Finding hope, peace and purpose in every broken thing

Thankfulness

Blank journal and pen — I was recently reminded of a time when the ability to be grateful seemed to have left me. It was a few years ago and I was going through a difficult time at work. Full of anxieties, close to depression and struggling to see a way forward, I gave up […]

Exercising the ‘thankful muscles’ even when it’s hard

11th January 2021 in General tagged anxiety / challenge / covid-19 / Fear / Hope / journalling / overcoming / Thankfulness / worry by admin (updated 720 days ago)

Out of the window the other day I noticed a large bird’s nest on its own at the top of a tall tree. Way above the houses and without the shelter of leaves, it looked very lonely. But when I saw it my first thought was, “How lovely to have […]

Appreciating your nest during lockdown

3rd April 2020 in General tagged challenges / choices / corona virus / family / home / loneliness / Thankfulness by admin (updated 1787 days ago)

Letters spelling peace — There are many words you could use to describe the corona virus outbreak, but peaceful isn’t one of them. You only have to watch a few seconds of the news to see how panic has gripped so many people. Many of us are scared – fearful of the virus, but […]

Finding peace in the chaos of corona virus

25th March 2020 in General tagged challenges / corona virus / covid-19 / craft / creativity / Peace / Thankfulness / treasure by admin (updated 1796 days ago)

Thankfulness is a subject we talk about a lot on the Peaced Together course. That’s because we believe that being thankful whatever the circumstances can transform your life. There’s now plenty of credible research that shows how beneficial it is to be thankful. Thankfulness improves our mental health, strengthens relationships […]

Five practical ways to be thankful, even when it’s tough

20th January 2020 in General tagged grateful / happiness / mental health / reflection / relationships / Thankfulness / wellbeing by admin (updated 1865 days ago)

When I first heard about World Kindness Day, I was a little cynical that we now need one day a year marked out on which to be kind. But actually, it’s more about taking the time to reflect – to be thankful to those who show us kindness and to […]

The power of (extra)ordinary kindness

13th November 2019 in General tagged impact / Kindness / reflection / Thankfulness by admin (updated 1937 days ago)

Throughout 2018 Jaime Thurston’s book, Kindness: the little thing that matters most was the inspiration for our blog. It has been good to reflect on the many ways we can show kindness to our friends, families and local communities. It has made me more deliberate about being kind and quicker to notice […]

#thoughtfulthursday 51&52: Make kindness a thing

10th January 2019 in Hope / kindness tagged care / celebration / community / connection / family / help / Hope / Kindness / Thankfulness / volunteering by Heidi Singleton (updated 2238 days ago)

It can be so difficult to maintain a helpful perspective on life. Our worries and anxieties can become larger than they need to be and take over our thoughts. When we see the whole world through this lens of anxiety, everything gets out of perspective. This can have a knock […]

#thoughtfulthursday 42: Have perspective!

25th October 2018 in Hope / kindness tagged anxiety / community / Kindness / perspective / relationship / Thankfulness by Heidi Singleton (updated 2322 days ago)

Gratitude prepares the ground for kindness. When we are thankful we take our eyes off our worries and focus on our blessings. This helps us to be kind to ourselves and others. Thankfulness is an important part of Peaced Together – we have seen that it can dramatically improve your health […]

#thoughtfulthursday 41: Be grateful

18th October 2018 in Hope / kindness tagged community / connection / Hope / Kindness / Love / relationship / smile / Thankfulness by Heidi Singleton (updated 2322 days ago)

In England, school children break up for the summer holidays at the end of this week. Parents avidly wait for news of who their teacher will be next year and we buy the current teacher a gift to say ‘thank you’. For the most part, I have really appreciated […]

#thoughtfulthursday 29: Thank the unappreciated

19th July 2018 in General tagged appreciation / connection / encouragement / grateful / Kindness / Thankfulness by Heidi Singleton (updated 2412 days ago)

My family has a bit of a competitive edge, particularly in board games, so celebrating when someone else wins doesn’t come naturally. I hear myself saying ‘It’s not the winning that matters, it’s the taking part’ but secretly I want to win. You could say this is harmless fun and […]

#thoughtfulthursday 27: Be happy for people’s happiness

5th July 2018 in Hope / kindness tagged celebration / Choice / community / connection / Dreams / happiness / Hope / Kindness / Love / relationship / Sharing / Strength / Thankfulness by Heidi Singleton