Something dawned on Dana Thomas, the American, Paris based author while researching her book Fashionopolis, an excellent read on the devastating impact the fashion industry is having on our planet, but which resonates on a deeper level, as an exploration of the way we think, how we connect with each and the many different ways we choose to live. If you haven’t read it, get clicking.
“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody” – Maya Angelou.
There’s beauty, strength and stillness in Maya Angelou’s words; there’s also a lot to love about someone who values themselves. It is the quickest way to a restful night’s sleep, a deep sense of inner calm and an unfurrowed forehead, give or take a bathroom cabinet filled with GoW’s Neurophroline Serum.
Are you really listening? The answer is very likely a big fat no. How often do you actually focus on what someone is saying. Instead, there’s the running ticker tape: the Ocado shop, when will Brexit go away, yesterday’s deadlines, the overwhelming in-box, the beep of your iPhone, what are the kids going to eat for dinner? And you are not alone. Research shows that only 10% of us listen effectively.
Does success at school translate into success at life? I write as little people are (finally!) back to school and everyone else back to the full throttle of metro-boulot-dodo. I’m also trying to work out how many times in the past thirty years I have used a simultaneous equation? Yes, my point exactly.