The Project Book

CHAPTER 8 GIVE YOUR MIND A BREAK

Okay, a quick admission. I’m not a brain specialist. Never have been, never will be. Which means when I start reading about the complexities of the brain — all the neo-cortex and hippocampus stuff — my brain, knowing me as it does, replaces the words with the theme song from Sesame Street, and within seconds I’m lost. I know I have a brain and that it’s really important, and I know I have to feed it periodically so it doesn’t get bored and leave for pastures new. I also know that every now and then it needs a rest and that playing FIFA on PlayStation is a great way to provide it.

‘Mindfulness’ continues to be one of the most searched words on Google. Jon Kabat-Zinn is credited with developing the idea in the west, although it is a form of meditation that has existed in Buddhist cultures for 2000 years. Despite what you may have read, it’s not ‘the latest corporate fad’; it is widely and successfully practised around the world. Neither can it be dismissed as new-agey, which men of my age are prone to do whenever they fear their fixed ideas or even their masculinity may be undermined. Note to all men: living longer and being happier and more productive is an incredibly masculine thing to do.

When we emigrated from New Zealand to Australia in 2013, we knew no one here, had no jobs to come to and very little money, and had to find schools for the children. Unsurprisingly, it was a tiring and stressful experience, and given that our priority was settling ...