Lazy Weekend.... and Inspiration

I've had the most delightful weekend - the kind I haven't had in a while. I've done precious nothing, seen precious no-one. Well actually, I haven't done nothing. I've done a lot of stuff I've been meaning to do for a while. Apart from a super quick emergency visit to Cold Stone at 10pm last night, I haven't left the house.

This afternoon, I randomly ended up on the TED Talks website watching videos, and I came across two that I really enjoyed that I would like to share with you.


The Power of Introverts - Susan Cain
The reason I find this interesting is I have always know what a part of me is actually quite introverted. And this weekend proves that. I like to retreat into my quiet corner from time to time just to think and be alive and unstimulated by external noise. I have had a series of inspiring insights and epiphanies this weekend because I've been able to have this time to myself and this is something that Susan, being an introvert herself, acknowledges. There is a place for introverts in the world because they posses qualities that the world needs for balance, yet everything in our modern world is geared to cater to extroverts and encourage extroversion as the established social norm. People disbelieve me when I say this, because they assume I am a complete social butterfly, all out there. But I'm not always. I have a few moments of being out there and then I want my equilibrium back. The irony of life is that this video found me today, confirming what I have been thinking - that I must do this me-time again more often. Anyway, let me know what you think. Are you an introvert or an extrovert, or somewhere in the middle like me? I really have a lot of respect for this lady. You can tell how awkward it was for her to get up in front of all those people. I would be bricking it.










Embracing Otherness, Embracing Myself - Thandie Newton
I liked this because I understand the feeling of otherness. We all feel it in different ways, because our life experiences are different, and so are all the things that amount to inclusion in any society or group but it is the same emotion we tap into - that feeling of not being real, and not really counting. Thandie talks about being a black atheist kid in a white catholic school as the genesis of her feelings of otherness. She explains how she began dancing and performing to escape the horrible extended state of discomfiture that was her normal life, and how she found stability and meaning by losing herself in the motion and the movement. Her ideas on one's sense of self, and the need to almost shun our cognitive selves in order to plug back into our visceral consciousness that are more real may not appeal to everyone but are certainly worth thinking about. Is this just the coping strategy of a broken woman, or a valid, prescriptive way to live? You decide, but I really enjoyed this video. I've never really seen or heard her speak outside a movie and I'm really impressed with how articulate and expressive and emotionally intelligent she is. She's a very clear thinker, and an incredibly smart woman. She definitely has a new fan.






What do you think of these? What do you make of their assertions?