Dare to be different!

As I sat in the car waiting for my daughter to finish her stint at the kennels today , I caught sight of a heron in my mirror as it swooped down into the brook .It stood for a few minutes and once again I was reminded how lucky I am to live the lifestyle  I do.

My muscles are aching today.After a long walk yesterday, I walked to The Manjushri Centre, round the beautiful gardens which are filled with camellias at the moment and back to the leisure centre where my daughter was doing gym. It couldn't have been much further than three miles but I could feel the muscles pulling as I walked along.

Last night a group of us went to see Divergent at the cinema..We really enjoyed it although my daughter,who had read the book, said there were some parts missing.What struck me was the theme running through,namely that if you're different you pose a threat.Being different frightens and threatens people.That's certainly been the experience of my son with Aspergers,it's the minority of people who are open minded and non judgemental- difference frightens most of society and there seems to be a need to suppress it.

Ironically that's exactly what I am trying to promote in my children.
The confidence to believe in themselves and to stick to their principals, even when everyone around disagrees  with them. It's the harder option, but the peace it brings when you know you've made the right choice is incalculable.

Recently I read about a book called Wreck this Journal and I bought it for my daughter. The idea is to encourage the reader to do things which would normally go against convention,such as throwing the book across the room or reading it in the shower, or drawing on tne cover.It's about stretching your boundaries, doing things you normally wouldn't have the guts to do, which you have been taught are 'wrong' and to question why? If we all did it more often life would be so much more exciting for everyone.