There are many Universal Facts of Life: things that are so tried and tested as to be irrefutable.

As travellers through time, we are burdened with the stone in our shoe that tells us to stop running, to pause and take stock before we stumble and fall. We should make time to savour the quality of our lives before it’s too late.

Most of us, at some time or other, get sucked into the lifeless vacuum of work; the cogs of the corporate machine that we keep turning until one day, when we depart this Earth, we may earn the word ‘lubricant’ on our headstone.

The speed of modern life is an oppressive thing, and the corporate world is quick to punish those with an honest heart. Qualities such as ‘nice, honest, kind, happy, relaxed, sincere, innocent’ are frowned upon as weaknesses. Yet these values are the essence of a good person. Unfortunately, if you don’t keep the balance, they can be lost like sand through your fingers.

There comes a time when you just have to say, “No!” – to the requests and to the system.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it, this notion of simplicity? Simple things done simply by a simple person. But it’s not as simple as it seems.