In episode 6 of the podcast, a trip down memory lane leads to one especially dodgy haircut and some rather nice hats. It also takes in a teenage summer in the USA and a trip to Canada while there. I share some thoughts and further context in response to my recent post on anxiety. This […]
Patchouli in the crow’s nest, or The search for cool – Episode 06 Read More »
I Don’t Want to Fix the World, I Just Want to Get Out of Bed in the Morning! In episode two of the podcast, I talk about swimming and the water I swim in. I wonder about the significance of the friendly offer of a cup of coffee. I discuss the primacy of exercise in
Positivity is a muscle – the more you use it, and the more you use it in a variety of ways, the more effective it gets. Do you ever think about the muscles you use? If you don’t, that could mean several things. It could mean you’re very young, and it hasn’t even occurred to
My daughter is doing her absolute best to send me to an institution. She revels in breaking my concentration, in pulling my focus, in distracting me in any way she can from whatever task I am feebly trying to complete. Even though she runs the risk of being on the receiving end of an apoplectic
Terms and conditions apply Read More »
Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise (Daniel 12:1) In a crisis, I look to myself. It is rarely my first instinct to seek help or counsel elsewhere. I partly do this because I have a certain amount of faith in my own resources, and I partly do it because I
I had hoped not to end up writing about the pandemic, but like the damn thing itself, it has become unavoidable. Apart from those whose occupations entail meeting the Coronavirus head on, life is being lived in low gear and in a minor key. We are in a permanent state of crouch, feeling the weight
I swam in horrible conditions the other day. It was not long after dawn on a mucky Monday morning and big, unpredictable swell, with huge surges of cold, dirty water, was moving me around like so much flotsam. I tried to use my usual landmarks to keep my bearings while at the same time avoiding
“…my personality had been completely erased. That’s why I’m so boring. People stopped listening to what I was saying, and didn’t seem to notice I was there. Everybody forgot about me. I wasn’t a boy, I wasn’t a girl… I was just a cypher, a sort of glyph. Life’s very difficult when nobody knows you’re
Relationships. They’re important. They define and guide us. They provoke and becalm us. They diminish and inspire us. They enchant and destroy us. They can as easily be razing fire as empowering foundation. And so much store is set in those primary relationships in our lives: parents, siblings, confidantes, teachers and various others. And from
Someone call security… Read More »
It was hot in Melbourne yesterday. Thirty seven degrees (99°F). Not off the charts hot but hot enough to make you sweat doing nothing at all. And if you weren’t doing nothing at all? If you were pushing hard in the heat with demands being made of you, emotionally and psychologically? If you were pushing
Compounds, negatives and positives Read More »
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