Time
My wife and I celebrated 21 years of marriage this week. This poem was inspired by something my wife said to me in relation to that chunk of time.
resilience
Is That What You Believe? The Thoughts That Shape Our Reality – Episode 149
In this episode, Dara once again finds himself considering his mental health battles. Emerging from a very recent depression, he examines the difference in his thinking when he is embattled versus when he is well. Why would he choose to believe one reality and not the other? Why, in spite of very persuasive negative thoughts, does his ‘better’ self prevail? And why does he compare these differing states and beliefs to acting reviews?
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The Voice of Truth and Anguish – Saying Farewell to Sinead O’Connor – Episode 115
In this episode, Dara takes his time to say goodbye to Sinead O’Connor and speaks of her relevance to him from the early days of her career right up to more recent times when life presented her with a terrible burden to bear. He includes a clip from Ep 34 of the show when he spoke about the death by suicide of her son in January 2022.
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Survival, Transcendence, and the Myth of Whatever Doesn’t Kill You – Episode 108
In this episode, Dara talks about the affection for survival narratives and considers the respective legacies of the recently deceased singers and songwriters Tina Turner and Christy Dignam. He wonders whether we should be defined by what we’ve overcome in life. He also questions the value of legacy and argues for the need to be more concerned with our present-tense impact.
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The 100th Episode Stocktake, or Stick Your Teachable Moment Where the Sun Don’t Shine! – Episode 100
In this, the 100th episode of the show, Dara permits himself a stocktake. He reaffirms the recurring themes he has continued to weave through the podcast and examines what wellness with attitude means.
Looking Adversity in the Eye, or The Things That Make Us Stronger – Episode 70
In this episode Dara talks about the importance of cultivating resilience and positivity, especially in a world that appears to be falling apart at the seams. He discusses the idea of understanding the potential of our response to be a stabilising element in the reality in which we find ourselve
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The Face We Meet the World With, or The Pressure of Presentation – Episode 66
In this episode Dara looks at two English sportsmen – the boxer Anthony Joshua and the cricketer Ben Stokes – and their recent public displays of personal crisis and compromised mental health. He lauds them for their candour and for their ability to face the public with their vulnerability showing. Dara discusses the pressure that many of us feel to present a functional and successful face to the world.
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Wiggly Bits, Jiggly Bits, and The Dangers of Penetration! – Episode 61
In this episode, Dara discusses some hot potatoes that are being passed from hand to hand in Hashtag Blessed. Beyonce’s new album art raises some concern, as does Marilyn Monroe’s appearance on the screen on Dara and his daughter’s scheduled movie night. Are these icons of female beauty and performance actually problematic? Is there a radically different experience in how they are perceived by men and women?
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The Art of Disarming Oneself, or How to Live with Defences Down – Episode 56
In this week’s episode Dara reflects on a week in recovery from Covid and realises he enjoyed dropping down to his slowest gear. It prompts him to think about the benefits of living with one’s defences down. He argues that it makes us more receptive and more capable of seeing positive things in the world.
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Snowflakes, Pain Storage, and the Power of Subjectivity – Episode 36
In this episode Dara delves into the places we carry and store our pain. He looks at how unaddressed wounds can wield a disproportionate amount of power over us and how that relates to our fear of uncomfortable places.
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