‘Listen – are you breathing a little and calling it a life?’ MARY OLIVER

Positive mental and emotional wellbeing is the vital sign that says you are living the life you were born for.

Instead, suicide rates are on the increase. In the UK, suicide is now the biggest killer of people under 35 years old. Many of these young people are in universities and colleges, where not only students, but also teachers and staff, struggle to manage anxiety, depression, overwhelm and burnout. Many to the point they want to quit.

Places of higher education should be the launch pad for hugely needed deep, transformative impact on the growing crises of this world. Places that generate positivity, creativity, and empowerment – not misery and endurance.

LifeRoute is a hub that invites and incubates new thinking, new pedagogy in education, and new languages of expression that are values-based. Its Caring on Campus initiative especially focuses on the creation of a culture of compassion that can ripple out to give greatest societal impact. There is no better solution if we are to hope for a future where we all can grow and thrive together.

Encouragement in Academia

Encouragement

'Even an old pit pony needs the occasional pat on the nose.' A word of encouragement goes such a long way, especially when it is a long road that is less travelled. Most small children when they are learning to walk are given loads of encouragement to take the first...

WELL-COME

...The UnWelcome It takes us to scary places, but that's also where the buried treasures lie. When we learn we are Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Lyra Silver-tongue... Where we re-discover all that is strong and brave and good within us. It's a good way to define both...

Revolving Doors

What do you define as ethics - morals - values? Do you see these terms as interchangeable? Or how do they differ? Where does integrity and character sit within these? An online integrity educators' practicum included a survey on the participants' own formal moral and...

4 Cs to C-ease

World Mental Health Day 10 Oct 2025. Within Liferoute, there is Caring on Campus. It's an initiative to tackle mental health issues in higher education - where staff and students are both affected. Its approach is based on first principles rather than 'off-the-shelf'...

Mis-Fit?

Often described as the round peg in the square hole. Or worse, the square peg that can't even get into the round hole. If this is how you feel, then it doesn't mean that there is something wrong or lacking in you. It's just that the environment, the context, or simply...

In The Swamp?

More than ever, Higher education is a hugely demanding work environment with many things to balance. So it's hard to remember when it feels you are up to your ears in hungry alligators that your priority should be to drain the swamp. But what is the alternative? Using...