To step out into the night is to lose sense of self and become acutely aware of what else there is. We transcend our petty fearful selves and become huge. Huge as the night sky and as minuscule as the sound of a twig bend in the abyss around us. I was inspired to write this in France; by the dark of my Father's garden and the stars of the northern hemisphere. Since my arrival there's talk of monsters in the basement. My room is adjacent to dim storage full of logs, axes, chai

A tree spoke to me as we drove past it the other day. Her girth and mighty embrace was tangible despite my fleeting glance. "That tree must be 600 years old!" I remarked out loud. She reached out to me and I heard her voice. I felt her limbs. Her weight. Her strength. Her wisdom. Her ancestry and her connection... to the past.. to everything... to me.. And you know what she said? "Go do work. Find a way. Make them understand with your words and your deeds. I see

I see a bug... it's a beetle... a thing... it's alive. Don't tell me that they are dying... taking us with them... a sure sign of our imminent demise. Extinction. You are kidding me surely? Look see! There are loads of them, something's on my foot right now. A tiny indeterminate bug like thing. I'll even let it bite me... sting me... whatever... Let it live. There are millions of these things... surely they can't be dying out.... Crawlies don't give me the creeps and s

Zero Waste action as an example and a metaphor for activating our future. Why are we so reluctant to take a step? Is not the first step half the journey? Aren't we trying to get somewhere, to improve and to thrive despite everything? It seems to me (and I am consistently finding in my role as change instigator) that the biggest problem is simply getting people to take step 1, that first and all empowering step. It looks something like this: (Zero Waste action is as an exam

It makes sense to start with doable actions on an individual scale. I had the pleasure of hosting workshops/talks with a wonderful group of university students. The following is inspired by and is a follow up with links as promised for the students of Sustainability Development at MEF University Istanbul. I'm really appreciative that firstly the course exists (though it should be standard curriculum for all schools everywhere starting at primary ages!) and I'm happy to see th

Connection? Don't underestimate it! Meaningful connection is the most enriching part of our lives and a lack of it is cause for much distress and quite likely the root cause of the predicament we face. When we look at the motivations, desires and priorities of humankind it is apparent that we are neurobiologically wired to be connected. It is with this knowledge that I have started hosting Connected Conversations Events here in Istanbul. There are so many of us in this amazin