Most of us are probably not aware that we use poetic language as a matter of course. Similes, metaphors, images, all that stuff is what playwrights and literary types come up with to convey and illuminate meaning and emotion. Nothing to do with the way ordinary people talk, right? Read more »

Easter doesn't get much of a look-in when it comes to making resolutions. January is, of course, the top time for vowing to put ourselves through agony as we determine to do the things we believe we should, and beat ourselves up when we have broken every resolution by Burns Night. Read more »

Well, who would have thought that full stops and exclamation marks would ever play a significant part in our relationships? Read more »

'Sorry for your loss'. In recent times, this sad phrase has resonated with many, far too many, of us. The expression encompasses what is so hard to express, our sympathy, our awareness of the devastation of death, our inadequacy in the face of grief and loss. Read more »

The habit of comparing ourselves unfavourably with other people damages our self-esteem and wellbeing even during the best of times. When we experience more challenging times, it can take very little to make ourselves and our lives feel really rubbish. It wasn’t quite so bad in the olden days when […] Read more »

Values are the ideas that define the way we view the world. They are the abstract notions on which we base our judgements of what is important in life. Our values shape our choices and decisions. The way we behave, how we live and work, our relationships with ourselves and […] Read more »

At particular periods in all our lives, it isn’t possible to have face-to-face contact with the people who matter to us. It doesn’t matter that much these days, we say blithely, because of all the possibilities for voice and video calls. We can still see each other. We can still […] Read more »

You might wonder what would be the point of writing a letter during this period of forced separation and constrained activity. After all, we’ve got the technology which enables us to see and talk to each other, even though we are miles apart. When you can actually get a large […] Read more »

The contours of our lives have changed. For now, we don't have the regular rhythms and rituals which give shape to our days. Without the activities which normally punctuate our waking hours, we are faced with a shapeless mass of time which we need to mould into a recognisable and manageable form. Read more »

It's not often that tools for improving productivity and effectiveness in the workplace can be happily transferred to our personal lives, but with a little bit of tweaking, the technique called the Five Whys may provide a way of helping us deal with personal pressure and demands. Read more »

For years and years, the practice of making fun of fat or thin people has been a staple of cartoons, picture postcards, film and television comedies, books and stories. It’s what we do, mock and marginalise our fellow humans who don’t conform to some manufactured ideal of physical appearance. The […] Read more »