Two Inconvenient Women

What is the point of hope? This question is so perfectly poised between nihilism and optimism, and the conversation explores the territory in between. When hope can so often feel like an avoidance of the present moment, or a vacuous space of impossibility, what does it have to offer us in such complex times? Conversely, hope is an act of faith in something far bigger than the human experience, and stands as a foundation of so many people across the world, whether through religion, spiritual practice or an inherent trust in the bigger story. Wherever we are landing with the quality of hope, it is a universal human encounter and something that may perhaps offer us a doorway into a lighter, deeper, more resilient and conscious way of living.In this episode we reference the following:Active Hope - Joanna Macy (website)The opposite of grimdark is hopepunk (website)Anti-racist pedagogy in art - Kathy Wise (article)Imagination Taking Power - Rob Hopkins (website)Interview with Elin Kelsey - Episode 1: Hopepunk - The Second Transition Podcast (podcast episode)✨ Today's magic moment was a shout out to the fabulous ThoughtBox Team✨There's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club

✨ Today's magic moment features our new ThoughtBox website ✨Play is not just for children; it is an essential adult survival tool. And yet we find ourselves living in so many cultures where play is being eroded from childhood and is virtually non-existent amongst adults. Beyond the core developmental qualities that play enables in children, engaging in recreational activities that bring joy lowers stress, triggers mood-boosting endorphins, fuels creativity, and strengthens relationships by building trust and empathy. Play also reminds us of the vitality of life and offers a more generative way of living. So why is it that play has disappeared and how can we welcome it back into our lives and communities?In this episode we reference the following:Dirt is Good campaign (website)How play made us and keeps us human -Maria Popov (article)OPAL- Outdoor Play and Learning - organisation (website)Play based learning at St Ebbe's Primary, Oxford (website page)How play boosts creativity and resilience - Katina Bajaj (TedTalk Podcast)Rediscovering Play - Mindful Spark (blogpost)Play Based Learning with Dr Peter Gray (video)There's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club

This week in the UK, we're in the middle of a heatwave. Record-breaking temperatures, flash floods, thunderstorms and lightning fires are all bringing the climate emergency into an immediacy of awareness for many people who previously may not have wanted or been able to look at it. But in the face of this emergency, how do we talk about what's happening without instilling more fear? And how do we find the courage to actually step into action?✨ Today's magic moment features our Triple WellBeing Storybooks ✨In this episode we reference:Should we be trying to save the world? with Anthea Lawson - The Examined Life (podcast episode)'I am helping - oh no' - Webcomicname by Alex Norris (comic strip)When The Baddie Plans To Destroy The World! from Mitchell And Webb Are Not Helping (short video)Don't put economy at mercy of 'Red Ed' - Daily Mail (online article)Learning for Life - ThoughtBox Education (teaching resources)National Emergency Briefing - NEB (film and local screenings)There's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club

Why is criticism often so hard to take? What is it inside us that shrinks when someone points out something we've missed, we lack or we've done 'wrong'? Who sets the parameters for 'right and wrong' and what does it actually mean to 'critique' someone?In this week's episode we explore the qualities of criticism and why - all too often - it can elicit feelings of shame and worthlessness in the recipient. We explore some of the nuances of shame; explore the different qualities of 'lack' that are sometimes apparent in the giver and receiver of criticism and discuss at length the value and strength of criticism that allows both parties to grow together - something that is perhaps hard to do but so generative when it happens.In the conversation we reference the following:Listening to Shame - Brené Brown (TED talk video)'How Not to Be Defensive in Relationships' - The School of Life (video)The support/challenge matrix (PDF)Peonies opening (video)Being Nice vs Being Kind - Trevor Noah (video)There's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognise, accept, and celebrate those differences.” – Audre Lorde Across the world we're seeing polarisation, division and othering increase - exacerbated by political decisions which fuel division and a dismissal of difference. And at the same time, we're seeing a rise in diversity in communities, in the workplace, in communities, in mindsets, and a growing appreciation that the health and resilience of any community lies in its diversity.In this week's podcast, we celebrate the wonder of diversity and difference, from cultural to psychological to ecological and everything in between. We discuss the issues surrounding the word 'tolerance' and the hierarchical othering that it connotates; explore some of the qualities of fear that keep us divided and reflect on the power, resourcing and resilient qualities that any system which is diverse brings.In the conversation we reference the following:The Danger of a single story - Chimamanda Adiche (TED Talk video)The Tyranny of the should - Karen Horny (article)Betwixt The Sheets - A History of Homophobia - Kate Lister with guest Dr Harry Tanner (podcast)The Science and value of diversity - Talia H. Swartz, Ann-Gel S. Palermo, Sandra K. Masur and Judith A. Aberg (article)The Wheel of power & privilege (PDF / website)The Story of Triple WellBeing - Rachel Musson (PDF ebook)Transforming Leadership Course - online workshop (website page)There's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club

Rachel and Holly are having a reading week, so in this special short episode Holly shares about the books she's currently reading, including:Great Circle by Maggie ShipsteadThe Fellowship of the Ring by JRR TolkienThe Power of Now by Eckhart TolleGeneration Hope by Arunjay KatakamThere's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month and support us to keep making Two Inconvenient Women and the rest of our work at ThoughtBox. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club

Rachel and Holly are getting ready for some time off next week, so in this special short episode Rachel shares about the book she's currently reading, 'The Listening Book' by W.A Matheieu.There's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month and support us to keep making Two Inconvenient Women and the rest of our work at ThoughtBox. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club

Whilst systems-change, systems-thinking and systems-transformation are becoming much more common terms used in conversations these days, discussions around 'inner systems change' are only just beginning to emerge in more public discourse. When we start to focus on systems change from the inside out, it is an invitation into introspection and exploring some of the habits, mindsets, behaviours and thought patterns that may be keeping us stuck in external behaviours contributing to many of the crises we face.This sort of 'inner work' - as it is often coined - can feel overwhelming, yet offers a doorway into profound change in the wider world as well as within ourselves, and begins by simply paying attention.In this week's episode we dive into the connections between inner and outer systems transformation, with the appreciation that how we think, feel and connect with the world shapes our outward actions. We talk about our own personal journeys, struggles and growth points in the journey of systems change, and how the Triple WellBeing approach that sits at the heart of ThoughtBox is an invitation to be working from the inside out and outside in at the same time.In this episode we reference the following:Theory U - The Presencing Institute / Otto Scharmer (book & website)Thinking in Systems - Donella Meadows (book)The work of Joanna Macy (website / books)Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet - Thich Nhat Hanh (book)Impossible Choices - Gregory Bateson (article)Warm Data - Nora Bateson (website)The Triple WellBeing Framework (PDF / website)______________There's an inconvenient movement growing...It's not rebellion, exactly. More of a quiet refusal to look away. We're  inconvenient. And if you feel it, then maybe you are too. Join us.Join The Inconvenient Club from £5 a month. Find out more at www.thoughtboxeducation.com/the-inconvenient-club