Category Archives: musings

azahar!

17 Saturday Mar 2007

Posted by in life stuff, musings, sevilla

≈ 7 Comments

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My favourite time of year.

I was just out on the balcony enjoying the morning sun and there it was – the gorgeously subtle fragrance of orange blossom (azahar) in the air. Then I looked down and saw the first blossoms on one of the trees.

So for the next three weeks or so the streets here are going to smell like heaven.

I wasn’t surprised to learn that orange blossom has natural calm-making qualities as I find it very soothing and, oh I dunno, even uplifting. All I know is that everything feels better while the orange trees are in blossom.

protected prejudice

09 Friday Mar 2007

Posted by in life stuff, musings

≈ 6 Comments

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Should we ever tolerate intolerance?

This subject came up elsewhere the other day, about how elderly parents sometimes come out with embarrassing bigoted comments yet it’s somehow ‘okay’ because they are not actually bigots. 😕

Anyhow, this got me to wondering – why do we do this? Why are people exempt from being tolerant and rational just because of their age? It’s as if every generation excuses the previous one for being less enlightened simply because they were born and grew up in a different time. As if after you hit a certain age you are no longer expected to develop as a person and adapt to changes in social mores. I find this rather sad.

Is there really a cut-off point after which people cannot change and grow? Meanwhile, the 80-year-old dyed-in-the-wool bigot only got to be that age while maintaining their prejudices because these were either condoned or left unchallenged.

Is it really ever too late to unlock a closed mind? Or is it just that people would rather turn a blind eye to prejudice in order to avoid an unpleasant confrontation?

the talking cure

23 Friday Feb 2007

Posted by in health & happiness, life stuff, musings

≈ 1 Comment

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From today’s Grauniad.

Illness – even cancer – is the body’s way of communicating, but doctors don’t have time to listen. Psychoanalysis may take years to make you better, but it beats quick-fix therapies.

My GP in Canada was fond of saying that he treated people, not just symptoms, and it’s true that I’ve never met another doctor like him. He was well-known for being an excellent diagnostician and I think the main reason for that was that he took time to listen to what his patients were actually saying to him.

I think the article raises some good points about how health care systems tend to pigeon-hole patients far too much, though I’m not sure that everyone would benefit from psychoanalysis. Still, sometimes just being able to talk and feel like someone is really listening can make a world of difference in how we feel both physically and emotionally. It’s odd how in most western societies we often ignore the obvious connection between physical and mental well-being.