Soul

No name. No gender. No beliefs. No possessions. No job. No culture. NoBody.

The vagaries of death

A defence budget measures our devotion to the notion that the solution to violence is more violence. Giving us: “Death by government.” Now, a new and related term: “Death by climate change.”

The vast of heaven

The scientist says, “There are 37 trillion cells in the human body.” The poet says, “I am large. I contain multitudes.” Both of these statements knock hell out of our belief in littleness.

Power mad

Beliefs are not benign; they demand enactment. The most pernicious beliefs are the unconscious ones, the beliefs we don’t know we have. A belief in one’s weakness, for example, which can imprison a man in compensatory behaviours.

Drawing my sword

The more beliefs I have, the more often I will be required to decide something. The word decide comes from the Latin for ‘cut off.’ The sword is a manly bit of business.