Every day, I spend time standing outside the box. I look at situations from different perspectives. I challenged myself to do something that I had not done before. Every week, I will be sharing my view outside the box and what I learn in the process.
Two months ago, I challenged myself to use snowshoes for the first time. I was visiting Truckee, California, with my family. We had a week of heavy snowfall, and the walking trails were covered. My daughter invited me to test snowshoes and go on a walk with her. I thought, why not? We got all dressed up in winter gear and walked to the beginning of the trail. She helped me put on the snowshoes and guided me up a mound of snow. I made it to the top, and as I started going down to the other side of the bank, I fell. It was hard getting up, and I needed help. Likely there were a couple of friendly people that helped me get up. This minor incident stretched me and pushed me to continue to try new things. I have been concerned about my health, so I decided to get myself a Peloton bicycle. I will keep you posted on my progress. I am a firm believer in not giving up at the first sign of failure. Next week, I will be going up to test the snowshoes again.
During the holiday break, I had the luxury of disconnecting from work and reading a couple of beautiful books. Starting with the Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. This is a powerful story of friendship in the face of adversity. I could not put it down, and every page took me deeper and deeper into the plot. In the end, I was left with an intense appreciation of the value of friendships and relationships. We spend so much time worrying about the material things in life and working hard to obtain them that a simple reminder of what is truly important leaves us refreshed and refocused.
I also read Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour. This book gives a satirical perspective of the life s of a young man and his journey as the only Black salesman in a strange startup. The book kept me thinking about the hardships that many young people of color experience as they climb the corporate ladder. Every twist and turn had me at the edge of my seat, waiting to see what would happen next.
Of course, I had to read a book about play and early childhood education. I had ordered the Sacred Urge to Play by Pennie Brownlee and Kimberley Crisp. To my surprise, the book came just on time to read during break. What a delightful and powerful book. This book is clever, thoughtful, and filled with essential knowledge and information. It addresses many important yet controversial topics that need to be said about play. I applaud the author’s courageous perspectives and invite everyone to enjoy reading this book.
I am excited to share with you my unexpected discoveries, but I would like to hear about your own discoveries as you stand outside the box.
Menu
