Email: Sister’s 50th birthday. Loves gardening, birds. (Argentina)
Happy Birthday!
Author: Creatively Curious
Conversations are deep, have promises to keep! ✍️
Think again…
Read Think Again, in one go. Inspiring & insightful.
“This is the right book for right now. Yes, learning requires focus. But, un-learning & re-learning requires much more. In Think Again, Adam Grant weaves together exciting research & storytelling to help us build the intellectual & emotional muscle we need to stay curious enough about our world” – Brené Brown.
Think Again – Amazon
Think Again is a great read for anyone who wants to create a culture of learning & exploration, whether at home, work or school. Intelligence is usually seen as our ability to think & learn. But, in a rapidly evolving world, there’s another set of cognitive skills that may matter more. Our ability to re-think & un-learn.
Organisational psychologist Adam Grant is an expert on opening our minds. With bold ideas & rigorous evidence, investigates how we can embrace the joy of being wrong, bring nuance to conversations. The aim is to build schools, work-places, communities of life-long learners. Think Again reveals we don’t have to believe everything we think or internalise everything we feel. An invitation to prize mental flexibility. If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom.
Spring carol…
When loud by landside streamlets gush,
And clear in the greenwood quires the thrush,
With sun on the meadows,
And songs in the shadows,
Comes again to me,
The gift of the tongues of the lea,
The gift of the tongues of meadows.
Straightway my olden heart returns,
And dances with the dancing burns,
It sings with the sparrows,
To the rain and the (grimy) barrows,
Sings my heart aloud,
To the silver-bellied cloud,
To the silver rainy arrows.
It bears the song of the skylark down,
And it hears the singing of the town,
And youth on the highways,
And lovers in byways,
Follows and sees,
And hearkens the song of the leas,
And sings the songs of the highways.
So when the earth is alive with gods,
And the lusty ploughman breaks the sod,
And the grass sings in the meadows,
And the flowers smile in the shadows,
Sits my heart at ease,
Hearing the song of the leas,
Singing the songs of the meadows.
– Robert Louis Stevenson
The natural health service
In the Natural Health Service, Isabel Hardman draws on personal experiences & interviews with leading psychologists to determine the role of wild-life, pets & the outdoors in alleviating stress. Highlights the importance of nature in maintaining good mental & physical health. An insightful read.
Seaspiracy…
Seaspiracy is a 2021 documentary film about the environmental impact of fishing.
Film features human impact on marine life like plastic-marine debris, ghost nets & over-fishing. Argues commercial fisheries are the main driver of marine eco-system destruction. Seaspiracy rejects the concept of sustainable fishing, criticises several marine conservation initiatives. Advocates for marine reserves, elimination of fish consumption. Covers the Taiji dolphin drive hunt, whaling in Faroe Islands, modern slavery in the fishing industry. Intriguing, interesting perspectives.
Blogging…
Email: What does writing a blog feel like? Thinking of creating one on women’s health. (Japan)
Honestly, quite scary. Being creative needs much more calmness, compassion & courage than I had originally imagined. Exactly how we would naturally feel when doing something new. The unknown makes us feel both sensitive & strong, triumphant & terrified, fascinated & fearful, curious & child-like, excited & energetic, all at the very same time. A roller-coaster of emotions. Some days are okay, others aren’t so great. But, there’s a certain correlation with purpose, play, passion & positivity.
Sharing spontaneous thoughts, ideas & perspectives does make me feel a little vulnerable, like the whole world will be critical, even if untrue. Some days, it’s like having a fragile conversation with oneself, somewhat therapeutic. A humbling experience & journey of self-expression. There’re never times when everything is hi-fives. Though, sharing & learning is motivating & inspiring. The key is peaceful & persistent consistency, belief in just going with the flow. All the best.
Spectrum…
Social investment…
UN estimates that globally over 24 million school age children are at risk of dropping out of school due to the Covid-19 crisis. Since the coronavirus outbreak, over 500 million kids are still unable to head back to class-rooms.
This pandemic has substantially disturbed lives, especially in the most vulnerable section of our society. Teachers have had to undergo salary cuts. Many parents have not been able to pay the school fees due to job losses. For low income households, this challenge is accentuated further. With classes going online, 1000’s of children have had to scramble for gadgets. The digital divide has never been more obvious, resulting in kids dropping out of school.
Rang De For Education provides interest free loans to young students from low income families. Loans cover tuition fees, expenses for buying books, instruments or gadgets (laptops, wifi, smartphones).
Rang De Peer-To-Peer Lending – Invest
Rang De is a peer-to-peer lending platform that enables individuals to invest in children. A non-profit, regulated peer-to-peer lending platform (NBFC-P2P). Rang De’s mission is to provide access to low cost, collateral-free loans with respect & dignity. Compassionately, let’s get kids back to school or children will pay the highest price of all.
Disclaimer
Do photo…
Email: Partner’s birthday. Loves photography, books, art. (HK)
Happy Birthday!
In a world where everyone is a photographer now, how do we stand out? We train our eyes to see what others don’t. This isn’t a book about how to take the best pictures. Not even about the technical aspects of photography. In fact, argues we should take fewer photographs.
By sharing 10 practices honed over a lifetime spent behind the lens working with clients like Adidas, Levi Strauss, Apple, Coca-Cola, photographer Andrew Paynter encourages us to develop a more considered, natural approach to photography.
Do Photo: Observe. Compose. Capture – Amazon
Do Photo teaches us how to use our cameras to really connect with subjects, create memorable & impactful photographs. To enjoy the process along the way. And, it all starts even before we pick up a camera.
Foggy plans…
Email: How can we plan at work, in the current foggy environment? (US)
2020 didn’t turn out as we’d planned. Brought a profound shake-up in our daily lives. A lot of folks are asking what can we really do, everything seems up in the air? Guess, we can just re-organise our priorities to honour what really matters at work. Having a plan, even if fluid, is one of the best stress-reduction strategies. It all comes down to how we look at goals.
Adaptability & creativity is key. Sometimes, we just go with the flow. Other times, make strategic plans with check-points for course correction, as new information arises or circumstances shift. Micro-planning. Identify a compelling purpose that allows flexibility in terms of how it will come to pass. If unclear, we can jot down our most fulfilling work experiences to notice commonalities.
Can build flexible plans, based on best available insights. Our yearly plan can include pursuing growth, learning & development opportunities. At the beginning of each quarter, let’s re-assess what we’re working on to set realistic goals for the next quarter. Each month, let’s re-evaluate potential, quarterly goals. Maybe, a simple weekly to-do list? Allows us to monitor our energy, performance & motivation levels.
Our world is & will be evolving drastically. By breaking down our focus, planning processes into smaller chunks & simpler steps, we can begin to check in more frequently, adapt naturally & effectively.