Walk the Barefoot Path

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Another Now
Another Now

I first read Another Now a couple of years back, and I remember it cracked something open in me. It wasn’t utopian fluff, It wasn’t that one tedious friend we have talking loudly about shared wealth, It wasn’t some over-polished TED Talk optimism. It was a serious, deeply human look at what the world could be if we were brave enough to imagine beyond the stale inevitability of greed and capitalism and smart enough not to tear each other apart in the process. Worker-owned companies. Shared digital wealth. A society where the government actually belong to the people. A future that didn’t feel like a boot pressing down on the backs of our necks, but a…

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I am the universe
I am the universe

Let’s draw a line under the positives and focus on the reason I underwent a reincarnation at 30. My 10 year career as a plumber and gas fitter had reached its grand, shitty, crescendo. I ended up taking a job at a secondary school, not any old school, but the very school that I went to in my teens. I know this sounds dramatic, but it was a nightmare. People literally have nightmares about being back at school, that old teacher who hated them looking down their nose at your failures, well, that was me, I was stood at the end of that teacher’s nose, holding a mop bucket.

In the process of getting on with ‘working a job I hated to pay the bills’ I fell; I fell really fucking hard. They say that depression manifests differently for everyone, for me…

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Barefoot Path
Barefoot Path

When I was 16, my dad took my brother and me to America; he was worried it would be our last holiday together and decided to go big. We went to the Grand Canyon and, as we have always been a walking family, the plan was to walk the Grand Canyon. Not out to skeleton point like the Americans do, but to hop the fence, walk past the “Danger of death” signs, and get all the way to the bottom. Over 20 miles, 8000 feet in elevation and 38 degrees heat and about 15 hours. We followed the South Kaibab Trail and it was - well I was 16, it was really fucking far. Beautiful, life affirming, a memory to last a lifetime, but really fucking far.

This particular memory was of a long path, the whole path was made with thick, heavy orange shale, which looked like flint knives. A man walked towards us…

Fuck it - Im off to Ibiza
Fuck it - Im off to Ibiza

The number of times I have told people I own Raven Forge, you know, because its true, and have been met by “and Sam,” yes, of course, and Sam, I didn’t forget my fucking brother, I own Raven Forge, he owns Raven Forge. Both are true. The number of times I have said “I’m really stressed at the moment” and someone says “you should try being me” “try being a single parent”, “You don’t even know what stress is, kid” is wild. Nowhere in the statement “I’m really stressed” did I imply you were in fact not stressed. There are certain things I don’t understand about human interaction yet, and…

Another Now
Another Now

I first read Another Now a couple of years back, and I remember it cracked something open in me. It wasn’t utopian fluff, It wasn’t that one tedious friend we have talking loudly about shared wealth, It wasn’t some over-polished TED Talk optimism. It was a serious, deeply human look at what the world could be if we were brave enough to imagine beyond the stale inevitability of greed and capitalism and smart enough not to tear each other apart in the process. Worker-owned companies. Shared digital wealth. A society where the government actually belong to the people. A future that didn’t feel like a boot pressing down on the backs of our necks, but a…

Writing Therapy
Writing Therapy

This has been an underlying foundation of my personality since I was really depressed back in 2013. I worked in a menial job in Craven and hated it, and everyone there to the point where I think all the hate just transferred over and I started to hate myself. Luckily this was another job with a lot of free time, with a lot of support from Caz and a massive kick up the arse I started watching lectures and reading books more than I ever had before. I learned a lot, but most importantly, it taught me that the meaning of life is simply to live. People seem to…

The Barefoot Path is me, Tom.

I’m a family man and company director by day, yoga teacher-in-training by night (and early mornings). I run a mental business called Raven Forge — we make fantasy swords and replica props from computer games, anime and movies. And yes, it really is as fun as it sounds. I love my job.

So why, oh why, do I also run a blog and spend weekends training to be a yoga teacher? Honest answer: I was blessed with a brain that just won’t sit the fuck still. It was a nightmare at school, but it’s been a blessing as an adult.

I write about life: the great bits, the messy bits, the learning curves, the small victories, and sometimes the big wins. I write about responsibility and accountability, neurodivergence, and yoga. I write about learning, running a business, and just… figuring stuff out.

Thanks for joining me in my space. Genuinely, it’s a pleasure to have you here.

- Tom