We pay attention differently when we are in nature. This is called ‘soft fascination’ The great 19th century thinker William James (brother of novelist Henry James) proposed that there are two ways of paying attention. The first is voluntary and directed, which is used for tasks that demand concentration. For example doing work, walking alongContinue reading “Comforting Thought: Soft Fascination”
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Comforting Thought: Introverts mature more gracefully than extroverts
Some extraverted people can avoid being introverted and turning inwards, for years at a time. Later in life, self-reflection becomes important for everyone. In short, introverts may mature more gracefully. So you are in good company. Ignore the barbs about ‘lightening up’. Enjoy the levity of others and allow yourself your own specialty. If you’reContinue reading “Comforting Thought: Introverts mature more gracefully than extroverts”
Book Review: Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung
Rating: ππππ Publisher: Black Inc Books Genre: Non-fiction, autobiography, Australian history, SE Asia. Review in one word: Witty This is vivid story of a family of migrants who flee from the killing fields of Cambodia to the inner west of Melbourne to find sanctuary in the early 80’s. Told from the perspective of the narratorContinue reading “Book Review: Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung”
Comforting Thought: The blue of distance, the green of time
“The colour of hills that recede layer upon layer into the horizon. Well this is the green of time. The green that grows from nothing, anything if left for long enough.” It comes at first as mildew and mould. A misting of green-grey, or mustard-green, the green of decay. But then it grows into a verdant palette of new life: leaf green, lime green, the green of fresh new shoots.
Comforting Thought: Viktor Frankl knew a lot about finding meaning even in the worst situations
Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist who was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. He was a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) and in his famous book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ he describes how he was called upon to inspire his fellow prisoners, how he intuitively understood what they needed. He observed that under those awful circumstances,Continue reading “Comforting Thought: Viktor Frankl knew a lot about finding meaning even in the worst situations”
Ancient Word of the Day: Komorebi
This Japanese word has no direct translation to English but means ‘the sunlight filtering through the leaves of the trees’. It is made up of three Kanji characters: ζ¨ means tree ζΌ means ‘to leak’ or ‘to escape’ ζ₯ means sun Komorebi ζ¨ζΌζ₯ ~ from Japanese. ‘Sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees The wordContinue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Komorebi”
Book Review: The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld
Rating: ππππ Publisher: Faber & Faber Genre: Fiction, Psychological thriller, Literary Fiction. Review in one word: Subconscious Originally published in Dutch and winning the Man Booker International Prize in 2018, Lucas Rijneveld’s debut novel captures in bloody, beastly and corporeal detail the lives of a dysfunctional farming family in the rural Netherlands, some time inContinue reading “Book Review: The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld”
Poignant Thought: The Wild Cows on the Island of Swona
In the mid-20th Century, on the remote island of Swona in Scotland, the Rosie family kept animals including a herd of cows. As the decades wore on, their children moved away and the elderly stalwarts of the family stayed on and eventually died there. Moving of the cattle from the island would have been tooContinue reading “Poignant Thought: The Wild Cows on the Island of Swona”
Comforting Thought: When fear melts, all that is left is love
Love has many identities. The love of parents, spouses, siblings. The heady love of youth, the mellow love of old age. The love of passion, all fiery and insatiable, the subtle love of maturity. The love one person has for another for no particular reason. When fear melts, all that is left is love. InContinue reading “Comforting Thought: When fear melts, all that is left is love”
Book Review: Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape by Cal Flynn
Rating: πππππ Publisher: William Collins Books Genre: Non-fiction, anthropology, environmental science, natural history, animal rights. What happens when humans foresake and ruin landscapes? They are never truly abandoned. Instead they are engulfed by the non-human world and they become teeming with many other foresaken wild lifeforms. The weeds, plants, insects, birds and large mammals moveContinue reading “Book Review: Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape by Cal Flynn”
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