Dates for the Diary - March 2012

Hello everyone

March Madness is upon us. Lots seems to be happening. Some items are about to happen in the next few days. Apologies I missed Wold Book Day and World Women's Day of Prayer. NFWI have sent us notification about a number of things happening this month. We have also included some interesting exhibitions occuring in London.

HRH has been very excited about the launch of the Raspberry PI a few days ago, its a tiny computer which it is hoped will be in every school by the end of the year costing about 30 pounds maximum. I am sure there will be lots in the news about it in the next few months. They think it could revolutionise IT, science & technology and our relationship to our computers.  http://www.raspberrypi.org/

Sorry for the length of this month's entry. Please try to make it to the bottom.

LWWI

WI Related items

LWWI March Meeting - March 20th

Pam our President will be giving a talk on London Cemetaries. Pam is a very engaging speaker and is very knowledgeable about this subject so can promise you this talk will be far more engaging than I have made it sound here.

WI membership fees

Please try and ensure you have paid your membership fees for 2012 by our March meeting.

Fees are now 31.50 for the year and you will receive no discount for joining later in the year so please pay as soon as possible. Membership covers all of 2012.

WI Life

A number of interesting articles in WI Life this month including a piece showing how much publicity the Women's Institute has garnered in the wider media in the last few months.

If you have paid for 2012 and are not getting WI Life please either let Jenny know at the next meeting or email londonwestendwi@gmail.com

Amazon button on blogspot

The eagle eyed among you may have spotted an Amazon button which has appeared on the blogspot.

If you use this button to shop via Amazon LWWI will receive a donation from Amazon of 5% of whatever you spent. For those of you worried we will know who you are or what was purchased it is all anonymous.

NB LWWI only gets the money if you go in via the button on the blog.

Craft Club Training Day

National Federation sent us the following details about a craft club training day.

Zinc Arts Centre, Chipping Ongar, Essex - Tue 27th March 2012. 10.30am – 3.30pm

Booking can be made online at - http://zincessex.eventbrite.co.uk/ or by phoning Lesley Quirk on 01865 391788 x 239.

Full details are on the Craft club website www.craftclub.org.uk and The Moodle.

WI ladies can claim up to £50 in travel expenses to attend these free training days.  Each attendee will receive a training manual.

Birds Eye View

Hi there,

I think my colleague Ewelina contacted you recently about this year's Birds Eye View film festival. It would be fantastic to have your help getting news up on your site and out in the social media sphere this week for our last marketing push.

Breaking news is that Romola Garai will be the opening speaker for our International Women's Day Gala on the 8th - we would very much appreciate it if you could tweet/facebook this info for us!

Our facebook is: https://www.facebook.com/BirdsEyeViewFilmFestival?v=wall&ref=ts

Twitter is: http://twitter.com/#!/birdseyeviewff

More info on this year's three events here: http://www.birds-eye-view.co.uk/4484/overview/bev-springs-2012.html

As this is breaking news, and there's less that two weeks to go 'til the gala, it would be really great if you could get this out today, Tuesday 28th or Wednesday 29th March.

A tried and tested ideal tweet is:

Check out @BirdsEyeViewFF's events next week: Romola Garai, Mary Pickford, fab films, music & cocktails!http://tinyurl.com/7xwktoz #bevsprings

As ever, do shout if there's anything we can do in return; if you fancy joining us yourself let me know and I'll see what I can do!

Kind regards and I hope to see you there.

Emily Vermont, Programme Co-producer, www.birds-eye-view.co.uk

 

Join the lobby for libraries on 13th March

The NFWI is working as part of the Speak up for libraries coalition to give members the chance to lobby their MPs about libraries at an event in Westminster.

The day will be a chance to meet other WI members and campaigners, visit a pop-up library and join a rally with speakers and music. Members will then meet their MP to explain why libraries are important to them and their communities.

 

You can arrive any time after 11.30, with the rally and pop up library at Central Hall Westminster, Storeys Gate, SW1H 9NH. You can then go over to Parliament to meet your MP any time from 2.30 onwards.

 

NFWI staff will be on hand all day, and full briefings will be provided. Attached to this email is background information and a draft letter that you can send to arrange a meeting with your MP.

