Two Inconvenient Women

All of us are former children: a fact so often forgotten and yet so powerful when we remember just what is waiting inside all of us to be re-ignited. Within the wide threads of a conversation on childhood is the desire to tap beneath the cultural stories of modern childhood to re-ignite the essence of wonder that sits within us all and that is being threatened by so many of our modern problems.

Growing up in our modern world is so frequently encased with pressure. Beyond the increasing pressures from school, family and the modern world, young people are navigating the hugely fracturing world of social media and - ever increasingly - feeling the weight and burden of the climate and nature crisis. All too often, children are being asked - sometimes tasked - to take on mental responsibilities and concerns well beyond their emotional capacities to hold; and the symptoms of burnout, anxiety, overwhelm and depression are skyrocketing.

Knowing that the cultures we're living in shape the way we think, feel and act in the world helps to see and explore why so many different cultural experiences of childhood exist - and by digging beneath the cultural stories, we can start to tap into the essence in all of us that is filled with wonder waiting to re-emerge.

So how might shifting the cultures we're living in help keep childhood alive and re-awaken the inner child in us all?

In this week's conversation we reference the following:

Innocent Child Well-Being Index - UNICEF (PDF)
Dutch kids declared the world’s happiest (again) - Positive News (Article)
Seven-year cycles of growth: Rudolf Steiner (website)
The Anxious Generation - Jonathan Haidt (book/website)

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Why is criticism often so hard to take? What is it inside us that shrinks when someone points out something we've missed, we lack or we've done 'wrong'? Who sets the parameters for 'right and wrong' and what does it actually mean to 'critique' someone?

In this week's episode we explore the qualities of criticism and why - all too often - it can elicit feelings of shame and worthlessness in the recipient. We explore some of the nuances of shame; explore the different qualities of 'lack' that are sometimes apparent in the giver and receiver of criticism and discuss at length the value and strength of criticism that allows both parties to grow together - something that is perhaps hard to do but so generative when it happens.

In the conversation we reference the following:

Listening to Shame - Brené Brown (TED talk video)
'How Not to Be Defensive in Relationships' - The School of Life (video)
The support/challenge matrix (PDF)
Peonies opening (video)
Being Nice vs Being Kind - Trevor Noah (video)

There's an inconvenient movement growing...
It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.

Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognise, accept, and celebrate those differences.” – Audre Lorde

Across the world we're seeing polarisation, division and othering increase - exacerbated by political decisions which fuel division and a dismissal of difference. And at the same time, we're seeing a rise in diversity in communities, in the workplace, in communities, in mindsets, and a growing appreciation that the health and resilience of any community lies in its diversity.

In this week's podcast, we celebrate the wonder of diversity and difference, from cultural to psychological to ecological and everything in between. We discuss the issues surrounding the word 'tolerance' and the hierarchical othering that it connotates; explore some of the qualities of fear that keep us divided and reflect on the power, resourcing and resilient qualities that any system which is diverse brings.

In the conversation we reference the following:

The Danger of a single story - Chimamanda Adiche (TED Talk video)
The Tyranny of the should - Karen Horny (article)
Betwixt The Sheets - A History of Homophobia - Kate Lister with guest Dr Harry Tanner (podcast)
The Science and value of diversity - Talia H. Swartz, Ann-Gel S. Palermo, Sandra K. Masur and Judith A. Aberg (article)
The Wheel of power & privilege (PDF / website)
The Story of Triple WellBeing - Rachel Musson (PDF ebook)
Transforming Leadership Course - online workshop (website page)

There's an inconvenient movement growing...
It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.

Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachel and Holly are having a reading week, so in this special short episode Holly shares about the books she's currently reading, including:

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Generation Hope by Arunjay Katakam

There's an inconvenient movement growing...
It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.

Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month and support us to keep making Two Inconvenient Women and the rest of our work at ThoughtBox. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachel and Holly are getting ready for some time off next week, so in this special short episode Rachel shares about the book she's currently reading, 'The Listening Book' by W.A Matheieu.

There's an inconvenient movement growing...
It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.

Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month and support us to keep making Two Inconvenient Women and the rest of our work at ThoughtBox. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.