• The Science of Hope

    Dear readers,

    As I travelled to sporadic, distant destinations in the world, with my clumsy feet and widened eyes, to locations of severe austerity, I palpated a surprising theme of universal hope in places I did not think it was possible to have.

    From the spinal victims of the Haiti earthquake – left paralyzed in the collapsing rubble, to the teenagers with advanced bone tumours in Cambodia – still believing in cure, to the young and enthusiastic surgeons of Ethiopia – determined for a better future for their patients, a weaving pattern emerged of hope in uncertain times, a centrally bound thread that seemed to bind us altogether. Indeed, so powerful was this connection that I once described hope as the most valuable currency in the world, for it kept us alive and richer than money itself, and could be traded for beautiful, priceless memories as we got older.Read More

  • The Everlasting Light

    There was once a proud and noble king who ruled over an ancient kingdom, high in one of the remotest mountain ranges in the world. He ruled with sincere honesty and merciful compassion. And just like all good kings in all good kingdoms of all good stories, he was loved by all of his people.

    He would distribute the excesses of his wealth amongst the poor. He would ensure lasting peace with all of the kingdom’s neighbouring friends and rivals. He guaranteed all his people were treated fairly and insisted they should all come to him for any personal disputes or hardships. Despite the harsh conditions and simplistic lifestyle, the people were happy and content with their lives in this cold mountain kingdom. Read More