
Against the Grain
Struggling at something doesn’t mean you’re bad at it—sometimes it just means you’re starting from a different place.
Peter Gilderdale's Flirting With Wisdom series reflects on the interplay between curiosity and conviction, blending personal stories, history, cultural critique, and philosophical musings. Each vignette invites readers to embrace the beauty of unfinished thinking and the art of holding life’s ongoing questions.
Struggling at something doesn’t mean you’re bad at it—sometimes it just means you’re starting from a different place.
Teaching is its own kind of artistry—less about brilliance and more about guiding others toward their own voice.
The Edwardian postcard craze was the social media of its time, revealing a divide between those who believed in luck and those who saw success as a moral reward. A century later, are we any closer to reconciling hard work with fortune?
The tactile history of coins and the fading art of the coin toss—how a simple flip can uncover our deepest desires.
What if identity wasn’t something to defend, but something to offer—an ethic, not a battleground?
In our rush for novelty, have we overlooked not only the enduring value of the familiar but also the many other ways we might choose to value what we create?
Like Cezanne’s mountain, truth reveals itself differently depending on where we stand—always present, but always waiting to be rediscovered.
A butterfly flaps its wings without knowing if it will spark a storm or nothing at all—its power lies in joyful persistence, embracing uncertainty, and trusting that each small act is full of life.
A well-timed swing reveals the quiet power of momentum and the wisdom of accelerating at the right moment.