Author Archives: AC

What if you're right, and they're wrong?

androcles and the lion.

There’s a small, remote village that resides on the outskirts of Rome. An air of tranquillity floats around the place. One night, the village is tormented by a terrible noise emanating from the hills across the valley. It is a roar of a lion, but one that pierces the air of tranquility all through theContinue reading “androcles and the lion.”

blind eye to the burns.

We are the loneliest, most disconnected generation. Our values have been hijacked, and we gorge on them like junk food. We live alone in small apartments, a far cry away from the tight-knit communes with close friends that Epicurus knew was vital for our wellbeing. We believe that we are unique in our individual troubles,Continue reading “blind eye to the burns.”

rebels fight back.

The two weeks of environmental protests led by Extinction Rebellion (XR) are underway across the planet. There’s hope that there will be a fresh impetus injected into the movement, which is demanding more of the world leaders and their respective governments to publicly announce that we are in the midst of an ecological and climateContinue reading “rebels fight back.”

sober response to teenage angst.

For all the billing of parties being a foolproof source of enjoyment, there are some unsettling prerequisites that you are supposed to comply with. There’s a pressure to not just ‘be’, but to be interesting and not simply stand with your back against the wall, drifting away into obscurity. ‘Just being yourself’ doesn’t afford anyContinue reading “sober response to teenage angst.”

free spirit.

I hadn’t been to a gig/concert in a long time. Music was something I had recently relegated to Spotify playlists out of convenience, but when the chance to see Khalid in London came up, it satisfied what I had long been craving – listening to raw, transcendent melody live in the flesh. The ballads ‘Better’Continue reading “free spirit.”

fallacy of divinity.

There are always small moments where you can peek behind the curtain at the state of things, flashpoints where everything is laid bare for the eyes to see. Significant levels of civil unrest, political turmoil and an ever-deepening chasm between power and people are on display, and are all happening at once. I think there’sContinue reading “fallacy of divinity.”

confront sin.

How long until we sink to the bottom of the sea? When will our vices and our personal darkness catch up with us, or can we ever hope to outrun them? How long do we have to lurk in the wilderness, outside of relevance or reverence? ‘Sin’ is unique in that, typically, only the sinnerContinue reading “confront sin.”

to be angry.

Anger is not a failing or fault, whether it’s deep-rooted or merely surface level. Reason is but a servant of Passion, so it would be a great disservice to ignore it for fear of appearing emotionally haphazard. Self control is, of course, an illusion, and to think otherwise would be to believe that existing entirelyContinue reading “to be angry.”

burst the bubble.

The security of a personal bubble, whilst reassuring, is also a form of self-confinement. Away from the harsh elements, characters are not forged. Disconnected from the toils and dangers of the world, the armour rusts, and the once-hard exterior becomes as flimsy and transient as the very bubble we have chosen to lock ourselves awayContinue reading “burst the bubble.”

log off.

I’ve never placed great pride in my ability to organise a top class holiday, but I feel like the trip to Santorini signed, sealed and delivered just that. It’s honestly a stunning island, with beautiful cycladic architecture that’s carved into the cliff faces and narrow streets, which you can probably read all about on TripAdvisor.Continue reading “log off.”

knowing my ‘self’.

It’s getting to nearly a year since I started this blog, which is quite an achievement given the frankly unsustainable rate at which I have picked up and dropped hobbies. To be honest, I didn’t have a burning desire to take this on at all, but I felt myself being drawn closer to the ideaContinue reading “knowing my ‘self’.”

flattery fuel.

It is quite tiring to encounter the same malevolence again and again. The same people who are solely determined to belittle and destroy those that are on the path to greatness. It doesn’t even have to be greatness – just any individual who is moving ahead, whilst the onlooking critic curses the quicksand that theyContinue reading “flattery fuel.”

superpowers.

Possessing an extraordinary talent or ability is something we marvel at when we see it in others and crave to find within ourselves. Fantasies spark our free-flowing imaginations, and we often wish that we could fly, shape-shift or read people’s minds, so that we ourselves can transcend and leave the rest of the mere mortalsContinue reading “superpowers.”