Category: Philosophy
Rainbows. A poem
A poem written following the attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlanda, 2016
The Importance of Coffee and Communication in the Development of Young Brains
It’s all about communication isn’t it? Not just how we speak, but how we listen too. With that in mind, it is perhaps best to never hear the newest piece of child development research before sunrise, before coffee, through the medium that is Breakfast TV.
Given the pre-coffee circumstances, my first exposure to Save the Children’s “Lighting Up Young Brains” perhaps wasn’t all it should have been.
Kim Kardashian posted a picture of a really boring bathroom
Kim Kardashian took a naked selfie, and yesterday social media couldn’t stop talking about it. However, it wasn’t her nudity that concerned me. It was the beige-ness of her bathroom.
Clearly, I’m not above gawping at nude folk. Clearly I saw a headline that said ‘Someone is totally naked on instagram’ and I thought I’d sneak a peak. And there it was:
Someone naked, looking fabulous, in a really, really boring bathroom. Continue reading
Bowie for Boys: Advice for Little Starmen everywhere
The 7 year old was stunned. The 5 year old was visibly upset. The 4 year old burst into a rousing rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star when they heard that their hero the Starman had died. Here are a few things that Bowie can teach my boys: Continue reading
The truth behind being a Mum
Last week I tried to convince all the other Mums and Dads out there to allow a little philosophy into their lives.
I mentioned three key pondering-pillars that underpin so much philosophical enquiry. These are truth, beauty and goodness. Today, I’m thinking about truth.
One of the key human attributes that separates us from the other animals is surely our relentless pursuit of the truth.
Sometimes it costs us our friends, sometimes our relationships, sometimes our lives. It’s a virtue. An honourable thing. It benefits each of us as individuals and our species as a whole. Searching for the truth ensures justice, ensures progress, ensures we sleep well at night.
Philosophy? For Parents? Because we’ve all got time for that, right?
On top of all the things you need to do as parent, I’d like to add one more. I’d like to add:
Be a Philosopher.
You may think, “I don’t have time to grow a beard, don a toga and talk crap all day. I’ve got better things to do like tackle the washing pile, cook for 5 and raise the next generation. Piss off.”
A definition of…..philosophy
Whatever you think of Jeremy Corbyn, things may have finally got better
A Mum wishes many things for her kids: happiness, health, love, wealth.
Something that is less often stated, but no less often desired, is for our children to grow up into adults who believe that they can make a difference, that their opinions matter, and that their views count.
After years of having our political views seemingly fall upon deaf ears, my faith in my ability to make a difference when it comes to how the country is governed has been shattered: we marched against the rapid closure of key industries – they closed anyway; we marched against the invasion of Iraq – we invaded anyway; some of us voted for Labour in 1997, and were left feeling that somehow the Conservatives had still won anyway.
The frustrations of my generation were, I feared, destined to be passed down as apathy to the next. Now, I feel hopeful that my fears were unfounded. Continue reading
As my kids take small steps into the big wide world, should I step away from social media?
That’s that then. From zero-kids to three-kids-at-school in a total of 7 years.
It’s hardly news to exclaim that the pregnancies, the births and those early years flew by. Well, perhaps not the births, but it does feel like such was the force of that final push, that it catapulted first their heads, then their shoulders, then all of our lives from that hospital room to this point in time at lightening speed.
And now off they go, their first tentatitve steps into the big wide world. Although, when you think about it, they have been out there in the big wide world since the eldest turned 6 months old. Not out on their own in the actual world, but there with a presence in the virtual world.
They are the first generation to have their lives, their successes, and often their parents’ frustrations with parenting them documented via words, photos and witty quotes, perhaps almost on a daily basis. Continue reading
4am thoughts on the little boy’s birthday
There’s a little boy’s birthday in the house tomorrow. Actually, it’s today – it’s 4am here at the moment.
It’s not sugar crafting and gift wrapping that awoke me, with that un-pinnable downable anxiety that creeps in if you wake between 3 and 5. It’s something more. It’s the overwhelming burden of being a Mum. Pinterest is good for hacks on cake decorating and gift making: parenting existential birthday angst? Not so much. Continue reading
