I KNOW I’m lucky. When not working from home, I have just a short morning walk to work across parkland. This morning was a beautiful early autumn morning; the sun was warming, birds were singing, a green woodpecker swooped in its distinctive way between two trees. The bonhomie was infectious; people greeted each other with a cheery ‘good morning’.

I arrived at work smiling, decluttered my desk of debris that had been annoying me for days, made a pot of fresh coffee and felt creative and ready for whatever was in store.

It’s not always like that! More times than not, I don’t sleep well, heave myself reluctantly out of bed, try to do too much at home, rush to work oblivious of my surroundings and arrive at the office tired, stressed and grumpy glaring at a depressingly unachievable ‘to do list’.

“Why,” I asked myself, “was this so morning different?” Because if I could just bottle that, my life (and the lives of those I work with) would be transformed. I came up with three reasons.

I’ve just finished reading The Clever Guts Diet, by Michael Mosley – a fascinating and erudite articulation of the phrase ‘you are what you eat….’ that drew a convincing scientific line between our digestive tract and its influence on our mood and emotions. We eat quite healthily at home, organic when I can afford it; home-made stuff when I have the time; plenty of fruit and veg; a wide berth to sweets, fizzy drinks and junk food and alcohol and chocolates in moderation. But the book still challenged me in a number of ways; to increase the variety of healthy food that I eat, for example. So I have made some changes to my eating habits. If just some of what Dr Mosley asserts is true, my ability to cope with the stresses and strains of everyday life will improve.

The second is more difficult to articulate. A couple of issues that are unresolved in my life have been bothering me for some time now; praying on my mind; keeping me awake at night. Not life threatening or catastrophic (and I know I’ll sort them in time) but ongoing and disturbing enough to be niggling away. Yesterday a couple of unexpected conversations that in themselves didn’t offer resolution, nevertheless provided some reassurance; I was able to in part to clear my head and confront the spectres of fear and uncertainty head on.

And the third is blindingly obvious. Last night, my son and I attended a nearby BBC Big Band concert. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea – but the energy was exhilarating, the virtuoso performances, impressive, the passion and emotion were moving and I was warmed by the pleasure of sharing the occasion with my son.

No wonder there was a spring my step this morning…