Good words to walk with
Making good trouble starts with creating good words. Not flashy, arrogant words that say look at me. Nor timid words that drain us of hope. But good words, shaped with purpose, that sees the others and invites them along.
Getting out of our own way
We don’t have to do everything. We can’t be perfect. Yet we can make good trouble. And perhaps that’s what we’re here for.
What are we searching for?
This is one of those great questions where we think we know the answer until we stop and think. In one sense, it doesn’t have an answer because it is the fundamental question of our existence and shapes our life, whether we are conscious of it or not. Yet on a less profoundly philosophical level, …
We don’t exist on our own
Ubunto is a Ngumi Bantu term for humanity. The whole phrase in Zulu is umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, meaning ‘a person is a person through other people’. Another way of saying it might be ‘I am because we are’ or ‘we don’t exist on our own.’ Just think about it – what are the chances of …
The only one
I spied this gorgeously coloured leaf while walking up the green path in the late afternoon. Lying on a damp mat of mushed leaves, this one shone like a gilded emerald and took my breath away. It was the only one, and I wanted you to see it too. Because you are as distinctive as …
Where’s the best fruit?
Talk to the farmers, foragers and growers – they all have their versions of where to find the best fruit. And it’s usually far from the roadside, the place where everyone walks by. It has to be sought for, often in hidden places yet it’s worth it. So what about us, where’s our best fruit? …
Unexpected fruit
Sometimesthe fruit we seekis not thefruit for us. We just thinkit is becauseit’s shinyand attractive. But it’s inthe wrong place. ~ Yesterday morning I spied gorgeous red berries on a holly bush. I was delighted because the hollies in the valley rarely fruit. Yet something wasn’t quite right. This isn’t the time for holly berries. …
Making space for life
Joy isn’t the same as happiness. Just as hope isn’t optimism dressed up with positive words. And as the beautiful piece A Love Letter to Melancholy, by Joel Duntin for The Encouragement Manifesto suggests: “… when we lose control, life happens.” Making space in unexpected places.
Finding our joy again
I’ve been waiting a few weeks until it felt autumn enough to share Gideon Heugh’s playful poem from Devastating Beauty. And from here in the valley, I think the time is now: LINES FOR AUTUMN Leaves make their golden turnunhurried,then in cooler airwaltz to the damp groundand in sweet-scented crowdmake happinessfor wellington boots. Maybe not …
What are we listening for?
White noise is the mush of sound that can’t be distinguished. And if we tried listening to everything in our acoustic orbit, we’d be equally overwhelmed. Instead, most of us are intuitively selective in what we hear. We filter things out in the same way we only process part of the light that lands on …