The jasmine that I grew some years ago across a huge piece of trellis appeared to have died. Thin strands of sorry-looking wood stretching up in disparate directions from the ground it was hard to see anything much on it that looked like green shoots. It was hard to hide my disappointment in … [Read more...] about Dealing With Disappointment
Meaning
It Might Happen
I can remember once having a conversation with a client who suffered from an array of terrible anxieties in which he told me how hard he found it to either walk or drive across a bridge. One of the phrases I remember uttering to him in the course of the work we did together was something along … [Read more...] about It Might Happen
Perfectionist Tendencies
I wake up thinking about how this week's post isn't the way I wanted it to be and wonder if it was wise to have drafted it in bed after a late night with friends. The angst makes me think about words written by the Reverend John Ames to his young son in Marilynne Robinson's Pulitzer Prize-winning … [Read more...] about Perfectionist Tendencies
A Garden Of Riches
A couple of years ago I was telling my son about an idea I'd had. "I think I'm going to start an Airbnb for gardens." "What do you mean?", he said. "People who don't have gardens could rent space from people who do but can't be bothered to garden them." He pushes out his bottom lip and … [Read more...] about A Garden Of Riches
Dealing With A Dragon
Staring at the stud wall I'm trying to conceal my anxiety. My daughter asked me to put up a shelf for her some weeks ago but I'm nervous about using the right fixings and making sure it doesn't fall off again. "I just need to charge the drill," I say, playing for time and cursing my father for … [Read more...] about Dealing With A Dragon