The week that started 29th July

LiLi loves crocodiles (next to a sculpture)

The more I think about my ‘fantasy’ job, the more it slips into reality. I actually think of it as an alternative life, rather than a daydream. And I’m actively incorporating mine into my actual life. Yay!

(I’m not actually leaving tech, just learning different things.)

Trees are part of my fantasy job, how about yours?

https://twitter.com/VViiNNG/status/1150877516678217731?s=19

Arborist? Forester? Some kind of tree person. Okay, I found it, dendrologist. That’s my fantasy alternate. And it looks like it’s happening. 😁

Reading about trees, going on informative tree walks (4.5 hour round trip to Essex, y’all) & banging on about trees to all and sundry.

Literally just googled tree course. 🤓

Went on a 3 hour walk through the Sydenham Hill part of the Great North Wood with a friend, which was awesome. Talked about trees nearly the whole time.

huge green leaf bigger than LiLi's hand next to it
Sycamore

Writing, artistry & financial planning for fun?!

Our artist child can best be enticed to work by treating work as play.

Julia Cameron: The Artist’s Way, Week 9 – Recovering a Sense of Compassion

Week 9 is really speaking to me. I’ve been feeling great about being so disciplined, but all the time I’ve spent with financial planning lately has been out of *joy*, not discipline!

Financial planning and budgeting has become a game for me. How can I get the most reward out of these institutions? Mwah-ha-ha.

I heard, read or saw something about being not good at something means do it more. And it’s so obvious, but hadn’t really clicked for me before.

I treated myself to a unicorn-shaped ice lolly mould. Yay!

Oh, and these cards inspired a short piece of writing this week.

Dog surrounded by flowers and a shadowy child figure surrounded by reaching hands and mountains. Illustrations on 2 postcards

Liberating Structures & working for the love of it…

Spent days on Liberating Structures this week, and thoroughly enjoyed them.

London

LiLi gesturing to drawings on the wall
  • Led the design process
  • Led the event with Laxmi and Laura, so much fun
  • None of our participants had experienced Drawing Together, just Laura & me
  • Only one person had experienced Discovery & Action Dialogue – it was new to us facilitators too

Europe

It’s nearly time for the Liberating Structures European Learning Gathering. This week I:

  • Co-designed one of the core sessions
  • Designed 3 sessions with Tas on gratitude, learning Liberating Structures & working on shared challenges simultaneously, and amplifying actively engaging with Liberating Structures in our practice
  • Designed a writing workshop – watch this space!

Reflect & review

Not referred to retro actions & outcomes much this week, but that’s okay.

I still planned my week much better than the last. It was more realistic, so I did nearly all the things and adapted my plan around the other things.

I cancelled things that didn’t serve me to do things that were more important to me.

Yay!

Lasting impressions of the week

I read a brilliant articles about bullet journalling, called Bullet Journaling for Beginners (and Impatient, Unartistic People Like Me). Looking forward to combing through the many links to other articles

Hmm, 8 people said they’d attend a virtual session on bullet journalling, if I offered one. So that’s another thing to explore… Cool!

What?! Just spotted I can listen to articles on Medium now. Amazing.

I went to the British Museum for the first time, and oh, I love it.

“A mentalist is a magician whose performances include mind reading. The potential of ‘psychic forces’ has fascinated audiences throught the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In the laboratory scientists are using similar techniques to explore whether free will – the idea that we choose our actions freely – is merely an illusion.”

Smoke and Mirrors: The Psychology of Magic at the Wellcome Collection

I wasn’t expecting to find this exhibition so intriguing, because I didn’t think I was interested in magic shows. But actually the psychology of it is fascinating.

Similarly, wasn’t very curious about going to the Natural History Museum’s wildlife garden, because I knew it would be small, but I saw damselflies and I learned carrot flowers are so beautiful.

And this was a good reminder to continue reading The Hidden Lives of Trees:

There are more living, tiny organisms in a tablespoon of soil than there are people on Earth.

Bench in the Natural History Museum wildlife garden