Tiger photographed on safari at Ranthambore, India
We at ReSource were thrilled to be able to visit India, and one of the highlights was our tour of Rajasthan: an amazing place of contrasts (like the whole of India!) where we were privileged to be able to go on a tiger safari. The entire three weeks we spent in India was a source of inspiration and joy - the sub continent has an uncanny ability to draw you out and encourage your personal growth!
Once we knew we were going to India in Autumn 2008, we started to look for the most enriching experiences there - and something that really stood out as a must-do, must-see was to go on a tiger safari.
These big cats seen in their natural environment held great fascination, and we found ourselves heading for Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, a protected area, one of the few places in India where tigers are still regularly seen, even in the daytime, and are breeding.
Formerly a hunting preserve for the Maharaja of Jaipur, Ranthambore covers an area of 392 sq. km. and is nestled between the Aravali and Vindhya mountain ranges. This deciduous forest was once a part of the magnificent jungles of Central India. The rugged terrain, hills and open valleys with lakes and pools makes it a really romantic and picturesque place to be.
It seems we arrived at just the right time, and that we even had good ‘karma’, according to the locals, as we were able to see several tigers in the course of our three day safari. The excitement of being so close to these amazing creatures was almost indescribable, a real privilege - in fact, quite an emotional experience for all concerned, and something I would recommend wholeheartedly if you have the chance to visit.
It’s been a busy few weeks getting this edition of ReSource off to print, and there are some really great interviews and articles which I’ve really enjoyed preparing.
I also relished designing the fresh summer cover -
ReSource Edition 17
‘Generation Y’ has featured strongly, it wasn’t an intentional thing, simply that it was topical amongst the people I was speaking to.
Generalisation about any group is not ideal, and can be dangerous, and we acknowlede that there are always exceptions, yet Don Tapscott, Marshall Goldsmith, Kate Sweetman and Marcus Buckingham are all talking about the differences between this group of 16 - 31 year olds and the ‘boomers’ - the message is that they are flexible, value-driven and aren’t impressed by materialism in the way previous generations have been - they won’t compromise their ideals.
Kate Sweetman talks about the fact that Gen Y ’s values, needs and wants are very similar to those that women have traditionally upheld -
“I predict that companies that can solve the C-level gender gap will also win the Talent war for the best and the brightest in Gen Y. What women have always wanted and what Gen Y demands are virtually the same things.”
Don Tapscott advocates listening to young people and acting on their input. He says of the Net Generation:
“they are the first ever global generation, and they are defined by these eight norms. If you are designing a company, a brand, a marketing programme, or a government, it doesn’t matter what it is, these eight norms need to be at the centre of it.”
Marcus Buckingham (in London next week - check out his June 10 event here - ReSource will be there as a media partner) noted:
“All the research that I have seen shows that Gen Y is a ‘volunteerist’ generation, and an optimistic generation, but they are clueless about what it takes to perform”
Marshall Goldmsith has some great advice:
“For young people, my advice is that the world you are growing up in is a much more competitive world than the world I grew up in. Make sure you love what you do, or you are going to be living in what I call ‘New Age Professional Hell’“.
These are just a selection from the host of valuable, great articles covering a range of topics from business leadership and personal success to spirituality and well-being - check out www.resourcemagazine.co.uk and subscribe so you don’t miss out on a truly great ReSource!
The recent post about ‘the robin who thinks he’s a humming bird’ talks about the rate of evolution speeding up, and the need to be highly adaptable in a fast paced world.
In conversation last week with a friend about personal growth and development, he mentioned that he prefers the word ‘evolution’ to that of ‘change’. His rationale is that ‘change’ creates fear in people. As creatures of habit, most people prefer things to stay the same and worry that change must mean something uncomfortable. It prompted me to think about the terms we use and to ask if change and evolution is the same thing, and when and where the words are best applied.
