too many? 5 pairs? 10 Pairs? More? Asking for a friend. In a world where we can have more of anything we like and could ever want, shouldn’t that mean that we’re happy? More content? More satisfied? But then, maybe having too much or too many could only mean loss and emptiness. Too much stuff equals too little space. And what happens when having too much of something affects those around us? Is it wise to stay away from flaunting what we’ve go...

       Hello, lovelies.         Hopefully, we are all the main characters in our own stories. The main focus of our own lives. But can that mean that we might bend what we see to fit our narrative, to a point that even when we misbehave, we can make ourselves believe that we are the victims of our bad behaviour, not the preparator? No one wants to believe that we are bad at heart, but what happens when that is what we are? Should we always point out someone’s misdoings so that they can reflect and grow in their lives? But how can we know that what we are saying is for good reasons, and not to deflect from our own lives? Who has the right to say what they see, or what they think they see, and not what is the easiest route out of a sticky situation? Can we trust what we ‘think’ is correct, or should we all take our version of the truth with a pinch of salt?              I can honestly say that I have never don...

         Hello, lovelies.          In a world where truth can be subjective and perceptions may vary widely, telling someone your version of the truth can often lead to misunderstandings, conflicts, and hurt feelings. While it might seem innocent or well-intentioned to share our perspective, there are always some inherent risks and downsides that come with presenting our personalized version of reality. And with so many forms of the truth, how can we know what is right and what is true? As the old saying says, there’s your version, my version and the truth lies somewhere in the middle. So, is it always right to tell someone the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? And what happens when what we have to say doesn’t come from a good place, but from deflection, rejection or anger? Is our truth more valid than those around us? Could our versions of the truth be biased or tainted? What are the pitfalls of telling our version of th...