How it all began.

The idea of hahalala first came to me when I was sitting at my kitchen table in 2007, after three years of being sick and disabled following a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. I had been diagnosed very unexpectedly after collapsing one Saturday night….a headteacher at the time, I had been ignoring the signs that something was wrong, putting my exhaustion down to the stresses of the job and my shaking legs down to the exhaustion.

I had a brain scan on the Monday and by Wednesday I was told that I would need a wheelchair soon and that there was no cure. It was devastating. I couldn’t walk, I lost my speech, I couldn’t bear any noise or light and my life spiralled out of control. I was 35. I retired from my job and spent the the next few years rebuilding my life. I learned that what I ate, how I started my day, what I valued and how I communicated would all have an impact on my well-being. I had to stop smoking, in time I stopped drinking, my disordered eating was something I had to address and I had to finally acknowledge that I did actually need to rest from time to time. It was a huge learning curve and the pains were many but with the support of my beloved partner and some amazing friends, I reached a place where I could sit upright at the table and work out what I felt.

That’s when it came to me. I felt healthy, happy, loved and was able to laugh again….I was hahalala and it felt great. I was determined to share this new found state and to stay out of the threatened wheelchair. Eleven years later, I’m still learning, loving and finding my way through each day with a positive mindset and a daily practice of good food, simple meditation and yoga. Quite simply, nowadays if it doesn’t add to my hahalala, I just don’t do it....mainly :) 

Of course, life rarely feels that simple and there have been many steps and stumbles along the way but in essence, the hahalala way of life has given me a framework within which to make sense of the world and my place within it.  In any ever changing and often scary world, the stability of a hahalala mindset can take us far. 

Ultimately, it’s about love and connection and this is what has grown over the years. I hope in the years to come, more people will pick up the notion and come to see that we can all do more for ourselves and each other by simple kindnesses and a shared ideal. 

if you’ve read this, perhaps you’d be kind enough to leave a comment and share the vibe. Thankyou.

In hahalala 💖💫