Words

I learnt a little Greek whilst working on the isle of Samos, a corner of the world that I love: the word Meraki (µεράκι) means to do something with your soul, to devote all that you have in order to do this task. Other beautiful Greek words include: χαρμολύπη – joyful mourning or sweet sorrow, […]

Dialogue is conversation flowing between competing agendas. Silence is often very useful: what kind of silence do we have here? Peaceful, noisy, terrified, or angry silence that is too enraged to speak? The silence of love, understanding, or hatred. I have learnt to love silence and to let it speak for itself, even when it […]

The reason for evil in the world is that people are not able to tell their stories, so says Carl Jung (quoted by one of my inspirations, the forensic psychiatrist Gwen Adshead). Peacebuilding is about stories, and unravelling myths. Exchanging stories with people you assume that you can’t or don’t want to understand is the […]

I once wrote that “Travel without fear is like meat without salt.” I am obsessed with traveling because of my insatiable curiosity about the world and its peoples.