Please do contact me if you would like more information, or are interested in getting involved.

Best wishes,

 

Emma Lindsay, Research and Campaigns Officer, National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI)

104 New Kings Road, London SW6 4LY

T: 020 7371 9300  (ex 213)  E: e.lindsay@nfwi.org.uk

www.theWI.org.uk

WINDOW2050

Dear London WIs,

Please find attached a letter regarding an event hosted by WINDOW2050 for International Women's Day on the 8th March for your information.

Dear London WIs,

Re: Evening Drinks Reception & Networking Event

WINDOW2050 are hosting an Evening Drinks Reception, Speakers and Networking Event at The Royal Society of Arts in London on International Women's Day, Thursday 8th March from 6.00pm to 9.00pm.

Come to hear six amazing women thought leaders share their intergenerational perspectives on our six themes, including consumption & Sustainable Lifestyles; Gender Equality, Employment & Entrepreneurship and Household; Family & Healthcare, Finance; Pensions & Investing Responsibly; Leisure, Volunteering & Giving and Education and Psychology & Coaching for Change.

If you are interested in attending this event, tickets cost £29 and can be purchased online at http://window2050marchevent.eventbrite.co.uk/.

From Volunteering to Paid Employment

Brand new course and it is free!

Do you volunteer?

Have you ever thought of how volunteering may be a good way

to secure paid employment? Then this is the course for you.

You will also have an opportunity to look at how to go about

setting up as a sole trader or a small enterprise, how to market

your services and get your costing’s right. There will also be

an opportunity to hear from someone who has done it already!

There will be two courses running for six sessions each from

mid-March to the end of April.

The course is a partnership initiative between VAC and the

Mary Ward Centre. It is also supported by Volunteer Centre

Camden and CENTA.

For further details please contact acharles@vac.org.uk. Tel:

7284 6550/3. Fax: 0020 7284 6551.

Type Talk: 18002 0207284 6551. VAC is fully accessible.

Phoenix Gardens needs our help with a letter of support for their planning application to improve the gardens facilities.

Kate is on the case representing LWWI.

Remember we do usually make some money for LWWI at the summer fete held there in September each year.

Kate has also been out and about involved with The People's Supermarket which was under threat.

Kate's SENT US THE FOLLOWING .

Dear Members,

We have received overwhelming support from thousands of people in the last few days, more than 3,000 people signed our petition and we received more the 6,000 pounds in donations.

Yesterday, we were approached by Fredericks Foundation who have offered us a long-term loan of 20,000 pounds. We have accepted their offer. This, together with the donations we received, will enable us to clear our debt to Camden Council.

This means that we are no longer in immediate danger of closing. Thank you so much to all of the members who have contributed their time and energy to making The People's Supermarket the amazing place that it is!

Of course we all have lots of questions about what this means and where we go from here. The Special General Meeting for Friday at 7pm is still on. We will be at the Millman Street Community Center. Hope to see you all there!

With a sigh of relief,

TPS Team

I am sure we would all agree this is super news. TPS are also going to be holding cake competitions which perhaps some of our members might like to enter. We missed the March one as we only got details about it today 5th and the deadline was today but hopefully we can get our thinking caps on for what we might do in the future.

World book day appears to have passed us by this year it was on March 1st.

 http://www.worldbookday.com/  Apologies I thought it was later in the month.

March for mothers 17th march

I contacted you recently about Health Poverty Action’s upcoming event, March for Mothers and I was wondering if any of your contacts would be interested in signing up.

March for Mothers is a sponsored walk taking place on 17th March 2012 at Greenwich Park. We hope to raise awareness of the 340,000 women who die each year in pregnancy and childbirth whilst raising funds to help save the lives of mums and babies in some of the world’s poorest countries.

