Being British has it's advantages. Tea, for one thing, is something I really miss when I'm travelling the world ... good old fashioned tea the way my mum makes it just can't be found! And hobnob biscuits ... mmmmm!

There are some tendencies which aren't so great though, one of which is carrying on in the face of adversity, pushing through difficult times, and coming out the other side better for it. I say this isn't so great, because what happens if the other side never comes?

Today's quote from 'Meditations for women who do too much' is:

"You need to claim the events of your life to make yourself yours.  When you truly possess all you have been and done, which may take some time, you are fierce with reality."
~ Flonda Scott Maxwell

A while ago, a good friend of mine gave me a lovely book of hers, slightly in jest but also out of compassion, at my busyness and tendency to do too much, called 'Meditations for women who do too much' by Anne Wilson Schaef.  

I was largely motivated to write this blog post after reading this post - 6 things about chronic pain you didn't know you knew - and just to be clear before I set off, I'm really not looking for 'oh that's so sad, you poor thing' responses, or sympathy - I'm just writing this to express what it is like to be running a business and contending with chronic pain on a daily basis, and a bit of an exploration of the challenges faced by people with disabilities who run businesses.  

Today is my first day back from the winter break, probably the longest proper time off that hasn't involved chasing kids around the mountains for DofE or being on retreat since I started running the business full time three years ago. It's also the first time I have returned to work from a vacation and felt like I had truly had the chance to kick back and rest.

Today is an important day in the Buddhist calendar - it's Sangha Day, where we celebrate one of the 'Three Jewels' of Buddhism. 

Things have been a little busy in the past month, with lots of international speaking engagements and of course, being part of the team behind Joomla!Day UK which took place at the beginning of October.

As you may know I've been in Kenya this week, speaking at Joomla!Day Kenya and carrying out some market research.  Today was my last day, so this morning when I went to check out of our apartment I was rather surprised when the reception team told me I wouldn't be flying anywhere!