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"The Pain Passes but the Beauty Remains"

How painful does it have to get before you stop procrastinating and take action?

Our new baby is now almost three weeks old.  Big brown eyes, long legs, funny little tail, born in a stable...  Gerry was just about to load the very pregnant mare into the horsebox and drive her to the foaling unit when he realised it was too late, she was already in labour.

There followed 40 minutes of tugging, a fair amount of blood, sweat and tears and finally they delivered the horse of a strong healthy colt.  Strange thing is, eleven years ago when I was pregnant, Gerry decided to forego the 'ringside seat' in the delivery suite on the grounds that "I'm no good at that sort of thing".

Did he think he'd have to deliver the baby, I wonder?

Proof though that there is a God (divine retribution for his past misdemeanours) and that when the chips are down - and the waters break - we can all do so much more than we would have believed possible.

My planned birth partner was my sister's boyfriend.  An unusual arrangement but Sue couldn't even wash out a chicken without feeling faint and sisterly love just didn't stretch that far.  Besides, Brian was a plumber and I felt he'd probably be quite an asset to the midwife. As luck would have it, he was out on call when I went into labour, ten days early so I ended up with a newly-qualified midwife and a sister so hyper that in between contractions I had to negotiate a deal: she got the gas and air and I got the epidural.

But she was there for me when I needed her and she ended up actually enjoying the whole experience.  As I said, it's quite surprising what we're capable of when our escape route has been bricked up and plastered over.  And that's got me thinking of the whole area of motivation and what it takes to get us into action.

The Benefits of Juicing

Is there a better way to start a new day than with a home-made juice?  This morning's looked as delicious as it tasted.  It's that shade of green you see, I just can't resist it.  Must be my Irish blood.

Are you a juicer?  Juicy Jason Vale is the guy who taught me about the energy-boosting power of drinking your veggies and fruits.  I didn't get it - surely it's better to eat the stuff and get the benefit of all that fibre? 

But would I - and my 11 yr old - really have sat down this morning to a breakfast of spinach, cucumber, lemon, carrots and apples?  Yet that's exactly what we drank. 

Drinking fresh veggie/fruit juices make you feel really good, it's all those living enyzmes and vital nutrients  you're getting.  And the benefits of juicing are not simply about its nutritional value, it's also the natural high of knowing you're treating your body with love and respect.  Esteeming and honouring it.  Can we really value our clients if we haven't learnt how to value ourselves?

Yes, those of us running our own small businesses with a staff of precisely, erm, one, owe it to ourselves to use the highest quality fuel for our bodies.  We are our business, after all.  And if we aren't walking our talk, can we really ask our clients to walk theirs?

In case you're a juice virgin, here are some tips to get you started...