Mind & Spirit
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Settling in for the Winter
Winter is coming. I’m not sure when it does officially, but the most prominent moment happened last night. In Europe, the clocks went back by one hour. Despite it taking place every year, there’s something quite alarming and unsettling about it. I think it’s the…
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Dealing with the unplaceable anxiety
One of the biggest challenges I deal with right now is with anxiety. I hesitate to say this out loud. Not because of any great shame, but because it makes it sound like I’m a ticking time ball of anxiety. People associate anxiety with the…
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Driving Forward in Second Gear
I’ve found myself desiring an increase in activity in my life. Admittedly, this is quite relative. The last few months have been hermit-like to the extreme. I’m partly riding the wave from travelling to see my parents in London without any major repercussions. Again, the…
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It Ain’t Like The Movies
Am I a phoenix born again from the ashes, or am I shooting star, slowly fizzling away? Whenever I think about life, this question is where I repeatedly return. Everyone loves a hero’s story. Writers throughout history have realised that a story is only interesting…
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The little rays of sunshine
I’ve felt a little more upbeat this week. It’s quite hard to say why. But then, looking for the perfect answer is like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. There’s something about the vagueries of life that no one can ever fully explain. I…
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Writing with little to say
I’m feeling particularly uninspired with my writing. It feels like I’m simply rewriting the same stories every time. Granted, I probably feel that more than anyone actually reading. One article a week is but a drop in the ocean, considering how much information we are…
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Relearning how I learn
I’ve recently restarted my Dutch course. Half-way through a class, I started questioning whether I was actually any good at learning languages. I realised it was a somewhat farcical thought, considering I’ve been learning languages most of my life. Logically I am rather good at…
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Between discipline and indulgence
I often go through a period of wondering how to use my time more productively. Since I have time and relatively little responsibilities (aside from keeping myself alive), I sometimes get the impulse that I must do more. Such thoughts are often a trap. The…
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A Regression to a Younger Age
It’s been a strange August. I think it’s been a bit weird for everyone. Perhaps I’m a nostalgic millennial, but I miss the simpler days of the school summer holidays. Admittedly, my family rarely went on holidays, but at least it felt like a seasonal…
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On living life without a plan
I’ve lived my life always planning ahead. My whole generation had the idea of planning drilled into us. We needed to always know what we were doing next. Anything to the contrary was a failure. To be standing still was to be sinking in quicksand.…
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One more rotation around the sun
Photo by Valentin Bolder on Unsplash I turned 33 today. For some, birthdays are about celebration, and having a moment to feel special. For others, it elicits a sense of worry, confronting us to the inevitable march of time. My somewhat surprising reaction when the…
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Entering My Aura Farming Era
Photo by Aliaksei Lepik on Unsplash In the past, I’ve bemoaned the lack of warmth people have. Maybe it’s a capital city thing, but the level of hyper-independence makes it nigh on impossible to have a sustained relationship with anyone. People are too emotionally unavailable,…
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Is it Trauma or is it Habit?
Why do we do the things that we do? Many people smoke to regulate their stress rather than actually enjoying the taste. People often drink heavily as a form of escapism, rather than the social aspect. There are often deep, underlying reasons for harmful behaviour.…
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Aging and the Quest to Find Peace
I’ve come to the conclusion that my happiest days will be my final ones. I think I will live a long life, and I think I will be fortunate to retain relatively good health up until the end. In those final few years, I will…
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The lost art of keeping discipline
Although I’ve learnt the game of ‘celebrating my successes’, it’s always been one that I’ve done because I’m meant to, rather than because I feel naturally inclined. In my previous management roles, I used to talk to my staff about the importance of ‘cashing the…
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Living life in a protective bubble
When I hear the word bubble these days, it’s often used in a somewhat pejorative sense. In fact, I’m probably the one using it in a critical manner. I often lament people living too much in their own comfortable bubble, or indeed the Brussels infamous…
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Well, where did that year go?
I wasn’t planning on doing an end-of-year recap. Mainly because I had lost all sense of time. I barely understand it’s December, let alone that tomorrow is 2026. Yet when I realised that 2025 was about to end, I was hit with a sense of…
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Choosing a more private life
For the last number of years, my modus operandi has been to increase my visibility. More networking, more connecting and more socialising. In truth, I’m not sure I was particularly successful at it. I’ve built some good connections along the way, but they have broadly…
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An ode to old school methods
For one reason or another, I started learning sanskrit this week. I use an online language platform called Italki. It’s basically a place where you can find teachers and organise classes online. It’s where I also found my Bengali teacher too. I took a chance…
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The key when you get locked out
We often use the metaphors of ‘keys’ and ‘doors’ in the world of personal development. But on Monday, it had a far more literal meaning for me. When taking the bins out, I shut the door behind me. I didn’t realise I didn’t have my…