“If one is to succeed in anything, the success must come gently, with a great deal of effort but with no stress or obsession.” ― Carlos Castaneda, Tales of Power In endurance sports, the races are by definition, long. Interestingly, it’s actually not about speed. At any one point in time, you’re really going pretty slow in...

When I was young I remember going head to head with my friend Timothy in a multiplication times-tables competition. We were going for the top spot in our class in a rapid fire, head to head race. We had to know anything up to “9 x 9” at the time I think. While basic arithmetic is...

“How you climb a mountain is more important than how you reach the top.” – Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia. In climbing, like in a lot of sports or physical pursuits, there are hobbyists, athletes, practitioners and artists. When the movement or sport is done fully, with full presence and embodiment, it is the work of an...

As I stand to write this, there’s an empty glass nearby. The water filter is in the kitchen, and my desk is in the office. The question is, who’s going to fill it? When they’re empty, vessels like glasses, buckets etc, are pure potential. There’s only upside. The void in them is temporary, on one...

When I order an espresso, I’ll judge. Perhaps I’ll “consider” for the first few moments, but then I’ll definitely judge the hell out of it. If it’s smooth, rich with no bitterness, it passes. If it’s bitter, cold, too long or just an average bean, it typically doesn’t pass. Now, when we humanise the situation,...

The other day I stood in a shoe store for about 15 minutes. I was interested in one of two pairs of shoes, I hadn’t purchased casual shoes for about 5 years. It was taking a while, and I was about to walk up to the register, but I decided to run and experiment. So...

I eat a chocolate bar, so I hit the treadmill to burn off the 283cal…* My partner cooks dinner tonight, so I do the cleaning up… They forget part of my order at the café, so they give me a voucher for a free coffee next time… The “trade” mentality makes sense, it’s embedded deep...

Only when the fog clears do we notice a lack of direction. When you bring the practice of attention to the breath and body, combining both “feeling” and relaxation,  You can then start to see the parts of you, or parts of your life that may be being numbed or avoided. The fog clears, allowing...