weston culture » values

My Ten for (20)10: Priorities for a life well lived.

trish — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 02:55:29 +0000

I mentioned last month that I’d started on my Ten For 10 – the ten things I wanted to be a priority this year. The list is still fairly much as it was when I first jotted it down

1. Being a loving partner – still so much to learn…

2. Write – about everything. Share what inspires me, what I’m passionate about, what it means to be a human now.

3. Develop work that I enjoy, work that represents my values and strengths. Allowing my projects to be all that they can be.

4. Healthy, strong, flexible body – its going to make the rest of my life possible

5. Friends – laughter, lightness, connection

6. Family – more laughter, support, presence

7. Bibliocoach project – changing the world one book at a time (a backburner project that needs moving to a front burner)

8. Create – see, feel, hear the colour, the beauty and life through painting, photography, music.

9. Tao – be in tune with the way. Understand it. Talk about it. Write about it.

10. Make our house a home – surround myself with beauty, inspiration, create a sanctuary.

11. Be mindful – whether through meditation or other practice, finding that peace and stillness that keeps all in flow.

Yeah, it’s 11 but that’s the other part of 2010, not being limited by arbitrary criteria. The point of the activity isn’t to get 10 priorities but to stretch myself to think of at least 10, or narrow my list of 100 ToDos down to a Top 10. 11 is good enough.

So I invite you to take some time to reflect on your own hopes, dreams and possibilities – for your life, for your work, for the world. What are your Ten for 2010?

And if you’d like, come share them at Confab on Wednesday 20 January. Details below…

WORK/LIFE DESIGN CONFAB

WEDNESDAY, 20 JANUARY 2010

6.30PM – 7.30PM (QLD TIME) / 7.30PM – 8.30PM (NSW/VIC TIME)

THIS MONTH’S THEME: A new year. Resolution or (r)evolution? Hopes, dreams, 2010 … and how to make it all happen.

WHERE: Skype/phone

RSVP: trish@worklifedesign.com.au

Confab is where we get together to share ideas, wins, challenges and support each other.

Confabs are an ideal space to bring your big questions (and little queries), to bounce ideas off others who may have been in the same situation or making similar decisions to you. You’ll get time to talk about what’s going on in your work and life (if you wish) as well as contribute to the monthly theme and resource pool.

Confabs are conducted by teleconference – so you are able to join in where ever you are in the world.

This article first appeared in the January 2010 edition of Design Notes, the newsletter of the Work/Life Design Program. You can find out more about Design Notes and the WLD Program at www.worklifedesign.com.au

What is your gift?

trish — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:05:34 +0000

Here are more musings from the December 2009 edition of Design Notes…

For this month’s Design Notes, I wondered if it was possible to have conversations at this time of year that went a bit deeper than “surviving the silly season” or “coping with Christmas”.

What can this season, this time of year, teach us about our lives? What values does it celebrate – or throw into conflict? What cultural expectations do we unconsciously subscribe to that bring us unstuck because they go against our personal values? Mass consumption anyone? Presumption of religious affiliation? Presumption of family or loved ones to share the season with?

A north American study found that 45% of people surveyed dread the festive season. It’s a time when many people reflect on their lives – and don’t like what they see. For some, it’s a reminder of loved ones lost. For others, it’s a reminder that there is no one to love or be loved by.

So what gifts could we give that will truly help share the love, peace, joy and goodwill that we espouse?

Does a gift have to be a material object? Can it be your time, your attention, your ears, your heart?

This article first appeared in Design Notes, the newsletter of the Work/Life Design Program. You can find out more about Design Notes and the WLD Program at www.worklifedesign.com.au

Finding meaning and joy beyond the hype of the festive season

trish — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:32:48 +0000

At this time of year, when our cultural expectations are high (Christmas with family, obligatory gift giving, celebration of religious holy days) and constantly in our face (can you go anywhere or do anything without being greeted by tinsel, baubles and a large man in a red suit?), it can be easy to get caught in the wash of it all.

Most of us do want to belong.

The values the season purports to represent – joy, peace, love, goodwill – are things I definitely want in my life. But I am still unsettled by the way it’s all played out. For many years I resisted Christmas. It represented everything that I didn’t want – mass consumption of gifts and food, spending time with people I had little in common with and didn’t accept me for who I was, and having to play along with the illusion of happy families to keep the peace.

Early in this decade, as I began to re-examine my life and what was important, I looked for, and found, the good in the season. Those values I wanted everyday in my life were buried under some leftover gift wrap and a half-eaten piece of pudding (complete with brandy custard).

I looked to see what others got out of Christmas. Why do people go to extraordinary effort to make this day happen? There was the ritual of it – suddenly everyone knew what was expected. Crackers on the left and Santa serviettes on the right. There was the coming together of people who usually didn’t come together, there was the opportunity to show your love and give gifts to those you cared for, there was the affirmation of deeply ingrained religious beliefs that it was all alright. The saviour had come.

Intellectually, I got it. I understood why people would run about like headless chooks to get the perfect gift or perfect glaze. I understood the symbolism and hope of a saviour – that brought joy, peace, love and goodwill too.

Christmas became a cultural experience for me where I ventured into a different land. A land I was quite familiar with, as I knew the customs and rituals, but I saw it with new eyes.

With these new eyes I marvel at the sheer amount of food prepared and consumed. It fills me with joy that I can live in a time and place of such abundance (as I’m acutely aware that my everyday life does not include such feasts). But this overflowing isn’t due to affluence, it’s the result of everyone bringing one thing to the table – literally.

So, as we move into the second half of December, I’m wondering what we can glean from this time of year? What’s so very important to us that our culture virtually stops (commercially anyway) to celebrate it?

This article first appeared in the December 2009 edition of Design Notes, the newsletter of the Work/Life Design Program. You can find out more about Design Notes and the WLD Program at www.worklifedesign.com.au