The Happiness List: A wonderfully feel-good story to make you smile this summer!. Annie Lyons

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СКАЧАТЬ draughty community hall.’

      ‘There are worse ways to spend an evening.’

      ‘Very true. Take care and speak soon. Bye!’

      Heather glanced back before she drove off, waving at Gemma standing on the doorstep with Freddy in her arms. As she focused on the road, she felt a dip of sadness in her chest, a tug of longing for when she and Gemma were growing up. Heather missed those days – Saturdays shopping in the nearby town, trying out lipstick in Boots and sitting in McDonald’s nursing a strawberry milkshake for hours as boys would come and go like interview candidates. Gemma always seemed so in charge when it came to the opposite sex. Heather would watch in awe as some teenage boy, his face peppered with acne and sprouting stubble, would sidle over and try to get her attention. Gemma would flirt with the ones she liked and introduce the ones she didn’t to Heather. Heather didn’t mind – she received all her cousin’s cast-off clothes so why not the boys as well? As the younger cousin, she was just grateful to be in Gemma’s presence – she was her guiding light and her protector too. When one boy tried to persuade Heather to go for a ‘walk’ in the municipal gardens, Gemma tipped the rest of her milkshake over his head and told him to get lost before she told the whole restaurant that he was a pervert. Heather smiled at the memory. No one messed with Gemma Sharp.

      She and Gemma were still close and they would always have that bond from growing up together but there was a distance now. It wasn’t just the geography – Gemma lived less than an hour away. There was an emotional distance too – the inevitable growing apart that came with marriage and motherhood. It was normal and natural but it made Heather feel as if she was drifting and somehow losing her anchor to the past.

      It made her realize how much she needed Luke, how much she loved and couldn’t wait to marry him – to get on with their life, to make it something happy and wonderful, something she’d needed ever since her parents died.

      ‘So,’ said Nik, smiling as he stood before the group hours later. ‘Did any of you experiment with mindfulness this week?’

      ‘I tried mindful baking,’ admitted Pamela ruefully.

      ‘And how did it go?’

      ‘I fell asleep.’ She grimaced. ‘I ended up burning my buns. I never burn my buns.’

      Nik gave her a sympathetic smile.

      ‘Sorry to say it but I don’t think I have time to be mindful,’ declared Fran. ‘I can’t be present whilst chopping up cucumber, admiring the glistening discs of translucent green or whatever. I just need to get it done and move on to the next thing.’

      Nik nodded. ‘The world is busy. But let me ask you this, if you go for a run, can you keep on running indefinitely?’

      ‘Well no, obvs. You need to take a break from time to time.’

      ‘Exactly, so mindfulness is a way of taking a moment, a break from the constant rushing, a time to reset your brain if you like – to observe what is happening. Some people learn to be mindful all the time and if you practise enough, this is possible. But I would say that perhaps this isn’t realistic so you should think of it as a form of exercise to start with. And tonight we’re going to try something to help us practise.’ Nik took a Tupperware box from his bag and lifted the lid. ‘Sultanas,’ he said, walking around the circle. ‘Help yourself.’

      ‘Sorry, I’m on a diet,’ joked Fran as she took one.

      Nik smiled. ‘I would like you to imagine that you have never seen a sultana before.’ Heather and Fran exchanged amused glances. ‘Take a moment to look at it properly, observe its appearance. What do you see?’

      ‘Sorry, Nik?’ said Jim.

      ‘Yes?’

      Jim looked sheepish. ‘I’ve already eaten mine. I thought it was a snack.’

      ‘Me too,’ said Sue. ‘I haven’t had my dinner and I was hungry.’

      Nik laughed. ‘Okay, here you go,’ he said, handing out replacements. ‘Now, try for a moment to observe the sultana. Look at it carefully and share your thoughts if you want to.’

      ‘Brown?’ offered Pamela.

      Nik nodded encouragingly.

      ‘Shrivelled,’ said Heather.

      ‘Like old person,’ observed Georg. ‘My grandmother had wrinkled face like this.’ Everyone laughed. Georg looked surprised. ‘Is true.’

      ‘Good,’ said Nik. ‘And now how does it feel in your hand – consider this for a moment with your eyes closed.’

      ‘Soft,’ said Sue after a pause.

      ‘Sticky,’ added Pamela.

      ‘Knobbly,’ said someone else.

      ‘And the smell?’ asked Nik. ‘Take your time.’

      ‘Sweet,’ said Heather.

      ‘Rich,’ said Georg. ‘Like dark sugar smell.’

      ‘Like my mum’s larder,’ observed Jim with a smile. ‘She did a lot of baking, like Mrs T.’ Pamela grinned at him.

      ‘And now we taste,’ said Nik. ‘Don’t chew it at first, just let it rest on your tongue and focus on what comes to mind.’

      There was a long pause before they answered.

      ‘Liquorice,’ said Pamela with a confused frown.

      ‘Longing,’ added Heather. ‘I know it’s sweet but I can’t taste it yet.’

      ‘Salt and sweet,’ said Fran, looking at Nik. ‘Sorry, I couldn’t wait – I had to bite it.’

      Nik smiled. ‘It’s okay, it’s not a test. What this shows us isn’t about the sultana itself. It’s about our ability to focus on the present moment, to concentrate on the thing that is right in front of you. Congratulations – you all have the capacity to be mindful. I promise that if you practise, you will feel the benefits.’ Fran arched a brow at him. ‘Even you, Fran.’

      ‘Cheek,’ she laughed.

      Nik addressed the group. ‘So this week’s homework is to find an activity that enables you to be mindful or present in the moment or however you would like to phrase it. Add it to your own happiness list and do your best to incorporate it into your life. Try to view it as you taking a deep breath when you need it most.’

      As they left the course a while later, Fran turned to Pamela and Heather. ‘Right, all that breathing and focusing on the present has made me realize that I need a drink and, as my mother is staying over again, I intend to take full advantage of the fact. Who fancies the pub?’

      Heather checked her phone. No messages from Luke but as he’d been working late all week, Heather fully expected more of the same. What was the point in going home to an empty house again? ‘I’m in,’ she declared. ‘Pamela?’

      ‘Barry will only be glued to one of his gardening programmes and Matty’s out so why not?’

      ‘I СКАЧАТЬ