The Bridge #116
in which we laugh at the hysterical and more sobering realities of LIFE
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.
At a celebration of B Lab France’s 10th anniversary and during a plenary discussion outlining significant changes to be made globally to the B Corp standards in light of the “state of the world” today… I learned that in a recent survey of American youth (related to climate anxiety) almost two-thirds agreed with the statement that “humanity is doomed.”
Meanwhile I also learned that the World Economic Forum is publicly recognizing the need for a “new economy” that is more inclusive and more considerate of environmental realities. In other words, there are world leaders who see the problems and who want us to adapt economically to find better solutions. There are also a lot of young people who are anxious it might be too late.
The question is, how can we get more rigorous here? How can we not only invent new language to talk about the transformations needed to form a new economy with precision but also how can we actually shift ourselves (internally and collectively) towards the necessary transformation? Let’s work together to get more concrete.
Something to Read
Worthwhile Canadian Observations by Paul Krugman
Because I can be of a bit of a nerd, I have read several studies in which indexes are created to measure “happiness” or “well-being” or that take into account “genuine progress” etc. These index measures are created as alternatives to GDP (a “monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country,” in case you wanted to know). GDP though remains the primary tool for economists to talk about “how well a country is doing” — even if it could be it’s measuring the wrong things.
Regardless, there are countries like Canada where the leaders know to care about more than GDP. Their GDP might be comparable to Alabama, but their happiness/life satisfaction is measurably higher than in America. Probably due to reduced wealth inequality, longer life expectancy, universal health care, etc.
I love how Paul Krugman ends the piece: “So Canada isn’t boring now, and it never was. As I said, try looking north; you might learn something.” 😂
Something to Consider
To stay committed to the types of projects I like to take on (related to community building, e.g.) and to keep cultivating hope, it cannot be an individualist endeavor.
Fortunately I have a rich number of friends and collaborators who keep me grounded, who make it fun, and who help me remember why I’m doing this at all.
It wasn’t always that way… Wind the clock back 15 or 20 years, and I felt super-isolated. It felt like the emotions I was feeling and the point of view I was developing on the world, no one I knew living around me could quite understand the full picture. I was always surprised when people showed me they did understand. I had such trouble connecting (at a deep, authentic level). I felt very misunderstood.
People meet me today for the first time, and (sometimes) they imagine me as some kind of social butterfly, maybe also because I’m a European born in America, or because I used to work as a tech recruiter, or because I love introducing people to one another.
BUT actually the reason I love introducing people to one another is because I know how easily we can become disconnected. Even when we’re not totally isolated, we might feel unsure what to say or unsure how we come across, and maybe we feel afraid to “go public” with certain beliefs because of what our family has taught us (implicitly) about how the world works. It’s like that sometimes. AND I believe genuine connections between acquaintances or strangers (especially after university) are far too rare a thing for our collective health. So I try to spread the love and get people talking differently to one another, to increase the likelihood of people feeling they belong, that their weirdness is welcome, and they can be understood.
Thanks to all those who make me feel safe, while I’m making mistakes, experimenting, trying again, figuring out what I’m trying to say and so on and so forth 😉 It’s you who fan the faith in my journey, moving me from near-crippling self-doubt to always “willing to try.” 😀
🐣✨🐇🐣✨🐇🐣✨🐇🐣✨🐇🐣✨🐇🐣✨🐇🐣✨🐇🐣✨🐇🐣✨🐇
Something to Hear
“Tadka” by Bloodywood
Thanks to my sister for turning me on to Bloodywood.
The song title is referencing an Indian cooking technique in which you heat with oil the spices you’ll be using as part of the recipe. It’s not something I see done in any other cuisine, but it’s also one of the reasons I love Indian food more than any other cuisine. So, is that the reason I love this song?
Probably something about the band members fighting over the food their “mom” prepared in the kitchen, at the end of the video, reflecting their sense of humor and their sincerity, juxtaposed with the folk rock metal sounds we hear (itself a funny combination)… it’s also that too, I suppose.
If you end up nerding out, like me, and want to know more who are these guys… they have created a short documentary… but also, you can just enjoy the main takeaway:
These [Indian spice] flavours hold
Timeless secrets
A story etched in every grain.
Discover it yourself,
When you add
Tadka!
Something to Practice
Next time you’re cooking (even if what you call cooking is heating something frozen or dumping cans in a pan — joking! I do that too. it’s legit 😎), consider your posture.
Are you intent and focused, muscles tight, impatient for the day to be done, worried if you spill something or make a recipe mistake?
What if you relaxed your stance, breathed in some calm, breathed out the anxiety, and widened your posture? Would it make a difference in the experience of how the meal is prepared? Would it make a difference in how the meal tastes?
Because learning to eat well is also part
of reinventing a newer, healthier economy,
JPC