The time to un-become everything that isn’t really me

Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place. Paulo Coelho.   A year ago, I thought this statement was true to me as I embraced my single life and caught up on […]

Who we are isn’t the same thing as what we do?

With my research into meaning after fulltime work, one of the areas is around identity. So much of the conversations we have when we meet someone is around our work. The first question many people will ask is ‘so what do you do?’ And we tell them about our work, or more specifically. I’m a […]

The Guest House

The Guest House This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest […]

Priorities

I’m in the final 4 months of my doctorate. On 1st September I will submit my thesis. It’s been interesting times. I love my topic – meaningful ageing and I’ve learned so much, not just about the subject, but also about the ‘how to …’. It’s a long time since I last wrote a thesis, – 30 years […]

You are Amazing.

Do people tell you that you are remarkable, kind, inspirational… Too often we don’t listen to these words, we filter them out and have our antenna tuned to the negative and critical. I don’t think I’ve been telling you enough, that you are amazing and there is never going to be another person just like you. I […]

The Story of our lives

My doctoral studies have moved into the research phase, undertaking in-depth interviews with a small number of people. Whilst my research interest is in life after retirement from full time work, I want to understand their life leading up to this time. To learn more of their story. Stories are useful. They help us to […]

Shine as the person you are

We spend too much time trying to fit in when we should really stand out. In the workplace we try and be the person we think our company and boss wants and lose some of who we are in the process. I found that when I became more comfortable with the person I was, I […]

You Don’t Need To Do Anything

When we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey”. Wendell Berry I’m industrious, I like to be busy, and fill my days …but when I leave this to one side and take time […]

Clearing

Sometimes you come across a poem that resonates with you, your life, the world. This is one of them. A wonderful poem to meditate on. We may seek a change in our lives, or to look for how we can serve the world. That can be in a small way, and when we are still […]

I survived survival school

Back in July 2019 I went on a Vision Quest, which included 4 nights solo time in a wood with just a tarp.  Wild camping indeed! No idea on what I was doing, but always up to learn something new, I’ve been looking to take things further. Closing my Vision Quest after a year, and then 12 […]