Dear South Africa... This is an interesting one. i was sent this story and asked if i could share it anonymously. And only realised when i copied it in here that it was a two-parter [i had initially missed the second part]. Which adds a whole different layer to the first part of the story and i imagine different people will have different reactions to it. But at the same time it gives a glimpse [...]
Can't we all just be a little more kind to people online? And maybe offline too..? i would say, "Yes, absolutely!" But also, "No!" Well, i mean kinda, but probably not in the way you understand Kindness. Because often when somebody posts an inspirational or challenging message like this, what they are actually wanting people to be is nice. And it isn't super helpful to confuse Kind with Nice. Exhibit A Your three-year-old kid is [...]
We've been having some conversations online about what it means to be a real man, and how to treat women better. And while the choir is cheering us on, it is quite obvious that there is still a whole lot of work to be done. i am hoping that those who struggle with the race conversations will have a light come on when it comes to these conversations, because in some ways they are the [...]
So last night was the annual Outliers event and it was incredible - six speakers, six talks, ten minutes each, with ten slides accompanying them. With my wife tbV kicking it off and setting the foundation and then just amazing speaker after amazing speaker knocking it out of the park. The edited videos will be up in a while, but i think some of the talks are already available on their Facebook page over here. [...]
When i hear the words 'secret ballot' i immediately change them to 'secret ballet' and feel like there is some kind of underground mysterious quite-possibly-Russian dance extravaganza happening that i wasn't invited to. And will there or won't there be need for the traditional tutu? But then i hear that it's a No confidence vote in the president, Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma and i instantly realise that his middle name is a lot more creative than mine, [...]
i have been thinking a lot about choices lately. For many of us the idea of choice looks something like this quote: There is some truth in that, but i don't think it is the whole Truth. i also think it's a nice quote for people with stuff [money, time, resources, skills, networks, opportunities]. Think about it for a second. Think of the choices you have in front of you right now. Name some of [...]
i took a taxi today for the first time in a long, long time. Two actually, and it was great. This morning my friend and Improv aficionado [always wanted to use that in a sentence] Megan and i went to a primary school to volunteer run four thirty minute classes of Improv with grade 5's and 6's. It turned out to be a lot more fun than i was expecting. Especially cos we made it all [...]
i crawled into bed sometime after 2 this morning… Exhausted, challenged, frustrated, reflective, inspired, hopeful. It had been a long, packed day. The night before had seen 11 of us sharing a meal and then sitting outside in our tiny courtyard, wrestling with the idea of what it means to Live Simply. […]
i have read some REALLY helpful articles about privilege this week. My fear is that the appearance of the word 'privilege' with the assumption of it being specifically 'white privilege' on my blog immediately drives the very people i am wanting to hear and engage with this stuff away. But my hope, which is so much stronger than my fear, is that there are people like Bob [who a bunch of us had this long [...]
so today was a breakfast of 50g Jungle Oats each [slept over at my folks house and they had 50g sachets so less than the 150g between us we were meant to, but was enough] for breakfast [little bit of butter, no sugar, sigh] then for lunch we feasted on a "soup" the beautiful val made altho it was more a stew than a soup with lentils, potato and butternut in and we had that [...]
