A meditation Two hands gripping a wire fence (Photo by Mitch Lensink on Unsplash) Here we stand, you and I,aching souls sentenced to lifewithin frail cages of tissue and bonebehind walls that first were fences — boundary-markers over which to meet — but now serve only to imprison ourselves.And within, we are lonely. Here we stand, cage to cage,and …
Category archives: Communication
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A Christmas poem A wordspokenlays down its lifeby taking onflesh of black texton white pageto await the attentivereaderin whose mindthe letter, springingto new life,may become spirit. The Word became fleshand laid down his lifein birthgiving lifein giving life upredefining love. May that love lead you to the beauty on the far side of pain. Merry …
In a world of fake news, the truth is not enough—we need honesty with heart
Let’s be honest about being honest (Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash) “Well, but that’s just the truth.” “I’m sorry, but I can’t lie — I say it like it is.” “I’m a blunt person.” That’s what you say when you’ve said something you believe is true, but unpleasant. I’ve often said them myself. And as social media …
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How you can use storytelling to lead more effectively
A model for influencing the people you get to lead There are at least three elements you need to lead. FollowersA destinationA story All three are equally important, and none, strictly speaking, matters more than any other — like with shoes, missing one leg is tantamount to having none. And yet, for that very reason, a shoe with …
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How being clumsy made me a better teacher
And how my experience can help you. Yep, this would be me. I’ve always been a little clumsy. It’s why I’ve never ever been great at sports — any sport. Not that I was outrightly terrible, mind you: I did achieve passable competence at football and table tennis (with a lot of practice, but who’s asking?). Wondering what I …
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Listening is loving by ear
A Meditation on The Art of Heart When someone says, “Hey, listen,” they want to get your attention — and more than likely, they want all of it. Sometimes, though, you feel able to spare only some of it — or none. Still, social norms bid us at least make an effort, so more often than not, we turn to …
Why depression is hard to talk about.
(Hint: It’s not depression. It’s you.) The World Health Organisation, for this year’s World Health Day, not only chose to focus on depression, but also went on to theme it, “Let’s Talk.” That is not a good thing. I mean, think about it. If you’re going to devote a World Health Day to a single issue …
Why I hate instructions
And why you should too—unless something changes I hate instructions. I mean, I don’t really hate instructions, but I am suspicious of them. And I might hate the way people write them. Because let’s be honest, most instructions are written for people who really don’t need instructions. Real life example: I recently messed up a …
What Mandela taught me about language
Hint: it’s not just for communicating I mentioned in my previous post that I learned Hausa during my year in the north. That’s not the entire story, though. You see, from the start of my time in Gombe, I set out to learn Hausa. Right from orientation camp, I bought a language book and CDs …
What I learned about learning from a year in northern Nigeria
And a major reason children learn faster than adults I spent my national youth service year in northern Nigeria and managed to pick up quite a bit of Hausa, the lingua franca in that part of the country. And by “a bit,” I mean, I started off needing an interpreter to communicate with my patients, and …
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