How To Live Again When Life Has Fallen Apart?

How do you learn to live again when life as you knew it has fallen apart? Mary Jane Grant discovered that the little pleasures can make the biggest difference…

- Mary Jane Grant

After her husband Stuart announced he wanted a separation from their 25-year marriage in November 2013, Mary Jane decided to move from their home in Canada to London to be near her son, Ryan. She told herself that this was a test of their relationship and that they would nd a way to get back together. But in London she found some simple yet effective ways to help ease her sadness, which made her feel more alive than ever…

The vibrant city of London was at my feet and I was barely taking it in. Upon seeing something remarkable, I would instinctively reach out to touch my husband’s arm and say, “Will you look at that?” but nobody was there and I felt the sting of rejection. ‘You’ve been discarded, remember?’

THE PLEASURE OF LIVING IN THE MOMENT

Then I went into a tea shop and came face to face with a display of small white pots filled with different types of tea. “Smell the teas,” said the laminated sign. I felt like Alice in Wonderland and picked up a cup labelled ‘tranquillity’. The scent of lavender hit me first but also something citrus. I closed my eyes and breathed in slowly, then opened them to look at the tea – tiny buds of pale purple lavender and dried lemon peel. I was present and it felt wonderful. I walked back to my rented room and instead of looking down, I looked up at the faces of people coming in the opposite direction. Sometimes my eyes met theirs and I must have been smiling because several smiled back at me. “Cool air,” I said to myself as the damp evening chill touched my cheeks. “Spicy curry,” catching an exotic scent as people went into an Indian restaurant. “Listen.” The sounds of rush hour swirled around me. As I walked home I clung to the ve senses.