Piece of Mind

Reincarnation now illegal

This must be the best new storyline for a Monty Python sketch in ages.

"In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is 'an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation.'"

You gotta hand it to the Chinese government; they can be amazingly creative when it comes to sticking it to the Dalai Lama.

Hat-tip to KurzweilAI.net for this one.

At last!

I spent a few days chilling out up at Mangawhai heads earlier this week with a few old kiwi mates.

We were on the water both days, and after years of trying, I finally got up on one water ski. Hurrah!

I found it a bit like making the transition from snow skis to snowboarding - less 'technical thinking' required and more of a natural connection to the land/water.  It felt wonderful to dig the back of the ski in and carve some lazy sweeping turns. I was grinning from ear-to-ear for ages!

Richard got up on one ski for the first time too (pictured here in 'Special Boat Squadron' pose).

      

Wish me luck!

I'm finding this New Zealand experience a bit of a weird one.

Don't get me wrong. It's absolutely fantastic to be be back here again ...  seeing family and friends, doing interesting work with bright people, warm weather, world-class coffee. It's all good.

But my head seems to be swimming in matters cultural.

I lived in the UK for the first 27 years of my life; the next 9 years in Auckland, then moved back to the UK about 18 months ago.

Where do I belong?

I have no idea. And it's bugging me a bit.

Moving back to the UK surprised me. I thought I'd hate it, but I found myself enjoying the feeling of being back in the middle of the world.  It's also been wonderful to witness the obvious joy that my parents and in-laws get from Callum (and vice-versa!).

I've grown professionally too. Over the last year Fio and I have created a business that allows me to creatively express my occasionally weird business thinking with the likes of the Royal Bank of Scotland, GlaxoSmithKline, Toyota, Natwest Bank and the John Lewis Partnership. And of course, my new part-time role as planning director at an advertising agency is pretty interesting and challenging too!

In a nutshell, it's great to be around family and my brain is being well-fed.

But I think when you live somewhere magical like New Zealand for almost 10 years, it's gets into your soul. Weekends away doing fun stuff in special places merges with the laughter of your friends into a visceral entity beyond words.

UK or NZ? 

.....................

Decision made.

Both.

I'm going to make it happen.

Wish me luck!

I may not return.

Back with 'the lads' for Tuesday night swimming, followed by a spot of Japanese.

Got a few jobs to take care of on Friday in Auckland and Saturday in Wellington. Then it's BBQ Sunday and off up North for a few days of surfing, water-skiing and fishing.

It's like I've never been away.

Take more risks!

A great post by Kathy Sierra.

I've been taking pretty big personal and professional risks all my life, and people often tell me that they could never do X, Y or Z. 

I guess that 'risk' means different things to different people. For me, not taking regular risks isn't an option. I begin to feel stagnant if I sit in a 'safe place' too long.

Cultural observation: After 10 years living in 'the new world', and then returning 'home', I'm coming to the conclusion that today's Scots are not big risk-takers.  Personally, I think we're the worse for it - economically, emotionally and spiritually.