We’re in that time of year when we all seek to leverage the fresh-start effect to better ourselves, and in doing so we tend to come up with new year resolutions. We draw up a list of goals we wish to achieve, changes we wish to make, and habits we wish to imbibe or break. These all sound good in theory, but a quick Google search will reveal various statistics and figures which show that…
Happy New Year, and happy Sunday. I hope you had a good break if you had one, and I hope the festivities brought you joy and happiness if you partook in the celebrations. I’d like to kick things off this year with gratitude, but rather than writing an essay on the topic per the usual format of this blog, I figured I’d try a new format and write a list of things I’m thankful for,…
This time last year I wrote a piece reflecting on the year 2023. I did the same the year before that. Here I am, doing the same for the third year in a row. I guess it’s tradition now. So, what happened this year? I’m pleased to say I’ve kept up the weekly blog practice. I started writing this blog two years ago and I’m thankful for my readership, and my ability to show up…
Happy Sunday. This week I’ve got another short story for you. I know, I know, two weeks in a row. Who do I think I am, a writer? Anyway, if this happens to be your entry point into my blogosphere, this is all part of the short story initiative I started a few weeks ago where instead of a regular essay I share a story I’ve written and invite you to share your thoughts on…
Happy Sunday. This week I thought I’d share another one of my short stories, as part of the short story initiative I started a few weeks ago where instead of a regular blog post I share a story I’ve written and invite you to share your thoughts on it. The last one of these I shared was The Traveller, and today’s short story is called One Summer Holiday. I also feel the need to say…
Happy Sunday, happy December, and happy one-year not-posting-on-social-media anniversary to me. That’s right, I realised a few days ago that the last time I shared a post on social media was December 1st 2023. Looking back, I don’t remember deciding on a specific date to cease posting on social media. Rather, it was more of a gradual decline in my desire to engage with social media. I’ve previously shared how my use of social media…
Happy Sunday. This week I thought I’d do a song spotlight as I haven’t done one in a while. The song I’d like to share is one I wrote a few years ago as an ode to the innocence of childhood. It’s called Take Me Back, and as the name suggests it’s about reminiscing and longing for the past. That said, contrary to the title, it isn’t necessarily about wanting to go back, but rather…
Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m no stranger to the benefits of quiet time – I’ve previously written about the need for boredom, solitude and guarding our attention. However, this is something I keep coming back to every couple of days, and I find myself regularly reminded of it in one form or another. The latest reminder came in the form of Jason Chatfield’s article, Creativity Requires Quiet, which I stumbled on…
Back in the summer (it feels like a long time ago) I shared a short story I wrote on this blog, and inadvertently started a new series where, once every few weeks I share a short story I’ve been working on. The last one of these I shared was I Was There. This week I’m back with another one of those, called The Traveller. I’d love to hear what you think of it. Let me…
How’s your week been? Busy? Restful? A healthy mix of both? Without knowing who you are and when you’re reading this I’d hazard a guess that your response is more likely to be busy than restful. I say this because as a society, we are increasingly donning busyness as a badge of honour. To be clear, I have no doubt that most of us lead busy lives thanks to our contractual, financial and familial obligations.…