In my quest for strong and balanced mental health over the last 30 odd years, there have been many tools used, honed, and relied upon. Remedies, books, counsellors, research, websites, therapies from scientific and complementary origins as well as plain old 'eat three good meals and sleep better' disciplines. Today, I unpacked our twice weekly shop and fell over yet another lightbulb moment which I feel is my duty to report to you lovely people. It was all in the cheese.

I'm no cheese aficionado. To be honest, at a cheese and wine tasting I once attended, the hangover from the combination was so severe that it turned my head forever. I can still face a mature, organic cheddar, feta crumbled through tomatoes and perhaps the occasional light dusting of parmesan or equivalent over something Italian. Today, the cheddar and the feta took up relay positions as my Star of Bethlehem.

Both fell out the shopping bag. Both were placed on the cheese shelf. But before tucking them in I noticed something important. The mature cheddar has a best before date of the 9th of January. The feta is stamped best before the 1st of May. Hello cheesy mentors!

You see, in noticing the dates, the cheddar has already linked its arm through mine and said "do not fret little one, this crazy, pressured Christmas season is merely steps, walk with me, we are already looking to January the 9th, we walk through crazy season together and we are beyond it already". And the feta has placed an arm around my shoulders and said "I am from Spring to come, it's there, lying ahead, already in the making".

They are quiet, unseen, guides. And if they are lovingly consumed by way of melted cheese on toast or a sausage and feta casserole prior to these dates, I know that their siblings and friends will step into place with an equal to or beyond date to guide me.

I will now not try to block out Christmas, as was my gut feel, but look beyond and through. Thank you cheesy pals. I Gouda feeling we're going to be ok. (Deep apologies for that, my head is almost lowered in shame.)

Love from

The room above the garage

A Moodscope member.