I wrote this post for ECBC Manchester in celebration of National Storytelling Week. This is shortened version of the original: if you'd like to read the whole thing, you can do so here. The history of humankind is inextricably tied up with that of storytelling. From the earliest cave paintings, through the development of signed [...]
My heart is so full. It's Christmas and my brother is - wonderfully, unexpectedly -home. There are no words for the joy this has brought me. So instead, I will simply wish you joy and peace of your own and leave you with a wintry poem about light in the darkest part of the year. [...]
Some time ago, I discovered the Harry Potter And The Sacred Text podcast. This was a wonderful discovery. HP and the Sacred Text takes one of my (and the world's) most beloved series of books, and engaged with them in a thoughtful and inquisitive way, exploring the lessons and ideas the story has to offer [...]
No one saw it for what it really was. When they saw him striding the halls and directing their meetings, they assumed the freshly pressed suit and perfectly knotted tie were simply business dress. They didn't know that, when he got home at night and loosened that restrictive strip of fabric, the rest of him [...]
This week was Mental Health Awareness Week and all week I've been wanting and meaning to write something to share with you, my lovely readers. But I've had a funny mental health week and have just not quite been in the right frame of mind. I've felt edgy, restless and anxious, as if something is [...]
I have started writing this post several times and don't quite know how to say what I want to say. I have heard and seen too many stories of people struggling with their mental health and not being able to find a way out; too many stories of people for whom the only escape they [...]
It's easy to be too busy Or say It's not the right time To worry that you'll make it worse So you accept their fumbled "Fine." It's hard to find the moment For hearing truth And depth But really we're just finding excuses To keep ourselves Deaf To all the pain that gathers When people [...]
Sometimes, all is noise: Busy Bustling Chaos. The mad rush from here to There. The happy buzz, The anxious struggle, The beeping, bleeping, never ending Asks and answers, Frets and favours, Coffee percolating, Email answering, Frantic searching, Forgot what I was doing, Hamster-wheeling, Plate spinning Noise. And sometimes There is Silence. JH It seems a [...]
Image found here. Fear can be a crippling thing. It's even worse when the thing you fear is a part of yourself because there is no running and hiding. How can you run from yourself? We have a tendency to follow ourselves wherever we go. And then it becomes a vicious circle because not only [...]
Image found here. In my experience it has not been big things that have changed my attitude towards mental health but a thousand tiny things and a millions tiny moments. These tiny things and tiny moments saved my life. They have given me the strength and courage to seriously consider my mental state and do [...]
Thrive In Chaos 