The problem with caring is that eventually you get hurt. Pain and passion are, for all intents and purposes, synonymous. When you give your heart away, it will get handed back to you in pieces. It is as inevitable as the tug of the moon on the tides. Life is not to be found in... Continue Reading →
When Necessary Use Words
When I was 15 or 16, and sitting in church, my Sunday School teacher (I do not remember which one) – during a pause in the sermon, whispered to me: “One day that could be you up there.” Perhaps it was a spontaneous whim that compelled his words; I doubt he remembers saying them to... Continue Reading →
Making Our Children More Human
Our country is facing a real crisis of leadership. It seems that nowadays leaders refuse to take responsibility for their actions; there is little remorse shown when they are caught engaging in morally dubious behaviour, and instead find ways to justify themselves and blame others. And it is not just a political predicament either. Our... Continue Reading →
Revealing Beauty
Most of us, at some point in our lives, will be guilty of judging a political, cultural or social group by its hypocrites – those whose actions and lifestyles contradict the values they purport to endorse. As unfair as it is to do so, it is perfectly understandable. Hypocrisy is deplorable, and was one of... Continue Reading →
Grace Under Pressure
The first time I read Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, I was hooked. His insights were a revelation to me, a young man too much at the mercy of his own wild emotions. One of the most profound gifts the book gave me as I began to give his ideas more than... Continue Reading →
The Danger of a Single Story
In 2005 (http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en), writer Chimamanda Adichie spoke powerfully about the danger of having a single story: “Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanise. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that... Continue Reading →
Why I teach
When people find out that I am a teacher, they often look at me in the way one would look at somebody who had just confessed to being a substance abuser - vaguely distrustful, slightly embarrassed for having asked, and possibly possessing a morbid curiosity about what on earth it was that compelled me to... Continue Reading →
Would the World Be Better Off Without Religion?
Every time an atrocity is committed in the name of religion, it spawns a host of tirades by atheists online, proclaiming that the world would be better off without religion. It has become an argument popularised by the likes of Christopher Hitchens, and it can sound quite persuasive. After all, the history of religion on... Continue Reading →
Too Slow to Anger
The recent shootings in Paris have given rise to a lot of really interesting debate about freedom of speech and legitimate ways to exercise it, as well as about the bias towards European stories, given that the massacre of 2000 people in Nigeria at roughly the same time made significantly less impression in the media.... Continue Reading →
The Road to Wisdom
My son has absolutely no sense of fear. To add to my stress levels, he is also uncommonly daring. He loves anything that gives him an adrenaline rush. Fortunately, he is in the habit of announcing to the world what adventure he is about to undertake. Recently it has been: “Nathan swimming”, before attempting to... Continue Reading →
Vapors In The Wind 