In gardens, farms and forests, each stage of the cultivation cycle is important, and the same will often be true for your work and life generally. Most of us tend to focus too much on a few stages of this cycle, and neglect others. This checklist can also be helpful in looking at how a […]
For four years the focus of my learning and teaching was resilience. I believe it’s a crucial skill set for all of us in these uncertain times, but I’ve now decided to put another focus beside it: natural happiness. Since 2011, I’ve learned lots about the benefits of resilience, but also the limitations of the […]
This is published by Action for Happiness, probably the biggest UK network focussed on happiness. It may be stretching things to call it a book; it’s a 28-page free download from their website, www.actionforhappiness.org. Along with the ten keys, all helpful, the book suggests ways to use them, for example creating a local group, or […]
A hand-made easel, a mango tree, and a goat: resilience training in rural Ethiopia: I feel so honoured and touched that this flipchart easel has been hand-made locally for me: square section steel, painted grey, with a big panel of wood bolted to its front. Its two coat hooks just about fit with the brass […]
Life is getting more changeable for most of us. Many of us these days have to face mortality more directly: perhaps because of our own health, or the passing of a friend or family member. Sufi teachings and other traditions urge us to face our dying to enrich our living: by getting through fears and […]
Learning from extremes: hospices: In my exploration of resilience, I’ve become interested in what we can learn where this quality is tested to an extreme. Death is a pretty severe test of resilience,…
The idea that progress is always linear, forward and upward, has long been questionable. In recent years, many economic observers have declared that even stable living standards should be seen as an achievement. Recently, I found myself pondering different models of how progress can be recognised: we urgently need these as the conventional linear ones […]
I have learned from nomads as a role model for modern-day resilience for many years, drawing mainly on my experience leading twelve groups with Bedouin in the Tunisian Sahara. Kate Humble’s recent BBC2 series on nomads offers vivid insights from across the world, and I enjoyed her programme on nomads in the Gobi desert, Mongolia. […]
The value of resilience, and purposeful instability… The focus of this well-written book is creating successful, innovative organisations, and the personal skills to enable this. The authors are co-founders of Relume, a small team who have helped top businesses for many years. Claire Genkai Breeze draws heavily on her Zen Buddhist training in her approach. […]
There’s so much talk about resilience these days, but little of it explores spiritual sources. My focus is resilience in everyday life: how we can stay steady, and grow through daily stress and bigger crises. There’s plenty of research to show that people who feel a higher sense of purpose, who have a spiritual path, […]