I left my PhD after a year. I loved my topic but I didn't want to just read about it, I wanted to live it. I didn't feel the need to prove my knowledge and experience to others and I didn't need to be recognised as a master of my field. The passion was certainly there (in bucketloads), and I did want to promote the idea to others. But that is not a PhD. Talking my thoughts … [Read more...] about Why I left my PhD
simple living
How to thrive as a one income family
We have made a choice to live on one income in order to home educate our son. It could have been that we set things up more equally, with us both spending some time working and some time with our child. And maybe that would have been better in some respects. But my partner has a career he loves and has worked hard at, and after taking maternity leave, I didn't feel ready to … [Read more...] about How to thrive as a one income family
Minimalism at Christmas: Is it possible?
I once saw a banner on a festive city centre street that read: 'When you stuff the turkey, you stuff Christmas'. It was a rather clunky message, but it made its point. It wasn't held by a vegan anti-meat protestor, but a church group. At the time I thought it was a bit overblown, but it resonates more with me now than it ever has. In the last few years, I've found that … [Read more...] about Minimalism at Christmas: Is it possible?
Declutter and live free: Things I no longer need
As I walk around the house in which I currently live, I am reminded how many items I have mentally (and usually physically) let go of and it is freeing to realise that I can do without them. Fifteen years ago, I lived out of a backpack for a year and that experience has shaped the person I have become, more so than I previously realised. I never feel more content than when I … [Read more...] about Declutter and live free: Things I no longer need
Belonging: Finding home on the road
My house is not my home. It is a storage unit. An energy sink. A time usurper. An obstruction. It provides a debilitating level of comfort and security. It encourages the indulgent and unhealthy practices that are so engrained in our culture. It separates me from nature and from other people. It keeps me in one tiny, infinitesimal part of the planet and prevents … [Read more...] about Belonging: Finding home on the road