Five principles

Today was mindfulness. As you are undoubtedly aware by now, this is a really important part of my life. I believe that it leads to me living a more fulfilling life, to being easier to be around and enables me to consider how I can positively contribute to society. As I drove home the 5 principles of every child matters popped into my head. You may be asking where is she going and how is this relevant?

As many of you will know, I previously worked as a lecturer and researcher in Higher Education, focusing on early childhood. One of the things that I believe is that many of the issues that are focused on in the early years sector are applicable throughout our lives. However often these are pushed aside in favour of other issues that are seen as being more mature. Yet the reality is that we need to strip back and consider these issues because they impact on our lives and on our impact on the lives of those around us.

In 2004 a policy document was published by the UK government; Every child matters: change for children. The policy, which is no longer UK policy, was the first piece of legislation that was underpinned by research. The strategy consisted of 5 principles:

● being healthy
● staying safe
● enjoying and achieving
● making a positive contribution
● economic well-being

In many respects these can be considered to be a re-framing of other principles and ideas that have been developed since the time of Aristotle. However these are very straightforward and can be easily applied to our adult lives. We all want to be healthy and as adults we are able to contribute to our own health, we can choose our food and our exercise. We need to keep ourselves safe; be that from physical or emotional dangers. We all want to be able to enjoy our lives and feel that we are achieving our goals. Being part of society means that we try to provide positive contributions even if only in a small way. Finally we all need to be financially secure.

Walking the dogs, going to pilates classes, and engaging in mindfulness as well almost entirely eating home prepared food is how that I attempt to be healthy. I believe that I attempt to keep myself physically and emotionally safe. In the past I set myself challenging goals. I continue to set goals but now they tend to be associated with crafting. I am always pleased when I complete something new and gain a real sense of achievement. I would like to make a positive contribution in a number of different ways. At the moment on a small scale, I am making squares for our local Christmas tree. Longer term I would like to do something to support others in becoming both positive and creative. Finally I would not say that we are financially secure but we do have a small regular income. This means that we can pay for the basics and as we develop our businesses here we will be able to become more financially secure.

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I would be interested in your responses to the five principles. Do you think that they are important in all of our lives? Until tomorrow…