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 assured, you are not alone. Some people seem to be … Continue reading How To Be Who You Are

I Don’t Care What You Do. I Want To Know Who You Are

It’s the question we always hear whenever we are at an event or social gathering. Once we have broken the ice and found out the other person’s name, what is the default first question of the ‘conversation’? Our first question to a complete stranger is to find out what they do during the day to earn money to pay their rent/mortgage/bills. Maybe we like our … Continue reading I Don’t Care What You Do. I Want To Know Who You Are

Is The Grass Always Greener?

According to my taxi driver this morning, a change is as good as a rest. Maybe it was because I hadn’t had my coffee yet, but I started wondering if that was really true. What are the benefits of change? Is change really restful? I often find that people see change as quite a stressful experience. The unfamiliar ‘chaos’ can be hugely challenging and quite … Continue reading Is The Grass Always Greener?

How Headphones Can Enrich Your Life

As a huge and ever so slightly obsessive music fan, I’ve worn headphones when I’m out and about since the days of Sony Walkman cassette players, carrying a bagful of cassettes wherever I went. In addition to the primary reason being to listen to music whenever I could, my headphones were also my protection from negative elements such as commuter aggression and excessive noise in … Continue reading How Headphones Can Enrich Your Life

Away From The Noise

So What’s Next?

I started this blog in October, so at only a few weeks old of posting daily (including the transfer of a number of posts from a previous website I had) and since the end of the latest Blogging101 project, I thought I’d take stock of how things have gone. Firstly, I’d like to thank everybody who follows me via email, Wordpress or Twitter (@awayfromnoise) and for all the … Continue reading So What’s Next?

Are You Comfortable Being Comfortable?

Are you sitting comfortably? How about with your life? Are you comfortable with your life? Maybe everything’s going well and that’s a lovely thing but sometimes, things are just ticking over in a perfectly fine but perhaps not very interesting way and from time to time, you think about stepping out of things for a while to stretch and challenge yourself. But do you want … Continue reading Are You Comfortable Being Comfortable?

Seville Night Sky

The Sky is Bigger

If you have ever lived in a big city, you know about the countless advantages of doing so. However, one of the downsides which was highlighted to me recently is that the sky can feel so small making city living enclosed and claustrophobic which inevitably has a negative impact on its inhabitants. Kitty Shepherd, a British friend also living in Granada then said something that particularly struck … Continue reading The Sky is Bigger

How Much is It Costing You?

When I was first asked this question, my first thought, perhaps like most people, was financially-related, as that is how we instinctively define cost in society. And this is of course, a vital element that may prevent you from moving forward. Maybe you don’t have the money to pack up and move to a new country, nor buy the house you have always wanted. And … Continue reading How Much is It Costing You?

Minimal Coffee

I Love Coffee (And Gertrude Stein)

Sometimes someone says something and you just think ‘that’s exactly how I feel’. This is one of those times. “Coffee is real good when you drink it. It gives you time to think. It’s a lot more than just a drink. It’s something happening. Not as in hip, but like an event, a place to be, but not like a location, but like somewhere within … Continue reading I Love Coffee (And Gertrude Stein)