The Bridge #107
in which we care for the inner child (and children generally)
Hello
& Welcome ! The Bridge is a newsletter connecting the professional and the personal creatively across cultures and a diversity of topics, until we are not only full of ideas but also ready to take action. Thanks for joining in the conversation.
It can be helpful to reiterate and repeat beliefs that we have, in order to reinforce our faith in these beliefs and to remember them when times feel complex or when we feel overwhelmed with information or emotions.
These feel to me like times when it’s worth saying again and again, with new-found meaning, we do well to show up for ourselves, for our neighbors, for our families and friends. We are healthier when in communication and in true relationship with each other.
Prioritizing these relationships that keep us in balance is sometimes a form of resistance (resistance against those who would suggest implicitly that work expectations, being up-to-date with the news, checking and re-checking social media, performative busyness, and financial success are more important). Relationships are important. They may be the most important thing we got.
**Pause, Breath Deep, Continue** We’re gonna be OK.
Something to Consider
The Mighty Ducks (Disney)
OK, so once a month I co-host a small-group dinner at a restaurant in Paris for multicultural creative, entrepreneurial professionals who are drawn to our genuine desire to help strangers become friends. It’s called The Embassy (because we’re creating a safe space for quality conversation).
At a recent dinner, we were sharing childhood memories, and I ended up talking about my childhood obsession with hockey. Ice hockey, roller hockey, street hockey, all of it.
As it happened, everyone at the table had had a childhood interest in hockey at some point, and the 1992 film The Mighty Ducks played a major part in that coincidence.
Once upon a time it might have been easiest to rent such a movie at the local blockbuster, but nowadays we rent movies online. Either way I was literally overjoyed that it was possible to show this film (which I had loved in childhood) to my wife and kids one recent Friday night by renting it on youtube.
It turns out feel-good family films like this one are still a treasure even 3 decades later, because it’s not just about hockey. It’s about the difference between a focus on winning and a focus on having fun; it’s about the absence of healthy father figures and what we can do to change that; it’s about listening to kids in all of their silliness and empowering them to lead the way towards something better.
Did you know that in 2021 Disney relaunched the storyline with a TV series (lasting two seasons) and more female characters? Perfect winter-weather watching material.
Something to Learn About
A NYC-based non-profit called Octavia Project is one I learned about because of reading a series of books by N.K. Jemisin. N.K. Jemisin is a Brooklyn resident and award-winning author of the series The Broken Earth. To me, the trilogy lives up to the hype (each volume won the Hugo Award in three consecutive years, the only time a sci-fi author has done this). I personally loved the world-building, the storytelling voice and the depth of characters. So naturally I wanted to learn more about the author.
N.K. Jemisin being the kind of person she is (and if you know how to snoop around online), she’s left shout-outs to friends and fellow authors and she’s mentioned a Brooklyn-based non-profit a few times. In fact, soon after the non-profit being founded, she was an outspoken supporter, even before she’d published The Broken Earth. One reason she supports their work is because of an author who first inspired her, named Octavia E Butler.
The Octavia Project is named after this award-winning sci-fi writer, since passed away, because Octavia Butler taught many to DREAM BIG. Not only did she dream up incredible stories, she also realized the dream of becoming a successful writer at a time when very few others who looked like her had done such a thing (in the science fiction realm). And so, The Octavia Project takes inspiration from people like this who dreamed up new worlds, and who had their imaginations nourished by community (and who in turn cared to nourish the dreaming of others), and The Octavia Project offers a FREE summer camp for teenage girls in Brooklyn where they can feel safe and can learn coding, storytelling, natural sciences and creativity. Though they are a small team and are under-funded (considering the inspiring ambition of their project), they have continued the work for ten years! And I’m proud to be one of their supporters.
Something to Enjoy
“This Too Shall Pass” is a song by OK Go, a band that technically started with two teenagers becoming friends at an arts summer camp, and then later meeting other people they liked hanging out with, and eventually forming a band they all loved enough to market, advertise, tour and so on.
At a certain point in their successful trajectory as a band, they decided to break away from a major label and try their hand at creative independence using new technologies and strategies. They created a low-budget music video that features an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine and a one-shot take (that is technically two shots, though I’ll let you figure out where it cuts), and the virality of the video is how I first learned about them and also how they secured their independence from major labels. What they have done since with their music videos is continue the thing that works, making music and art, creating wonder and giving us something to hang on to with the way they construct their lyrics.
'Cause if your mind don't move /
and your knees don't bend /
Well don't go blamin' the kids again /
When the morning comes /
When the morning comes /
…
Let it go, this too shall pass
Time to let it go?
Something to Practice
Is there a creative way or a creative practice you can commit to letting things go, reconnecting to yourself like the children do? Just do it!
Let’s, simply put, allow ourselves to take life less seriously — and also, maybe double-down on investing in what makes life better for kids. Maybe?
JPC 😎