Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all.

Emily Dickinson

 I love that poem. That sentiment. For me hope and happiness are interchangeable.

Although...I mean hope in the sense of optimism, not some sort of craven desperation. In my role as an editor for marketing copy, I ALWAYS change text like 'We hope to be able to...' 'Hopefully, this product will...'

NO! DON'T SAY THAT! It sounds so lame and weak. Be proud of yourselves! Be confident!

And now, in one of Caroline Coxon's strange synaptical leaps - maybe not so strange - here's a song to cheer you up on a damp and drizzly Friday morning (well, it is here!) should you need it.

Ooops there goes another rubber tree plant!

I dwell in possibility…

Funny thing...I thought this phrase (which I like, but at the same time it makes me feel slightly nauseous) came from some American motivational speaker. Apologies to American motivational speakers everywhere but sometimes they can be a bit too much for my very British understated way of being.

(especially for my son Tim)

But no...I dwell in possibility was written by by Emily Dickinson.

Yes, she was American but not a motivational speaker, as far as I know.

She doesn't exactly LOOK like one, at any rate, but, in a different age, she could have been. She says things that motivational speakers say. In a sullen sort of way.

Anyway, here's how I dwell in possibility even when I start off the day thinking I'm not. I create a possibility for someone else. It's a win-win situation. Fail-safe.

And it hardly ever makes me feel nauseous.