Sunday Blog 134 – 5th May 2024 As someone who listens to Tara Brach regularly, the first time I heard her quote Trappist monk Thomas Merton about the violence of activism and over-work, I was shocked. Like she’d thrown a bucket of cold water over me in her comforting voice. Surely this could not be …
Category Archives: Sunday Blog
Pro-Social, not Anti-Science
Sunday Blog 133 – 28th April 2024 In readiness for the forthcoming Health Consumers’ Council Book Club event with Susannah Fox, I’ve been reading Rebel Health, a Field Guide to Patient-led Revolution in Medical Care. My biggest take away so far is the importance of this distinction as a patient advocate – I am not …
Change
Sunday Blog 132 – 21st April 2024 It would seem that I’m leaning towards Ghandi’s misquoted wisdom of being the change you want to see in the world. Actually, he didn’t exactly say that. The full quote is as below, but I’ve edited it so it includes women: “We but mirror the world. All the …
Hotel rooms
Sunday Blog 131 – 14th April 2024 While it may seem odd, I always make my bed when staying in a hotel. The room looks nicer every day and, in my humble opinion, you’re less likely to lose things. You can really enjoy the space all the time. This is perhaps influenced by the fact …
On this day 26 years ago
Sunday Blog 130 – 7th April Diary Entry, 7th April 1998, 11 Olibiados Street, Thessaloniki It’s the morning. I awoke at 4 feeling distinctly queazy after dreaming about eating a mouthful of dried Earl Grey leaves and then trying to get rid of them by washing them down with water. Anyway, that plus the very …
Banning tech from the bedroom
Sunday Blog 129 – 31st March 2024 This week, spurred on by a podcast on sleep hygiene and the horrors of incessant social media, I took decisive action. Definitely no devices in the bedroom. My iPhone, iPad and AirPods are now banished to the study to charge overnight. If I want to use them in …
Reflections on coloured pens and dull meetings
Sunday Blog 128 – 24th March 2024 While I usually date my advocacy career as beginning with my daughter’s birth, in truth, I have always quite enjoyed sharing my opinions. I enjoy puzzling apart systems, how they work and what the puppet strings might be that are putting on the show we live with day …
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On lying about being the outdoor type
Sunday Blog 127 – 17th March 2024 The incomparable Joan Didion wrote, “I’ve lost track of a few people I used to be.” It sounds witty and funny and kind of relatable until its profound truth smacked me in the face from my old journal. My words from August 2002 stare back at me from …
Meditations on Perkins Paste
Sunday Blog 126 – 10th March 2024 In 1972, my world was a bit of a shit-show. I was 6, going on 7, in a small Grade 2 classroom in suburban Perth, under the expert tutelage of a psychopathic nun. She meted out regular duff-ups to a few of us in the class—there was never …
Rearview Mirror
Sunday Blog 125 – 3rd March 2024 A quick weekend getaway that involves a car drive has got me thinking. Primarily how much I dislike long drives. It was just a bit over three hours, but with frustrating, almost incessant road work delays. I’m not sure if the detour Apple Maps suggested was in fact …