Category: Family & Faith

Keeping on top of New Year resolutions

Wendy Grace Like a lot of people I made a lot of New Year’s Resolutions, I had a lot of enthusiasm in January, but now am finding it really difficult, have you any advice as to how I can stay motivated? Many of us make New Year’s resolutions that are hopeful but unrealistic and come…

Faith in the family

I am trying to get out more to walk and to pay attention to my surroundings when I do. There is something about having a camera or a decent phone with me, I find it makes me more observant. I am looking around, seeking out beauty, noticing little things that otherwise might escape my attention.…

Avoid anxiety meds dependency

Medical Matters Last September the Medical Council issued warnings about the over-prescribing of medications for anxiety and insomnia. Belonging to a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines, they first took prominence in 1963 with the arrival of Valium, a safer and better alternative to hitherto existing hypnotics. Its use skyrocketed along with newer versions in…

Family News and Events

Bring your imagination If you happen to be in the south of the country near Cork city there is a great opportunity available to get creative at The Glucksman contemporary art museum in University College Cork. They are running a free art workshop on Sunday afternoons between 3 and 4pm every week up until Sunday…

No excuse not to build your spring garden

Green Fingers God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures. – Francis Bacon It is estimated that by 2050, 66% of the world’s population will live in cities and a recent study shows the average American adult spends 93% of their time indoors. A recipe for an unhealthy…

Dad’s Diary

A child’s first words are a huge milestone. At first, amongst the babble that emerges from a baby, something resembling a word occasionally emerges, like “da” or “yeah”. Yet, you cannot be quite sure if was merely accidental. Perhaps, you think, she is also inadvertently saying the occasional coherent word of Swahili or Russian, as…

Meditation: Sitting to Attention

Mindful Living Children take to meditation very easily – they have a natural disposition for silence because they have an infinite openness to life without expectation. Adults can quickly tire of meditation because they feel they are getting nowhere. It seems – on the surface of things – that nothing is happening and that can…

Faith in the Family

I am going to be doing some work over the coming months with social enterprises. A social enterprise addresses challenges or needs in the community through an entrepreneurial business approach. An example of a social enterprise could be a bakery which employs people with learning difficulties or a community venture which provides classes, activities and support…

Family News and Events

Time to welcome spring’s snowdrops With the coming of spring, flowers are beginning to break through the soil and it seems like the whole environment is coming back to vibrant life with a huge variety of colour. What better way to enjoy the season than to take a walk in nature and enjoy one of…