Never underestimate the power of a cupboard. They are magical places. Mess vanishes within their clutches, truths can be disappeared into them, stress-whispers, unfit for ears of the Christmas dinner guests, can be said unto them. How I adore a cupboard!

When my little brother first lived on the other side of the world to me, I had 3 very young children. I missed the simpler days of my little brother, the ones when he was far too young to mind having make-up practiced on his face. And so when our time difference allowed, and he would call, nothing would get in the way of having some quiet time to speak. It was normal for me to find a cupboard and squash inside, all tangled up in hoover pieces, with phone, just to have uninterrupted time with him.

I seek out 'the cupboard' in many other ways. Tonight I will go to the Cathedral and hear 6 choirs from our school join together for the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. This year all of my children are old enough to be singing in the official choirs and not just in the congregation.

The year I left my granny's bedside to go to the Cathedral, I found out she had passed away just before I walked inside. I was jangled with grief and yet that moment when those voices first rang out, filling every space with sound, I felt as though the angels themselves had arrived to lift her onwards. It was the happiest kind of sad I have ever known. That night, and tonight, the Cathedral will be my cupboard.

We all know that we, who struggle with our mood, can find this time of year desperately hard to steer through. I encourage you to find a cupboard. Today. Tomorrow. On Christmas day. All of the days!

Step inside and listen for your own heartbeat. Listen for your breath. Remember from the left of the world to the right, we can each take a little time in a cupboard to be thinking of each other and saying "I am not alone". Mary and Joseph fretted not over the lack of carpet in their stable, nor whether the mince pies should be homemade or bought. They stood together saying "I am not alone".

I will curl into a cupboard this Christmas time, many times! Even if only for a few minutes. And I will think of you and I will send you my wish... I wish you perspective and a merry Moodmas. You are terribly wonderful, immensely important, and it will be positively powerful to be united in cupboard love.

Much love from

The cupboard near the room above the garage.

A Moodscope member.