"When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life." John Lennon “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s probably the most pointless and thoughtless question an adult … [Read more...]
Own Your Activism.
I’ve just finished watching the last episode of Mrs. America. It’s about the women’s liberation movement of the 70’s and the fight to pass the Equal Rights Amendment across the USA. (This weekend I’m following it up with Brazen Hussies, about the Australian women’s movement of the same era.) What I loved most about Mrs. America was the passion and commitment of the feminists behind … [Read more...]
Embedding Your Learning
One of the highlights of this weird year has been having the space and time for learning new things instead of actually doing the teaching. I’m entering the final week of an 8-week pilot course being cohosted by the New Economy Network Australia (NENA) and the Yunus Centre at Griffith University on Building a Wellbeing Economy. (I highly recommended it if you’re interested in … [Read more...]
The Most Beautiful Question.
It’s that time of year again. Can you feel it? We’re starting to receive ‘those emails’. You know the ones. They’re those serious Year in Review emails offering a list of excruciating questions for us to ponder. Each question is carefully designed to help us uncover the lessons learnt from the ‘annus horribilis’ of 2020 so we can plan for 2021 to be an ‘annus mirabilis’. As if. I … [Read more...]
The Olive Branch.
This week, I attempted to reconnect with a very important person in my life. It’s been two years since we fell out and ceased contact. Numerous times, over that two years, I’ve recounted the angry conversation that caused our estrangement. What was said? Who said it? What was the root cause of our anger with each other? What might the result have been if we’d approached the conversation … [Read more...]