I am an avid fan of the BBC2 programme ‘Great British Bake Off’ and it never ceases to amaze me what wonderful creations these amateur bakers can produce under really stressful conditions.

I love cooking and baking myself, but it is all really quite homely fare, although occasionally I set myself a slightly more difficult challenge, and really enjoy the whole process of planning and then painstakingly creating my very own work of art. I find that I can become so involved in decorating a cake, and several hours can pass by without me realising it. For me, making and decorating a cake for somebody’s birthday, anniversary or any sort of occasion is something that I love to do, an almost meditative act in which I can completely lose myself.

Mary Berry revealed recently that she found a great deal of comfort in baking after the death of her grown-up son, and also the novelist Marian Keyes has written about the fact that baking has helped alleviate her spells of depression. It does certainly seem to be an activity which is regaining popularity, as more people are finding how relaxing and rewarding it can be.

But it doesn’t have to be baking. I firmly believe that we all possess a creative part, and once we can find something that this part of our mind can really focus on, then it often means that other worries or anxieties are completely forgotten about. In this ‘creative meditation’ our analytical, ruminating mind can be still for once, and we can allow ourselves that sense of peace and relaxation which comes from merely focussing on what we are doing.

Whether that is baking, making model aeroplanes, gardening or painting. It really doesn’t matter ……

Wendy x