“Both the Queen and Prince Albert seemed to have spent far more time with their children, than one usually associates with Victorian life. They ate together, and walked, rode, played and painted together. And the fond parents were often present at bath time and in the nurseries that Prince Albert had designed close at hand.”
Source: Victoria and Albert: A Family Life at Osborne House
“Even at Osborne, Albert had to start his day early if he was to get through the relentless agenda that he had set himself. The Queen did not have a private secretary; this role was filled by Albert, and as in every other area of their lives together – in the running of her establishments, in the upbringing of their children, in emotional support – she completely relied on him. He drafted, clarified, advised, and she approved nothing that he did not agree with. This self-imposed task of supporting, and moulding a constitutional monarch, who also made considerable emotional demands on him, would have been burden enough for most men. But for Albert, it was only part of his work, for the German prince had taken on an active role in the cultural life of his adoptive country.”
Source: Victoria and Albert: A Family Life at Osborne House
“More than husband and consort, Albert was everything to Victoria, and Osborne was unthinkable without him.”
Source: Victoria and Albert: A Family Life at Osborne House
“Even in my dreams I never imagined that I should find so much love on Earth.' (Prince Albert)”
“Love addicts often pick partners who are emotionally unavailable because deep down, they don’t feel worthy of having a healthy, loving relationship. A love addict craves and obsesses about becoming enmeshed or ‘one’ with another human being at all costs, even if it means putting themselves in potential danger.”
Source: The Kindness Habit: Transforming our Relationship to Addictive Behaviours
“Mental stories can literally spoil a human life. It took me a long time to become aware of my mental commentary, such as: “Everything always goes wrong”, “I won’t be accepted”, “I’m a failure” or “What’s the point?” Those fears were deep-rooted and triggered many upsetting addictive patterns of behaviour”
Source: The Kindness Habit: Transforming our Relationship to Addictive Behaviours
“When we practise self-compassion, we look after ourselves just as though we are nurturing a small child. In fact, a major part of grieving our original pain work (so that we can heal and be emotionally liberated) is to re-parent ourselves and reconnect with our inner child.
This is what the author, John Bradshaw, meant by ‘reclaiming our inner child’. In recovery, we can begin to nurture our inner child and connect deeply with our heart and spirit.”
Source: The Kindness Habit: Transforming our Relationship to Addictive Behaviours
“To stay true to ourselves and remain kind to others is an art. It does require daily vigilance and, at the same time, it’s important to remember that art can often get messy.”
Source: The Kindness Habit: Transforming our Relationship to Addictive Behaviours
“Healthy and non-shaming mirroring is an important part of the process. We can gain this from a highly emotionally intelligent and effective peer group that has our best interests at heart.”
Source: The Kindness Habit: Transforming our Relationship to Addictive Behaviours
“Isms’ are described as transference of addictive patterns of dysfunctional behaviour, passed down from generation to generation. For instance, if a mother was an alcoholic who never made it into recovery, her behaviour would leave a mark on her children, husband, etc. Unless her adult children join some sort of recovery programme and adopt the mindfulness practice, they will have very similar behaviour traits to their mother but minus the alcohol abuse. There is a strong possibility that they will become codependent and form relationships with other codependents or alcoholics.”
Source: The Kindness Habit: Transforming our Relationship to Addictive Behaviours