There is just a month to go until the event so if you would like to come along, please sign up here www.marchformothers.com. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

With best wishes,

Lizzie Helps

Lizzie Helps | Outreach Fundraising Officer | Health Poverty Action

Ground Floor, 31-33 Bondway, London, SW8 1SJ | :Tel: +44(0) 20 7840 3762

www.healthpovertyaction.org | Registered charity in England and Wales no. 290535

ARTS & CULTURE

Stitch & Craft Exhibitio at Olympia in March

Dear all

Please see the attached for details of the the Stitch and Craft Exhibition being held at Olympia, London between 12 - 15 March 2012.  There will be some of the pennants made for the Olympic Games displayed.  Over 500 quilts will be there and hopefully will include some made by Surrey WI members.

http://www.stitchandcraft.co.uk/

David Hockney at RA until April 9th

The Royal Academy of Arts presents the first major exhibition of new landscape works by David Hockney RA. Featuring vivid paintings inspired by the East Yorkshire landscape, these large-scale works have been created especially for the galleries at the Royal Academy of Arts.
'David Hockney RA: A Bigger Picture' spans a 50 year period to demonstrate Hockney’s long exploration and fascination with the depiction of landscape.
The exhibition includes a display of his iPad drawings and a series of new film produced using 18 cameras, which are displayed on multiple screens and provide a spellbinding visual journey through the eyes of David Hockney.

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/hockney/

Lucian Freud at NPG until 27th of May.

Reflection (Self-portrait), 1985
Private Collection, Ireland © The Lucian Freud Archive.
Photo: Courtesy Lucian Freud Archive

'I've always wanted to create drama in my pictures, which is why I paint people. It's people who have brought drama to pictures from the beginning. The simplest human gestures tell stories.'

Lucian Freud (1922 – 2011) was one of the most important and influential artists of his generation. Paintings of people were central to his work and this major exhibition, spanning over seventy years, is the first to focus on his portraiture.

Produced in close collaboration with the late Lucian Freud, the exhibition concentrates on particular periods and groups of sitters which illustrate Freud's stylistic development and technical virtuosity. Insightful paintings of the artist's lovers, friends and family, referred to by the artist as the 'people in my life', will demonstrate the psychological drama and unrelenting observational intensity of his work.

Featuring 130 works from museums and private collections throughout the world, some of which have never been seen before, this is an unmissable opportunity to experience the work of one of the world's greatest artists

HRH Duchess of Cambridge has just become a patron to the National Portrait Gallery

http://www.npg.org.uk/freudsite/index.htm

Hajj

Don't forget we have been offered tickets to see Hajj at the British Museum later this month.`

Helena is coordinating this.

Pls confirm before 10th of March if you wish to attend. We can have a maximum of 15 tickets

February 2012 - Dates for the Diary

A note from our LWWI Secretary and President about the February meeting below

Dear all

Our next meeting will be on the 21^st of Jan at St Georges Bloomsbury.  The talk will start promptly at 6.30pm and we are being joined by Soundcastle, a new community focused music collective who have just become Associate Artists at St George's Bloomsbury.   They would be especially interested to meet the WI with a specific prospect in mind.  In 2013 they plan to stage a 10 day festival marking with 100th anniversary of the death of Emily Davison, the suffragette who lost her life under the King's horse.  It has particular relevance to the site as her funeral took place at St George's in June 1913.  They are currently researching all sorts of possibilities but we would love to hear the views of women who use St George's today.

This will be followed by a social and pancakes with other users of the St Georges.  So please come along for another enjoyable evening with fellow members and interested potential members of the West End WI.

A note from the February speaker who is coming to speak to LWWI.


I am writing to you on behalf of Soundcastle, a new community focused music collective who have just become Associate Artists at St George's Bloomsbury. We are four women who choose to create new music and cross arts collaborations by focusing on the people and the place with which we are working. Our first piece to be created for St George's was Acoustic Architecture, a musical experience made specially to highlight the building both outside and in, which was staged as part of the Bloomsbury Festival this year. Our next aim is to engage with as many groups and organisations as possible who inhabit the sight.

We would be especially interested to meet the WI with a specific prospect in mind. In 2013 we plan to stage a 10 day festival marking with 100th anniversary of the death of Emily Davison, the suffragette who lost her life under the King's horse. It has particular relevance to the site as her funeral took place at St George's in June 1913. We are currently researching all sorts of possibilities but we would love to hear the views of women who use St George's today. It is looking hopeful that we will partner with other local venues as well the church itself for the festival. Is there a possibilty to come and present ourselves and our ideas to your group?

