Building the Creative Universe — Building the Creative Universe There’s plenty to be anxious about at the moment. Last week I had a nightmare, my first in years — not a social anxiety nightmare or a taking-a-crap-in-public nightmare, but a full on Hammer House of Horror, terrifying intruder nightmare — the kind of nightmare for…

I once heard a story that the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein was walking down the road in Cambridge when his sister spotted him out of a… — I once heard a story that the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein was walking down the road in Cambridge when his sister spotted him out of a window. She said later of this moment: “My brother was leaning forward as he walked, as if he were pushing against a strong wind. But…

A memory from the pre-life — A memory from the pre-life (not a tax story) Everything was quiet. Just ahead of me, angels were handing out forms to throngs of people as they filtered onto the cloud top. On my lap was a carefully-typed paper, slightly luminous, with a list of questions: Have you been good…

A mini-epiphany — A mini-epiphany 10am. I’m walking the baby in the park for his morning nap, pushing the buggy through unkempt grass, in a circuit around oak trees and wildflowers. …

Why the solution to everything is closer than you think — Why the solution to everything is closer than you think I’ve never properly understood the phrase ‘leap of faith’. I’ve always assumed it refers to a daring jump into the unknown, like moving continent, proposing to someone you’re not sure about or taking a risky job in a distant land…

What might happen if I stopped thinking about what to do? — What might happen if I stopped thinking about what to do? I have a little portable guru inside me — a kind of priest or rabbi module inherited from aeons of religious mindware — who whispers daily words of wisdom into my head and wants me to write them down…

I can hear the waters of the earth — I can hear the waters of the earth A deep quiet The magician’s work is silence

They say there is a visitor coming to town. — They say there is a visitor coming to town. I clean the house, buy food and lay out my best table. There is no knowing how long the visitor might stay, so I make sure my finances are in good order and settle in for the wait. There is a…

The inner life of a freelancer — When I was 10 years old my parents and I decided to send me to boarding school in a different country. We packed my trunk — an old fashioned device with brass rivets and a padlock (no one explained why a trunk was needed but it was on the list…