Sleeper cells and the power of caring conversations
A week of intense work meetings is like lifting weights that are nearly beyond one's limit. A lot of dopamine. A feeling of accomplishment. Muscles hurt for a few days. But most importantly, new ties are created, and new cells are borne. Some of those are sleeper cells. One day they would come to life and switch on to perform.
THINK. My mind is overflown with a tsunami of thoughts and observations. I struggle to sift through the compounded noise of dozens of conversations with dozens of people. It reminds me of the orchestra warming up, each of the musicians playing their unique tune, at their own timing. Notes are asynchronous, tones misaligned. Then, a conductor steps to the stool. Suddenly, the music comes together.
As I am reflecting on these conversations, unwinding their threads, it strikes me how all of it is indeed the same melody. The melody of human connection. By being available to listen, by respectfully sharing our thoughts, by asking questions, we send signals that translate the language and create bonds.
Curiosity and ability to listen attentively builds firm foundation for discovery the new. Sometimes it is not the answer that unlocks it, it is the question itself.
I am spending some time thinking about the application of AI in the current intellectual work. Not obsessively, but I ponder how would it change what we do and how we work. While I do not see myself as an AI-accelerationist, I am also far from ignoring the transformation that we are increasingly more immersed in. Algorithms are there to stay. Robots will not take our jobs. But people, who would find ways to engage technology to amplify their outcomes, might.
Many conversations with the teams I works alongside revolve around the right balance of technological enhancement and authenticity. This is only partially chartered territory and as such, so reminds me of a map that a Dungeon Master creates as players advance in their quest for [insert the trophy name as you see fit]. They know where the entrance is and can only see short distance, in dim light of a few torches. Well, the only way to explore is to step in and confront whatever awaits around the bend.
On that note, the most intriguing question I stumbled upon last week was 'what does it mean to be human in 50 years?'. Love to hear your thoughts.
FEEL. Last week was all about reconnecting with people I have known for years and meeting new. Few of these conversations opened the floodgates of emotions that moved me deeply.
It does sound like a self-help meme but living in the present emerged to become this aspirational, ambitious goal, enabling a healthy soul. We all exist in the present so why is it so hard - and what gets in the way? Well, many of us live in the future, or the past, or alternate between both - but very rarely in the moment. There is sufficient research to prove that excessive focus on past failures or future uncertainties can affect mental health and cognitive processes, none of which I will be quoting. It is enough that I have suffered from rumination, excessive worry or self-worth perceptions shaped by things that happened to me.
What helps?
Ability to slow down, even stop, reflect, and explore such emotions. Self-awareness and paying attention to one's thoughts and feelings, exposed in unbiased spotlight of 'why do I feel like that?'. Very often, a caring, external voice. An out-of-body experience of looking at ourselves through somebody else's heart. Suddenly, past and future are not that scary.
Be a Caring Geek to somebody that needs you. Karma comes back, always.
DO. Chartering a new territory in the life of my family begun 2 years ago, on 1st October. A little scared of what awaits, I got on a flight to Dublin. A couple of suitcases with the most essential things. A rented car I practiced a game of 'packing Tetris', leaving no inch of space unused. A rented, unfurnished house that I needed to make home.
Two years later, this has been a liberating adventure. Consciously closing a chapter in one's life is never easy. Removing the clutter of material things helped me discover how little it is that we really need. Important relationships were reshaped, but remained (and yes, it is always work on both sides). The discovery of new country is a continuous journey, but so far, we have been blessed to meet plenty of kind human beings.
My own teenage human beings continue to bring sheer joy and pride. Sometimes it means listening to twelve opening notes of 'Smoke on the Water' on an electric guitar a hundred times in the row! Another time, it is getting in the car in the rain, bringing a cup of hot chocolate after hours of intense training.
There are ways to see beyond the clouds. During these 2 years, I took several photos in Monkstown, overlooking the Dublin Bay towards Howth peninsula. On a day like today, it is covered in fog and clouds. But it does not mean it has vanished. A determine traveller will always get there.