You can read about us in a bit more detail at www.soundcastle.co.uk and find us on facebook and twitter.
Obviously I am also very happy to send on any further information you may need.

Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert ticket offer
To apply visit the website https://www.jubileeconcert2012.co.uk/ to enter the ballot to win a pair of tickets to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert. There will be 5000 concert tickets available to be won. The concert occurs on  June 4th. 2012. Final date to enter ballot is March 2nd 2012, apparently you stand as much chance of being selected regardless of when you apply as long as you do so before the closing date of March 2nd.

Let's cook local training day March 2nd 2012 in Surrey

Dear all

Let's Cook Local is a scheme whereby WI members go into children's centres for 6 weeks to teach basic cookery skills to upto 6 parents from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Surrey Federation is part of this scheme and any member interested in helping/supporting this project would be welcome to attend a Training Day at Surrey hq on Friday 2 March 2012, 10am - 1.30pm. Lunch, tea and coffee will be provided.

Please let the office know if you would like to come as places are dependent on numbers which are limited by the space of our room downstairs.

Yours

Jo Vooght

Surrey Federation of WIs 6 Paris, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 9JX 10am - 3pm Tuesday - Thursday Tel: 01483 233230 e-mail: sfwi2dr@talk21.com web-site: www.theWI.org.uk/surrey Company Limited by Guarantee No 2836301 Registered Charity No. 1026988 VAT No. 212 0615


New Study Days at University of London. (limited Places) from Richard Barritt

The Writings of Ancient Egypt Saturday 18 February 2012

Warfare in Ancient Egypt Saturday 31 March 2012

Please email richard barritt whose email address is study.egypt@virginmedia.com

if want the booking forms and further information



Subscriptions are due for 2012.

This year WI membership fees will be £31.50 you can pay via the blogspot or you can pay via the london westend wi website. Please ignore the fact the londonwestendwi.co.uk website says £30.00 when you go to pay it automatically corrects to charge you the £31.50 via paypal.

Otherwise please pay Jane our treasurer via cash or cheque at the next meeting


Weekend Devon - London room swap offer from a WI member.
We have had the following email from Lesley:

Hello

I am a member of the WI in Devon (south Milton) and am wondering if any member in London would like to exchange bed and breakfast. I have some cousins coming over from Italy and we have arranged to meet in London some time in February for a weekend. It is so expensive I came up with the idea that we could exchange a weekend in Devon for one in London. Is anybody interested?

If you are interested in swapping with Lesley please email Londonwestendwi@gmail.com and we will send you her email address so you can contact her. which is acually a brilliant idea.

http://www.knitforpeace.org.uk/ appeal

           

The Terrence Higgins Trust was one of the first charities to be set up in response to the HIV epidemic and has been at the forefront of the fight against HIV, and improving the nation's sexual health, ever since.

The Refugee Mentoring Project is a service offering targeted one-to-one support to HIV positive refugees, asylum seekers and refused asylum seekers living in London who need practical help and emotional support.

This project has requested knitted items to be given to their service users. In a society where these people often feel ignored, such a gift will mean an enormous amount.

The items required are hats, gloves and scarves for a mix of about 60 women and men. Many of the service users also have children, and we are able to accept knitted items for them too. One lady has even made a special request of a white hat!

Knit-a-Soc is the knitting and crochet society at Queen Mary, University of London. Established in September 2011 with only three members, the group rapidly grew and by Christmas the same year at least another twenty knitters had joined the ranks.

Around the same time the group became affiliated with Knit for Peace, and have since been busy making scarves for the Robes Shelter and blanket squares for various other causes. The latter have been especially popular amongst the self-proclaimed “knitwits”; particularly for those new to the craft.

The group meets weekly during term time and revels sharing a fantastic skill as well as contributing to the wider community through its charitable connections.

Emily Nash

How to get involved

For details of how to get involved just visit:

www.knitforpeace.org.uk/

NB We are always looking for donations of knitted items, knitting materials and also for volunteers.

Cook clubs – A League of Meals– a community project

Hello,

My name is Johanna and I'm a product manager at Sidekick Studios, a social innovation company. I'm currently starting a new community project in different parts of London. Our project is called 'League of Meals', and aims to bring different generations together around food. We have a specific focus on including retired people in the project.

