RESPECT & CURIOSITY: On Elephants and Others
<1281 words> I have a great deal of respect for wild elephants and am careful to show that respect by backing out of their way when they come walking down the road towards my car. I believe I’ve learned a thing or two about elephant culture in my multiple trips to various game reserves across Africa […]
Like a River Flows
<1230 words> They say that our thoughts naturally turn to contemplation of the future when we watch water in motion. When I was about to turn 60, my brother, Guillaume, died of a glioblastoma multiforme brain tumour and I came across ‘The Waterfall’ by Zen philosopher Shunryu Suzuki. It is his reflection on life, upon a […]
The Roads Less Travelled
<1197 words> Twice in the past 48 hours my GPS on my not so smart phone encouraged me onto roads very infrequently travelled. My standard mode of transport is a 9 year old Toyota Corolla – so middle of the road that I regularly have to use the little red button on the remote […]
What does resilience really look like, anyway?
<1457 words – yes, this is a long one but it contains an interesting story and some pictures :-)> And, I’ve added a link at the bottom of this blog to a very informative article on resilience that appeared in the New Yorker in Feb 2016. More on the science of…. Do any of these words […]
You Do Not Have to Fire Negative Friends
868 words When you Google ‘negative friends’ it virtually immediately offers up the highest performing results of the 340,000,000 out there. Of the ones I examined, most offered survival advice – how to cope with or avoid the negative person, and if all else fails, how to dump them and find a new friend. In my […]
“The Answer to the Problem is Here, Inside You.”
<484 words> The other day I saw a wedding video on Facebook. A group of men performed the great and terrifying Maori haka with words especially written for the occasion. Millions have watched the video. Some people felt that the haka was threatening and/or insulting, but no, it is a great sign of respect, according to NewZealand.com […]