There are some things that definitely require to be changed not evolved. For example, I definitely change my light bulbs, they do not evolve. (The type of bulbs I use may have evolved over the years, from tungsten to energy saving, but the act of replacing them when spent is a definite change). Neither do I evolve my bed linen, my vacuum cleaner bags nor the filters in my water jug. These, though are all inanimate objects. And people are, of course, different….
The way I perform these tasks may well have changed over time - or even evolved - so perhaps the differentiation comes from here. Behaviours, skills, strategies, beliefs, opinions, systems can evolve. The human body can evolve - with better nutrition in the developed world, we’re now much taller, and with the advent of the contraceptive pill, women’s body shapes have changed - or evolved. To say nothing of the way the human brain has evolved over thousand of years into its current tripartite embodiment. Human thinking can also evolve, we can learn to use our inner resources more effectively, we gain by education, and our way of life has changed dramatically since the beginning of life on earth - discoveries, experiments and inventions have brought radical changes and alterations to how we conduct the daily business of living as human beings on our planet.
Now, if we are encouraging people to change - can we more easily ask them to evolve, or does evolution take place naturally, almost unconsciously, in response to outside conditions but with no deliberate intervention?
Is transformation perhaps the more encouraging word to use? Transformation has a certain magic about it, a positive sense of something happening which offers a better, happier outcome. Or is that simply my interpretation? Does transformation contain an inbuilt element of wisdom and improvement, which change does not? There can be subtle changes, but somehow a subtle transformation does not sit well, meaning-wise, for me. Change can be for better or worse, but in my neurology, transformation is equated with betterment.
For example, I would say ‘the witch changed the prince into a frog’ - and ‘the fairy godmother transformed the pumpkin into a splendid carriage’. Then, I suppose, if the prince wanted to become a frog for some reason, he’d consider it an improvement….And now the ‘Shrek’ movie comes to mind when the princess chooses life as an ogre because of her love for Shrek.
Now I’m onto Pygmalion, whose dedicated thought and intention transformed a marble statue into a living woman for him to love…..maybe he changed his thoughts, evolved his way of being… and thus transformed and even transmuted a substance which then transformed his life….a process to realise and manifest what he wanted most?
I could get really deep into the linguistics here - so many nuances and shades of meaning, but I will stop for now.
Change, evolve, transform - all have their place, and it’s fascinating to continue exploring their meaning in our lives.
With Scottish poet Carol Ann Duffy appointed the first female Poet Laureate, it’s a step forward for beautiful, accessible, understandable poetry that appeals to a wide audience. That doesn’t mean Duffy’s poems are not exquisite, well constructed, masterly - simply that they are identifiable as expressions of universal experiences.
Duffy wrote poems from a very early age, and attributes some of her success to the support she had from her mother who was herself a compelling storyteller, and teachers who encouraged her work to the point of typing up her early poems and posting them on the classroom wall.
One test of whether a poem ‘worked’ was if her mother could understand it - if she had to ask for explanations, Duffy knew more clarity was required; she also puts the obscurity of so much poetry down to the fact that in many cases it was important that the poet’s wife couldn’t understand what was being said!
Duffy has won many prizes for her poetry, and her most recent collection, ‘Rapture’, which charts a love affair in the life she describes as ‘complicated’ , carried off the T.S. Eliot Prize in 2005 .
I believe that her prize to our world will be to make poetry more accessible in schools, (her work is already on the GCSE syllabus) and in general. In many ways, like art and music, poetic writing is the closest we can get to expressing the essence of the soul, and it’s a therapeutic way of bringing our deepest thoughts and feelings forward into consciousness.
The power of poetic expression is undeniable, and universal, witnessed by the longevity and pervasive influence of such writing, ranging through many styles from for example Rumi, Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Eliot to Betjeman, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Adrian Henri… (I could go on…and on) and the disciplined minimalism of Haiku.
Here’s a snippet from Carol Ann Duffy’s Rapture, a poem called ‘You’.
