Category: Inspiring Positive Simplicity
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The Power Of A Morning Coffee
The power of having a caffeine and nostalgia fuelled coffee in the morning
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The Return of Sparrowman
I’ve found myself recently having coffee in a bar that used to be a regular haunt for me when my wife and I lived opposite the cathedral in Granada a few years ago and a lovely memory came to me. One day having coffee, we had the only table outside. It was a chilly morning…
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More Beautiful For Having Been Broken
I was recently reading about Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing pottery. Other than being aesthetically pleasing and delicately minimal, what caught my eye was the underlying motivation behind it being that gold or silver lacquer is used in the repair process on the understanding that… the piece is more beautiful for having been broken.…
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The Power of Purposeless Walking in Granada
After 17 years living in London, Mrs Away From The Noise and I decided to move to Granada in Spain in January 2014. Already 11 years ago… Since then the term ‘digital nomad’ has become ubiquitous but I am not that. Not just because I am now in my 50s – I know there are…
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Want To Immerse Yourself In Some Musical Beauty Today?
I’m not one of those people who gets up at 5am to be ‘more productive’. But today I was up at 6am as Grace, our elderly dog, wanted to get up and she gets pretty much whatever she wants these days. So after I’d fed her and our four cats who were inevitably also up…
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Can What’s Missing Be Your Strength?
I have been a fan of Q (English music magazine) for many years and in the latest issue, I was reading an interview with a band called Royal Blood. Now I’m not really a rock fan but every now and again a band comes through that I really like and Royal Blood are currently and…
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The Best Morning
When you look at the state of the world (and the weather) at the moment, especially in the media, it could be easy to think that we’re nearing the end of days. So perhaps it can be difficult to see that there is good in the world and things for which you need to be…
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Doing Nothing Is Actively Doing Something
Today’s my birthday. ‘Happy birthday’ you say. Well thank you. That’s very kind of you. But what am I doing on this ‘special’ day you may ask? Well, I have taken the day off work and my only plan is to meet Mrs Away From The Noise for lunch later. Other than that, I’m doing…
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What Are Your Forbidden Colours?
Even though I have lived in Andalucia in the south of Spain for over nine years, I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the fact. It’s 11.30am on a Tuesday morning and I’m having a coffee in a typical bar in Granada. ‘Forbidden Colours’ by David Sylvian and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto has just…
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Memento Mori on the Metro in Granada
I’ve just got the bus to the metro stop and am now on the tram on the way into town. Granada. Where I live now. Again. I first lived here for two years when I came to Spain in 2014 after living in London. I lived in a small village in Almeria in the south-east…
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How To Be Who You Are
Being who you really are can be challenging. Maybe your opinion differs to the ‘group’ or you don’t feel confident enough to say what you think even though you’re sure you’re right. Perhaps you’ve spent years being somebody else and you’re not sure who you really are anymore. Whatever it may be for you, rest…
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What Won’t Happen If You Don’t Do It?
Fancy a challenge that will give you some clarity in your personal or professional life? The question in the title of this post may initially sound odd with its double negative, however it is in fact part of a set of questions called the Cartesian questions. I’ve noticed that my coaching clients often find these…
I Am Away From The Noise 