• “What the heck is water?”

    “What the heck is water?”

    In 2005, novelist David Foster Wallace gave the commencement address to Kenyon College.  Titled “This is Water”, the speech was well received on the day but seemed to take on a life of its own for years afterwards, going on to be dubbed one of the best… even though it…

  • Unhurry – or – make haste slowly

    Unhurry – or – make haste slowly

    Aesop’s fable of “The Tortoise and The Hare” involves two critters who decide to have a race.  The story is over 2,000 years old, but still as lively as ever.  The young hare (or rabbit) taunts the old tortoise (or turtle) for moving in a way that is so agonizingly…

  • Daylight savings and migraines

    Daylight savings and migraines

    Last weekend, in Sydney-Australia, our clocks rolled back an hour. My youngest daughter was ecstatic to find out that when she came home from a party late at night on Saturday, she would score another hour of sleep. The other daughter forgot about the clock-change and got up as per…

  • Implants for migraine prevention

    Implants for migraine prevention

    I’m conflicted by news of an implant for migraine care – it’s super exciting to think there might be another treatment option for those of us who struggle with chronic migraine…. but I’m also a little queasy about the idea of an implant in my head. [Disclaimer – as always…

  • Marketing mantras for healing

    Marketing mantras for healing

    I’ve spent my professional life in fields such as architecture, project management, and construction.  When I had to rev-up a team in the past, it’s usually with a reminder that there’s a deadline to achieve, and usually there’s financial penalties for missing that deadline.  As such, the ‘motivator’ that keeps…

  • AI and migr(ai)nes

    AI and migr(ai)nes

    Everywhere I look these days there is something promoting the value of saving time and energy by getting AI to do your work for you. Sounds promising, for sure, but what would happen if we ALL just relied on AI to generate an endless stream of AI (mis)information? I asked…

  • Radical acceptance and pain

    Radical acceptance and pain

    Many moons ago I wrote about the meditation teacher Tara Brach and her Compassion for Overwhelm in which she mentioned “radical compassion”. The ‘radical’ phrase reminded me of the notion of “radical acceptance”. It’s been floating around in my head for a while now, and I thought I should write…

  • There’s plastic in my brain!?!

    There’s plastic in my brain!?!

    In one of those seriously yikes moments, I recently read an article that said our bodies are filled with microplastics (teeny-weeny pieces of plastic) and nanoplastic (microscopic pieces of plastic). It sounded bad, but not terrible… at first glance. Then I kept reading the article (here) and discovered that researchers…

  • I’m a “true nerd” – how about you?

    I’m a “true nerd” – how about you?

    I’m a bit of a sucker for online tests, so when I came across one on The Spectacled Bean‘s blog, I had to have a go. [And if that name seems familiar – yes, I followed their lead once before on the “where should I live” personality test that I…