“Falling in love
is glamorous hell; the crouched, parched heart
like a tiger ready to kill; a flame’s fierce licks under the skin.
Into my life, larger than life, beautiful, you strolled in.”
Rapture, Carol Ann Duffy, 2005, Picador
You can buy the book here
What’s more, it’s de rigueur in one corporation, NGenera, headed by Wikinomics author, Don Tapscott……..
Christine Miller interviews Don Tapscott
In my early morning London interview with Don, his most recent publication, Grown Up Digital, was up for discussion and we talked about the need for a different method of talent management, what’s happening in business education and how to engage the variously named ‘generation Y’ - the net generation, the Millenials, or the young people aged between 16 and 31, now entering the workforce and with very different ideas and values.
Here’s an under 3 minute audio clip (excuse my first slightly clunky efforts at editing!) which gives a tiny taste of our conversation…..full, fascinating interview is in the upcoming edition of ReSource Magazine.
I have two children born into this generation, and from my experience of them and their friends, they are different in terms of looking for and insisting on certain values being present in the organisations with whom they choose to work or align.
Gib Bulloch, head of Accenture’s Development Partnerships, which provides consultancy services to the Development sector on a non-profit basis, recently told me that there were more volunteers than placements for consultants willing to take large salary cuts in order to make a contribution, and says “Today’s consultants are increasingly interested in making a difference, and it’s a win for everyone when our clients benefit from getting our expertise and services at a fraction of the market rates”.
More clips to come….
A new friend, Steve Earle, sent me a couple of his poems the other day, he’s a really interesting guy who I’m learning about and I appreciate his writing.
One of the poems, called ‘The Sea’ reminded me of a W.B. Yeats favourite ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’. Steve’s poem is about a soulful returning to what he knows, to peace and a kind of innocence, a theme shared with ‘Innisfree’.
It’s one of Yeats’ earlier poems and as such, the critics don’t rate it as a work of real literary merit, yet it is beloved of the public and it is widely known and read, memorable, and taught in school. Yeats himself acknowledged that his style changed significantly as he matured and developed as a poet, as you will see in the quote from his autobiography below.
I’ve cherished this poem since childhood and it often springs to mind - even sometimes the parodied versions we chanted - things like:
“I must arise and go now, and go to Innisfree
I left my shoes and socks there, underneath a tree…”
I can feel Yeats’ turning in his grave right now…!!
What is represents is a retreat into peace and calm, from the hustle and bustle of city life - a return to simplicity and the opportunity for reflection. Finding an inner sanctum in which we can take refuge and rebuild our strength is something of great importance in these times of global chaos and concern, and I invite you to enjoy the poem and the pictures here, and find your own Inner Innisfree.
Then visit my events page here and decide to come along and find out how to Flourish in Challenging Times, so you’ll always have your place of peace to keep you calm and confident of your ability to thrive - no matter what.
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
buzzing bee
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
Glimmering midnight water
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
The lake aglow
Nobel Prize winning Irish dramatist, author and poet
First published in ‘The National Observer’ 13th December 1890
Innisfree is in County Sligo in Ireland, and was a place where Yeats spent holidays with his family in his youth.
Yeats commented on “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” in a passage in his autobiography about his London days:
“I had still the ambition, formed in Sligo in my teens, of living in imitation of Thoreau on Innisfree, a little island in Lough Gill, and when walking through Fleet Street very homesick I heard a little tinkle of water and saw a fountain in a shop-window which balanced a little ball upon its jet, and began to remember lake water.
From the sudden remembrance came my poem “Innisfree,” my first lyric with anything in its rhythm of my own music. I had begun to loosen rhythm as an escape from rhetoric and from that emotion of the crowd that rhetoric brings, but I only understood vaguely and occasionally that I must for my special purpose use nothing but the common syntax. A couple of years later I could not have written that first line with its conventional archaism — “Arise and go” — nor the inversion of the last stanza.”
