How quickly the void of an uncertain future has been replaced with a new normal. On the eve of a hot summer, with impulses setting in to be perched outside soaking in as much vitamin D as possible, it is even more impressive to see the majority of us aspiring to alter our behaviour for…
My initial reading through the broad strokes of Indian philosophy have concerned the art of refocusing perspective, which is more of a honed skill than an innate quality. This, of course, is tied closely with the practice of yoga, which is seen rather simplistically as a mode of relaxation or exercise in Western culture. But…
A rare week of relative quiet has allowed me to re-align myself with what I hope to get out of this juvenile year at the start of a new decade. I had hoped to execute the fruits of what I have so far learned in the last 18 months but, interestingly, I have become more…
And so this year has settled into a gentle denouement, and yet for much of it, I was anticipating twelve months of crippling uncertainty. The downward spiral of the steepest learning curve to date taught me to not take anything for granted, and that nothing is ever really stable. I have learnt about our misguided…
One of the great human failings is our inability to handle grief. There are not many things I find more emotionally taxing than trying to process and reconcile the permanence of death, and this is a commonality between us all. It is strange that, despite its certainty, the concept of death doesn’t become any less…
It’s quite disheartening to realise that there’s a chance that all this hard work could amount to nothing, or that the door I’m desperate to burst through has closed shut before I’ve even reached for the handle. Coupled with the certainty that I am bound to make countless mistakes on the way, it seems the…
I recently watched this video, where members of the public could ask any question to a person from the incel community, short for ‘involuntarily celibate’. There are many aspects of the incel community’s core beliefs that I struggle to reconcile with my own, which includes the subservience of women as an apparent means to reach…
In Othello, Iago warns: “O beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meet it feeds on” Green is a common theme when referring back to our most primitive selves. Our eyes, for example, are adapted to distinguish between more shades of green than any other colour, most likely…
Corporate presentation events have the potential to be rigid and awkward at the best of times, and I expected much of the same at the LGBT+ presentation I attended. It had the usual polite interactions with support staff in order to know how to navigate an office with over 30 floors. It had the name…
There’s a small, remote village that resides on the outskirts of Rome. An air of tranquillity floats around the place. One night, the village is tormented by a terrible noise emanating from the hills across the valley. It is a roar of a lion, but one that pierces the air of tranquility all through the…
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius
The two weeks of environmental protests led by Extinction Rebellion (XR) are underway across the planet. There’s hope that there will be a fresh impetus injected into the movement, which is demanding more of the world leaders and their respective governments to publicly announce that we are in the midst of an ecological and climate…
For all the billing of parties being a foolproof source of enjoyment, there are some unsettling prerequisites that you are supposed to comply with. There’s a pressure to not just ‘be’, but to be interesting and not simply stand with your back against the wall, drifting away into obscurity. ‘Just being yourself’ doesn’t afford any…
There are always small moments where you can peek behind the curtain at the state of things, flashpoints where everything is laid bare for the eyes to see. Significant levels of civil unrest, political turmoil and an ever-deepening chasm between power and people are on display, and are all happening at once. I think there’s…
How long until we sink to the bottom of the sea? When will our vices and our personal darkness catch up with us, or can we ever hope to outrun them? How long do we have to lurk in the wilderness, outside of relevance or reverence? ‘Sin’ is unique in that, typically, only the sinner…
Anger is not a failing or fault, whether it’s deep-rooted or merely surface level. Reason is but a servant of Passion, so it would be a great disservice to ignore it for fear of appearing emotionally haphazard. Self control is, of course, an illusion, and to think otherwise would be to believe that existing entirely…
The security of a personal bubble, whilst reassuring, is also a form of self-confinement. Away from the harsh elements, characters are not forged. Disconnected from the toils and dangers of the world, the armour rusts, and the once-hard exterior becomes as flimsy and transient as the very bubble we have chosen to lock ourselves away…
I’ve never placed great pride in my ability to organise a top class holiday, but I feel like the trip to Santorini signed, sealed and delivered just that. It’s honestly a stunning island, with beautiful cycladic architecture that’s carved into the cliff faces and narrow streets, which you can probably read all about on TripAdvisor.…
This last weekend away in Malta was enjoyable and particularly insightful for a number of reasons. To begin with, it signified an extension of the long-lasting bond I have had this with this group of boys. As I near my 22nd birthday in the coming week, it would mean that I have known these boys…
It’s getting to nearly a year since I started this blog, which is quite an achievement given the frankly unsustainable rate at which I have picked up and dropped hobbies. To be honest, I didn’t have a burning desire to take this on at all, but I felt myself being drawn closer to the idea…
Patterns and lavish decoration serve a useful purpose, despite some describing them as unnecessary and an exercise in over-indulgence. Art has historically been revered as a means of exploring and creatively depicting the world around us, and it has lead to the complex and convoluted structures in our midst to possess a certain kind of…
There is something captivating about the way a grand piano dances that I’ll never be able to put my finger on or emulate in any other context. Despite my ears becoming more well versed with 808s and heavy bass as the typical summer songs start infiltrating through our speakers, hearing Klaus Weissmuller’s ‘fabienne’ and Sampha’s…
