Quiet Please
Greetings,
The past week, I have been making a conscious effort to quieten down immense amounts of noise. The loudest noise at this time - a furlough notice for a year with no assurance of what happens at the end of that time period. It is a situation I have not experienced and it feels surreal. My mind races and most of the time it runs around in circles. It eventually ends up nowhere.
It was a perfect time to hear that my multi-talented friend Lux was undergoing 10 days of Vipassana. I am not Vipassana-ready yet. For that matter, I don’t even meditate. But hearing about Lux’s current activity got me motivated to get a few spells of quiet time.
The silence helped me see better. I won't say I see clearly now, but I definitely see more. And though it is unlikely I will ever get as talented as Lux, it’s ok, I will get better than my present self.
Read more...
For the last 3 decades, up until March 2020, I was continuously riding the top of the wave. Now I am at the bottom of the ocean, trying to figure how I got thrown off. But all this is beyond my control. There is no point in looking for a reason and blaming the entire world for the mess.
Let me not waste your time, or for that matter mine. The point I want to make is - I now have at least 12 consecutive months, maybe more, to chase whichever wild dream I wish. Experiment in ways I haven't before. The skies are blue and infinite. It will always be so.
So, from now on any experiment I engage in and any consequential small fires it creates, you will be the first to know. I will need to keep a fire extinguisher handy.
Over the next 12 months, one of the things I would like to do, is to improve this newsletter. If you have any ideas or feedback, I will be happy to hear.
If someone forwarded you this newsletter, please thank them on my behalf! Welcome to Newsletter # 18.
One of the most interesting comments I read in the past week was from Tom Friedman
"It is unlikely that people will work for the same organization for an extended period of time."
Either the position will be obsolete or the organization won't exist. This, to a person who has spent the last 21 years in the same company, doing the same work, sounds mind-boggling.
With the value of every skill depleting faster than ever before, upskilling will be necessary to simply survive. Life-long learning will not just be a slogan. It will be a way of life.
Soon parents will end up studying alongside their children. Parents might even end up studying longer hours! There won't be a need for external accountability partners. All family members can fit into that role.
After the Pandemic, a Revolution in Education and Work Awaits
A typical worker bee in its lifetime produces 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey. For me, each day starts by consuming the lifetime work of about 24 bees. That is crazy. All I can say is "Thank you for your hard work!"
Thank you Hiroyuki, for sharing the picture and adding "The worker bee’s job is not threatened"
If you enjoyed reading this, you will enjoy what I post on Twitter.
Join me @NaiveGlobalist
Stay well and see you next week.
Evian
p.s. Know someone who might find this Newsletter interesting? Please share it with them. It's more fun when we share.