Elaine Massung December 11, 2019

A WINTER RETREAT

“We are addicted to busy-ness,” Olivia said as I focused on contorting my body to match the yoga pose she demonstrated. She wasn’t wrong. Indeed, it was the very reason that MrElaineous and I found ourselves at a yoga and meditation retreat in the Welsh countryside. When I was in the grips of burnout several years ago, we made the… View Post

Elaine Massung June 12, 2019

WEIRD. WONDERFUL. WALES.

Great Britain is composed of three nations: England, Wales, and Scotland. The United Kingdom adds Northern Ireland to the mix, and hence the official name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The point of mentioning this terminology is that both Scotland and Northern Ireland are parts of the UK that are some distance… View Post

Elaine Massung January 29, 2019

There’s Something about Wales

I don’t usually write book reviews (book lists on the other hand …), but in a stroke of serendipity I recently finished reading Kate Humble’s Thinking on my Feet: The Small Joy of Putting One Foot in front of Another, an elegant meditation on the power of walking to both calm the mind and challenge the body, enlighten the spirit… View Post

Elaine Massung August 15, 2018

Making the Past Present (Part 2)

[ PART 1 ] [ PART 2 ] We are all time travellers. We just happen to be moving towards the future at the pace of one day at a time. But the past is all around us and, with the help of the right person, it’s possible to find it. John Swann of the Travelling History Company is one… View Post

Elaine Massung August 8, 2018

Making the Past Present (Part 1)

[ PART 1 ] [ PART 2 ] Car parks are not exactly known for having great views. Indeed, that is one of their defining characteristics: whether situated underground, in a multi-storey tower, or sandwiched between shops, they tend to prioritise function over form and practicality over aesthetics. So pulling into Chepstow’s Castle Dell car park was unexpected: as the view of a medieval… View Post

Elaine Massung June 15, 2017

A STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE

I found myself thinking about Wales recently. You might remember this is where I escaped to carry out a digital detox last year, getting away from the internet for several days in order to clear my head and escape from the constant pressure of always-on connectivity.* Going through my writing from this time was a good reminder of the things… View Post

Elaine Massung December 30, 2016

Are you the spider or the fly?  11 lessons after a digital detox

[ Edited January 2019: All Roads Lead to Machynlleth was written at the end of 2016, during a period of my life that I found stressful and overwhelming. Yet looking back, I think it illustrates the power of travel to shake us out of bad habits and routines, and offer new paths to explore. There is no overnight cure for… View Post

Elaine Massung October 25, 2016

All Roads Lead to Machynlleth: A Welsh Adventure (Part 3)

[ INTRO ] [ PART 1 ] [ PART 2 ] [ PART 3 ] [ Are You the Spider or the Fly? 11 Lessons for Health and Wellbeing after a Digital Detox ] I’ve spent the last few blog entries writing about everything we saw and did while in mid-Wales, which probably isn’t that surprising—after all, isn’t that the point of going on holiday? Yet none of the things… View Post

Elaine Massung October 21, 2016

For the birds: I haven’t had a chance to finish up the third blog entry about our recent trip to Wales, but here’s a sneak peek at a few of the avian activities we got up to. View Post

Elaine Massung October 18, 2016

All Roads Lead to Machynlleth: A Welsh Adventure (Part 2)

[ INTRO ] [ PART 1 ] [ PART 2 ] [ PART 3 ] [ Are You the Spider or the Fly? 11 Lessons for Health and Wellbeing after a Digital Detox ] The second full day in Wales dawned grey, cloudy, and wet. However, having enjoyed two days of sun and blue skies, we really couldn’t complain, especially since we had planned on this being an inside day—we… View Post

Elaine Massung October 14, 2016

All Roads Lead to Machynlleth: A Welsh Adventure (Part 1)

[ INTRO ] [ PART 1 ] [ PART 2 ] [ PART 3 ] [ Are You the Spider or the Fly? 11 Lessons After a Digital Detox ] It was, I’ll admit, not the most auspicious of starts to our WiFi-free Welsh holiday. Autumn colds had been making the rounds of the office, and this plus work stress… View Post

Elaine Massung October 11, 2016 Staylittle, Wales

Over the Hills and Far Away

[ INTRO ] [ PART 1 ] [ PART 2 ] [ PART 3 ] [ Are You the Spider or the Fly? 11 Lessons for Health and Wellbeing after a Digital Detox ] [ As we make the transition from one year to another, it’s a great time to look ahead to new horizons as well as turn around to see how far we have come. I wrote All… View Post