Every summer we go up to the mountains for a few weeks. It’s idyllic. Everything about it is perfect for de-stressing and relaxing. For several summers in a row I accompanied my time there with great books and podcasts. Three years ago it was Trappist monk Thomas Merton’s autobiography, two years ago it was manyContinue reading “A Personal Board of Directors”
Category Archives: Notes from Ben
The Farmer's Peace and Lorca's Drawings
I’m sure you know the wonderful Zen Story of the Chinese Farmer, here told by Alan Watts: “Once upon a time there was a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away. That evening, all of his neighbors came around to commiserate. They said, “We are so sorry to hear your horse has run away. This is most unfortunate.”Continue reading “The Farmer's Peace and Lorca's Drawings”
Walk
An interesting way to set out on a walk from A to B is to choose the path of greatest silence. In the city this is just as possible as it is in the suburbs or the countryside – choosing the backstreets instead of the main roads, detouring through the middle of parks – evenContinue reading “Walk”
Change 4: The Body and the Bird Feeder
A few days ago I had a nice conversation with one of my sisters about the bird feeders in her garden, how her family love watching all the local bird life gathering there to eat. ‘I want to buy some bird feeders!’ I thought, so I jumped onto Amazon and entered ‘bird feeder’. Hundreds ofContinue reading “Change 4: The Body and the Bird Feeder”
Change 3: Effortlessness
The first two changes I’m making are tangible, you can hold them in your hands and see them with your eyes: drawing, and reading books. This third change is abstract, but just as real. Change 3 is Effortlessness. To live with Effortlessness. What does that even mean?! I have been going to the physiotherapist everyContinue reading “Change 3: Effortlessness”
The Joy of Rain
Reasons why rain is wonderful… 1. Song It’s raining, it’s pouring,The old man is snoring,He went to bed and bumped his head,And couldn’t get up in the morning. I love singing that to my kids whenever it rains. It takes me back to being a child, and I suppose singing always makes little children happy. Adults too. 2.Continue reading “The Joy of Rain”
They were right all along…
I used to look at Zen Masters and other renowned wise people and think, they must look at us people of the world, running around like crazy all day long, filling ourselves up with food and stuff and every kind of wild entertainment, always searching for the next thing to make us happy… and theyContinue reading “They were right all along…”
Feeling Wonderful About The World
There are 500 ways to get depressed about the world today, and 500,000 ways to feel wonderful about it. Let’s start with the problem. Depending on who you talk to or what YouTube video you watch, the number of existential threats available to us to latch on to seems to be greater than ever. IfContinue reading “Feeling Wonderful About The World”
Zero Time
I saw this block of sunshine on the carpet in my daughter’s room and I knew I had to lie down in it and do nothing but sunbathe for a while. Do nothing. I’ve noticed how hard I find it to leave spaces of nothing recently. I have a moment to myself, and I think…Continue reading “Zero Time”
