November 12, 2024

The other side of loss is opportunity

The other day, I had to drastically prune one of my favourite plants in our small back garden. I avoided pruning it for a long time because I enjoyed it so much so it’s been happily (over)growing for almost 10 years and it gives the garden a certain calming feeling.

In a matter of minutes under the heft of a power tool, it went from lush, full, green and beautiful to spindly, grey, and sad. I definitely experienced feelings of loss that day.

But now, just a week or so later, I’ve noticed new growth – a lush, green, bright contrast is emerging on those grey, spindly branches. These are branches that probably haven’t seen light for many years but here they were, responding to and welcoming the change.

We could learn something from that.

Other observations
January 13, 2026

No one remembers Mike

Which two names come to mind when we think about the crew of the Apollo 11 space mission, and why isn’t one of them “Mike”?

January 6, 2026

A new year reflection not resolution

If the beginning of every years is spent anticipating the year to come, what does it mean for celebrating the year we’ve just lived?

December 30, 2025

Procrastination or rest?

How do I know if reading books, playing video games, going for walks and doing chores around the house is procrastination or rest?

December 23, 2025

Not a dream, a job

Is being a ‘full-time illustrator’ all it’s cracked up to be or do we romanticise this way to make money because it reminds of childhood?

December 16, 2025

The elements of beauty

Beauty comes in many forms, in many different times, to many different people. So, what makes something beautiful?

View all