In this way the self-help did help – a lot. It, ironically, helped me get past myself. As I listen to Gemma and James sing ‘Old Macdonald Had a Farm’ in the room next door, I think about Brené Brown’s assertion that ‘connection is why we are here’. I think she is right. I have spent my life trying to go it alone, keeping the people who love me at a distance, but no more. As I think back on my year and a bit of self-improvement, the best bits were those moments of connection. It’s only with other people that magic happens – a magic that could be defined as love. Or God. Or beauty. Or spirit.
