Freedom

Each month in our newsletter we feature a monthly tip from our band members. This month's tip comes from Karen Armstrong who reflects on freedom and what it means for our health and wellbeing.

"The best things in life are free" - an old adage and one that is particularly pertinent to our health and well-being. What we can give freely is a smile, a hug, a friendly or uplifting chat, a shoulder to rest on. How lucky we are, that these are 'freely' available to give and to receive.

Other things that we find freely available are the environments in which we live or can travel to: to appreciate movement, sunlight, the sights, sounds and feel of nature. The wind rustling our hair, the smell of wild garlic in the woodlands, the warmth of sun on our faces. How ready we all are for those moments after a damp, cold winter, or after receiving some sad or upsetting news.

The environment around us, reaches out to us to envelop us and provide solace and joy.

Free-dom: of movement, of speech, of action - all things we take for granted, but for many people, there are restrictions or limitations put upon them by place or circumstance. It's easy to forget that not everyone has an able body, a place or a time in which they are able to access a friendly face for compassion or even some open space in which to walk and absorb some of nature's gifts.

So, when we are thinking about well-being and how important our freedom to say, do and act is, let's remember those for whom that may be a tad more difficult. Acting with our freedom of compassion is perhaps the greatest free gift we've got.