The Day I Broke Social Distancing Rules
I’m not one for breaking rules. In fact, when I found myself walking my dog in a ‘No dogs allowed’ park once, I went and handed myself in! And when it comes to wearing masks and keeping to social distancing rules during lockdown, I've been about as stringent as you can be. So as you'll
When You’re Lost in the Wilderness, Remember this
Much of my work is public speaking—a job transformed by the pandemic from one of hotels and conference stages to loungerooms and laptops. Recently I Zoomed in to speak at Walsall Community Church. My topic was going to be joy, but that all changed when a few days before I was to speak, one of
The Bird That Lost its Song. A Parable
The regent honeyeater bird is in trouble—it's losing its song. Once an abundant species in south-eastern Australia, now just 300 remain, and with so few mates to learn from, the males are forgetting their own song and trying to mimic the songs of other birds instead—leaving the female honeyeaters confused and their numbers in decline. Losing
Six Ways to Tend Your Soul in Times of Turmoil
How can we cultivate, care for, tend our souls in these difficult times? Here are six strategies and practices.
Let’s Turn This Problem into a Quest
A few years ago I wrote a book about starting again after broken dreams. Any naivete I still had about the world and its problems was soon dispelled as hundreds of readers shared their own broken dreams with me. To this day, the hardest part is replying to these stories without resorting to cliché. What Good
You Need to Play More. Here’s Why
If there’s one member of our household taking these uncertain times in his stride, it’s our black-furred, silver-pawed cockapoo, Rupert—whose playfulness is getting him through heatwaves and lockdowns alike. Rupert’s joy seems based on the fact he has legs and he can run, and with his tongue out and ears flapping, he dashes through the
Here’s Why You’re So Tired Right Now – and What to Do About It
I thought I was getting through this Covid crisis OK—until a couple of weeks ago. That’s when chores started taking longer to do, broken by spells of staring at walls. Articles took longer to write as I doodled instead of typed. I stopped posting on social media because I couldn’t focus my thoughts, and I
Sometimes You Must Tell Your Heart to Beat Again
I recently heard a fascinating story about a heart surgeon. At the end of one operation, he returned his patient’s heart back into the chest and began gently massaging it back to life. But the heart wouldn’t restart. More intense measures followed, but the heart still wouldn’t beat. Finally, the surgeon knelt by the unconscious
A Breath Prayer Exercise to Help You Face Coronavirus
It's been a monumental few days. How are you feeling? With historians saying Coronavirus will reshape our future, with livelihoods in jeopardy and many vulnerable, you may be feeling anxious. At the same time, this pivotal moment calls for self-sacrifice for the good of strangers. How can we meet these demands? Here is something that