The Geriatric Teenager

The geriatric teenager    I never felt the need to rebel When I was a teenager;  I was too busy planning my escape. Tunnels take a lot of work, you know. But now I’m touching middle age  I feel like misbehaving.  I’d like to do all those things  I never thought to do  At the [...]

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The Buddha in the Basement ~ a dream

The Buddha in the Basement ~ a dream A few weeks ago, I woke with a bad migraine. It was so bad I had to phone in sick, but something came out of a day spent in bed, dosed with migraine medication and tea brought to me by my lovely daughter each time I feebly [...]

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Sunshine through the clouds ~ a respite from darkness

Sunshine through the clouds ~ a respite from darkness It’s been grim, this last year. Things have happened that have upset me vastly. Today marks the year’s mind of the death of something special, something I have mourned and truly grieved over as much as if a person dear to me died. The reality is [...]

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“I know you can fight. But can you stand, lads? Can you stand?” ~ a bit of Sharpe wisdom

“I know you can fight. But can you stand, lads? Can you stand?” ~ a bit of  Sharpe wisdom When it comes to films, or TV, I’d generally far rather watch war than romance. I read most of the Bernard Cornwall Sharpe books and have seen all the films. It’s not that I’m into war, [...]

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Can you see what I see? Can you feel what I feel? ~ Empathy and Imagination

Can you see what I see? Can you feel what I feel? ~ Empathy and Imagination One of the most frustrating questions to be asked when depressed is, “What are you depressed about?” It’s frustrating on so many levels. On the first level, it’s simply baffling to the person being questioned. To be asked to [...]

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Why daffodils became the last straw ~ metaphors that strike to the heart

Why daffodils became the last straw ~ metaphors that strike to the heart Say the word “daffodils” and any literate person will probably reply with “I wandered lonely as a cloud,” and any poor fool who grew up with Not The Nine O’ Clock News will probably put on a funny voice and say, “He [...]

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That Mona Lisa Smile and Stendhal Syndrome

That Mona Lisa Smile and Stendhal Syndrome   A few weeks ago I got to finally visit the Louvre in Paris. A word of warning: this is the second biggest museum in the world. Even knowing this didn’t not prepare me for the sheer scale of the place. It is ENORMOUS. Unbelievably big. I’ve walked [...]

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“Humankind cannot bear very much reality.”

“Humankind cannot bear very much reality” (I wrote the following article at a very low point in my life, Christmas Eve 2010. Following an operation that went somewhat wrong, I was more seriously ill than I realised with post-operative infections and blood loss. I was also subject to the slowly dawning realisation that certain things [...]

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Making it to the very top ~ success in stages

Making it to the very top ~ success in stages I’m scared of heights. Really scared, actually. It’s not logical at all but it’s powerful and paralysing at times. It’s not so much a conscious fear but more an experiential one. There are sensations I experience when in high places that are very unpleasant. Vertigo [...]

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Tales of the Wellspring part 2 ~ the origins

Tales of the Wellspring part 2 ~ the origins I’ve always struggled with community, with being among people constantly. It’s always made me feel as if there is something horribly wrong with me that after a couple of days I start to feel irritable, angry and then finally desperate. The first time I began to [...]

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