There are so many distractions in our lives that we don’t have the time to deal with our problems anymore. Increasingly our capacity as human beings to confront setbacks and bounce back is being diluted…
I know all about you
I know who you are. I know where you live. I know your friends. I know your family. I know when you sleep. I know what type of music you listen to. I know what…
Peaks and troughs
Peaks High, Bright Soaring, Powering, Unrelenting I am great and unstoppable | Why is this happening to me? Lacking, Unforgiving, Depressing Morose, Austere Troughs
Sudden stops are sometimes necessary…
…so hold on. We never know what is around the corner. No matter how prepared we think we are, we just never know. The only thing we can control is now, the present. What we…
Tune in
Every now and then stop and tune in to what is happening around you, be conscious of your place. How does what you are doing [or not doing] relate to everybody else around you? What…
Meandering Mondays III
We’re travelling this week to South America and in particularly Bolivia. Wow! What a place! If you have any travelling spirit in your bones you must in your lifetime visit any country in South America.…
Adding value
Where do you think you add value? It’s a question I ask myself often…it’s like looking yourself in the eye and asking what your purpose is…it’s a tough one. To answer the question you could…
Terms and conditions
We live in a world of terms and conditions. Almost everything we do and almost everything we own are all subject to terms and conditions. From the toaster we use to the cars we…
Blossom
The sun is shining, folks are beaming with excitement and the flowers are blossoming. It’s spring time! William Shakepeare’s the Blossom to help us along: “ON a day–alack the day!– Love, whose month is ever…
Freebies
I used to love freebies; free food, freed drinks, free memberships, giveaways of any sort! Some say that nothing is for free. Although I never really understood that previously, in most cases now, I agree.…
Pedal pushing
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before on Ask a Toddler but I love bikes. I love to ride them. I love to look at them. I love to tinker with them [i.e. take…
Rhythm of the soul
Music is very special. It can mean so much on so many levels. Regardless of what genre of music: it resonates, it has impact. Our happiest moments as well as our darkest are all marked…
Meandering Mondays II
Welcome to the second instalment of Meandering Mondays. Just as a quick recap every Monday I’ll be sharing an experience with you. A travel experience from somewhere completely random inspired by a photo I’ve taken from…
Pulling faces
We are all very different. None of us are the same. Yet we are all connected. We all live and breathe along a continuum of time in finite space. Let’s embrace each others differences and…
Captive
I’m going to take a slightly different approach today as I realise I’ve been rather negative in dealing with some issues explored here at Ask a Toddler. So I’m not going to focus on our…
Logging in
It has become so easy to log in into any account, from pretty much any device from anywhere. In fact most of the time you don’t even need to log in because you’re already logged…
Sailing off
We all need a holiday every now and then. They help us unwind, reset, clear our heads and start afresh. Holidays aren’t always those that involve traveling away from home. It’d be great if we…
Misanthropy
Misanthropy is the general hatred, distrust or disdain of the human species or human nature. The word’s origin is from Greek words μῖσος (misos, “hatred”) and ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos, “human”). Not to be mistaken with its…
Automatons
The only thing that now separates us humans from robots is self awareness. There are probably still a few things we can do a little better than a well oiled, software driven, precision built machine,…
Meandering Mondays
Every Monday I’ll be sharing an experience with you. A travel experience from somewhere completely random inspired by a photo I’ve taken from that place. You may have already gathered that I like to take…
Deadlines
Deadlines are an everyday part of life and they can take on varying forms like getting to work on time, catching a scheduled bus or handing that assignment or report in on time at school…
Mind works
For if you [the rulers] suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what…
Illusion of choice
We are constantly faced with decisions, hundreds of times a day. What to eat, what to wear, how to travel, who to speak to, what to say, how to say it etc etc. Choices. Decisions.…
Catch me if you can
My intention in starting this blog and sharing it with you is pretty simple and straight forward: to produce original content that engages with you and maybe exposes you to something you’ve not seen or…
Get lost
Seriously. Get lost. Its refreshing. After you get over the panic of actually realising you have no idea where you are, and after ensuring that you are either relatively safe or can secure your safety…
Benefit of doubt
Wise men [sic], when in doubt whether to speak or keep quiet, give themselves the benefit of the doubt, and remain silent. – Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich There is a fear of speaking…
