It felt super vulnerable to hold a poetry recital on the 7th year anniversary of my Dad’s passing. A day on which I usually keep a low profile, nurse my feelings and write. In the morning I was feeling a lot of grief in my spleen and wondering whether it really was a good idea to have organised the reading after all.

Yet when I really checked in with myself, some deeper wisdom became apparent. Firstly, I knew damn well that my wonderful Dad would not have wanted me to spend the whole day feeling sad. Whilst he was a complete advocate for the full expression of feelings, he was also a firm believer in not staying melancholic for too long! And we always have a choice how long to remain in something.

Secondly, aside from the grief feelings, there was an excited trembling in my body. That feeling I…