There’s a lot of words out there… and we need words, to tell stories. As adults, we leave childish things behind us, including stories; so our words sometimes become merely instructional, explanatory, rational, adrift from the fulness of life… Sure, we use words for lots of reasons – liberating, nurturing, or terrifying reasons – but words have only one purpose that is truly sacred: to tell stories, fictional or true. We need words to tell stories, so we can understand each other, and connect...

When life seems like a huge mountain to climb, what gets you to the summit and beyond? Resilience? Willpower? Strength of character? There’s an idea out there that resilience is something ‘inside a person’ – a supply of energy that you can draw from when life gets rough. Social media is full of psychological tricks that promise greater resilience – the mental equivalent of lifting weights, to make your mind as strong as your body. Influencers tell us that resilience is all about being...

This is a post about saying ‘hello’. So, hello! As a way of introduction, here is a picture of me (about to head off to Cub Scouts and looking seriously chuffed about it). Now - WAS this me; or IS this me? Have I really changed since then? Or am I still the same person, deep-down? How much of what I do today is tangled up with the hopes and fears of that little lad? Let me tell you about this kid. He did alright at school, knew the difference between right and wrong, liked the idea of...