With jack frost nipping at our heels I like to look at my autumnal photographs from our trip to Queenstown for an instant warm-up.  All those fiery colours warm the cockles of your heart.  The child in me wants to run down the path kicking up the leaves perhaps sporting a fetching pair of red spotted wellington boots.  The poet in me wants to find a spot on a bench in the sun and dream of fine words.  The artist within tempts me to dial up the contrast slider and make those colours zing.

In the last couple of weeks I’ve had news of friends and their family who are facing real adversity of the life threatening kind. You never know how the twists and turns of life will turn out.  It’s times like this that you want to grip your loved ones in a hug and never let them go. The intensity and pace of life in this modern world often makes it hard to draw breath let alone stop and breath out again.  If I’ve learned anything from recent conversations with my dearly affected friends is that life is for living – now – not when you find a window in your diary. Make every moment count and bring out all your inner characters to play so you can savour the moment and know that you didn’t waste a precious drop of life.

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