Carousel #3 - November '19 - on ''doing nothing''
(L-R Kate Taylor from Practical Magic, Marianne Cantwell from Freerange Humans, me and Iona McNeil - organiser of Conscious Dance Festival at Marianne's book launch)
Hello lovely Carousel community,
Hope you're all doing well on this gorgeous Autumnal day. I'm writing this from my co-working space in Peckham looking at the most beautiful sunset and enjoying the practice of Sunday scribblings. Lots of podcast recommendations this month - so grab a coffee and your walking boats and go and kick up some leaves while listening to some joyful conversations. And very exciting - I went to Stylist Live on Friday and met Elizabeth Day, who was the featured podcast from the October newsletter. I told her that I'd included her podcast here and she was really touched. Lovely stuff. Sometimes it's scary to meet your heroes, but she was a delight.
Carousel is now a real thing :)
Carousel has now been featured on its first podcast! A few weeks ago I was invited by my business coach Kate Taylor to speak on her show Practical Magic. One of the big themes that came up in it is the importance of taking time to rest, and that 'not-doing' is also a phase we need to go through with our projects.
I had a big turning point 3 years ago when a friend asked me on a train back from Paris when I'd be free for tea. I looked at my diary and I didn't have a free evening or weekend for THREE MONTHS. She was really shocked and asked a simple question that I will never forget: 'do you like living like this?'. I'd never even questioned it; it hadn't crossed my mind that there was any other way to live.
What followed was a massive clear out: I stopped drinking alcohol, Marie Kondo'd (past tense?) my room and all my belongings, and as I came to terms with the clothes that no longer sparked joy, soon other layers un-ravelled too: I quit my part time job, left my house share in London and moved back to Devon with my parents. I was so desperate for a reset, and because Devon has a much slower pace, an amazing thing started happening: I started having nights in; to read, eat a delicious meal, have a bath. And when I was invited to things in London I could legitimately say 'NO', because I was 3 hours away by train (although, to be fair, some journeys in London aren't far off this...) I felt myself pushing back and reclaiming the space and time I never knew I had control over. I began to choose the chill, rather than see space as something to be filled up with events, coffees and busy-ness. And as Elizabeth Day said on stage at Stylish Live: 'it's a feels like a life long project to practise the art of saying no.'
You can listen to our conversation (and many other fantastic interviews around similar topics) here.
Wise words I've heard
I've been talking a lot about legacy recently in work and with friends, about what it means to have a legacy and what we'd like ours to be. I heard this snippet on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday the other day and loved it:
Oprah opened a school and told Maya: 'my school is going to be my greatest legacy.'
Maya said, 'you have no idea what your legacy is going to be. Because your legacy is every life you touch. It's not about institutions or putting your name on something. It's in every life you touch.'
You can listen to the whole podcast here.
Something I’ve listened to that has inspired me
Every now and then you listen to a conversation that helps you b-r-e-a-t-h-e out. Where someone articulates a situation so clearly and with such compassion that you realise everything you've been doing is ok. Marianne Cantwell's conversation with Carlos from Happy Start Up School is one of those moments.
In one section she talks about how quick success is not the only thing we should be seeking...
''We talk about rising and growing as entrepreneurs, but not about grounding and rooting. If you plant a tree and it doesn't have deep roots and it grows really tall, the first gust of wind will knock it down.''
When we have a business it can be hard to see where you stop and the business begins. After the success of her first book, Marianne took 3 months off where she did nothing. Writing was so part of her every day that she didn't allow herself to write more than a couple of sentences. She believes that if we really want to know who we are we have to stop doing the thing we do for a while.
I was wondering as a Carouseller what the 'thing' would be that I would stop: because if I wanted to see who I was without the ukulele, then I'd probably just start doing something else. For me then, it's 'who am I without my ideas and projects?' And it's true that my darkest times in the past few years have been those moments when I've been in hibernation, not creating, processing and waiting for the next idea. And it's cultivating the belief that we are enough, even if we are not constantly creating and putting stuff out into the world.
An event + activity that got me feeling alive
Mira Khayna is my favourite space holder in London. She leads Movement Medicine workshops in The Arc Centre near Angel. Attending her classes are an exquisite workout for the emotions and the soul. At different points in the session I feel like I'm at yoga, a ceilidh, therapy, having a bath, dancing at a wild rave in a forest, on stage at the circus. The music she plays is stunning, and you might even get a sound bath at the end... Mira is also part of a big event on 23-24th November called The Conscious Dance Festival where there will be teachers from all different disciplines sharing their dance practices. Come along (I'll be on the door).
Vibing playlist
I've created a playlist on Spotify called GROUNDING SOUNDS. Perfect for this time of year. I use it for background music when I'm working, or when I want to feel a bit calmer. A mixture of gentle beats, close harmony folk, spiritual chants and a good bit of latino.
A tip for making a decision
It's probably only in the last 18 months that I've got into using tarot cards to support me making decisions. And then I found my amazing coach, Kate Taylor, who'd created her own deck specifically for self-coaching. I truly believe they are magical. In our first session we did selected 3 cards to represent 'past', 'present' and 'future.' For the future card I got 'lost in music' - with a picture of some massive headphones. That night I went home and found out I was DJing at the Silent Disco at Glastonbury! Kate has kindly offered Carousellers a discount code MAGIC10 for the Practical Magic Activation Deck.
What’s on my carousel right now?
Training for the Paris Marathon (I've got myself a personal trainer - hi Brox!), Growth Mindset workshops at Google, Christmas parties with Power of Uke (get in touch if you still need an activity for your workplace) and then loads of public events including comedy, a night of creativity and a SINGLES NIGHT! Info for all of these below.
Events coming up... (some mine, some from friends that come recommended)
Tuesday 12th November - A cosy evening of creativity + dinner with Sophie Howarth who is co-founder of the School of Life. 3 SPACES LEFT.
Wednesday 13th November - Rye Laughs Comedy night in Peckham. Final one of 2019!
Saturday 16th November - Drums for the Amazon
Saturday 23/ Sunday 24th November - Conscious Dance Festival
Tuesday 26th November - Funkin Souled out (Great name!)
Wednesday 4th December - Christmas Single! (A really non Cr-hinge-worthy night of connecting with awesome people)
Sunday 8th December - Day of Musical Joy - a day of singing. Watch our last one here. This is going to be really popular so email me if you'd like to come and I'll send you more information. We have 15 spaces.
If you have any events coming up that you'd like to share, get in touch.
Big love,
Sarah x