Earth Care, Self Care

The best thing I can do for our Earth is to take care of myself and others.

Feed myself fresh seasonal local food that invests in the soil versus stripping it. That employs those in my community, who then reinvest back. Do not spend hours researching, buying, organizing things… just to get rid of them and buy more. These things were extracted from the earth and rarely can be returned to it. Leave them be. Nor should I work extra hours at a job that does not fuel my soul just to afford these things. I must understand that I cannot afford to continue buying, disposing and working myself into a grave. There are limits to this all.

Instead, I must spend time with my family and the nature I want to protect. Bathe in their beauty. Bathe in my beauty. Nourish my brain. Learn from nature and elevate my awareness as to the effects of my actions. No matter how painful, this is how I grow. Hold businesses and governments accountable for their actions. Uplift my fellow human, with no judgement, as breaking from the system is often a privilege. And like all changes, this is done slowly and in accordance to our own history and needs.

I must mind my garden. We protect the things we cherish. So let me cherish myself. And grace when I falter. Break this illusion that I can just continue to “prosper” at the behest of what is feeding me. I am eating my own tail. I seek freedom through knowing the limits. And rejoicing in what I have and its many lives. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. But where is it all going? Let me cycle it back into the Earth, so the Earth may cycle it back to us all. 

Happy Earth day! Today marks 50 years since its origin. Keep on fighting and loving! Thank you to those who came before us. 💚 Sheila

The New Worker

NOTE: I wrote this for a writing competition hosted by USI. It was originally posted June 2017 on this blog. I have left the content the same except removing one dead link.

I wanted to reshare this as more and more I see this article coming true. Are you a New Worker? Please share in the comments your experience with this “new breed.”


It is clear that a new type of developer has emerged, as described in Github’s Paul Saint John’s 2016 USI talk, but what truly inspired me is his hint that this new breed is also sprouting up in other domains. And that this rebirth was made possible thanks to the very platforms and applications created by the New Developer.

What is this New Developer… err…. Worker?

My view of the anatomy of the New Worker.

The New Worker thrives in a self-feeding cycle starting with a drive to innovate and differentiate, but no longer is this conception done in a vacuum. As Paul Saint John describes for the New Developer:

Learn > Code > Work Together (wash, rinse, and repeat)

Replace “code” with “create content” and you have the New Worker. Continuous learning and social collaboration is key to their success, often harnessing the power of the internet community. 

But where to find these creatures?

Here are just a few of the many examples of these New Workers outside of the development domain:

Science and Engineering

  1. Collective Intelligence initiatives are emerging in the sciences, such as Climate Colab which hosts contests in everything from land use to energy supply with the goal to “open up the elite conference rooms and meeting halls where climate strategies are developed today and allow anyone with a good idea to contribute.”
  2. An online forum of industry experts created to share trade secrets in order to innovate in renewable energy has enabled the founder Doug Coulter to advance towards creating a nuclear fusion reactor.

Medical Field

  1. While opening up clinical data so that the global community can work on it is still very taboo, there have been some initiatives which have already improved patient treatment. Such as a contest from the New England Journal of Medicine concerning blood pressure that was won by a team at Clalit Research Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel.
  2. Communities of medical professionals are forming for those who want to share their expertise, find fellow trailblazers and create partnerships to navigate a world bogged down by bureaucracy. One of these communities is Health Innovators, which has gained 1,600 members since its founding three years ago.

Arts, Animation and Video gaming

  1. Twitch, a platform for gamers to showoff their skills live (45 million visitors per month as of 2013), has now branched off into live streams for artists. Not only did this platform further legitimize the ‘professional’ gamer and gaming coaches and boost indie video game designers, but now it is allowing for artists to real time create, transparently demonstrate their skills, and garner new clients. 
  2. Two student animators got the attention and job offers from Disney and Pixar despite no professional experience due to their animated short The Present shared at festivals and on Vimeo.
  3. DOTA which started as an open free mod created by a fan for WarCraft III now has over 10 million players as of 2015. This first mod was improved by several community members before becoming a sponsored game.

