Musing about freedom and freelancing, including curiosity, following joy and asking for help. Blessed by wisdom from many sources.
What does it mean to be free? And is it possible?
What does it mean to choose freedom when still socially oppressed?
How can I be free? And reduce violence in this moment? And practise compassion for others?
Lama Rod Owens, Fri, 5 Feb 2021
Table of Contents
On freedom
“Live free or die a slave.” Damn
I’ve been thinking about ways of reflecting and invitations, but I’ll explore that more another time.
Learning things that are deeply true
What I really appreciate about academia is when it makes it possible to understanding things that’s deeply true, when academia makes things more accessible, art and science all intertwined.
Here are some excellent examples, with notes on where I learned of them:
- Lessons from Microbes: What Can We Learn about Equity from Unculturable Bacteria? by Beronda L. Montgomery
- via #BlackInMicro, which I learned of via #BlackBotanistsWeek
- A Few Rules For Predicting The Future by Octavia Butler, reproduced in The Nap Ministry: The Future is Now: Why Octavia Butler Is Our Muse
- via Art of Devotion: Belief, Faith and Spirit in Creative Practice by Evan Ifekoya
- The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin
- via Science Fiction as Activism by Ama Josephine Budge
Freelancing
Been attending some events from Freelance Festival this week (it’s free and continues into next week, in case you want to join. If you register, you can access stuff that’s happened already.)
I went to Birkbeck’s Future Focus: Top Tips and Key Skills to Start a Business session with Jenna Davies from Birkbeck Futures Careers Service. Which reminded me about the Business Model Canvas.
ADHD Self-Coaching
I found these videos really useful this week.
What’s your relationship to discipline? What about change?
It’s been at least 15 years since I started listening to Steve Pavlina on personal development. Not consistently, on and off, but always resonating when I’m connecting with his ideas.
Listening to this podcast by him now, and it’s great. I love Steve’s focus on curiosity, feelings, creativity and joy. Resonates so deeply with me. I started reading Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler on Saturday, and I’m enjoying the overlapping themes of change and our abilities to steer the course of change.
Feeling powerful and playful.
5 things I’m looking forward to…
- Exploring how ancestral traumas create blocks and invite blessings: Family Constellation Info Session – BIPOC only, 27 Feb
- Transforming my creative flow: Amplify by Steve Pavlina, Feb
- Conversations about ageing and inter-generations within QTIBIPOC community: QTIBPOC Generations, 20 Feb
- Learning about freelancing: Freelance Festival, continues all week
- Working with friends on asynchronous collaboration skills and equity 💜