Archive for the Writing category

Kabul Day 3: What’s really scaring me

Sunday, April 29th, 2012

I had lunch with an old friend today. Scott was one of the very first people I met in Afghanistan and during the six months I lived in Kabul we became close. Close enough that when I inscribed his book today I wrote: For Scott, who I like too much to have put in my [...]

Posted in Afghanistan, Story-telling, Writing | 3 Comments »

No saint. No fearless hero.

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

One of the more uncomfortable things about doing humanitarian and human rights work is the (unearned) credit people give you for being more saintly, and more brave than others. It’s one of the reasons I included so much of my own (messy) personal story in Zen Under Fire. So I was pleased to read this, [...]

Posted in Writing | 9 Comments »

Special offer: pre-order Zen Under Fire + get 30 Days of Courage free

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Pre-order Marianne Elliott’s new book Zen Under Fire and get the 30 Days of Courage course free.

Tags: courage, zen under fire
Posted in Afghanistan, Writing | 2 Comments »

Passion, practice and the water table of talent.

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

When I wrote ‘your passion is not enough’ I knew I was beginning to say something, not finishing. I was opening a conversation with myself and with you. Today I was walking home from a visit with a friend, listening to Zen Howl, by Natalie Goldberg. Natalie said, “Talent is like a water table under [...]

Posted in Buddhism, Letting go, Writing | 1 Comment »

Double your joy!

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

I realise you have a life, and are not always glued to my Facebook or Twitter feeds (as fascinating as they are, right?). So you may have missed the news that I’m teaming up with two of my favorite people – writer Jennifer Louden and photographer and writer Susannah Conway – to lead the Creative [...]

Posted in Good things, Writing, Yoga | 1 Comment »

Awakening

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

Awakening Buff off routine. Polish away habit. Sharpen your crystal mind with silent time. Wake yourself by praying to the gods. Surrender all of image. Let go of your outside eyes. Be a foolish animal, gaping at the forest. Be clumsy and too much and wide-eyed. Kill the thing that pulls back the reins, and [...]

Posted in Good things, Writing | 2 Comments »

Write a new chapter in the story of poverty

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Depending how long you’ve been reading along here, you may or may not know that I used to work for Oxfam. And that I think Oxfam does great work – not just great development work, but really great advocacy and policy work. I went to work for Oxfam when I left the UN because I [...]

Posted in Development, Doing good, Good things, Service, Story-telling, Ways to help, Writing | 3 Comments »

Self-care in the itchy-scratchy place

Sunday, September 18th, 2011

So it turns out I’m in good company. There are quite a few of us hanging out in the itchy-scratchy place. Which means it was worth telling the truth about how I’ve been feeling and it is certainly worth sharing a little bit more of what I’ve been learning. I finished my last post with [...]

Posted in Being the change, self care, Sitting still, Writing, Yoga | 4 Comments »

So I’m not as funny as Elizabeth Gilbert…

Friday, September 9th, 2011

I got an email from my agent this morning summarising the rejection responses she’s had to my manuscript so far. Here’s something you should know about writing a memoir, in case you think it might be a fun thing to do: when editors ‘pass’ on your book they are going to say not-so-great things not [...]

Posted in Buddhism, Writing | 33 Comments »

Create some joy

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

You think I’ve just been goofing off, right? Eating my way across the US? Sleeping in. Going for long walks. Meeting up with lots of amazing women? Well I have. But I’ve also been scheming with the fabulous Susannah Conway and Jen Louden to create this, our Creative Joy retreat. It happens from June 28 [...]

Posted in Writing, Yoga | 1 Comment »