Conscious Human(ity), No. 59
The light within, toads on the road, recovering creative strength, a jail experiment, the importance of rest, and more...
Welcome to this week’s edition of Conscious Human(ity) — it’s so good to see you here!
Below are seven things that have made my week better (one for each day of the week). They’re formatted so you can scan through and skip over things that aren’t interesting to you, and dive deeper into those that are.
I hope at least one thing brightens your day, prompts an ‘aha’ moment, or inspires you to take action on something close to your heart.
The Light Within
Firstly, I revisited my copy of Phosphorescence by Julia Baird this week. Julia is an Australian author and award-winning journalist who chronicles her journey through illness to rediscovering a sense of awe and wonder, to emerge from (and ward off) the darkness and discover her ‘light within’. Phosphorescence, a natural light phenomenon is a theme that begins the book and weaves throughout, as Julia shares the simple, powerful lessons she learned as her world imploded with loss and illness:
First, pay attention.
Second, do not underestimate the soothing power of the ordinary.
Third, seek awe, and nature, daily.
Fourth… well, so many things: show kindness; practice grace; eschew vanity; be bold; embrace friends, family, faith and doubt, imperfection and mess; and live deliberately.
Julia goes on to explain,
“we often take awe for granted, and yet it’s something both modern scientists and ancient philosophers have told us to hunt. Awe makes us stop and stare. Being awestruck dwarfs us, humbles us, makes us aware we are part of a universe unfathomably larger than ourselves; it even, social scientists say, makes us kinder and more aware of the needs of the community around us.”
Experiencing awe is something the kids and I are consciously seeking, every day, in simple ways: watching the sunrise and sunset at least a few times a week, stargazing, noticing interesting insects and plants, asking questions about life, the universe, and nature (and finding the answers).
We still need to remind ourselves, and each other, to ‘get outside our heads’ and seek that sense of awe, but we always feel better afterwards!
Toads on the Road
Sticking with the theme of natural phenomenon, this video caught my attention on LinkedIn and it’s a beautifully simple story about the tension between nature and humans, created for Zero Hour, the campaign for a new Climate and Nature Bill in the UK. Next time you’re feeling a bit impatient about toads crossing the road, maybe you could spare a thought for what nature does for us (hint: everything).
On a side note, if connecting with nature isn’t really your thing no matter how hard you try, this chat with a Sydney mum on the Now What Now podcast provides an interesting insight into climate activism from someone who came to be passionate about the cause through different channels. She grew up in regional NSW in a Liberal/LNP voting family (and unaware of the climate crisis) and now works at the opposite end of the spectrum, with Parents for Climate because she wants to protect her son’s future, and connect with her local community.
Recovering a Sense of Strength
From nature to art now, and this week’s instalment of ArtsHub’s series about The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron is based on chapter eight, which is focused on recovering strength and surviving loss. As with every other chapter, the wisdom within can apply to both creative practice and life more generally. Julia explains that we need to properly acknowledge and mourn what we have lost before we can turn those losses into strengths. And there are many losses in creative work (and life), from the novel that didn’t get published, to the painting that turned into a mess on the canvas, or a pot that shattered in the kiln. As Rachel (the article’s author) explains…
“Every kind of rejection hurts. As social animals we’re wired to avoid rejection from our tribe in order to survive. We’re meant to experience intense discomfort when others shun us. But when we’re rejected for our art, our creative output, the pain has a particular sting, especially when the work in question – our writing or singing or acting or painting – comes from the deepest core of our being and our sense of self. The more we care about the work, the harder the rejection hits. Sometimes we don’t even know how much we wanted something until we’re told we can’t have it”
But sitting with discomfort, and hurt, is essential for any kind of growth.
These are my favourite take-away messages from chapter eight:
Quit the drama – take the baby steps required to do the next thing.
‘Creativity requires activity, and this is not good news to most of us. It makes us responsible, and we tend to hate that: You mean I have to do something in order to feel better?’
One of our favourite things to do – instead of our art – is to contemplate the odds. But thinking about the odds is a drink of emotional poison.
Stop limiting yourself because you’re “too old” to do something new. You’ll never be younger than now.
Which one resonates with you the most?
Unlocked: A Jail Experiment
Now, to something completely different! At first, I wasn’t sure whether to include this one because I worried that it might not fit with the usual positive vibe, but watching the Unlocked series on Netflix has genuinely made my week better, so it did make the cut in the end!
The series chronicles a six-week social experiment at the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility in Little Rock, Arkansas (US). While there was some controversy over the conditions of filming, and compensation provided, I think the story of possibility that this series tells is applicable to many social situations; not just in jails. The gains made during the experiment were thanks to a greater sense of accountability and empowerment for detainees, and a positive approach to providing privileges that was designed to short-circuit the cycle of repeated incarceration that inmates so often get stuck in.
Quoted in Forbes, Sheriff Eric Higgins, who was the architect of the unique experiment, said he wanted to find out what would happen when individual cells were unlocked for six-weeks. Prior to the experiment, detainees were confined to their cells for 23 hours of every day.
"I want to humanize people. I want to empower people to have an impact on their culture, environment, and community. If you can do that on a micro level, in jail with people you don't care about or didn't initially care about, and if you take that with you when you go to the broader community, then maybe you realize that you are empowered, you can have a positive impact on your neighborhood, on your family,”
This was ultimately a good news story. There were detainees who made huge positive gains, out of addiction, and out of jail, and spoke very highly about the increased autonomy and sense of community they found. While not every detainee made a miracle turnaround, the experiment seemed to be overwhelmingly successful and apparently, the same model is now being rolled out to other units at the facility.
Do you need a rest?
Yes, I do need a rest! What about you?
I always look out for Brenna Quinlan’s new ‘Illustrations for Purpose’ on LinkedIn and Instagram because I love the way she explains climate (and human) issues in a beautifully engaging way. This week, Brenna shared a reminder about the importance of rest. I know I’m terrible at carving out time for rest, and giving myself permission to give in, and Brenna captures this mental wrestle so well:
“…the problem is that, on top of life being so busy, there's also that nagging awareness in the back of our minds saying 'yeah but climate change is happening and the radio was talking about domestic violence this morning and I need to be a better ally to my trans friend so I'VE GOT TO DO MORE' **throws arms up and runs out of the room dramatically**
She then says, people are not machines, and we weren’t made to go, go, go.
“Just because we can fit that thing in next week doesn’t mean we should.”
That’s a good reminder to take with us into next week, don’t you think?
If you want a little extra ‘Brenna’, here she is on Gardening Australia a couple of years ago:
The World’s First Zero-Waste Island
Continuing with climate-related stories… As if photos of the Greek islands weren’t idyllic enough, now one of them has undergone a green revolution and become completely energy self-sufficient and is permanently closing its landfill site! Tilos, home to 745 residents, has embraced the Just Go Zero program and now manages its waste in a fully circular way. They have achieved this through a combination of eliminating landfills and public bins, sorting at the source, door-to-door collection, composting, recycling, and reusing. And lots of education, of course.
Now that Tilos has achieved zero-waste, it can serve as a blueprint for other locations. Imagine the possibilities!
A Final Giggle
This first video has done the rounds a few times, but it’s such a beautiful example of how children take instructions literally!
And this one is so relatable, I just had to share it. I’m surprised my car door handles haven’t snapped off yet!
And that’s it for this week! Thanks so much for being here. 🙏🏻
As always, I hope something here has brightened your day, prompted an ‘aha’ moment, or inspired you to take action on something close to your heart.