Monthly Archives: July 2011

Man’s Best Friend

Posted on July 31, 2011 by

Unprecedentedly, I’m home alone this weekend. I’ve cooked some tasty meals, listened to some absorbing cricket, cleaned the fish tank, sunk a few beers, watched some great films, done some washing, tidied up, been late to bed, lied in. And … Continue reading →

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Breathing

Posted on July 31, 2011 by

David Servan-Schreiber wrote about the power of breathing in his book ‘Healing without Freud or Prozac’. Basically if you can breathe at 6 breaths a minute you automatically convince your body and mind that all is well. Your ‘limbic system’ … Continue reading →

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Cathedral or Cave

Posted on July 29, 2011 by

I imagine Aristotle, like the Acropolis, as more Cathedral. The reclusive poet Emily Dickinson would be more cave. Montaigne, perhaps old Paris; earthy rumbustious streets and deep reflective catacombs. I’ve been toying with Nietzsche’s idea that our ‘will to power’ … Continue reading →

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Adults and Children

Posted on July 28, 2011 by

All adults are big kids sometimes, but often the wrong kind. We keep the petty, squabbling, thin-skinnedness of children but often lose the curiosity, spontaneity and sense of fun. It’s a bit hackneyed but I still have a lot of … Continue reading →

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Servan-Schreiber

Posted on July 25, 2011 by

I was sad to read today that David Servan-Schrieber lost his battle against cancer the other day. But although he lost the battle, I think he won the war. He lived nearly twenty full and vivid years post diagnosis of … Continue reading →

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Bonhoeffer

Posted on July 23, 2011 by

I quoted Dietrich Bonhoeffer to a friend the other day. Bonhoeffer stood up to the Nazis and perished for it in a concentration camp. He is celebrated (pictured on the right) as a 20th Century martyr in Westmister Abbey. A … Continue reading →

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The Forth Bridge

Posted on July 20, 2011 by

Twice in the last two weeks I’ve cited the Forth Rail Bridge to describe what I increasingly recognise as a not uncommon challenge – being called upon, like Sisyphus, to do the same thing again and again. Famously, but perhaps … Continue reading →

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Shower

Posted on July 18, 2011 by

Man – and woman – in the state of nature is not a pretty sight. Obsessed with feeding and drinking, scavenging for firewood, alternately soaked then sweating. Feral children career about, bumping and thumping each other. Sleep snatched fitfully as … Continue reading →

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Cosmos

Posted on July 14, 2011 by

Today I spent an hour, at the unveiling of a statue to Yuri Gagarin, with the man who has spent more time in space than any other – the Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev. Poised, distinguished and himself chipped from granite, he … Continue reading →

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Equals and Similars

Posted on July 13, 2011 by

Aristotle has some interesting things to say about society and man as a social animal. In summary, man is by nature social. Intelligence and virtue are our best qualities. And, justice is the minimum common bond which keeps us from … Continue reading →

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