DOG

“Josh!” calls Ems, “hey Josh!” Our nephew cocks an ear in our direction but carries on scampering from grassy hillock to grassy hillock. Most of his attention is focused on the arbitrary rules of whatever game he’s

The Surprising Truth About Moving Others

The ability to move others – to exchange what they have for what we have – is fundamentally human, and crucial to our survival and our happiness. - from the RSA website Dan Pink gave a talk

What is writing? Two.

A writer lives, at least, in a state of astonishment. Beneath any feeling he has of the good or evil of the world lies a deeper one of wonder at it all. To transmit that feeling, he

Write drunk; edit sober.

I’m a sucker for illustrated quotes, particularly for famous authors. They’re normally very naff. These aren’t. Here are a few of my favourites from the clever chaps at Obvious State. Etsy shop here.

Beans a la Georgi

Last September, Leonie and I went WWOOFing at a beautiful, friendly, sustainable farm in Redon, Brittany. We ate a lot of beans while we were there – which I, in particular, was extremely happy about. I learned

What do we most value?

Imagine a group of people. Imagine they are caring, compassionate, respectful and trustworthy. Imagine they have a great sense of humour and a deep attachment to family and friends. Imagine how honest they are, how fair, how

Do worry, be happy: an argument for optimism (sort of)

This is Leo Bormans. He wrote a book on happiness and then sent it to all the world leaders. He’s an interesting guy. Last week he spoke at Conway Hall (a place I’ve blogged about before) on the

What is writing? One.

Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers. Isaac Asimov

Action for mindfulness

Ruby Wax knows what she’s talking about when she talks about brains. At an Action for Happiness event at Conway Hall a few weeks ago, she rocked the collective socks off an audience of people interested in

Catch it

Inspiration may be a form of superconsciousness, or perhaps subconsciousness – I wouldn’t know; but I am sure that it is the antithesis of self-consciousness. The inspired moment may sometimes be described as a kind of hallucinatory