If you had to get a tattoo right now, what would it be and why?
If you had to get a tattoo, then you probably wouldn’t have a choice as to what it was.
But assuming that a choice was offered, I would choose to decline. I’ve never understood the desire for tattoos. They simply don’t make sense to me. Tattoos are just one more proof that real beauty isn’t skin deep.
Beauty is about what we are on the inside, the type of person we are, how we treat others, the quality of our character. Those qualities take inner work. They can’t be painted on, neither by cosmetics nor by ink.
What’s a conspiracy theory you actually find believable?
There is always the temptation to believe what we want to believe.
My father once told me that he and a friend stood outside a shop staring into the sky. There was nothing to see. They just stared. Soon, a crowd had gathered, pointing, and whispering, “There it is. Can you see it?” Meanwhile, my father and his friend just walked away and laughed at what was happening.
Never believe conspiracy theories without question. Aim to confirm everything yourself from reliable resources, preferably multiple sources.
Use the Sherlock Holmes principle. When all other options have been proved wrong, what remains must be the truth, even if it’s not what we want to believe.
And remember that some people create conspiracy theories just for fun, to be able to laugh at others.
We cannot plan for everything. Therefore, we have to accept that life is uncertain.
Last week, I had my Thursday planned. On Wednesday night I ran over a triangular piece of brick while turning into my street. I heard the thud of air escaping. 100 yards farther along the street, as I parked outside my house, I could tell I had a flat tyre. It was dark, and late, and I went to bed.
Thursday morning, I could see that my plans for the day would have to be changed as I went to get the irreparable tyre replaced.
Was there any point in making a fuss? No. I had no choice but to spend the morning changing the wheel and waiting at the repair shop while my tyre was replaced. It wasn’t money I’d planned on spending. But what choice did I have?
So my son and I changed our plans and still enjoyed ourselves. Why?
Because we embraced the change; we embraced the uncertainty; and we got on with life. It was a challenge, but it was also an experience. It gave me the opportunity to show my son how to change a wheel, something I haven’t done since I can’t remember when. Now, although he hasn’t done the full job, he knows how the process works. It was a learning experience for my son, and an opportunity for me to practice equanimity.
We learned, and we enjoyed. No panic, no histrionics. Just enjoy end journey, embracing the uncertainty.
What’s a moment when you realized you were officially an adult?
Taking my wife into hospital in labour with our first child. It was like a switch was suddenly flicked and the realisation hit that childhood freedoms were gone, and real responsibility had kicked in.
None of us completely give up our childhood ways. But we modify them as we supervise our little ones’ faltering steps as they explore the world that we once inhabited.
Undoubtedly it’s Amore, an Italian restaurant converted from an old hotel that had accumulated a dubious reputation. But now, top quality food, well prepared and well presented by friendly staff.
