We all have favourite places, right? I want to share with you one of mine. It’s 80 km of heavily reinforced concrete. It’s in one of the world’s mega-cities. It’s a convenient place to film car chase scenes, and also a place to horse ride, to wander, kayak, make art, and find space. It’s the Los […]
Sometimes digging in deep to crafting a piece of writing provides a kind of abundance that I crave. Here’s one of those from a little while back. Stella slipped self-consciously out of the business meeting. Her mobile phone had buzzed impatiently one time too many for her keep ignoring it. It must be something serious, […]
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has” – Margaret Mead Imagine where we’d be without those thoughtful committed citizens.Imagine where we could be if more of us felt okay about joining them. I’ve been held back countless times from stepping up. Correction. I’ve […]
Our office has plastic cups because washing up after ourselves must be too hard. I recently went to a dinner eaten from plastic plates, where afterwards all traces of our meal were swept into a plastic garbage bag. At a recent function, I reluctantly ate individually plastic wrapped biscuits and sweetened my tea with paper […]
Have you ever witnessed those workplace conversations where two colleagues one-up each other about who is more busy, more stressed, more in-demand and more unhappy? These conversations are oddly inverted, as if the worse your lot is, the more validated you feel. It’s a badge of honour. A busy badge. God forbid, maybe you’ve even worn that […]
Tidying up files today, I came across a little memoir piece from a few years ago. It’s a reflection on how our approach to life can be shaped by food, cooking and eating. If this triggers food memories for you, about yourself or others in your life, I’d love you to share them here. Food and anxiety have often […]
With life sky-rocketing towards Christmas at a startling pace, one can’t help but think a lot about stuff. Stuff for under the tree. Stuff for the I-bought-this-generic-item-at-a-big-box-store-on-the-way-to-work secret santa gift exchange. Stuff bought but never used. Stuff lusted after but not really needed. That insatiable appetite to consume that is fed by shiny junk mail, enticing never-to-be-repeated sales and the race […]
What are your early memories of eating cauliflower or broccoli? My most vivid memory is at my grandparent’s house. Actually, the memory is replicated with each set of grandparents, maternal and paternal. As you wish, you may picture either house – the one heaving with cozy family love matched by Central Queensland humidity or the other, one of the […]
A few Transition Bondi folks and I went head-to-head with an unflinching Centre for Sustainability Leadership team in a halloween-night debate last week which asked “Will community groups lead the change to a more sustainable future?”. We on the Transition Bondi team had to argue against the power of community groups, a beautifully ironic task given […]