Who are we without this delicate strength? Is anything we achieve without tenderness really worthit? Be tender to yourself, especially when you screw up. Practice Metta on yourself: because people who are un-tender with other people are always hardest of all on themselves. As Michael Ondaatje says, “To rest was to receive all aspects of […]
Listening
The word listen contains the same letters as the world silent. I’ve spent a lot of time working on listening. If I really listen, I find I often don’t have to ask the noisy question that was buzzing round me, demanding to be let out, because I hear something like the answer before I ask […]
Language
Non Government Organisations (NGOs) are sods for using jargon: blue-sky thinking: pushing the envelope: gaining traction: cascading information: surge capacity – and my all-time favourite howler, “reaching out” Jargon is closed codes that shuts others out for no good reason bar from the power of exclusion: I think simple clear communication is more honest, and […]
Solitude
How much time do you actually spend alone, without craning your face into your phone? What do I, or you, mean by solitude; the unbroken beauty of expansive quiet time alone, or doing stuff on your own (which I would argue might not be solitude, but mere distraction from alone-ness. All views to the contrary […]
