It is day 45 of Melbourne’s second lockdown. The skies are grey and heavy rain is forecast for later. I’m sitting on a red meditation cushion which my friend Rosie made for me, and which I filled with specially ordered Australian Buckwheat husks from New South Wales. I made another cushion from blue curtain material, … Continue reading A Lockdown Retreat
Category: examined life
Back to work……
For the last two months I've reentered the workforce on a 3-month contract, after having had the past 13 months off work. I'm working as a Project Manager in one of the big Australian banks, so it's very much a quintessential corporate IT gig. Before starting I actually calculated how much of the rest of … Continue reading Back to work……
Calculating carbon emissions
Back in July I travelled with my wife on a trip from Australia to China, Korea the Philippines and then back to Australia. All up we took 6 flights. According to the website Atmosfair between us we were responsible for a total of 8,817kg carbon emissions. That's an absolutely crazy amount of damage and it completely … Continue reading Calculating carbon emissions
Templestay Korea
A few weeks ago, when we were visiting South Korea, I escaped the hustle and bustle of Seoul and spent a couple of nights at a temple with my wife. We joined a 2-night stay at Jeondeungsa Temple. This temple is nestled in a wooded valley on an island close to the North Korean border, … Continue reading Templestay Korea
“Stop staring at your phones”
All over China loudspeakers blast out public service announcements that, in Australia, would seem borderline patronizing. I heard on one train journey: "Smoking is prohibited on this train" "Take care of your children and keep them away from hot surfaces" "Be careful putting liquids on the foldout table in front of you" The most interesting, … Continue reading “Stop staring at your phones”
Visiting factories in China
I've just spent a couple of days in Shenzhen and Dongguan, visiting some of the factories that will be supplying Below7 products. It's the first time I've done anything like this before and I've learned a lot. Now it's time to reflect on what I did right, what I did wrong and what I'll improve … Continue reading Visiting factories in China
Starting an environmentally ethical business
The past couple of weeks have been personally transformative. They started with me almost accepting a job as CEO of a tech business here in Melbourne. I'd been in a turmoil trying to decide whether to take it or not. There was nothing wrong with the job, the question was whether or not I wanted … Continue reading Starting an environmentally ethical business
The Superpower Project
You’ve just retired early or are taking a career break. All of a sudden you find yourself overwhelmed with an abundance on that one thing that you were once starved off. Time. I've found that having lots of spare time can be confronting. I keep sliding into a strangely despondent state of feeling guilty that … Continue reading The Superpower Project
