I'm sleeping in my old bedroom for two nights this week. The apartment I grew up in is in an old house in Bucharest, built around 1900 and split into flats once the Communists took over. I’ve often wondered how the flats were created; did they decide how many families would move in and then … Continue reading Colour, 2021
One of the difficult things about being Romanian is that our version of “Happy Birthday” has this very challenging bit at the end. You need serious range (and lung capacity) to get through it, which is why it’s good that you sing it as the party is about to finish, because someone (usually an uncle) … Continue reading Singing Lessons
I joined Instagram in March 2016, almost three years ago. I was getting ambivalent about Facebook (smiling condescendingly because you detest social media, think it's all a load of cr@p, and would never even get near it? You are a superior human being. Statue on its way. Also, I know you ask your friends to … Continue reading #40iscoming and I’m confused about Instagram
Right. Let me bring you up to speed here, if you haven't read this last post: I'm going to turn 40 in a couple of months' time and I'm trying to figure out how one does that in a Spring Minded way. How do I change digits in a way that's nine parts hopeful and excited … Continue reading #40iscoming Toolkit 1. The Essential Question – So What Do I Read?
Hate reading - or just miss me? Audio version here: I'm going to be 40 in just over two months. That doesn't surprise me. I always thought I'd end up turning 40, if I was lucky enough. But there's something about this number that I'm apparently supposed to dread. I'm supposed to pretend that I'm … Continue reading #40iscoming and I need a toolkit
When I was a little kid, I used to chant to myself quietly: “I am, I am, I am, I am” and, repeated enough times, this would send me into a state of pure wonder: “So wait, is this thing for real? You mean I (the reality and shape of that “I” felt so unchallengeable … Continue reading Why Meaning Means More
Ok, I don't want to get too excited about this just yet, but I think all this chasing after Spring Mind is starting to pay off (and not just because of my mindful Instagramming). I can feel myself getting closer to a Matrix moment: all of the different things I’ve been reading and trying out … Continue reading Is Rock Bottom Inevitable?
You know the expression "monkey mind"? For as long as I can remember, I've suffered from an advanced form of that, which I call "drunken fly" mind: my mind doesn't just jump about like a monkey, it zooms around, bangs against a window, then starts again, in an endless "zoom-bang!" loop. Not good if you're trying to be mindful … Continue reading Social Zen: Mindfulness via Instagram in 7 (Accidental) Steps
Facebook very helpfully reminded me today that exactly one year ago I wrote a post on my (now defunct) MBA blog about failing at parenting. I went back and read it..and yep, I still feel pretty much exactly the same. I thought you might want to be reminded how to fail as a parent too - … Continue reading How to Fail at Parenting – a Hashtagged Crash Course
Because it's very very late and I really should be sleeping and it's a school day tomorrow, I decided that the most intelligent thing to do after writing this post would be to spend some more time on it by recording an audio version, just in case anyone would rather listen to it than read … Continue reading How I Killed Hello Kitty
Spring Mind 