Without the weekly respite of choir practice, she gradually became less energised, creative and efficient. She ended up accomplishing less and taking more time to do so.

helps you sense the need for time to nourish your soul and gives you the space and courage to do so. It also helps you deal more skilfully with those unavoidable aspects of life that can drain away your energy and innate happiness.

friendship is the quiet voice inside. It all too easily gets drowned out by the louder voices of fear and guilt. Fear of failure had, for her, tried to ‘protect’ her from love. It told her she’d lose out by being kind-hearted.

your task is to remain curious and interested about whatever comes up in your mind and body from moment to moment, maintaining awareness, so you do not miss seeing the profound beauty that lies at the heart of your life.

When mood is low, motivation follows action, rather than the other way around. When you put the action first, motivation follows.

Further, Cara realised that she was also compounding her suffering, not only by saying, ‘I must be busy’, but also by repeating to herself, ‘Things used to be different.

The result is that we are increasingly left with only work or other stressors that often deplete our resources, and nothing to replenish or nourish us – and exhaustion is the result.

Doing mode needs to think. It analyses, recalls, plans and compares. That’s its role and many of us find we’re very good at it.

friend. If you simply accept life as it is, you will be a lot more fulfilled and increasingly worry free.