We hope to set up community cook clubs, that bring (retired) people (and people who have time during the day) who are interested in food together to cook and eat. The idea is that these cook clubs cook not only for themselves, but make a few extra portions of food, that can then be given or sold to members of the local community. This could be families with small children who care about home-cooked meals, but are short on time. Or carers looking after a family member, for whom receiving a hot, hearty dinner once a week could be helpful.

At the moment we are trying to find people who might be interested in taking part. Do you think WI members would find this interesting, or be able to spread the word? If yes, that would be so helpful. Let me know what you think, I'm happy to answer any questions (and general feedback is more than welcome!).

Thanks so much!

Kind regards,

Johanna

--

Johanna Kollmann, Product Manager | Sidekick Studios

johanna@sidekickstudios.net,  http://www.sidekickstudios.net

twitter.com/sidekickstudios, twitter.com/johannakoll

+44 (0)207 490 4573

+44 (0)7766 778826

Third Floor, 124-128 City Road, London EC1V 2NJ

 

Comedy Show pilot recording attendance invitation.

Lisa Kirk lisa.kirk@zeppotron.com sent us this

           

Hi there,

My name’s Lisa Kirk and I’m working on a brand new TV comedy show.  We’re looking for people to take part in the show and I’d really appreciate it if you were able to forward the below info and attached documents onto any of your WI members who you think might be interested!

Here’s a bit of info about the show:

‘Is It Just Me?’ sees comedian Micky Flanagan plus four celebrity guests present a feature-packed entertainment show celebrating the bizarre opinions we have, the weird things we think, the ridiculous things we do, and the embarrassing things we think about doing!

We’re looking for a select few people to be part of our very own Is It Just Me? special Audience Panel.

As a member of this group you’ll be bantering with our celebrities before interrogating them and voting on whether you agree with the nonsense they’re spouting. On top of that you’ll be asked to reveal your own bizarre thoughts and opinions so we can find out if it is in fact just you.

So if you’re vivacious, lively, up for a bit of laugh and have a story or two up your sleeve then we want you!

 

We’re recording the pilot show on 26th February 2012 – so if you’re free and would like to take part and think you could help make this show a memorable one we’d love to hear from you!

Auditions start next week so email us NOW on Getinvolved@zeppotron.com for more information.

I’ve attached our advert and application form. Please share this with friends and colleagues – we’d love to hear from as many people as possible!

Many thanks,

Lisa

Chelsea College of Art Student project request about giving women a voice.

She said

Hello I am a female fine art student in my second year of a degree at Chelsea College of Art & design, London, UK. I am working on an art project in which my aim is to give women a voice & explore female experience.

I feel passionately about feminist issues and explore this within my art practice.

Through my own life experiences I have realized the importance of sharing with other women and empowering myself by having a voice in the world. I wish for other women to experience the joy and relief of finding her own voice and passing this on to other women. This I will do by means of artwork. I work mostly in film and video but also do sound pieces and installations. For this particular project I haven’t decided which form this piece will take, I will take inspiration and vision from the women who take part.

For the project I am collecting pieces of written work from women around the world on their experiences of being women in society. The aim is to make them into an art piece to be exhibited in London. I am collecting the pieces and posting them to the ‘We Voice’ blog site I have set up. Each piece of writing is anonymous, this gives each woman the freedom to express anything she wishes without fear of revealing herself, being judged, laughed at or exposed.

I am writing to you, Women’s centre’s around the world as this is a great place to start. If you are interested in this project I would love to hear from you, maybe you could put the poster up that is attached to this email in your centre, maybe you could talk to clients, colleagues, friends or family about the project, get them interested and let these women have the chance to join the project and share their experiences, give them this gift of having a voice in the world.

I look forward to hearing from you all

Harriet

harriet.voice@gmail.com   http://www.we-voice.blogspot.com/

We have an invitation from the British Museum to a community evening to see Hajj on Saturday 24th of March 2012.

