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The Parable of the Long-Handled Spoons

I was chatting with a friend recently about how we’re all coping with living with restrictions at the moment because of the current pandemic.

Of course, whilst some of what we’re each doing is to protect ourselves, there’s also the aspect of protecting and caring for others.

Wearing masks is a good example.

This reminded me of The Parable of the Long-Handled Spoons – a very simple tale that illustrates how we can create harmony or misery for ourselves, depending on how much we help and support each other – or not.

If you’ve not heard of this and/or would like a quick reminder, this short video (just 4 minutes) gives you the gist:

Continue reading “The Parable of the Long-Handled Spoons” →

Are you waving or drowning?

Today is World Mental Health Awareness Day, a day to check in with ourselves – are we thriving, coping, surviving or feeling overwhelmed?

And if we’re ok, maybe to check in with those we care about.

There’s a (really short) poem I like: “Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith – inspired by something she read about a man who drowned and whose friends thought he was waving to them, not drowning.

She compares this to the way in which people in everyday life sometimes try to be ‘brave’ and/or pretend to be ok, when really they’re not.

Continue reading “Are you waving or drowning?” →

Coming out of lockdown – easy or confusing?

Lockdown, though necessary to contain the initial spread of Covid-19, was hard for a lot of people. In most parts of the UK now, (and in some other parts of the world, too), restrictions are starting to ease and we’re now entering a different phase, a slightly revised ‘normal’.

Whilst these changes are extremely welcome for some – particularly those whose income has been adversely affected and who are now able to resume work – for others, this brings a new level of anxiety in terms of deciding which activities feel safe to resume, and which don’t.

In many ways, full lockdown is easier and clearer to navigate in terms of understanding what we each can and can’t do. It removes most of the element of choice and individual decision-making. Now we’re starting to have to consider different possibilities and to interpret advice and rules which are, to many of us, less clear cut. Continue reading “Coming out of lockdown – easy or confusing?” →

Hello! Will we ever shake hands again?

When we went into lockdown we all stopped doing this – some of us had stopped even before that.

It’s something we have tended to do here in the UK – in business and socially.

Maybe it’s a generational thing (I’m in my 60s) and perhaps it’s also more prevalent amongst men than women – although, in my experience, lots of women (in a work context, at least) used to shake hands, too.

A handshake seems like a small gesture, but maybe it represents quite a lot? Continue reading “Hello! Will we ever shake hands again?” →

We’re NOT all in the same boat…

I heard a great quote yesterday – not sure who said it first but it was along these lines re the current pandemic:

“We’re NOT all in the same boat,

we’re all in the same storm,

but in different boats.

Some are relaxing in luxury yachts,

others are in rickety old rust buckets, letting in water, having to bail it out

and, of course, everything in between …”

The truth of this really struck me in terms of how differently we’re each experiencing this current situation. Continue reading “We’re NOT all in the same boat…” →

‘Life Stripped Bare’ – another chance to see it

movers-24403_640I wrote about this UK Channel 4 Series back in 2016 in my blog How Much ‘Stuff’ is Enough? The Naked Truth!.

If you missed it and you’d like to see it, it’s being repeated – starting tomorrow, Monday 28th May, at 11pm.

Enjoy!

Everybody Hurts

It’s that time of year again – my ‘guilty pleasure’ Britain’s Got Talent is back on ITV in the UK. winking-face_1f609

I caught up on the audition stages last week and was incredibly touched by Father Ray Kelly’s rendition of the R.E.M. classic (a 7 minute clip including his introduction to the panel before he sings):

Making a Difference

“While wandering a deserted beach at dawn, stagnant in my work, I saw a man in the distance bending and throwing as he walked the endless stretch toward me.

As he came near, I could see that he was throwing starfish, abandoned on the sand by the tide, back into the sea.

When he was close enough I asked him why he was working so hard at this strange task. He said that the sun would dry the starfish and they would die.

I said to him that I thought he was foolish. There were thousands of starfish on miles and miles of beach. One man alone could never make a difference.

starfishHe smiled as he picked up the next starfish. Hurling it far into the sea he said, “It makes a difference for this one.”

I abandoned my writing and spent the morning throwing starfish.”  

This story by Loren Eisley has been told in lots of different ways and places and I love it. It fits so well with my beliefs that:

Meaningful Moments from This Year’s London Marathon

How great was it to see Matthew Rees help David Wyeth finish the London Marathon yesterday?

If you didn’t see it you can watch it here.

Some have called it the moment that defined the race. Continue reading “Meaningful Moments from This Year’s London Marathon” →

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