Food for Thought No. 9
Hi everyone,
It’s been awhile since our last GC Food for Thought newsletter.
GC's 3-2-1 newsletter comes with 3 ideas to explore, 2 things to read/watch/listen to, and 1 question for you.
EXPLORE
I. “Letting Go” in Difficult Situations
On Friday Nov the 13th, I had a terrible day. It started with a miscommunication with a leader I deeply respect, our guest Ryan Holiday needing to postpone his interview at the last minute, I found a tick wedged in my puppy’s neck, I heard about a young person 14! committing suicide, I learned of a competitor doing a huge raise and felt like nothing was going my way. On top of it, Friday 13th has always been a symbol of misfortune! My usual inclination is to fight in these situations, to be a survivor, to grip a little tighter, to strive harder, to be a warrior and worrier in the face of adversity.
At peak tension moment, something beautiful happened, I realized the best thing I can actually do is let go. This was the opposite of what I felt I should do. I needed to loosen my grip, I needed to transcend the situation to recognize that much of the circumstances of this day were completely beyond my control. The only thing that was in my control was how I was going to respond to the day’s events.
In the thick of it, I had this beautiful visualization of a lotus flower.
I found this very enlightening quote as I let go and deflated my balloon of anger, fear and despair.
“The lotus leaf blooms most beautifully from the thickest and darkest mud.” - Buddhist Proverb
This proverb reminded me that it is in our hardest moments where we are given the opportunity to rise to our highest place.
It was amazing to me that I could have caused so much harm to myself and others had I not found acceptance and grace in the trauma of the day. Just like a wave, the ripple of our emotions impact all those around us.
II. Courage
This past week I was honoured to have Ryan Holiday join us. I just loved our conversation.
He left us with the notion of courage being at the epicentre of living true to our values and all of Stoic philosophy. I think this is the theme for his next book….
"Courage is vulnerability, courage is action. The Stoics believe courage is the virtue that all the other virtues depend on. Doing the right thing requires courage. Courage is the secret sauce that makes all the other things we are trying to do in life possible. We are looking at a world where we have a deficiency of courage. If we illustrate courage in our own lives, it may be contagious" - Ryan Holiday
His highlight on courage at the end of our talk inspired me to have a few difficult conversations. It is so easy to put off the tough conversations, the ones that you aren’t sure how they will go.
Ryan inspired me to confront these head on and what I found remarkable was 1) how much better I felt after I shared my truth and 2) how so much fear of response was in my head vs. reality.
I highly recommend you watch the livestream with Ryan here. He has a lot of great wisdom to share and such great energy.
III. Giving is the best GIFT
This past week was the start of Hanukkah, 8 nights of light, laughter, latkes and gifts. The gift I am choosing is the gift of giving.
The best gift is to give. Gift your time, your attention, your voice, your support.
We are living in the most polarizing of times. It is unbelievable how many people are struggling as a result of this pandemic, social isolation, economic impacts, mental health, violence and abuse. This year people need us more than ever.
Each night I am supporting a different charity and would invite you to join or do the same over the holidays. #sharingthelight.
Here are the 3 charities I have donated to this holiday season so far. Think of ones that mean something to you and make it really easy and simple for your community to gift giving too.
The Redwood - a place for women and children fleeing abuse, The Creative.School thanks to our previous guest Jerry Colonna’s suggestion - young kings and queens designing intergenerational community connection, UJA’s Mental Health Donation program supporting those with mental health needs.
WATCH & SEE
I. Death of a Ladies Man
My husband, Corey Marr and writer/director Matt Bisonnette produced an exceptional film “Death of a Ladies Man.” inspired by Leonard Cohen with the brilliant lead actor Gabriel Byrne.
This was a labour of love taking many years to complete. I just watched the film last night as it premieres at The Whistler Film Festival this month.
The movie is tragic, funny, wise and poetic. It asks us to question our own mortality and to think deeply what a life well-lived means to us? How much is illusion and fantasy vs. reality in our desires and pursuits? It brings into focus how our mortality is a forcing function for our truth.
It can be seen in Canada till Dec 31 at Whistler Film Festival here. Gabriel Byrne was given the Maverick Award at the festival, he has an hour long interview about the film and his life here.
II. Meditative Muses
My best friend and acclaimed artist and mindfulness instructor, Nicole Kagan, just launched a magnificent series called Meditative Muses. Six mindful images that encourage you to reflect on themes like interconnectedness, flow, centred, held, wholeness and a beautiful mess. My 2020 word this year was flow so of course the Muse titled Flow (below) is the one I chose to hang on my walls.
This Meditative Muse invites you to pause — to embody flow with grounded momentum.
This symbol invites us to honour the cyclical nature of our life energy. To trust ebb and flow. Just as our blood moves within the body’s contained system, our thoughts, feelings, and actions originate and circulate within.
These make for great holiday gifts.
REFLECT
We have less than 3 weeks till we start afresh - 2021 is around the corner.
What do you need to let go of? What requires courage that you need and want to do? How can you gift your time, attention and generosity to others this holiday season?
Share your thoughts with us on twitter @gamechanger_co.
Thanks for reading and being a part of our community.
Hope to see you tomorrow at 1pm for our session with Jonathan Goodman on Leading and Thriving in 2021.
Wishing everyone a great week.
Best,
Candice
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P.S. You can watch all previous Gamechanger sessions and see highlights on our website.