I’m on a quest for contentment, primarily through the pursuit of patience, presence and ultimately, peace. This website is part of the process I’ve chosen to help me progress toward these goals.

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants“.

Isaac Newton, 1675

As a young Isaac Newton, still in his early 30’s, penned the above words in his letter to Robert Hooke in 1675, I’m fairly certain he had no idea how far this simple yet monstrously powerful meme would carry us in the next 347 years, but carry us it has! While the idea of learning, benefiting and growing from the work, failures and successes of others obviously wasn’t original to Sir Isaac, he clearly understood and applied this principle well and added to their work with his own brilliant insights. Since then, the vast majority of the scientific understanding and technological advances we benefit from every day have come to fruition through the application of this principle – of building on the work of those who went before us.

Much later, around 1927, the American writer Max Ehrmann published “Desiderata”, a poem that speaks enlightenment and wisdom to the very depths of my soul. A passage from Desiderata offers the following advice: “Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.” It appears to me that Max wanted us to be, see, and appreciate not just the obvious giants in the distance, but also the invisible giants in our very midst and learn to mine the hidden wisdom, however mundane, available within every one of us.

This website is born of my firmly held belief that these key principles of learning and growth apply not just to scientific advancement but to all aspects of life, learning and endeavour. It is my view also that each and every one of us possesses knowledge and elements of wisdom, unique to our own experience, that are worth sharing and hearing and that everybody can effectively be a “giant” within their own sphere of experience and influence. Those who choose to listen to, and learn from, the experience and wisdom of a broad spectrum of others will always find themselves in a better position to make informed and balanced decisions than if they had not. This website then, is my attempt to share some of my own experiences and insights and to highlight significant things I’ve learned from others. Oh, and maybe have a bit of fun too.

Please feel free to browse the pages here and comment on anything you find of worth.