There is a line at the beginning of "Pretty Woman" where a homeless guy is walking through the streets of Beverly Hills asking people "What's Your Dream?"  Many of us had dreams as children of growing up and "becoming" something...singer, actress, veterinarian, doctor, writer, teacher...but as we grow up and reality takes hold, we often forget about the dreams and aspirations we had as children or teenagers and many of us (myself included!) end up doing something completely different.  The dream gets forgotten about and real life takes over.

I recently read a very inspiring article by Bethany Butzer PH.D called "Do What You're Meant To Do" 

It really made me think about my own dreams and passions, things I've been interested in but haven't pursued, courses I wish I'd taken and career paths I wish I'd explored in more detail.  In the last few years I've been getting so much better at following my heart and my dreams and so far, so good!  So I guess I'm asking you now, what are you meant to do that you are not already doing?  Is there is something you wish you'd learned or done or somewhere you wish you'd traveled to but haven't yet done so?

When 2014 dawned I promised myself to try even more new things this year and be really true to who I am and what I want from life on a personal and professional level.  Bethany's article has really inspired me to do a few things I've been putting on the long finger (including finishing some of my own articles and getting this website published in its new format) so there's nothing stopping me now, except myself!

From time to time I come across YouTube videos which amaze and inspire me...this is one of those videos. This elderly couple were married for 62 years when this video was taken in 2008 and the gentleman was almost 90 years of age at the time.  If you are worrying about what life will be like as you grow older, then check out this video and you won't worry anymore.  Age is just a number after all!

Spring is almost here—at last!  The trees and flowers are starting to bloom, the birds are singing and we can finally shake off the winter gloom and start enjoying some finer weather and longer evenings.  

This month at Here To Help we are focusing on helping people to de-clutter their lives.  It’s not always an easy task but once you have done it, you will feel a whole lot better!  De-cluttering is a fantastic way of getting rid of the old to make room for the new and many people find that having a good clear out—whether at home, in your office or even in your life— is a terrific way to start again and it often gives us renewed focus and helps us to feel energized and positive. 

If we are surrounded by clutter every day it can make us feel physically and mentally disorganized, leaving us feeling unfocused and unmotivated.  Clutter even blocks creativity!  Whether you believe in feng shui or not, de-cluttering our lives really is a fantastic way to feel lighter and happier and it gives us a renewed sense of purpose. 

Some of us have been hanging on to the same things literally for years—our attics are full of memorabilia, old clothes, gifts we didn’t use or want, junk that we have brought from house to house with us but couldn’t bear to part with...sometimes knowing that all this “stuff” is up there in the attic is too overwhelming and we cannot bear the thought of tackling it! 

Here are some quick tips on how to tackle that physical clutter in our homes and offices and get organized this Spring:

Get Set!  Set a date or dates on which you are committing yourself to sorting it all out and decide in advance which charity shops will benefit from your de-cluttering session

Skip It! If you have an attic/garage full of clutter then organize to have a skip delivered— once that skip arrives you have to follow through on your promise to yourself to sort it all out!

Sort It! Sort the clutter into piles of “must keep” and “must throw away” - resolving to make the “must throw away” pile considerably larger than the “must keep” pile!

Store It!  If you don’t have adequate storage for the things you really want to keep, it is a good idea to get some storage solutions sorted before you start...IKEA and home stores such as Homestore & More, Homebase and Argos offer great storage solutions and the big plus is that they don’t cost that much to buy.  Two key items to consider buying if you are looking for some practical storage solutions, are different sized plastic boxes with lids and lots of bags for vacuum packing—essential when storing those clothes you really can’t part with!  If you want to find some prettier storage items for areas that will be on display such as in kitchens or living rooms, wicker baskets and faux leather boxes look great in any room and don’t cost the earth.

Okay!  That's the physical stuff sorted...but what about the more difficult emotional clutter that we hold on to?  How do we tackle that?