We are delighted to invite you to the Community Evening View of Hajj: journey to the heart of Islam at the British Museum, Saturday 24^th March 2012. The exhibition preview will take place between 6.30pm – 9pm (last entry will be at 8.20pm), and all community groups who wish to bring group members to view the exhibition for free are welcome.

The Community Preview is a ticketed event; tickets are limited so please ensure you request the exact number of tickets you require. These will be distributed on a first come first served basis.

If you wish to attend please either email londonwestendwi@gmail.com or speak to Ruth at our February WI meeting

Advance notice about Phoenix Garden’s Fair in September this year:

Phoenix Garden's Fair will be held on Saturday 1st September -  noon - 6pm.  They have already booked; Punch&Judy, Morris Dancers, Brass Band, Fancy Pigeons, and London West End WI

The People’s Supermarket:

The People's Supermarket are going to produce "The People's Cookbook" and want recipes, & would be especially pleased to have WI members contribute  (with or without illustrations & comments) I can co-ordinate if anyone wants to contribute a recipe ask then email Kate via LondonWestendWI@gmail.com

Website of the month
Stumbled upon excuse the pun a fabulous website called stumbleupon.com

Also came across this site which I thought was fun  www.domesticsluttery.com

LWWI January Meeting - Tuesday January 17th 2012

Dear All, Happy New Year

December 2011 saw us having a wonderful communal meal together. It was such a lovely way to round off 2011.

And we now look forward to 2012.

Just to remind you that the next meeting will be held on the 17th of January at 6.30pm.  To set us up for a positive 2012 we have a speaker who will be presenting a talk on De-stress in 2012.

A healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body and a healthy spirit is more than the thing you brush off and wear to church or your grandmother's.  Today we will refine your list of how you take care of  yourself and those around you to make  2012 a  great  year.

Also to remind everyone its time to pay our membership fees which is £31.50 for 2012.  You can pay by cash, cheque or paypal with the link on the website.http://www.londonwestendwi.co.uk/ under the membership tab.

Hope to see you all there for what should be as always an enjoyable evening.

The West End WI

Dates for the Diary Jan 2012

Concert invitation for February
My name is David Williams and I'm a Director of the London Arts Orchestra. On the evening of 2nd February, we'll be putting on a completely free concert at Christ Church Spitalfields.
I'd love to invite your members to this great community event. I've attached a short letter which will give you further details.

On February 2nd 2012 at 19:30 in the beautiful setting of Christ Church Spitalfields in Shoreditch, the London Arts Orchestra will be performing an epic evening of orchestral music:
* W.A. Mozart – Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola

* Gustav Mahler – Fifth Symphony

As part of celebrating the tenth performance of the orchestra since its founding in June 2009, we will be making this concert completely free for everyone to attend.

We are conscious that classical music, particularly orchestral music on the scale and depth of Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, can often be inaccessible or unavailable. Too often, the problem is the cost of going to watch a concert. We would like to help people ‘dip their toe into the water’ and try classical music without having to take the risk that they may not like it – nor face the restriction of a ticket fee.

We really would like as many people from around the community as possible to hear this music. It has been our experience that these opportunities are all too few – so to enable this performance to be the first of many, we are looking to spread the word out to as many community groups in and around the City of London, Shoreditch and Bethnal Green areas as possible.

If you are interested in bringing a troupe of members, then please let us know by emailing info@londonartsorchestra.co.uk. You can also ask us queries at this address.

I really hope that able to make it. If there are any questions then please get in contact - our details are below.
Thanks

David
London Arts Orchestra Foundation
Registered Charity No. 1139177
4 Clapham Road, London ,SW90JG
Director: David Williams
Mobile: +44 (0) 7752 745325
david@londonartsorchestra.co.uk


Thought for the month: [ no we are not getting all new age just thought it would be nice to put something else in D4D email for our first entry for 2012, weirdly not so much news for this mnth.]


Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.

I found the following the other week which I thought might be of interest to you all:

Nurse reveals the top 5 regrets people make on their deathbed


For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives. People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality.

I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.


This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again. When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.

Source: www.ariseindiaforum.org/nurse-reveals-the-top-5-regrets-people-make-on-their-deathbed/


Website of the month will return next month. I had a list of sites for this month and somehow managed to lose it so will hunt it out for Feb.