As we live our lives, from time to time it can feel like we're treading water and that we're surrounded by the same old 'greyness' and it' s true that the world can be a terrible place for all kinds of reasons, however there is beauty and joy in even the little things we see and... Continue Reading →
How To Scare Yourself Into Being Bold And Loving It
‘Boldness has genius, power and magic in it’ (Goethe) I saw this quote a while ago and it really struck me as I’d never thought of boldness having such qualities before and yet, now I think I might understand it a little more as at the weekend, I took a chance at being bold in my... Continue Reading →
Encuentra Tu Gente
Puede ser difícil ser quien eres. A veces eres tú que es tu peor enemigo o mayormente, la gente a tu alrededor de ti, como tu familia o tus amigos, aunque te digan que te quieren. Tal vez tengas sueños en los que quieres renunciar a tu trabajo para viajar por el mundo o empezar... Continue Reading →
What If It Goes Right?
A friend was recently telling me about their plans for setting up their own business. They'd been thinking about it on and off for years and things were such in their life that now seemed like the perfect opportunity to make it happen. But strangely, although she was clearly passionate about this idea, all I... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
Sky Full Of Morning Stars
It’s 6am on the first day of November and quite dark outside. I couldn’t sleep and so I tiptoed through the house so as not to wake Mrs Cortado and our dog Grace to go outside and get my phone which I’d left in the car. On my way back, I promptly dropped it (clearly... Continue Reading →
How Bruce Lee Helped Me Get A Spanish Driving Licence
Perhaps this is something we don’t like admitting, but although we may want to get things done as soon as possible, sometimes it will just take longer. And that doesn't have to be a bad thing. I’ve just managed to get a Spanish driving licence for a friend. It's been a process which started... Continue Reading →
Permission To Not Be Positive
"Sometimes I want to go home and stay out of sight for a long time" This is a lyric from a song called ‘Van Occupanther’ by one of my favourite bands, Midlake which gets me every time. On listening to it today, it got me thinking especially about how it feels to 'sometimes want... Continue Reading →
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 about it is the underlying motivation behind it in that gold or silver lacquer is used in the repair process in the understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having... Continue Reading →
Nothing Like A Coffee And Some Time
I'm sitting on a lovely, ever-so-slightly battered brown sofa in my favourite bar (Cafe Cyrano) in Almería, my recently adopted 'big city', listening to my new favourite album ('Hey Mr Ferryman' by Mark Eitzel) with a cortado coffee and an orange juice. I've just put my car in for a service. Not a big deal... Continue Reading →
Bring It On…
I haven't posted here for a while. Not for any particular reason. It just kind of happened and maybe we need time away from things or even people to reflect and appreciate them more when they come back. I always wanted this blog to be about rallying against the negativity and cynicism in the world... Continue Reading →
I’m So Bored Of Goals
I've always been a great believer in the power of setting goals as they really help focus your mind on where you want to be and what you want to achieve in your life. However recently I've been thinking a great deal about now. This very moment. And as each second passes, yes, we could... Continue Reading →