Awe and Beauty, Cirque de Soleil, and 95,000 Dollars
Good Morning from Prince Edward Island,
Hope this finds you well, while you put the kettle on. Time for tea!
The leaves are floating down now, one at a time, and the barrenness reveals new colours and shapes.
Have you noticed?
I am in awe of the beauty all around.
Going for a long walk in the woods and the beach this weekend.
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
It was refreshing to read this week that Charlottetown city government launched a survey in August to gauge how residents and business owners feel about single-use plastic items.
More than 1,200 responses with about 78 percent of the respondents indicating they were very concerned about the current amount of plastic being used.
The survey also shows that 89 percent of respondents would be more likely to shop or eat at an establishment using alternatives to single-use plastics.
And more than 67 percent of respondents favour encouraging people to carry reusable bags or containers with them.
For the most part, we found that the travelling public was understanding the need for a small fee for paper bags. They were pleased to see the province being pro-active. The bag bylaw requires us to charge fifteen cents per bag. Our cost is between thirty-eight and sixty cents. We are happy to be part of the solution.
AWE: a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.
I pulled on the “awe” thread and found this interesting perspective.
During his TED Talk, Neuroscientist Beau Lotto shares his findings after conducting an ambitious study with Cirque du Soleil on the emotion of awe and its psychological and behavioural benefits. In this talk and live performance, he shares some of their findings -- and stands back as Cirque du Soleil dancers create their own awe-inducing spectacle.
So, awe is possibly the perception that is bigger than us. And in the words of Joseph Campbell, "Awe is what enables us to move forward." Or in the words of a dear friend, probably one of our greatest photographers, still living photographers, Duane Michaels, he said to me just the other day that maybe it gives us the curiosity to overcome our cowardice.
So who cares? Why should we care? Well, consider conflict, which seems to be so omnipresent in our society at the moment. If you and I are in conflict, it's as if we're at the opposite ends of the same line. And my aim is to prove that you're wrong and to shift you towards me. The problem is, you are doing exactly the same. You're trying to prove that I'm wrong and shift me towards you. Notice that conflict is the setup to win but not learn. Your brain only learns if we move. Life is movement.
So, what if we could use awe, not to get rid of conflict -- conflict is essential, conflict is how your brain expands, it's how your brain learns -- but rather, to enter conflict in a different way? And what if awe could enable us to enter it in at least two different ways? One, to give us the humility and courage to not know. Right? To enter conflict with a question instead of an answer. What would happen then? To enter the conflict with uncertainty instead of certainty. And the second is, in entering conflict that way, to seek to understand, rather than convince. Because everyone makes sense to themselves, right? And to understand another person is to understand the biases and assumptions that give rise to their behaviour.
Tis’ the time of year where we are busy getting ready for the holiday gift-giving season. Our kitchens are sharing generous amounts of seasonal smells. Cinnamon and spice, and all things nice. AWEsome. Our fruitcakes and shortbreads and oatcakes will all soon be online.
A lot of folks know us for our preserves but for over 25 years we have been doing our shortbread, oatcakes and fruitcakes. Our fans wished we offer them year-round. We have chosen to do them only in October and November, the cold air, the butter is fresh and the quality is noticeably better when we bake these items in the fall versus spring. The vast majority of people who visit in the summer have no idea that we offer such.
"Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature." ~ Steve Maraboli
Today’s music is a total surprise. Sample listen here. Throw off the bowlines and let everything loose and be in awe of what beauty-full music can offer. Turn it up and have fun.
Art is not only a release for the artist. Be released.
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend. The leaves are dancing, why don't we?
With love from Prince Edward Island.
Sincerely,
Bruce
ps.
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