We are having some delightfully sunny weather here in the UK at the moment, so I said to Graeme "I want something that feels like sunshine today." He promptly responded with this song. 

Yup, perfect. Hope you guys are taking advantage of the beautiful weather we've been having recently (not that rain isn't nice too...). 

As it's so lovely out, we don't want to keep you too long, so have a quick dance break while you listen, then get back outside! (:

Until next time...

“The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality.”

This week I wish to introduce you to Andrew Solomon. A writer on politics, culture and psychology, he is perhaps best known for his 2001 book The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression. He has lectured widely on depression and his own experiences of it, a fine example of which I’ve found for you below. If this isn’t enough to inspire some thoughts in you this Thursday, you probably clicked on the wrong link and ended up here by accident. Hey, stick around anyway.

Somehow telling you to enjoy this one wouldn’t feel entirely appropriate, so instead I’ll just ask you... to make sure you’re sitting comfortably.

EGS 

Again, something a little different for you this week, at the cost of a video that moves. You know I wouldn't do that to you unless what I had in mind was really good, right?

On a Good Day is certainly good, no doubts there. But you have to get the right mix, which is why I've specified the Acoustic one. Every other version of this song, you see, would have endless trance-like beats grabbing your attention over the top of the vocals - and like my last Tunesday, this is a tune that is all about the vocals for me. The gentle, eerie acoustics amplify their effect here.

Above & Beyond are an English dance music group specialising in electronic dance, although their most recent studio album, Acoustic, seems a bit of a change of direction for them. Like I have hinted at, this song started out as one of those electronic dance tracks, before someone realised its true strengths would be brought out by another method (namely, this one).

Those lyrics...

Enjoy!

EGS 

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--

The end of February has already come and gone! We are already 2/12 or 1/6 (or 66/365 if you're feeling exact) of the way through 2014! If you've been keeping up with the blog you'll know that last month we placed a special focus on mindfulness, so naturally one would expect a kind of "wrap-up" post. Nah, that's much too predictable for us! There are a few reasons why that isn't the case, the main one being that we don't want mindfulness and meditation to be something you take on for a month as a challenge, but a practice you can incorporate into your every day life. There is also the fact that I thought it would be fun to do a Feb Faves post and bring some joy to start your weekend. 

Let's begin!

This cover of "Say Something" by Pentatonix. 

We featured this group in a December Tunesday post, and they're still incredible vocalists. This cover also came out just in time to make in into the Feb Faves post. The song ...

This tweet! 

As someone who has a special fondness for [cheesy/bad/horrible] chat-up lines...

OrangeMouth now has both a Pinterest and an Instagram! We're really visual, can you tell? You'll want to give us follow. 

Our event co-ordinator Maxine is back from Japan! Woop woop! 

This quote:

#livepositive  Nuff said.

We at OrangeMouth are firm believers in the benefits of a good belly laugh. 

...And now that we've got all of that out of the way, let's move swiftly on to what we're actually doing in March. Or, to be more precise, the period known as 'Lent' (which admittedly goes into a little bit of April as well).

This time of year, like the first day of January, represents a time when people like to make bold or proud declarations of things they are going to be giving up for a few weeks. Sometimes you wonder who exactly they're giving them up for, whether it be themselves, children in Africa, or just to show their mates that they can. Regardless, at the end of the 40 days, you'll find them jumping back on whatever wagon they had struggled to drag themselves off of in the first place (provided they hadn't given up mid-way through). It ultimately makes you wonder whether, possibly, it all may have been a little bit of a waste of time.

Here at OrangeMouth, we are not fond of unnecessary struggle. We don't like the feeling of wasted time at the end of each month. So for lent, we thought we'd give you a different sort of challenge; that is, rather than challenge you to give something up, we're challenging you to give something back. Whether it be to those you love, appreciate, admire, or your community, or even the whole world. We don't let realism halt our ambition. Rather than challenging you to deny yourself, we're asking that you inspire others with a different (and arguably more rewarding) kind of self-discipline. In turn you may find yourself feeling better off at the end of this coming 40 days.

We are, of course, already there. This leads me to present you with today's 'inspire' challenge. And as it is night-time here (in the UK) - a Friday night to be precise - we'd like to encourage you to look after that person (it may very well be plural, but pick one for now) you know who spends nights like this... well, getting drunk, to put it simply. Try to prevent them doing anything they may regret in the morning. Make sure they get home safe. Give them some water before sleeping. Tonight, and for the next 38 days at least, be a kind friend.

Until next time!

Graeme and M-J