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…
Tag: meaningful
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…
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,…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Falling from grace
I always think to myself what once was when I hear of people who have fallen from grace. I’m not talking about that celebrity or sportsperson who has decided to play on for one season…
Journey
We’re all on a journey, some of us know where we’re going but most of us are floating on a path to nowhere. Those of us floating are lost and look for guidance all in…
Lights are on…
…but nobody’s home. I’m founding that more and more. We all seem so distracted with other things…who knows what…but there are so many absent looking people it’s actually a bit scary. There are so many…
Glass half full
Its amazing how powerful a positive outlook can be. Regardless of what our current situation might be, if we keep our head up and look just beyond the horizon things are likely to get better.…
Reflections
Sometimes we should stop and reflect on our past…not for too long though…harping on the past helps no one. But there is one thing we should never forget and that is that history repeats itself.…
Keeping it together
There are some people who juggle a lot with ease, others juggle a lot and struggle, some can’t juggle at all. What I find remarkable are people who seem to fit 48 hours of things…
Value
There are things that might seem trivial to some but to others these same things are valuable. That value can only be measured by one thing: time. Value is often attributed a monetary amount but…
Twisted truth
The pursuit for truth is noble but an untainted truth is almost non-existent. Our pursuit for the real truth is often an exercise in futility. What you find, if you look really hard is usually…
Press here…
Our sense of adventure is endless…that is until we ‘mature’. There’s always a sense that immaturity is a bad thing, a sign of slow development or a consequence of non-conforming to normality. It’s forced upon…
Getting a straight answer
I’m finding that the pool of people you can rely on for getting a straight-up honest answer is shrinking. I’m not exactly sure why but it must have something to do with a lower level…
Two dimensional
I don’t think there is anything wrong with giving people the benefit of the doubt. Who cares what they look like or what kind of pram they’re pushing or what kind of hat they’ve got…
Connecting
So day one has been as interesting as it has been scary. I’ve signed up to the omnipresent social media system which was surprisingly easy considering they all let me sign in (or on) with…