Don't do it! Great animated film by the NSPCC drawing attention to the perils of sharing the wrong thing online. From what started out as a bit of fun ends up with terrifying consequences. This is one of the issues I hear about regularly from both parents and youngsters. Once the pic or comment is out there...

That IS very good! It will pass...

Maysoon Zayid saying it as it is. Yes, she is inspirational for many reasons. She is also funny and self deprecating. Struggling with New Year resolutions? Well, if she can then I can can...

Maybe because it is 'Black Friday' I just don't want to buy anything. The thought of the crowds sends me running in the opposite direction. And do I really need this stuff? Do I need to get more stuff just because it is Christmas? This year my family have agreed a £10 present limit on each person to open on the big day...and then we are going to plan a day out. I don't know what yet but we've decided shared experiences might be more fun and fulfilling than yet more stuff. Perhaps less bah humbug and more hey, ho than I thought

This made me smile and was also very humbling. Today it is 'Black Friday' and the news footage is full of people fighting for Christmas 'bargains' in Asda, Tesco and in America. What a contrast. Also reminds me a bit of when I've purchased expensive toys only for the box to be so much more interesting...

Time to Change is doing so much to reduce the stigma of mental illness. Even that term 'illness' jars with me. Sometimes it is our body’s reaction or defence mechanism to life events, what the wonderful Irvin Yalom calls 'life's givens' that causes us to shut down or self soothe in a potentially harmful way. Whatever, it is time to talk. Get the support you need and remember that most people will experience some form of mental health problem during their lifetime. Fight that stigma! 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem each year. (Mental Health Statistics, 2001)

An absolutely fascinating clip of two monkeys being rewarded with either cucumber or grapes. What happens when cucumber monkey sees s/he is not getting the same as grape monkey? After spending much of my life working with children and hearing the refrain "it's not fair!" this certainly resonates and has got me thinking about how us adults accept inequality...or do we challenge it and how?

Ash Beckham: We're all hiding something. Let's find the courage to open up,

How caught up can we get in dramas - our own, other peoples? How many of us feel we are not living unless something is 'kicking off'? By creating disturbances I can test others out, get my adrenaline running, be at the centre or just start it off then retreat... My mind is busy thinking about what is going on - trying to predict, explain, justify, blame, deny... All this is hard, hard work and maybe, maybe I am avoiding asking for what I really want; really need. However, if I want peace and harmony I must first look to myself and my behaviour. What can I do to prevent disturbances? Can I assert myself in a non aggressive way - a different way? Different to that which doesn't seen to work?

When is the last time you did absolutely nothing for 10 whole minutes? Not texting, talking or even thinking? Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing just that: refreshing your mind for 10 minutes a day, simply by being mindful and experiencing the present moment. (No need for incense or sitting in uncomfortable positions.)

I love this quote from Maya Angelou. It was hard to choose as she was a wise woman with a gift for words and has left the world so many inspirational quotations. Thank you to Artwell Art Therapy for the image.

Sadly the celebrated poet, playwright, professor, memoirist, historian, director, screenwriter, activist and actress, Maya Angelou, died last Wednesday May 28 aged 86. Although particularly well-known for her poetry and memoir books, her fifty year plus career in a number of creative disciplines explains her wide influence today. Born Marguerite Johnson in 1928 in St. Louis, an unsettled childhood moved her between Missouri, Arkansas and eventually to San Francisco. Here during the 1950s as a dancer, singer and actress she changed her name to Maya Angelou. Her life up to age 17 is described in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" her first book from 1969. By the time she wrote "I Know Why" she had already led a full life that included having met and been friends with Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, James Baldwin and Billie Holiday. Among her achievements and countless awards, she was also Bill Clinton's inaugural poet in 1993 - the first poet to recite at a presidential inauguration since Robert Frost at John F. Kennedy's in 1961. She was indeed a phenomenal woman. She may no longer be with us in body but her words, wisdom and inspiration will stay. How blessed are we to have such people in our lives?