This post is inspired by the President of Uruguay, Jose Mujica. I’d never heard much about him to be honest, but this week I read about his life as the world’s poorest president. By choice President Mujica lives on his wife’s farm, rather than the presidential digs that his predecessors enjoyed. He drives a 1973 Beetle car and donates 90% of his…Read More
Does Rain Make You Sick or Happy?
“Don’t be so ridiculous”, my mother always said, “Rain can’t make you sick; germs make you sick”. And not too long ago a doctor friend of mine confirmed this. The only way the rain can make you sick, is if the rain water contains germs that you swallow or fall into your eyes, he said, in not…Read More
How to Enable Natural Personal Growth & Development
A family were sitting down to eat waiting for their son to come in from the fields. The son eventually arrived an hour late. His father asked why he’d taken so long, and the boy replied, “I was helping the wheat grow”. The next morning the father went out to the field and all the…Read More
My Richness is Life…
Earlier this week I heard a beautiful quote from Bob Marley. In an interview, with reference to his fame, he was once asked: Are you a rich man, do you have a lot of possessions? He replied: I don’t have that kind of richness, my richness is life. So simple yet so profound and meaningful.…Read More
A Poem by a Taoist Priest
Just recently I stumbled upon this beautiful poem in the Tao Of Jeet Kun Doe, by Bruce Lee. The book has some delightful zen teachings and spiritual musings amidst the martial arts instruction. The author is cited simply as A Taoist Priest, and has no title. I don’t want to say too much – because as…Read More
What Will You Do with Your Life? Said the Career Officer…
Fourteen years old, about to take what were called “options” back then – a set of subjects that were supposed to define my future – a career officer asked me what I wanted to do when I left school. But as he asked me this strange, daunting question, a few questions of my own rattled…Read More
Bill Hicks – Just a Ride
Inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes, and today I want to share with you a short 3-minute video clip I watch from time to time. It’s called Just a Ride, and it’s by the late, great comedian Bill Hicks. Bill Hicks was known for his comical challenging of politics and religion, and was an extremely intelligent…Read More
How to Meditate Like a Master
As thoughts tend to do, one popped into my mind today regarding meditation. I’ve been meditating for many years now and think nothing of taking time out to bring my mind home. But it wasn’t always this way. I remember asking one of my teachers some years ago how to meditate properly, like the masters.…Read More
Pablo Neruda – Keeping Quiet
I recently came across the most beautiful poem by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. I was having a fairly stressful day, with work getting on top. As I entered the train, listening to a selection of poems on my iPod, this came on and blew me away. It really is life changing. For me the poem is asking…Read More
Letting Go of the Past – A Story of Two Monks and a Maiden
I am writing this looking out over the winding waters of the Mekong River in Luang Prabang, Laos. As I sip my coconut juice, I allow my mind to become engaged in the array of beautiful sounds emitting from nature’s bounty: the trees subtly whistling in the sunlight, the warm breeze pushing the current downstream, the sound…Read More