1. Quote I’m pondering this week “For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.” —Cynthia Occelli
2. A year on – this blog was a year old recently, yay! Every week for 52 weeks I’ve written 2 pieces, 1 of which includes 5 share Friday. This week was the first week I didn’t do a general post. Why? I’m starting a new writing project, one which means I’ll need to begin fortnightly posts here instead of weekly ones. I will of course continue the weekly 5 share (my most popular post).
Due to increased writing I’m reading Bird by Bird: Some instructions on writing and life, a fantastic book that anyone who writes anything (emails, letters, blogs, any writing at all) would benefit from reading.
3. I recently watched this 5 minute video from Nick Vujicic, a man with no arms and legs. At 2:35 in you’ll see him teaching one of the most profound things I’ve ever watched. His TED talk is also interesting watching. In a week that’s recognising mental health, Nick’s view on changing obstacles into opportunities is inspiring and life changing. I’ve watched both multiple times and when my children are older I’ll introduce them to his outlook. If the only thing you do with this 5 share is learn about Nick then you’ll feel it was well worth it.
4. The miracle of Kefir – Autumn is here and the trees look stunning! Especially in Vilnius, Lithuania where I’ve just returned from.
What comes in September and October is the onslaught of colds and flu and we’ve had our fair share in the Purvis household recently. Since moving to Denmark I’ve not been making water kefir and so this week I’ve ordered grains and we’ll get back to it. It’s fantastic at keeping immunity up in a natural way. it also tastes delicious. If you aren’t familiar then here’s a good starting point, you won’t regret it.
5. What I’m reading online – The nature of history and history of nature. Stephen Jay Gould is one of my favourite scientists. He did what all great scientists do, he questioned. This led him to question the trends in hard science, that is the science the majority of people believe in.
I’m learning more about soft science, the science that’s less measurable and less controlled (therefor more real), where some believe it’s not even a science. Stephen Jay Gould was infamous within the scientific community yet lesser known to the general public..If you watch his many interviews you can see he was nonplussed about how the scientific community viewed him and in part this helped make him one the most important scientists of the 20th Century. He challenged conventional thinking and paved the way for many scientific breakthroughs today. If you haven’t heard of him I encourage you to learn more here.