Pope Francis commends littleness

The central importance of littleness for all those seeking to follow the way of Jesus was emphasised by Pope Francis in his Christmas Eve homily: That is where God is, in littleness. This is the message: God does not rise up in grandeur, but lowers himself into littleness. Littleness is the path that he chose… Continue reading Pope Francis commends littleness

Becoming Better Grownups

I love this book – and would love everyone to read it. Its message – about becoming better grownups by being more childlike – is so necessary, so important – yet is communicated with such a lightness of touch. The book is beautifully produced – like a children’s book (and I mean that as a… Continue reading Becoming Better Grownups

Senses working overtime…

Way back in 1982 the the English band XTC released the single Senses Working Overtime: And I can see, hear, smell, touch, taste And I’ve got one, two, three, four, five Senses working overtime Trying to take this all in… Senses Working Overtime, XTC Sad to say, this is not how I live my life… Continue reading Senses working overtime…

Live on Phoenix FM!

A few days ago I had the privilege and pleasure of joining Patrick Sherring on his Phoenix FM show, Friday Night Extra. (You can find a recording of the show here, along with a brief summary of our chat, plus a playlist.) Patrick had come across my poem As a Child in a blog post, and on… Continue reading Live on Phoenix FM!

Let’s go fly a kite!

Today, I flew my kite – for the first time in far too long. We’d driven out to Frinton-on-Sea, on the Essex coast. Behind the beach and promenade is a wide, open area of grassland known as the greensward – perfect for flying kites in the sea breeze. My kite is an “easy flyer” – it’s very… Continue reading Let’s go fly a kite!

Playful running – parkrun

I am not a runner – but I do love parkrun! In case you don’t know about parkrun, it is a 5km (3.1 mile) timed running event, held each week in hundreds of parks across the UK and beyond. It is entirely free to take part, and is open to runners (and, indeed, walkers) of… Continue reading Playful running – parkrun

Work, Rest and Play

Those of us of a certain age (and who grew up in the UK) will doubtless remember this advertising slogan: A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play. Sadly the slogan is no more, presumably consigned to history by more rigorous advertising standards. But – it seems to me – ‘work, rest and… Continue reading Work, Rest and Play

A Playful Commute

In my previous post (back in November!) I wrote of making work more playful. Here, at last, is an example – the daily commute. (I realise not everyone commutes to work – or has a commute like mine – but hopefully this will still serve as a useful illustration of how to make any work… Continue reading A Playful Commute

How to Play?

In my previous post I suggested that play has no purpose – and encouraged us to make all of life more playful by incorporating more things that have no purpose at all! But, of course, the reality is that life is full of things that ‘have to be done’. I was going to enumerate some of… Continue reading How to Play?

What is Play? 

What is Play? And what does it mean to be playful? Much wiser heads than mine have considered and written on this subject, and I won’t pretend to have anything more than the most passing acquaintance with their conclusions. Clearly ‘play’ is a complex and multi-faceted subject. But, for me, there is one thing above… Continue reading What is Play?