In this episode, Dara is concerned about egos getting out of control, and he has two specific case studies in mind – one playing out presently in the Middle East, and one that played out a long time ago on a little Japanese island.
Stop Laughing at Me, I’m a Very Important Person! – Episode 209 Read More »
In this episode, Dara shares final thoughts on the US presidential election and speculates that the Democrats still haven’t shaken the patronising habit of belittling those who disagree with them. He argues that if you take this attitude in the world of martial arts, you are setting yourself up to fail – the assumption of superiority is a dangerous flex of ego that can result in complacency and abdicated diligence.
The Humble Art of Reading the Room, or It’s Not All About You! – Episode 181 Read More »
In this very personal and occasionally difficult episode, Dara decides he can’t not examine his near four-decade-old impulse to destroy himself. A follow-on from last week’s episode in which he spoke more generally and euphemistically about a recent onset of anxiety-fuelled depression, this time he wants more transparency, more openness, more keeping it real. He understands that for some people this type of sharing gives them the ‘ick’, hence the title of the episode.
The Absolute ‘Ick’ Episode – Going Granular on My War with Myself – Episode 140 Read More »
In this episode Dara is looking into the void and trying not to feel frightened. Thinking about the construction of identity and personality, he is curious about how comfortable or not we are with what lies beneath. He asks if you can handle being left alone with yourself.
A Hat is Not a Personality, or The Fear of Not Being There – Episode 123 Read More »
In this deceptively positive episode, Dara is emerging from a fortnight of disruptions and disturbances that have laid him low. Over the course of the show, he examines not only the necessary compromises and recalibrations that must accompany a successful recovery, but also the contradictions that can occur in normally reliable wellness strategies.
The Cartography of a Small World, or It’s Lovely to be Here! – Episode 40 Read More »
Merely I’m sorry. I’m just a man. I don’t know what I represent to you or anybody else. I only know who I am and who I’m not, what I’ve done and what I haven’t. I’m not trying to steal air or drink water or take space that was meant for you. I’m not looking
Every Fallen Tree The reeds, still weeks off sprouting their shocks of composers’ cotton, were bent almost horizontal by the whistling wind. Moving in unison, they lulled and crescendoed to nature’s insistent baton, demonstrating the lesson I needed to learn: to cede, not to hold. But I had exchanged one storm for another. The battle
Here’s a question. How angry do you think you are? You can give yourself a mark out of ten if you like – ten being volcanic, uncontainable rage, one being the last glowing ember in the grate. We may agree that the upper end takes lives while the lower end has the potential to give
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