"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." St Augustine
16 Feb 2016
Browsing category: Wonder
12 Feb 2016
Back when I was a high school English teacher there were some stock standard pieces of literature that consistently made it onto the curriculum. Shakespeare always had a spot, Dickens was a regular and not a year seemed to go by without having to teach John Keats’ Ode to a Grecian Urn. When students love the arts - and literature specifically, that’s them converted for life. Their ear is attuned, and their sensibilities respond to the scansion of poems and the magical spells great writers cast. However, a young adult who has no
06 Feb 2016
"Any human anywhere will blossom in a hundred unexpected talents and capacities simply by being given the opportunity to do so." Doris Lessing
31 Jan 2016
I have returned from two weeks’ vacation. 14 days of beaches, sun, serviced food preparation, new experiences and reconnection with the family. All gluttonous in its condensed consumption, but a remarkable treat none-the-less. Perhaps one of the great private pleasures of this type of treat is the opportunity to gorge myself on reading. I have devoured three tremendous novels in the last couple of weeks and their beauty and the genius of the writers invigorate me. Perhaps by accident, each of the books I read has, indirectly
30 Dec 2015
"Who looks outside dreams; who looks inside awakes." Carl Jung
15 Nov 2015
Recently I got dragged along to a work function that initially I didn't really want to attend. It was designed for families, and probably really well set up if you had young children. However, even 3 beverages in, I was bored – I didn’t want to pet small animals (the petting zoo for the children) or have a go on the jumping castle, I could see the magician’s sleight of hand and I was ready to leave. My wife was not in the same frame of mind. My daughter and I decided to partake in one of our favourite pastimes – people
15 Nov 2015
“I think us here to wonder, myself. To wonder. To ask. And that in wondering ‘bout the big things and asking ‘bout the big things, you learn about the little ones, almost by accident. But you never know nothing more about the big things than you start out with. The more I wonder, the more I love.” Shug Avery from the Color Purple by Alice Walker
07 Nov 2015
A few people have asked me how I come up with my ideas for the The Caliverse that I write on a regular basis. I haven't ever tried to lockstep a process and I am cautious of trying to do so. To me it's like trying to distil the essence of love as if it were some sort of jus to be served up with a good rib eye. No good will come from putting process onto some things. However, I am aware of a stream of creative stimulus that is constantly available to me, which I will try to describe. I turn to that Pixar classic Finding Nemo
31 Aug 2015
“Everything that’s happening to you is a teaching designed to burn out your stuff, your attachments. Your humanity and all your desires are not some kind of error. They are integral parts of the journey.” Ram Dass
19 Aug 2015
When I was an English teacher at a Jewish Day school in Johannesburg, I taught a lot of Shakespeare and a considerable volume of Victorian poetry. Both these categories of literature make a lot of reference to God, and in particular a Christian version of God. In their essays and assignments, I noticed a lot of my students would write the word God with the ‘o’ missing – G_d. It confounded me, and initially, I used to put a question mark in red pen above the word. I thought it was a quirky way to imply a ‘What the…?’ kind of