Does this look familiar?  If so, you are not alone.  Life is so fast-paced and stressful nowadays that many of us are multitasking to the extreme - juggling a busy career and family, trying to maintain some sort of a social life and still finding time to spend with our partner, or with our friends and loved ones.  A friend of mine told me recently she has not read a book for 5 years.  In fact, she cannot even remember the last book she read, it was so long ago!  Another friend of mine laughed when I asked her if she ever goes swimming or goes for a walk just to relax.  "Relax?  By the time I have time to 'relax' it's time to go to bed!" she said. 

It's a fact of life that many of us are suffering from exhaustion, fatigue and stress due to the modern pressures of everyday life.  This stress causes us to sleep less soundly than we should, eat the foods we shouldn't and not look after ourselves properly.  Stress puts a huge strain on our health and in particular, our adrenal glands and immune system, which means we catch colds more often, pick up bugs and generally feel run-down, worn-out and exhausted,  but the great news is that there are some really simple ways we can alleviate that stress and boost our immune systems naturally, giving our body a chance to recover and find some balance (and who wouldn't want a bit more balance in their lives!) 

You can re-energise your mind and body very easily, just by changing your thought and behaviour patterns.  Who knew that making our lives a little better would be so simple!

Our lives are full of lots of different people which makes life interesting and enjoyable and full of variety.  There are some people you meet in life who uplift you, make you feel good, leave you feeling energised and happy after meeting them and seem to bring joy to everyone they meet.  Oh how nice it is when we spend time with someone like this!  We go back to our office or home feeling vibrant, light-hearted and full of inspiration.  They make us feel young again, they bring us hope, laughter and moments of sheer joy and our lives are all the richer for knowing them.  Their influence on us is like a cosy blanket, wrapping itself around us and enveloping us in warm, comforting love.  We leave them feeling full of new ideas and with a greater vibrancy, a smile on our face and a spring in our step.

Then there are energy vampires...those people in life or in business who literally suck all the energy from us, leaving us exhausted, depressed and worn out after meeting them and very grateful that it might be some time again before we have to go through the complete torture of spending yet another hour in their company.  Energy vampires come in all forms (if it helps, you can imagine Dracula in human form but without the teeth...).  Some energy vampires are always moaning and whining and can be our friends, family members, neighbours or colleagues.  You can recognise them straight away because nothing in their life ever goes right (according to them) and they love to apportion blame for this to everyone except themselves.  Other energy vampires are massive attention seekers - you hear them before you see them, they seek attention everywhere they go and from everyone they meet, by their loudness, rudeness and general "look at me" behaviour, leaving us zapped of all our energy, headachy and breathing a massive sigh of relief when they leave the room. 

In a nutshell, energy vampires are the people who make us wish that we could say "beam me up" when we encounter them so that we could disappear into the ether, leaving the energy vampire moaning to themselves.

We all know or have met energy vampires in our life, but we don't always spot them straight away or, when we do recognise them, it's too late and they've already managed to find an "in" into our life - whether that's through friendships, personal relationships or business relationships.  Sometimes we are unlucky and have an energy vampire in our family circle, a person who is not as easy to extricate ourselves from.  For some of us, an energy vampire could be the friend who calls and texts us day and night to complain about how awful her life is, to moan about how unfair and mean her boss is, how terrible her mother is, why that guy never called her back, how nothing ever goes right for her and she can't understand how others have so much and yet she has so little...for others, the energy vampire in our life could be our boss, a colleague or that person in our office who has recognised the kind-hearted person within us and uses every conceivable opportunity to complain to us about how bad their life is, how they never get promoted, how hard they work and the long hours they put in but that it is never recognised by others and how much they absolutely hate their job but what's the point in trying to find another one?  It will only be exactly the same situation somewhere else! 

So what can we do about energy vampires?  Are we powerless to deal with them, or are they the ones who hold all the power?  Do we just have to suffer in silence while they drone on, leaving us feeling drained and exhausted?