Author: Stephanie Hills

  • Social media and wellbeing

    This year the World Happiness Report focussed on social media. They found that when young people gave up social media for a month, their wellbeing improved. Deactivated users were happier, more satisfied with their lives, less anxious and less depressed. In short: giving up social media made them happier. It’s not that simple, though. When […]

  • The Great Upshift

    The Great Upshift. Humanity’s Coming Advance Toward Peace and Harmony on the Planet by Ervin Laszlo and David Lorimer  This collection of essays by 32 prominent scientists and thinkers holds the promise that the multiple crises we face in today’s world will not end in ruin. Rather, the very problems we face will lead to […]

  • Silly moments

    I want to get rid of my collection of glove-puppets. Any offer accepted. I just want them off my hands. * * * * I’ve just retired from my job as a plasterer. They presented me with a silver trowel engraved with the words; “For surfaces rendered.” * * * * When I first heard Julie […]

  • How can I be happy when the world is in flames?

    Global instability reminds us that we are all connected. Devastating faraway events have local effects, such as rising prices. Naturally, we have feelings about it; perhaps anger or despair. Happiness seems inappropriate. It seems cruel to be happy when others are suffering, and naïve not to focus on our own impending losses. In our relatively […]

  • The Living Language of Water

    The Living Language of Water by Veda Austin Veda Austin captures the way water responds to the influences around it. Using a simple freezing technique, she photographs its symmetrical patterns, and the pictures it forms that echo photos the water has been exposed to. She shows how water responds to the emotions of people who […]

  • Words at Play

    The inventor of throat sweets has died There will be no coffin at the funeral!! * * * *The inventor of auto-correct died last week.  The funnel will be tomato. * * * * Did you hear about the man that drowned in his muesli?  A strong currant pulled him in.

  • Helping the Homeless

    In today’s economy, increasing numbers of people are living on the streets. For the general public, it can be embarrassing, or even intimidating, being asked for money and not knowing how to respond. Nobody wants to be taken advantage of, and certainly not tricked by a con artist. Recently I was witness to a group […]

  • “Charity begins at home.” What does it mean?

    Originally, the word charity referred to a virtue: it meant a loving attitude towards others. More recently it refers to giving to those in need, and charities are organisations that facilitate such giving. Humans are wired to care most about those closest to them, and when times are tough, it can be tempting to draw […]

  • The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace

    The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People        By Gary Chapman & Paul White You’ve probably heard of the five ‘love languages’, which are the different ways that people show love, or like to have it shown to them. Chapman and White have applied this concept to the ways that […]

  • Loony life lessons

    One nice thing about narcissists: they don’t talk about other people. * * * Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he’ll never be able to merge his car onto the motorway.  * * * Experience is the one thing you have left when everything else […]