Rita Leaman

I WAS asked to contribute a monthly column to new wellbeing pages in The Press,

THREE years ago, a significant birthday started to loom on the horizon.

I WAS playing snakes and ladders with my granddaughter and suddenly I knew what I was going to write about this month. It was a particularly ludicrous game on an Australian board with probably too many squares with various Australian creatures ready to pounce on us. For nearly an hour, we went up and down the board, always being thwarted as we neared the end and laughing at the never-ending game.

I have written and spoken about emotional maturity for 20 years.

“THAT’S sad”, the daughter said to her mother. The mother was surprised and later asked her friends if they thought her daughter was right. We didn’t think what our friend described was sad at all. What exactly did my friend’s daughter think was sad? My friend had gone down to the foreshore in the seaside town where she lives and had sat alone, quietly, looking out to sea. The sight and sound of the waves were both soothing and calming. Balm for the soul.

THIS week I am treating a few lifetime friends to a ‘thank you’ lunch. I reached a significant birthday last month and celebrated quietly with family. I also wanted to thank some friends for helping to keep me on the rails, when at various points in life, I wobbled.

MY parents died in 2010 and 2013 and I still have boxes to ‘go through’.

VOLUNTEERS Week runs from June 1. Volunteering is an excellent contributor to a person’s wellbeing. It’s something I’ve done all my adult life. As well as paid work, I’ve been an unpaid volunteer in a variety of ways. The best volunteering experience of my life was as a Games Maker at London 2012 Olympics, but it was an opportunity missed by many, who didn’t believe in unpaid work.

RECENTLY I embraced the Slow Movement lifestyle. Or rather, it embraced me. If you’re not familiar with the Slow Movement, it’s about living life at a slower pace. In the past, I’ve experienced slow food, slow radio and slow television. A popular TV series was made by the actors, Timothy West and Prunella Scales taking slow trips on canals. There is a Slow Movement website too (slowmovement.com).

“I DON’T have any imagination”, said Anna* at a workshop on anxiety.