When I was 29, I read a book aptly titled “F**k It”. This book really opened my eyes to how I really want to live my life. I used to get bogged down with the high standards, expectations and pressure that I was putting myself under that I often forgot to stop, take a deep breath and smell the roses.

A friend wisely told me that each day that passes is one day closer to death. This gave me the heebie-jeebies but it was also a wake-up call. I do not want to spend each day – which is one day closer to death – wishing that I was doing something else or regretting the things I didn’t do.

One of my loves is writing, especially writing commentary. This blog began by me writing about the insight I’ve gained from learning to say “f**k it” and caring less. Most of my posts are based on personal stories, but with a twist: I try to interweave wisdom (shared, celebrated or little-known) from diverse academic, popular and practical subject-matter with my stories. By doing it this way, my hope is that everyone can take something away from my blog and perhaps apply this something to their own life.

I have begun to respond to readers’ letters and my hope is for this blog to get you and I thinking about the issues that concern us, and look to philosophy and other sources as our guide to live the good life.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to check out my index of posts for a good overview; to have a read of my magazine publications; to share the love; to comment; or to get in touch.

Gemma