Ah, well then you will enjoy my new book Parenting with Soul (drumroll for shameless self-promotion ...), which will be out in April. Mindfulness and being in the moment is a big theme in it, because I agree that this is an area that is so important for parents - and so hard to keep hold of in the chaos of parenting.

Thanks Jodie! As you can probably tell, I'm intrigued by the whole idea of perfection - like you say, good and bad are all part of the mix.

Good to hear of someone else who believes in silence, even though it's hard to get (or make!) sometimes. Like most things with small children, it is hard at first but practice helps and they do get used to the idea. My 7yo's class went on an excursion to the botanic gardens a couple of weeks back and the whole class went through the Japanese garden in complete silence, so that they could absorb the serenity - I never would have thought it possible but they did it!

Yvette, thanks for the feedback! I do think that wabi-sabi is easier to spot when you get off the track of wealthy Western society - or perhaps it's simply more important for us to see it in places where we might not expect beauty to be.

Jodie, that's such a great response to things people say that hurt you - 'that's your opinion.' Nice and calm, and it's not a put-down. (I know lots of grownups who would benefit from that approach!)

Abby, I like that approach to role playing - it's probably a really effective way to externalise the worry.