I originally wrote this on 10th May 2020 during the UK’s first coronavirus lockdown. The thoughts and feelings expressed below recently came back to mind. This weekend, for some reason, the absence of, and inability to have, long, slow, face-to-face conversations has hit me quite hard. We’re several weeks into lockdown so why now? I […]
Instinctively, I’m a globalist. There are many reasons for this but here are two: (a) I’ve lived significant chunks of my life cross-culturally and (b) my own sense of a strong national/cultural identity, resulting from that, is somewhat ambivalent. That’s why I find American poet Walt Whitman’s reflection here quite challenging: It’s taken from his […]
Some reflections on our 12 Discussion Meals. As 2019 draws to a close, I’ve naturally been reflecting on a year that’ll soon be relegated to “the past”. For my wife Emily and I, one of the highlights of 2019 has been the Discussion Meals we’ve hosted since the start of the year. These have taken […]
This morning, I read two pieces of writing. The first was in my Bible – John chapter 4 – where Jesus meets a Samaritan woman. Jews and Samaritans didn’t mix and Jesus knew of her promiscuous life up to this point. However, he shows her the most stunning display of love and grace. The second piece […]
Every nation on earth has a set of stories about itself that it tells itself. These tales are passed down from generation to generation through food, music, and art, as well as through government-led social, economic, and foreign policies. From America’s “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave” to South Africa’s “Rainbow Nation”, these […]
Kenneth Kaunda (affectionately known as ‘KK’) was Zambia’s first President. I’m currently reading a book he wrote in 1980 called Kaunda on Violence. In it, he wrestles deeply with the idea of peaceful protest in the face of violent oppression. As one of the key leaders of Zambia’s independence movement against minority British rule, the consequences of […]
MasukuOnMyMind 