Hiya dear reader!

Happy Wednesday, how are you?

I don’t quite know how, but we are in AUGUST already. What the actual F? I swear this year is going faster than all the others put together.

It’s Leo season! And I love it because, you guessed it, I’m a Leo! It’s my birthday 2 weeks today.

Anyway, it’s a short and sweet one from me this week, I nearly didn’t come and join you due to another extra long workday and me needing to get away from my screen for a bit and have my tea, but then I remembered that the last couple of days have been LONG and there has been very little (no) self-care, so I decided to keep my promise to myself that I’d be publishing each week, no. matter. what.

So here I am! Publishing no matter what.

Excuse any spelling/grammar issues because I’m practically square-eyed with the amount of hours I’m spending in front of my computer at present! But it’s worth it, because I’ve got some wonderful things to share with you this week.

---

Reading

The Next Person you Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

I realised that the only book I’ve finished this year, I didn’t actually share with you because I wasn’t back up and running with these posts! So here it is. The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.

I really like Mitch Albom, having read several of his books after discovering and really enjoying The Five People You Meet in Heaven a few years ago. That book focused on the story of Eddie, a man who died saving a young girl named Annie at an amusement park named Ruby Pier and went on to meet several people in heaven that had had a significant impact on his life. This sequel is focused around the life of Annie, the young girl he saved, and this time, it is she who is on a journey to heaven, discovering the purpose of her life and all of the people she met along the way. It is a story to explore the purpose and meaning of our existence, the complexities of life and relationships, and, ultimately, the power of love and forgiveness.

I really love the two books, and you would need to read the first (linked above) to get the best experience from this one, but I wholly recommend you read both. They’re fantastic books and really great for causing you to reflect and think about your own existence, your purpose, and what human beings contribute to each other’s lives.

Watching

OPPENHEIMER

Unless you live under a rock, you’ll know that Oppenheimer came out recently. We tried to go and see it on the opening weekend, but apparently the entire planet descended on all the cinemas closest to us, and we left it too late to book, so we went the weekend just gone. And no, we didn’t go and see Barbie too (although from what I’m seeing – I actually think it’s maybe worth going to see!)

Christopher Nolan is just about the only director that can produce a film that I will watch without knowing a single thing about it. Some of my absolute favourite films in existence are The Dark Knight trilogy and Interstellar, but I can make a case for basically his entire collection.

And Oppenheimer did not disappoint, so much so that I’d happily go and watch it again this week. It was very LOUD, and I didn’t have the historical education that I probably should have, but I could just about follow along and thoroughly enjoy it anyway.

It also opened my eyes to the fact that there are men (metaphorically speaking, although realistically they probably are men) that have the power to set off a nuclear bomb and explode the world into oblivion at any point they see fit. Apparently it’s what that dickhead Putin has been threatening to do for a while. So that was a bit of a rude awakening and also gave me something else to add to my list of 9,773,892 things to worry about, but overall, the film was great and I would thoroughly recommend even if you don’t know anything about who J. Robert Oppenheimer was. I thought the film was fascinating, the cinematography was – as expected – incredible, and the overall experience was just great aside from James crunching popcorn down my ear louder than the already excruciating loud film (can you tell I’m very noise-reactive?)

This beautiful, heartwarming clip of a father’s love for his daughter

Friends, I cannot lie, I absolutely sobbed when I saw this clip for the first time. Not sure if I was particularly hormonal, having a bad day, or just a generally over-emotional person (clearly the latter!) but this video really got me, it’s SO precious, enjoy!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 𝗠𝗮𝗷𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 (@majicallynews)

Listening

Feel better, Live More podcast ep #346: Unlock the Power of Your Mind and Live Your best Life Today with Lewis Howes

I should start this by saying that in my world of work (self-help, personal development and mental health) I work with predominantly with women coaches, leaders, pioneers and teachers, and I had a preconceived idea that Lewis Howes was just another one of these bro-marketers like Mark Manson and Jordan Peterson, but I hold my hands up and admit, I was very, very wrong.

I spend a lot of time in the podcasting space, and Dr. Rangan Chatterjee is, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful, wonderful, inspiring human beings on the planet. He interviews a range of inspiring guests – with many big names in the industry appearing on his show (think Wim Hof, Andrew Huberman, Gabor Maté, Mel Robbins, and even the likes of the incredible Sadhguru and Edith Eger!!!!) and he is a pioneer in the self-help and mental health field.

This particular episode moved me, not least because Lewis Howes described his experience of overcoming the turmoil that stayed with him for more than 25 years following an abhorrent childhood violation, but also what he’s done for other people – especially men – in terms of mental health, stress and depression. He is another remarkable human, and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into his podcast now that I’ve overcome my preconceptions and learned a little more about him.

If ever you’ve felt stressed, confused, or lacking direction in your life, I totally recommend a listen to this episode!

Before You Go…

I spent time with one of my best friends this weekend, and honestly it rejuvenated me for the busy week ahead. There really is nothing better than having authentic, real conversations with people who are important to you, and growing together, and going through life together. I’m 33 in a few weeks and it feels like such an honour to have people by my side that have been with me for 20+ years. Long may it continue, hopefully I’ll still be writing to you at 93 saying the same!

And soppiness over, here’s the beautiful, incredible Ryan Gosling as different geese to see you through the rest of your week. You’re welcome.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Great British Memes 🇬🇧 (@greatbritish.memes)

See you next week!