Walking at 4am

Did you ever have a day where you were so in your own head that you missed what happened around you?

In a deep state of meditation this is a good thing. In daily life it isn't.

Awareness is a good thing and so is listening occasionally.

When we listen we understand more.

As I walked through my home city of St Albans at 4am earlier I walked through an empty, quiet city. Quiet of human activity but very vocal from the birds. Their singing was all around and grounded me into the moment. As I listened to the birds and walked through the streets I saw a row of 4 green traffic lights. I'm guessing that 4 green lights and a total absence of traffic is not a sight that many drivers would associate with an artery into the centre of the city.

I felt truly blessed to witness a side to St Albans that I never dreamed I'd see. By doing something different I have learned to notice the bids sing and experience the place I live in a different light.

Life is good when you dare to be different and look for the things that make you happy.

What makes you happy?

Ask yourself this and how you could do it more often. I have found this to be a most beneficial question to ponder.

A big smile to all of you :-)

Sknow Magic!

There is something magical about snow.

I remember the days when I used to watch the news and read the papers. As soon as snow hit there were reports of disaster, doom and gloom all over the country. Trains weren't running because it was the wrong type of snow, people were freezing to death and cars were being marooned all over the country.

These days I do not read any papers beyond the sports pages and the news is something that I haven't watched for years. I realised one day that not since the days of John Craven's Newsround (and I'm now showing my age!) had I seen something positive on a news report.

Since our focus affects our lives, why would I want to find out lots of things that aren't working?

Today I went out walking in the snow and a lady in a car pulled out in front of me as I walked down the road. She looked at me and gave me a huge smile. I smiled back and have felt great ever since. It has not been a typical experience for me in St Albans so far.

Since the snow has come I'm sure that all of the same things that always happened are happening. However, my experience is now completely different.

My evenings have now incorporated a walk to our local lake, which has been frozen over for the past week or so. The snow-covered surroundings light up the place enough to see clearly as the moon reflects upon it.

Something that I would have taken for granted, or not even left the house to see, is now causing me an inner peace like never before. Standing on the bridge of our lake and taking in the surroundings at night, in what is usually an empty park, is something special and has led me to many profound insights.

My nephews, Connor and Kian, aged 6 and 7, stayed with me over the weekend. On Friday evening we went for a late night walk and snowball extravaganza by the lake. We ran into a group of people building an igloo – a very impressive feat. What wasn't so impressive was me falling through the wall of the entrance as I attempted to help them cover the roof.

This caused great (and understandable) irritation amongst the builders. It also prompted loud laughter from my nephews. I decided to take the blame and exit the scene as the builders of the now collapsed igloo pointed fingers at each other and the language became more colourful! My nephews giggled all of the way to the lake. It was funny and a classic example of when positive intent meets negative results. Fortunately, Connor and Kian saw the results as very positive indeed and have been laughing about it ever since!

After an hour or so of running around I took them to the bridge to stand and reflect with me.

We chatted for about half an hour and I found my eyes welling up at the profundity of what they had to say. My elder nephew, Connor, realises how lucky he is and how others do not have as much as him. His plan is to contribute his entire savings to sponsoring goats for African families.

I'm not sure that his mum and dad will be as quick to let him spend all of his savings on goats but he really wants to do it. I had no idea about the project that he was on about but now realise that it is running and the advertising must have affected him deeply.

Kian, my younger nephew, started talking about Club Penguin and saving rainforests. I had no idea what the link was until afterwards. It turns out that there is a website called Club Penguin where kids have their own penguin and collect coins for penguin accessories. Every now and again they get a chance to give coins to a worthy cause. Kian told me that he always gives coins to help grow trees. He tells me that this is – "because without trees we will be dead."

Kian also went on to say "When I was young (and he's only 6!) I thought that it was important to win all the time but now I know that it isn't always." I had never heard them share in such a light before. I let them stay out late, talked to them like adults and, suddenly, I'm faced with two philosophers.

Connor then looked up at the stars, "Isn't that nice Uncle Ads, shall we join them together and make shapes?" I hadn't even noticed them until that point.

In those moments I felt grounded, connected and truly grateful to be alive. Magic is the ability to be in the moment and usually involves doing something different to that of the masses.

I went to catch a train at St Albans station last week. It was delayed and severe weather warnings had the staff advising us not to travel. I had an event to run and had to go into London. I ended up having a drink at the station coffee shop. It soon filled up and before I knew it I was joined by three ladies. Chatting to people that I don't know has not been a regular experience for me in St Albans but lately it has.

In adverse situations community spirit is nurtured for many. More people are smiling. More people are talking. And more people are feeling better. Maybe this is just a reflection of what I am feeling at the moment. Whatever it is – it has all been enhanced since the snow started.

How I feel has now become my number one priority in life. If it feels good then I will do it. If not – it's time to do something else. Right now, I am loving St Albans, the snow and everyone who I have met or smiled at me in the past weeks. Even a simple smile has the ability to transform someone's day.

I Believe in Santa All Over Again!

Yesterday I dressed up as Santa and joined some friends in London to give out some free hugs. Dressing up as Santa is something that I have done many times and I have had several free-hugging expeditions. However, I could not have prepared myself for the magical experience that I would have.

With no particular plan we drifted around London in 0 degrees. It proved to be a little cold, especially on the finger tips but we broke up our hugs with coffee shop stops and trips on the underground. At one stage we had about 15 friends giving out free hugs.

Throughout the day we gave hundreds of hugs each. This was particularly nice in such cold weather. I was also approached by several young children who wanted to be hugged by Santa. This was a wonderful experience.

Listening to skeptical views on what was in it for us was one call of the day. I was even offered money by one mum as I hugged her little girl! Disarming people about our intentions was another rewarding aspect of our day. Our aim is to spread a few smiles around London and feel good as we see the results. It is a perfect win-win investment of time.

