Since starting at Harley Street, I seem to be spending a lot of time on trains up and down to London.  And in recent weeks I’ve also been to Cornwall and back for Nana’s funeral, and Oxford and back to meet up with my best friend for a long overdue catch-up.

I like travelling by train.  It gives me time to read, time to listen to music, time to people-watch, time to think and feel – stuff that I don’t normally allow myself to do.  I can just stare out of the window at the ever-changing scenery rushing past, allowing my gaze to shift to peripheral vision and my mind to wander.  I don’t have to concentrate on anything in particular, and can just follow where my thoughts and feelings take me.

It feels like a bit of a luxury – having all that time I mean.  I just don’t get the chance to give myself that much head-and-heart-space in my day to day life, not with the girls to look after, clients to see, emails to answer, phone calls to make, housework to keep on top of and lists and lists of things to do and remember.

So I use it as wisely as I can.  I let myself be open to whatever pops up and I go with it – gently untangling the knots in my head and lowering the shield around my heart.  I work on putting my thoughts in some sort of order, organising them so I can make sense of them.  I let myself feel whatever I need to feel.  There have been numerous occasions when I’ve shed silent tears behind my sunglasses, or suddenly smiled broadly at the memory of something.   I’ve made several important decisions on train journeys of late – about work, about love, about life, about what’s important to me and why.

How about you?  Where do you do your thinking and feeling?  What decisions have you made as a result of giving yourself the time and space to follow your thoughts and feelings?

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