Great writers show, don’t tell, and Conrad is one of the great writers. Take just the Author’s Note that prefaces The Rescue, in which he recounts coming back to finish the book after a 20 year pause: ‘The years passed and the pages grew in number, and the long reveries of which they were the … More Joseph Conrad exemplifying the rule ‘show don’t tell’
Some days I have to remind myself, ‘There’s always tomorrow.’ Those days when I’m cranky and sleepy and worn ragged and I just have to slow down and not take myself too seriously; I just have to make a list and do the essential things, enjoy the little things, chill out, give thanks, read a … More Tomorrow
The Grand Scheme of Things.The Grand Scheme of Things!Everybody talks aboutThe Grand Scheme of Things.As if they’ve read it through and scannedit page by page to understandthe content and the message ofThe Grand Scheme of Things. ‘Everything is fine,’ they say,Or ‘It’ll turn out right,’ they say,‘It doesn’t matter,’ – so blasé –‘in The Grand … More The Grand Scheme of Things (a poem)
I’ve been running into a mantra that emerges from the forest leaves of my everyday experience like an exotic bird, a flash of colour that then darts again out of view, only to reappear once more later on in a clearing, and again in the fronds of a bush, then again flashing across the sky … More Show, Don’t Tell
Back in July, just after I’d finished reading Flow by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, I wrote this in my journal: ‘Read more fiction and ancient wisdom, and less critical theory. Theory emerges from post-scientific-revolution enlightenment rationalism, aiming to distill life to purely scientific concepts. Ancient wisdom writers and artists know that knowledge is best absorbed like nutrients … More The way of wisdom
[A fairly unedited journal entry from this day in 2021. I was onto something then; thought I’d better post it.] So, sure, the ancients counted the number of years of one’s life – just think of Methuselah. But in an agrarian society what was perhaps more important was not what year it was but what … More Is time linear…or circular?
A few years ago Apple introduced an exciting new feature to their mobile operating system iOS: Focus Modes. This feature allows you to alter your device’s setup, notifications and so on, in order to suit what kind of work, what kind of ‘zone’ you are in. The thing is, this feature was built to mitigate … More Old School Focus Modes: Your environment
I remember the moment I realised that the universe must be spherical. Upon exiting the British Museum, as I did on this bright day in February, amid the crush of disinterested tourists, one is funnelled, bustled, hustled, squeezed down the toothpaste tube of Great Russell Street, bracing yourself for the ram of the London taxi … More The Curious Considerations of Flavius Finch: 1. The Universe is Spherical
As I sit here going through a backlog of over 4,000 old notes I’ve accumulated across a multitude of different apps, to try to carve sense and order out of them, in order to corral them into just one app, I feel like I’m fighting the very chaos of the cosmos. That may be a … More Strive for Simplicity
Old tower of bones,old frosty oak, you,who twists and turns your way to the sky.Your knuckles and elbows and knees I descry.They’re all knobbled,old frosty oak,knobbled and knocked,all covered in mossthen covered in frost.What will you, bone tower,what will you say,who guards and glowersall gaunt on the way? ‘My bones are the home of the … More Old Tower of Bones (A Poem)
Ben David Trigg 