As the day turned to night and our group thinned out we decided to go and sing some Christmas songs on the underground and hand out a few free hugs. This proved to be a great exercise in lifting the spirits of the tube. Not everyone wanted a free hug but a surprising amount of people did.

We had people sing along, lots of applause, lots of smiles and plenty of confused-looking people as we raised the energy of the tube.

When all of my fellow free-huggers finally went their separate ways it was just me heading home on the night train to St Albans. I did not anticipate that it would be snowing or that I'd have so much fun.

The train was crammed and the mood was generally low from a few returning revelers who were squashed together.

To cheer things up on a very crowded train I sung a few songs and a group of men joined in, easing the atmosphere. This also prompted a few songs from further down the carriage. About mid-way into the journey I noticed a very small boy, who could not have been more than about 5 years old. He was looking up at me, slightly bemused. I kneeled down to ask him how he was and, suddenly, all of the revelry around me stopped as the train travelers appeared to focus in on our conversation.

I had a chat with him before asking the young lad if he would like a hug. He nodded before giving me the most amazing hug of the day. It lasted several minutes and seemed to transform the mood of the train.

In those minutes something magical happened and it felt amazing. I felt the energy of the train shift as they saw Santa in action. He was clearly real for the young man and the incident brought tears to my eyes as I realised how he felt.

To touch lives in a deep and meaningful way, if only for a moment, is something that words cannot truly describe. Many people thanked me as they exited the train and I received a big cheer as I got off at St Albans. I returned home last night having people smile at me and even stop to say hello. This is not commonplace for me in St Albans with people I don't know.

For anyone who does not believe in Santa or the magic of Christmas I strongly recommend that you dress up and experience it for yourself. Today I feel better than I have all year. Yesterday I had some flu-like symptoms starting to manifest. Today they have gone and I spent most of my day in cold weather.

No amount of drugs, health care, rehabilitation or counseling will ever work as quickly as the desire to have fun, connect with people and touch lives in a meaningful way. I now believe in Santa and his magic all over again and feel very grateful for the gift that my fellow free huggers, numerous children and especially my young friend on the train home that I hugged, have given to me. Santa is, and always will be, as real as we allow him to be.

I have not felt this good in a long time.

Chumbawamba

In the immortal lines of the song by Chumbawamba a decade or so ago, "I get knocked down but I get up again - you ain't ever gonna keep me down...."

This is a wise philosophy for anyone who is pursuing their dreams or Life Purpose. I frequently have to remind myself of these words as I put the message of Walk Innovation out to the general public. It has been a long hard lesson in what doesn't work for me in the marketing arena over the past months in St Albans as only a few people have trickled into my events.

However, as Thomas Edison once said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work."

Pursuit of a Life Purpose is a quest of belief, congruence and persistence. Today I have been in contact with the local business agency, radio station and networking group. All have offered to help me publicise my events. This represents a nice step in the right direction.

Keeping focus on the bigger picture of what Walk Innovation aims to do - helping attendees to help themselves, have fun and help the planet for our future generations - is where I always come back to. Nobody has achieved great things without challenges. It is how we respond to such challenges that will ultimately dictate the quality of our lives.

Right now I have had a huge rush as a downward turn of life's rollercoaster hits the bottom. Fortunately, the next part of the ride necessitates a swift movement up - I'm ready for that. Indeed, it just adds to life's rich tapestry.

Transforming negativity into hope, focus, purpose and action is a perpetual path. It may not always happen instantly but it always happens to me. The alternative is misery and my years as a nurse have shown me where that path leads - not for me thanks!

As long as I still have my health I am a happy man. It is an unfortunate truth that many people may never realise this until their health has gone. It will never be enough to make them happy when they have good health but it will certainly compound their misery when they do not.

Being grateful for what we have is the easiest route towards changing stress into happiness. Alternatively, you could just complain to someone about life's trials and tribulations - this is a great way to drain the energy of those who you care to share such stories with.

When a Woman You Don't Know Suddenly Gives You Flowers.....

I am currently feeling most grateful to life and pretty much all aspects of it. How long this perpetual feel-good buzz will last, I don't know. I do know that I like where it's taken me over the past few weeks.

Much of my focus for the past few weeks has been on Gratitude. I have taken time to phone and write to friends and family who have changed my life in a positive way. It has proved to be a most powerful and rewarding exercise.

A few days ago I arrived home to find a note through my door telling me that a bunch of flowers had been left around the back of my house. By my back door was indeed a large bunch of flowers. Unfortunately, they were not for me. The address was mine but that's where it ended.

Being a little dubious of flowers as a gift I wondered what was going on. Despite the romance that goes with them, the thought of giving someone flowers as a token of my love and/or appreciation fills me with confusion. Why give such a token when the roots have been cut off and they will soon be dead? It's not a good metaphor for a lasting friendship/relationship. Maybe that accounts for my single status! The ephemeral nature of flowers has never endeared me to them as a gift of love.

I phoned the flower shop and spoke to a very nice lady who was most thankful that I pointed out the mistake and said that she would send someone to collect them. I went out that afternoon and returned to my house this morning to find another card through my door, informing me of another flower delivery at my back door.

I opened the door to find a potted lavender plant from the girl at the shop. I phoned and thanked them before planting it in my mini garden. I received a big thank you, tips on how to grow it and a huge smile as my flowers now had roots.

Such a serendipitous occurrence started my day well and it has just gone on to get better and better as the day goes on. My profound thanks go to Cindy and Samantha from (the oh so appropriately named) Perfect Moments Florist in St Albans - I highly recommend their services and the feel-good factor of being grateful