Back in late May 2020, when the pandemic was already feeling endless but we were all still in ignorance of how much longer the ordeal was yet to last, I succumbed to a fit of madness and ordered a lilac tree. Syringa chinensis, to be precise. I mean, it wasn’t complete madness. We do have…
I am a history buff. Have been for years. I’m not exactly sure how it’s started, though I suspect a particular European history teacher in Exeter had a hand in it, making it interesting and all that (how dare he?) by somehow finding the ridiculous and the sublime in every era, every conflict, every revolution we…
I haven’t been writing again and it’s becoming an uncomfortable itch. I want to write. The words are often there, but making myself actually make time for it is hard. It’s not quite as brainless as crashing out on the couch with a mindless novel on my Kindle app. But the other weekend we were in…
A while back I mentioned an intellectual friend from my college days whose Facebook I often find thought-provoking. His most recent pearl of wisdom that struck me this morning concerned the unfortunate fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. As countless others were, I was heartbroken to hear about the fire yesterday evening. I…
I’ve written a bit about balance recently, both literal and metaphorical. Lately, in addition to just contemplating balance, I’ve been considering the loss of it, and its recovery. Like when your bike wheel hits an uneven edge of concrete at a bad angle, triggering a split second of pure fear and adrenaline as your body…
This evening I ended up contemplating fish. Specifically, fish swimming upstream. Have you ever had that kind of a day where everything is a slog? A fight? A grit-your-teeth-and-hang-on-to-your-sanity-by-your-fingertips-with-all-your-might sort of struggle? I was in the middle of yoga class, clearly having failed to empty my mind and let go of all those bothersome concerns…
People love rituals. We’re really good at them. Rituals have in fact been a feature of society since… well… pretty much since the beginning of society I imagine. Whether it’s swearing in a new president or sacrificing a virgin for a better harvest, humanity simply loves to mark events. Marking events has a definite sort of…
If you’ve been keeping up with me, you know that since moving to our own house I get to share my lengthier morning and evening commutes with Hawkeye to get him to creche before heading on to work and then picking him back up again. In the mornings, if I am not cycling, this happens…
I had yoga class this evening which prompted me to think on the matter of balance – a topic that frequently comes to mind when I do yoga, particularly since I feel like its something that I have not managed to recover completely since I banjaxed my ankle. The essentials are there, but in the…
One of the first things I had to learn fairly quickly when I moved to Ireland was a whole new set of places and names. It’s quite amazing how much of such knowledge you take for granted growing up in one place even if you are never forced to learn your fifty states and state…
There is something tranquil about being able to watch your child fall asleep as they finally lose the battle to keep their eyes open. Their eyelashes flutter closed. Their forehead smooths out, and a sense of peace flows over the whole scene. Given the inherent nature of this sight, I therefore find it deeply and…
The Feathered Rose 