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"Conversation. What is it? A Mystery! It's the art of never seeming bored, of touching everything with interest, of pleasing with trifles, of being fascinating with nothing at all. How do we define this lively darting about with words, of hitting them back and forth, this sort of brief smile of ideas which should be conversation?" Guy de Maupassant

Saturday, May 10, 2003

Radio Rant : follow-up

A picture named 1walker.jpgI feel like a toddler taking those first wobbly steps ... run into some sharp edges and throw a tantrum.  Guess i want to be an Olympic runner, just didn't realise i need to learn to walk first.  So, through trial and error, i must discover ways to move my blog in a forward motion, without falling down.  Falls can be serious, but because my toddler bones are soft, they don't fracture as easily as those of an older child.

Many thanks to Lawrence at Radio (i fixed the templates Lawrence, but they still donot seem to look the way i want them to - will be pinging you again), Terry, Sameer and Stuart, for their most generous offers to help with my templates.

Hopefully soon i'll be running ...

 



1:07:49 PM    comment []  trackback []

LinkedIn - whats the buzz all about ?

There's such a buzz about LinkedIn - everyone seems to be talking about it (some public mud-wrestling too) - Joi ItoMarc Canter, Stuart Henshall, the Many-to-Many bloggers.

I got an invite and took the opportunity to sign-up to see firsthand what the buzz is all about.  Being naturally curious about online networks and communities, i can't help thinking that i like the basic concept of referrals, i don't mind paying for them - yet LinkedIn seems to be of little value to me today in its current form.

My two-bit grouses : 

1. Most of my searches result in a pretty senseless match - perhaps early days but i'd prefer to see 'noone' than the force-fits i seem to get

2. The profiles leave me cold ... i'd like to be able to link back somewhere to my blog, company url 

3. I'd like to be able to see the networks/connections of people in my network

4. It seems like a closed network - exclusive rather than welcoming or inclusive - a space more for people with already large networks and connections, already 'linked in' (which makes me wonder why they need yet another space). Maybe thats the way its designed.

5. Am a bit uneasy about opening myself up and leaving the system of referrals completely in the hands of the administrators - (maybe i'm missing something here) 

These issues make me uncomfortable ... i am hesitant to ask for a referral/request a contact or to invite others in.  Makes me wonder if there's some value in soft human profiles as well.

As someone living and working in India i'm not sure yet about what it offers me .... 

Then this is still in beta !



11:47:29 AM    comment []  trackback []

Creativity - what we play is life

How many times i've heard this said at meetings - "lets follow the tried and tested path ... the stakes for experimentation are too high"

How many times i've heard a parent tell her child - "do this because its been done this way since generations ... and none of us is the worse for it"

How many times i've heard a teenager pat his pal's back and say "c'mon now stop daydreaming .... you'll never get good grades that way"

How many times i've heard unhappy employees say "how do i remain creative in this competitive and hostile environment" ... or "how can i handle all this pressure of an impossible workload"

How many times do we bury our dreams by saying "dreams don't matter ... they're only dreams ... you should be more sensible"

How many times have we come across a person who still has that ability to sense, rather than see the world - and once or twice in all our lifetimes we actually do, if we let ourselves recognise them -how often have we marginalised people like that - or treated them for some obscure mental illness - or find ourselves telling them they have no grounding in reality ?

We aren't creative :

  • because we are so caught up in the routine of daily life
  • because creativity is seen as the antithesis to tradition and practicality
  • because creativity requires you to temporarily abandon logic
  • because the creative process requires time that we perceive we donot have
  • because we aren't taught to be
  • because we fear we cannot be

Or simply because we fear. 

When was the last time you were creative ? Yesterday, a week ago, last month, a year ago? 

I recently read the 'The Artist's Way' by Julia Cameron.  It's a book involving a 12 week program ... i quote here from the back cover ... "For writers, Poets, Actors, Painters, Musicians - and Creative People in all walks of life. ... with the basic principle that creative expression is the natural direction of life, Julia Cameron leads you through a comprehensive 12 week programme to recover your creativity from a variety of blocks, including limiting beliefs, fear, self-sabotage, jealousy, guilt, addictions andother inhibiting forces replacing them with artistic confidence and productivity"

Its approach is through linking creativity to spirituality (she refers to the higher power).  Now i'm not a great believer in 'God' in the conventional sense really, so i was initially a bit put off by her references to God, yet as i read it deeper i realised that one could interpret that 'god' in any way one wants.

I've been doing the program and it is tough - it takes committment and time, and can be a real pain.  I found it was better when i did it along with a friend ... we keep each other on track, though we're still stuck at six weeks !

What i've found particularly useful are two basic tools - morning pages and artist's dates. Morning pages can be sometimes irritating, at other times painful - you are expected to write about anything you wish everyday.  Writing is merely a tool - its not meant to be an art - so no editing - just a spontaneous flow of thoughts and feelings.  The artist's dates are much more fun - a block of time, say an hour a week - where you take the creative child in you for a date - just you and your inner artist - no lovers, no spouses, no kids, no friends, no taggers-on at all.  It could be anything -spending a morning at your favourite bookstore or junkstore, getting yourself pampered at the parlour, going for a movie, a walk through an unknown suburb ... 

The book has helped me get over some of my fears and blocks, and a few of those masks society forces you to wear.  It has also reminded me to "smell the roses" ...

Cameron has also co-authored a book called The Artist's Way at Work ... with Mark Bryan and Catherine Allen, my take on that one is that its more useful for 'employees'.  Some useful learnings there for workshops and facilitation sessions among executives. 

I love this little comment by Louis Armstrong that so neatly sums it up 

 .... "what we play is life" .....



1:44:42 AM    comment []  trackback []