These books will change your life

My books have been behaving like buses: no decent reads came along for ages, and then all of a sudden three brilliant ones arrived at once. I'm alternating them - reading a chapter in one and then onto the next book. And, because I'm so generous and loving, I will share them with you. Because you're so pretty, dear reader. Oh yes you are.


1. Buddhism for Mothers of Schoolchildren, by Sarah Napthali

I'm not sure words can describe how happy I am with this book, and how absolutely bang on time I was given it by my sister An (may her lucky streak continue evermore). I read the preface last night and actually cried by the end of it. She'd just described exactly my situation, and the changes I would like to make.

Today I read the chapter on stress. And OMG it changed my whole day around. I had a frazzled and chaotic start to the day, then read this chapter and...

(I hardly dare to say it, it sounds so ridiculous) ... the rest of the day was like a different country. It really truly was.

The book just made me aware (again) of the fact that stress is a reaction, and with every reaction there's a choice. I remembered to relax my body, look at the causes of my stress, and to accept unforeseen circumstances more easily. I stopped thinking of all the things I "should" do. I did so much more than that as well, but I'm not going to copy out the book. I suggest you read it. It doesn't actually matter if you're a mother, a father, or neither. That first chapter would help anyone who is stressed.

Napthali talks about conflict of desires so clearly that I couldn't help applying the concept immediately. I was reading her book in the room which has my bookcases in it. I've been meaning to weed out a whole lot of books for ages but hadn't managed to do this successfully. Reading the chapter, I could finally see that my conflicting desires (uncluttering vs. holding on to my books) were holding me back. I decided there and then to remove a whole lot of books to the attic. Now the room is uncluttered, but I can hold on to my books nonetheless. In about half an hour, I had solved a problem I've had for about five years now.

The rest of the day went ridiculously smoothly. I fed lunch to Charlie and didn't put the TV on in the background. I was in the fucking moment, people. Yeah - you hadn't expected that, had you? Neither had I. Later on I went for a walk to the shops with him, bought whole complete vegetables (no bag of pre-cut stuff), a pie (to reward myself on my progress) and a minty Labello so I take care of my lips while simultaneously surprising myself with minty fresh lips. Ah yes. Life can be good that way.

I got to the children's school half an hour early! Then afterwards I did homework with Jack, only losing my temper once. (I apologised and moved on.) I let Charlie suck on my cheek for ages (he loves that) and I let Marie play with her plasticine for as long as she wanted. I'm a fucking saint! (No, I'm not - I do realise that. But it does feel like I was abducted by aliens. (They can keep me.)) On top of all that, I managed to cook, tidy, put the kids in their pyjamas and set the table, all before Babes got back from work. This is unseen, my people. Just unseen. And it felt bloody good.

My spaghetti sauce was abundant.
Even managed to finally use those chickpeas.

It's amazing how much time and energy is freed up if you just stop stressing about everything. Overthinking, thinking what I "should" be doing, feeling guilty, wanting other things than what I have, planning the future all the time - all these things tire me out so much more than I ever realised. Just stopping those things leaves me with energy left at the end of the day! I haven't felt like this in many many months. (Probably since I last meditated and exercised. No surprises there.) Being happy and content in the moment is the greatest joy there is. (I'm about to levitate now. Any second...)

I will be reading and re-reading this book, probably for a few years. I imagine a chapter a day is the most I'll be able to manage without having too much to process at one time.

So yeah - excellent book. I would definitely recommend it, after reading only the preface and the first chapter.


2.World Without End, by Ken Follett

This is the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth. It's historical fiction, set in medieval England. Monasteries, knights, outlaws. Complete escapism of the most entertaining kind. I found the first part kind of unfriendly to women in parts, but not so much that it stopped me racing through its pages and regretting getting to the end. I'm hoping to get the same (minus unfriendliness to women) from this book. So far, it hasn't disappointed.


3. The Mirror Within, by Anne Dickson

The subtitle of this book is "A new look at sexuality." It was recommended to me by my own personal smut guru, who has indicated that she may not wish to be identified as such, so I will leave it up to her to claim or not claim the honour in the comments section.

So far I am very happy with this book. The first chapters deal with the history of women's sexuality in the West, some of the myths attached to it, the roles we assume or identify with, and body image. It's making me think a lot. I'm not sure if I'm ready for the practical tasks yet (yes it has them at the end of every chapter), and when I am I'm pretty sure I won't be sharing here.

So - I haven't read all that much of this book yet either, but I already have a feeling that it's been a well-kept secret and someone should have told me about it years ago. Its main purpose seems to be to assign greater value to the female body, and to give the power over their sexuality back to women themselves. It has me hooked.