One year ago, in the midst of training for my first marathon, I heard about some crazy people who’d run 50KM – 8KM longer than a marathon! – in the Spruce Woods on the first weekend of May. At the time, a marathon was an impossibility in my mind, what…
Conversing with the Land
What’s the difference between a trail and a road? Trails, our original routes of travel across the land, follow the contours of the landscape. Along the winding stream, around rocks and trees, weaving up the side of a hill. Roads, on the other hand, cut through a landscape. They carve…
The Old Tamarack
There’s a small green space near our house, in what has been called “the last piece of original bush” in our town. This is one of my favourite places to go for a morning run, or a walk with the family. Care to join me on a little walk? We…
Ennui
Seth used a great word in a recent blog post. I’d heard it before, but I don’t think I’d ever looked up its meaning. Ennui (än-ˈwē): a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction : boredom The French loanword ennui comes from the very same Late Latin word that gave us annoy…
Three tools
In middle school jazz band, I learned that good jazz wasn’t produced through an abundance of notes, but a few well-placed ones. Teenagers enthralled by the capabilities of our newly-acquired instruments and rudimentary skills, we each were tempted to compensate for our lack of skill by playing a flurry of…
The Magic of Too Much
Some days it’s all a bit much, isn’t it? The inbox is a treadmill set one notch too fast. The kids all want, no, neeeeeed, something right now. Before you can put the phone down, it rings with another request. Information overload, work overload, you know the feeling, right? Catch…
Ache in the empty spaces
“There’s nothing more addictive than something that almost works.” – Dr. Gordon Neufeld Many of us bemoan our addiction to our digital devices. What began as a curiosity – the magic of sharing a photo directly from our pocket camera with our family and friends across the globe! – has…
Spotlight Generosity
A friend of mine used to like to play this game. We were working at a camp, and after dinner, with 30 people milling around the cafeteria, she would announce: “Attention everybody! Brent will now be singing a song for us!” For the record, this game wasn’t my idea. Out…
The Problem With Selfies
I get it. Sometimes you just have a great hair day, and there’s nobody to take the photo but you. Or you head out for a frosty run before your kids wake up, and you simply must capture your snowman face before it melts. Exhibit A: But have you ever…
A Place to Play
The magic of the personal blog has always been the opportunity to create a little outpost on the web to call your own. A playground to explore ideas and thoughts. Amidst emerging social media platforms, and the ever-wearying “next big thing”, the personal blog remains a place to stake a…
Hi, I'm Brent! I write about creativity, curiosity, design, and wonder.
Check out my newest book Pay Attention.
© 2019 Brent Manke