Spending Time with Special People

E56: Rest & Recap 8 - Thanksgiving special

and

Oct 06, 2022

With Gratitude

Welcome, Tribe Tilt, to the Thanksgiving special. This 56th edition is divisible by seven and therefore a Rest edition in our newsletter sequence.

It is Thanksgiving in Canada, an ideal opportunity for us to share time with special people in our lives: friends, colleagues and family. In the aftermath of the pandemic, we now acutely appreciate the value of a personal embrace.

Canadian Thanksgiving follows the crop cycle and is more closely linked to the Harvest Festivals that are going around Europe at present - a moment to thank Mother Earth for her gifts of nurture and nature.

Gratitude is a 21st-century skill

How can gratitude be a 21st-century asset? Can gratitude be a rest? This could be an essay in itself. But I’m prepping to host 29 for Thanksgiving lunch. So we’re going to have to be brief:

Zoom in. Zoom out. Giving thanks reminds us to put our daily lives in perspective. We learn to balance the good days with the bad.
Find time for family. Give them the best of you, not what’s left of you. Manage your given 24 hours so that you are not exhausted. This time management skill was a hint from Nir Eyal.
A regular gratitude practice helps develop resilience. When we set aside a moment to choose one thing that we can be grateful for, amid the many problems, we tune our antennae towards possibility.

I’m Surrounded by Special People

I am, of course, most grateful for my family. (Any chance you missed that in the previous 55 editions?) Many, but not all, will be with me this weekend. As my family is geographically distributed we know that separation is a state of mind, not miles. Our connection is by heart, not necessarily hugs.

My virtual circle is as important to me. I am blessed to count so many of you - Tribe Tilt - as my special people. I am excited when I share breakout rooms and learn alongside each of you as I write my essays, my next book and my newsletter. I have been privileged to be let into the personal lives of some of you, creating a closer bond - a community.

I thank you for your presence in my life. And for the motivation and joy you bring into it.
Karena

What is with this Rest edition?

There may be some new members of Tribe Tilt who are wondering what the Rest editions are all about. Every seventh edition is an opportunity to rest and reflect back. At the beginning of each of our compendium editions, I explain why rest and recovery are such key skills for the 21st century (each edition addresses different techniques). And why it is crucial for us to teach the art of pacing to the young members around us.

- 7 Learning to Pace Ourselves,
- 14 In the quiet week,
- 21 Slack Time
- 28 The Space to Breathe
- 35 Choose when to Recharge our Personal Energy
- 49 Rest. Recovery. Reset.

Digest of the past few issues:

The significant theme in this cycle was CELEBRATION — I have now been publishing for one year. 52+ editions. A big part of what made this possible is gathering a community around me for accountability and encouragement:

E53 Reflections and Ripples - looking back on the year and the community that helped me make it this far

In the FUTURE OF WORK (FoW) and 21st-century skills life strategies section:

E50 Learning from Van Gogh’s Sunflowers - iteration helps us pay attention to the same topic differently. Van Gogh taught us that it is okay to examine ideas in changing situations. And to pay attention to signals. A 21st-century skill.

RAISING FUTURE-READY LEADERS

E52 Planting Ideas for a Year - As a child, Queen Elizabeth was not groomed for the throne. But two major life events ended up with her taking the throne aged 25 and ruling for 70 years. Can we prepare our children for the future when the future is unpredictable?
E51 What’s in a Curve - explores surfing as a metaphor for raising future-ready leaders. We can protect our young. Or we can prepare them to search for great opportunities, and then have the courage to enjoy that exploration. Much like surfing.

CLIMATE:

E54 The Earth is Now Our Only Shareholder - Is this the start of the trend that will see a real shakeup in the way we include Earth stewardship while creating shareholder value?
E55 Wrinkles in Time - A road trip along the stunning Icefields Parkway in Alberta, Canada leads to the realization that the Earth will continue to exist. But humans may need to heed an SOS.

What was most insightful? Do you see a connection between the essays?
Have you found yourself putting some of the concepts or ideas into action?
What do you want to read?

If you have been looking for a “Best of” version of my newsletters to share with a friend, this collation edition shares a year of thoughts around the topics that matter most to me.

Other Thanksgiving essays:

E11 Mrs. Keisman’s Vermouth Turkey
E5 From sous chef to plating