First Gig “Summer lovin’ had me a blast …” I sat there, palms sweaty, clutching my pristine new sticks. “Summer lovin’ happened so fast …” I sat there, almost wishing I was somewhere – anywhere – else. [Almost]. My first gig as a drummer was an abridged version of ‘Grease’ somewhere in Winchester. I’m 15, and have only been playing for a few weeks. “Well-ah well-ah well-ah HUH!” And with that ‘Huh!’, I’m off on
Originating with the Iroquois, Seventh Generation Thinking is the idea that when we make a decision, we give thought to how it affects the seventh generation from now – roughly 150 years or so. It helps us avoid the potential traps in short-term thinking. 150 years is a long time, and feels a bit vague – but I know quite a lot about my Great-Great-Grandfather, Thomas. I live in the same town as he did.
The picture is taken from the top of Sri Pada in Sri Lanka, November 2005, at just after 6am. A month before, I had been physically exhausted, mentally stressed and spiritually empty, after a run of challenges in both my work and personal life. Some were undoubtedly my responsibility … others, not so much. I was also stretched far beyond my financial limits, and so decided to sell my home, clear all the debts, and
“Where To Begin” by Cleo Wade … that is the question … Over the course of an extraordinary year, I found myself turning to Cleo’s words time and again. Her deceptively simple poems have a way a cutting right to the core of what is truly important. “The Snow Leopard” by Peter Matthiessen On the surface, this is a travel or natural history book – but Matthiessen’s search for the elusive snow leopard revealed far
When striving for something, we tend to assume it’s a linear, one-dimensional journey – but that is rarely the case. Sometimes it is. The Olympic 100m Final is linear. It’s judged simply on who crosses the line first. You don’t get a head start because of your skin colour. No bonus points for style. A degree is irrelevant. You can’t bribe the judge. All you can do to win that gold medal is run faster
Is the most sensible answer to all the big questions, “I don’t know”? We’re still dealing with the fallout from Covid-19. Will there be a vaccine? How long will it take? How effective will it be? The scientists working on it are doing their best – but no-one can give definitive answers. And if Covid-19 ‘goes away’, how long before the next pandemic? What about Brexit? Climate change? I don’t know. These are all really
I was born lucky. I’m white.Male.British.Straight.I have a stable, loving family.I have neither physical nor mental disability.In global terms, my income is top 1%. I did absolutely nothing to earn those privileges. Through blind luck, I have not faced a day – not even a single moment – of discrimination in my entire life. In his 1963 ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’, Martin Luther King wrote:“Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute
What’s the difference between disappointment and regret? And why does it matter? During challenging times, we may find ourselves feeling down about the things that happen – or don’t happen. This is entirely understandable – and it’s important to recognise and acknowledge our emotions, but how we frame things is vitally important. REGRET can be a useful emotion. We feel it when we look back and can see how we might have acted differently. This
Almost everything spreads – viruses, great ideas, fake news, cat pictures. Emotions. We’ve all experienced it – the person who darkens every room they enter. The person that always seems to lift us up, no matter how bad our day has been. ‘Emotional Contagion’ is a thing. We are influenced by the attitude and behaviour of the people around us. Of course, this also means that we can affect the people around us. Make things
Think of three statements that begin with the words: “I am …” Remember your answers – we’ll come back to them in a moment. “The Righteous Mind” by Jonathan Haidt introduced me to the concept of WEIRDness, where WEIRD is an acronym of Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re pretty WEIRD. In Haidt’s book, he shows that WEIRD people are in fact, well – weird. They are different
Weekly [digital] email to help navigate the [analogue] world …
Weekly [digital] email to help navigate the [analogue] world …
