Don't forget about yourself when you want to make a difference in the world

Don't ask yourself what the world needs
Ask yourself what makes you come alive
And then go and do that
Because what the world needs
Is people who have come alive
Harold Thurman

I love this quote. I've always been preoccupied with what the world needs and what I can do to make a difference. To be quite honest it's a pain in the arse, that constant concern that I'm not doing enough, that sense of guilt of existing unless I can justify it with great displays of selflessly giving myself to a worthy cause that could potentially save the planet from shriveling up into a dried up husk, feed the world, make it a better place. 'Imagine all the people', I think, 'living in a world of peace...OK, so how am I going to make that happen?'.

It becomes an endless cycle of frustration and gets me into a right pickle - there is so much to be done so that whatever I'm doing never seems quite good enough.

And what if all this running around trying to save the planet doesn't make the blindest bit of difference? What if at the end of my life I meet the big guy in the sky and he says 'nice try Selina but the whole point was to enjoy yourself you muppet'?

Now I'm not suggesting we all turn our backs on one another, put our feet up and focus on numero uno. The lucky fact of the matter is that being of service to other people is in fact incredibly fulfilling and rewarding, that in itself brings people alive. Sacrificing ourselves in the process doesn't. Quite the opposite in fact. So whatever I take on, simple question is 'does this bring me alive - am I energised by the work involved or drained?'.

How is this impacting on my life? Well, I'm stepping away from a lot of things in my life that have been draining me, including smoking And as for career - it's all starting to blossom again.

I'M RETRAINING AS A HOMEOPATH!: I visited the London College of Homeopathy and am enrolling in the first year of a 4 year homeopathy course. It's part-time and starts in September. It fulfills my love of learning about a subject that I find endlessly fascinating and sets me on a path to learning an expertise that I can use to contribute positively to people and that I can combine with other dreams of writing, teaching, running workshops as well of course as practicing as a homeopath.

EXPLORING SETTING UP CERAMIC JEWELRY BUSINESS: I'm in action - I've met with a ceramic artist and she has set me up to start experimenting with designs and glazes. It's such a simple idea that I have great faith will really work. And if it doesn't then I'll enjoy the process all the same. Today I went and learnt about glazes at a pottery craft shop and splurged £20 on glazes and oxides.

MAKING MONEY HAVING FUN: I have lots of jobs lined up for the summer working in events and at festivals. Last week I got a call from an events company offering me work in Dublin, Athens and Lisbon - yeh! And I'm lined up with work on the ChocStar at festivals and Simon's legendary Luardos van - come visit us in Brick Lane on the 29th April.

August is currently free so I'm going to look into what fun I can have with that month - maybe some voluntary work ; )