Shapes around
Photography taught me to look at the world in a completely different way. When you study the art of photography (not on a formal basis by doing a course or anything like that) you learn…
The plot
Thank you Ashleigh Brilliant. We’re not supposed to know the plot because we’re writing it as we go. We’re the directors, the producers, the protagonists all in one. Hopefully we can gather a superb supporting…
Keeping track
There’s Jawbone’s Up, 23andMe, Xero, Fitbit, Do It! Geotags, CloudOn, CheckMark, MakeMe and a million other gadgets and apps designed to help us keep track of our own lives. Everything under the sun is covered…genetic…
Building bridges
We’ve all experienced a traumatic event or stuffed up majorly. Sometimes these incidents are a little worse than others but we’re all still here, sanity intact and physically able to [at least] get to Ask…
On edge
Long days at work, lack of sleep and never finding time for yourself can drive the best of us to the edge. We begin to feel frustrated over the little things that would usually go…
Pack light, live free
Travelling alone for extended periods of time (in excess of 6 months and not really alone because there are plenty of like minded people around the world) teaches you many many things…but I think one…
Meaningful relationships
Our interaction with others is what defines us. It is our relationships that make our lives meaningful. Our contribution to others is why we exist. If there is someone you care about; if there is…
Everybody is a genius
Albert Einstein was a genius. There is no question about that. According to Einstein we are all geniuses. Can that be the case? Are we being judged against the wrong criteria? Formal institutionalised education imposes…
Illusion of strength
We often associate strength with weight, uniformity and size. It’s not always the case. In reality, strength comes from within our hearts and minds. When we combine passion and intelligence there is no stronger force.…
Random acts of kindness
We all have something to learn from each other. No matter who you are, what you do or what you’re about. Even Emmanuel, the homeless man you see pictured, was a source of invaluable information…
Too far to turn back
What do you do when you know you’ve gone too far to turn back? Do you give up and start afresh? Do you trace back a few steps and change trajectory? Or do you carry…
Pleasures in life
Food glorious food! We’re talking home grown, home made, home baked, full of flavour and made with love. There is no substitute for fresh, homely, culinary mastery. There just isn’t. When you have the luxury…
Admissions
It’s a tough gig admitting we’re wrong or admitting we need to change. Like getting admitted into hospital, its quite a process. Firstly there’s a level of self awareness we need to have which is…
Responsibility
We have an insatiable want to own things, whether it be an item or a situation, we want to know we’re in control, that we’re completely responsible for it and that no one else has…
Watching closely
Do you feel like you’re being watched sometimes? Its because you are. There are very few places you can go, very few places you can visit where you can remain anonymous if you so choose,…
The gift of experience
The best gifts and those worth giving are opportunity and experience. Not umbrellas or BBQs or cuff links. I’ve posted previously about special days and how important it is to commemorate and celebrate but to…
Inspiration
What people find inspirational varies considerably. Some people are inspired by others, what they do, their achievements. It’s motivating to know something you want to do has been done by someone in difficult circumstances. Of…
Walking away
No matter what situation we’re in, we always have options. The thing is though, we need to create those options as they won’t always be there [or at least they may not be apparent to…
Special days
Generally speaking when we think of special days we’re talking about birthdays, anniversaries, name days and other personal milestone days on our calendars. There are no shortage of special days to commemorate mothers and fathers…
∞ Infinity ∞
Infinity is a concept that can be explained in words pretty easily right? Something that has no end…it continues forever. I suppose its even easier to explain in pictures: ∞ Our reasoning can accept the…
Open your eyes
Open your eyes to the truth. We have been blindfolded ever since we’ve been taught anything. Our formal education systems are designed to build drones, a workforce not required to think but to follow orders…
Healthy body healthy mind
They’ve found now that the bacteria in our mouths and stomachs can effect our anxiety and depression levels. Yes, bacteria. Interestingly, this same bacteria is fundamentally different in make-up than our ancestors, believed to be because…
Never judge a book by its cover
His name is Chopper but most people call him Choppy. He’s a half American and half English Staffordshire Bull Terrier…or Staffy. He looks mean, he can’t help but look aggressive because of his build but he…
Luck
They say you create your own luck…I don’t even know what luck is and that’s not because things don’t ever go my way. Google reckons its ‘success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than…