Rest Element 28: The power of closure and closing loops.
A recap of editions 191-195: The role of story-telling in a time of AI + Parachute Babies
Rest element 28: Closure and closing loops
Books. Books filled with words, and sentences. I chose a visit (with Joann) to the Long Room of the Old library at Trinity college Dublin as the perfect bookend to my trip to Ireland celebrating seven special writers in my life who twist sentences and dance with words. To close the loop.
One of the simplest ways we can embrace rest is to close loops.
Open loops take up mental space. I have spent some time exploring the loops I open in the mind of my reader - sometimes they are important as literary devices, or to encourage exploration and creative thinking in my Future of Work writing. But most times, open loops are unfinished projects and relationships. They can drain our energy. So take some time this week to write out 3 open loops in your life. Explore what it would take to close one of them.
The seed for this idea was planted by Kathy Karn. She reminded me of the power of closure and closing loops by Kathy Karn at our recent IRL Crow meeting in IRL … In Real Life in IReLand. Her work is based on practices in the First Nations.
Rest series: Every 7th edition of this newsletter is dedicated to Rest and Recovery. These are crucial 21st century success skills. Done right, proactively programming in rest breaks prevents burnout. We explore different techniques and discuss rest in each of these issues. Here are previous rest topics. [This list will be updated at our next cycle after we cross the 200th edition!]
Recap: Digest of issues 191 - 195
If there was one overriding theme to this series it was understanding the place of Story as we explore how the range and place of generative AI writing tools.
I took a stab at writing fiction. That was interesting!
And I watched my fellow-writers, especially Slipstream Thinking, work and re-work a paragraph in the style of various literary inspirations. That inspired me to re-write the latest essay on Kissing the Blarney Stone in the style of an Irish author, Niall Williams.
But all along, there is this undercurrent conversation of where, if and how AI tools could and should be used as we create narratives. How do we get technology to “do the laundry so we can write poetry”?
What will we do with all the time we will save by using AI?
21st-CENTURY SKILLS: Proactive Rest. Story-crafting.
RAISING FUTURE-READY LEADERS: How do we rethink the heirloom skill of Storytelling for this new era?
WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID ABOUT …
I enjoy reading the comments that have trickled in over the weeks as I create my summary at the end of each cycle. It is one of my favourite things to do. Tribe Tilt never fails to engage - often extending the quality of the conversation I may have started. Many readers tell me they look forward to this periodic digest just so they can observe the different lens through which a fellow reader may have interpreted the same topic. They are inspired, through the comments, to go back to reread previous editions:
FUTURE OF WORK: How does the introduction of AI change the landscape of work? Where does that create opportunities for us? What blindspots should we watch for?
Two great examples of customer service (window washers & new spectacles) changed the lens through which I view the rapid impact of AI. Personal touch points will continue to make a difference
Cindy Villanueva (Because Words Matter): You epitomize the notion that life and goodness are not finite—there is plenty to go around
![Will AI replace my job? [Let's reframe this question]](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1653669486801-c9d7c0ce838f?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwxNHx8d2lsbCUyMGFpJTIwcmVwbGFjZSUyMG15JTIwam9ifGVufDB8fHx8MTc0NzQ0Mjg3Mnww&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1080)
After an invigorating presentation at the Etobicoke School of the Arts, I wrote an article on the top FAQ on FoW.
I think Ilona summarized the AI conundrum so well: I don’t see AI as a Clay oven to microwave transition so much as the leap to a boxed cake-mix in a mug in the microwave. It loses the preparation, collaboration (licking the bowl), anticipation (waiting and sniffing) and feeling of accomplishment from more traditional methods. It gets you there quicker and saves a lot of time, but is not quite as much fun!
And from a younger member of the community Ved Shankar (The Strategy Guild): Unlearning and relearning is a big one I'm trying to learn - one barrier can be identity.
21st-CENTURY SKILLS AND HEIRLOOM SKILLS
My first foray into fiction:
Thank you for allowing me to explore this flight of fantasy, and for the breadth of conversations.
SciFi author Cassandra Davis joined Tribe Tilt and made my crazy idea personal and real: The Mars Desert Research Station hosted 2 all-teenager crews in 2022 and 2023. These kids, including my youngest son, taught the Mars Society and NASA a great deal about how teenagers adapt to abnormal living conditions and crisis situations.
Dr Cynthia Miller : I love the idea of setting the stage for what the future may hold, to set the expectation for positive outcomes (credit to Rick Lewis for that framing)
On the topic of heirloom skills: (I’m paraphrasing and suggest you go back to the article to read the full comments)
Jackie : Love the imaginary future here and the concept of heirloom skills. I'd give the heirloom skill of learning. The ability to learn […so they can learn and thrive …more time for unbridled joy] And and I'd also add the heirloom skill of grandma's "just add more flour until it feels right" - a lost art
Rick Lewis : The capacity to place one's attention on something in the present moment and maintain focus there at will
IRL=Ireland=In Real Life
Editions 194 and 195 were pre-loaded as I was planning for a full week of writing (and editing and re-writing) my second book while in the company of my writing sisterhood—the Crows—in Ireland.
Rick Lewis (Honestly Human) astutely picked up on this nugget while watching the Crows wallow in the embrace of each other: The wise matriarchal energy coming off the photo of you all writing together is palpable. This is the second article I've read in the last two days about the magic intentional group energy. Community is in the air
Special callout to Cassandra Davis (SciFi author, Cassandras Worlds) for some new monikers for our special writer energy: Writing "besties", author "squads", word witch "covens".
On slowing down through sketching to capture the whole environment around us.
From Ilona: “As AI produces even better finished products I think we will find more and more value in our imperfect attempts at writing and producing - because in the end the one thing that AI can’t replace is the pleasure of the actual lived experience.”
Which was your favourite edition in series 28? Why?
[Do you like my alternate logo? It was a gift from Janis Ozolins who teaches us how to crystallize words into visuals. He shares basic frameworks, philosophies and tips in his weekly post Explain Ideas Visually.]
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Stay healthy. From there, all else becomes possible.
See you next week.
Karena
Got surprised when I saw I got tagged in this edition haha.
I'm slowly understanding this problem of unlearning is part of developing cognitive agility - how to unlearn existing mental models of something and rebuild them for something new (like AI)
“just add more flour until it feels right.” excellent