As for a personal example, as an Agile and organizational coach, I am starting to see more and more Agilists open up their tools for free use and feedback, such as Ajiro and Funretrospectives.com. John Saint Paul’s USI talk inspired me to continue to push forward and give my knowledge openly, even enable others to do “my job,” (much like the new developer who creates applications for others to create applications) as I am certain it will only open new opportunities and promote innovations in my field.

One final correction

Photoshopped ;p Strike out code and enlarge it to content

So, I would suggest one minor change to John Saint Paul’s last slide, to expand it to fit the New Worker: 

Those who enable the creation of content, whether by contributing or creating the space to do so, have the power. Numbered are the days of silos and CVs because the worker of the future needs to be part of a community to ensure their success.

Much like the communities initially pioneered or literally constructed by the New Developer. 

My Essay “Molded” was published

A Moment that Molded Me

I’m excited to announce, my short essay “Molded” was included in MindSpark Research International‘s quarterly, Spark Sesh (Spring 2019). Enjoy some inspiration on how we are all connected despite our diversity.

The topic is Defining Moments. In my essay, I discuss several of mine, especially the failures.

No download necessary and free on SparkSesh.com (or this direct link)

“Paris, Mon Amour” – A Poem about the Paris Love Affair

So come Christmas I started a poem and today I dragged it back out and finished it.

I started it in one of my many moments of being struck by the beauty but the struggle (emotionally, financially, etc) within Paris that people experience as the make their place here.

Paris is that city/that relationship that you hate to part with.  With all its beauty and grandeur, there is raw grittiness to it that can be harsh. As like any big city you want to make it in, I suppose, just with thousands of years of love, life and art behind it.

Austin and I are epic-ly lucky and not on the streets.  But there are many here that live on the beautiful streets of the most romantic city in the world.

Honestly this is just a poem about love and life.  And what we put up with to be where we need to be.

——————————————————————–

Paris, Mon Amour

J'adore Paris

Paris, Mon Amour
My mistress and my wife
My dirty little secret
I cannot afford, so keep me

You’re deep among my pockets
You’re streaked upon their face
They’re weary and uncertain
Except where they want to be

They come to you in droves
Then sleep beneath your clouds
Bundling the cold in
Thick life coats your street

You snarl but entrance
You love us all the same
We want only to sit and watch
As the rushing tides retreat

The tear stained entries welcome
And in century old puddles we reflect
I reach out to clean your cheek
Smearing mascara upon your face

I love your curves and hollows
I twist come every turn
With a swift drop I soar
Then down into a dive I race

If I wanted to leave your arms
I could not find the door
For with the long walk out
We are always turned within

But I am okay with wandering
As long days turn to longer nights
In shadows I still find shapes
The light persistently dim

I hunger for you but when I tire
I need not sleep but wake
Regard the sky completely
And breathe in all the more

You’re sexy but lethal
We want to swallow you whole
You build us, break us, feed us
We are for you…

Paris, Mon Amour

Sunset from Belleville

Or in other sung words:

– S

Blind

Fog has settled upon my mind
Misty eyes guide me
And shadows support me

Fumbling through the dark I find you
But how can I know you
If I can’t see the true you

Dark shadows fall on your face
Tangible beauty you are to me
But how do I know

For I know no other
You are the one
The only one

Careful for I am fragile
I am weakened
From the endless pain

I hold onto you with trembling fingers
I no longer know what’s right
All familar lines have blurred

For so many voices calling
Tearing me
Ripping me apart

Beloved hands that once had lead me
Fight with each other
To grasp me

Oh the silky white hands
Sport dark talons
How lovely they had once seemed

But I can’t be certain anymore
In the darkness
This utter black

I watch my step
As I fall
Always back into your arms

Guide me for I am blind
Love is a sort of blindness
That ails us all


Beloved Phantom

My lips so eager
And yours so tender
Forever I had wanted them
But in a second it was over

The warmth of your embrace
Holds me
And the memory of this
Calls me

I can feel your finger tips
Imprinted in my skin
Your touch
Is still with me

Your eyes so warm
Your presence so right
Lips so soft
They all haunt me

You are with me
Though you have gone
And I can still taste you
On my lips


Baby Sun

Baby Sun rose with the day
And thought, “I must go out to play!”

Up the hills and over a stream
Baby Sun let his joy beam.

Just a little ball of energy
He ran, skipped, and chased a bee.

He tasted the wind as if a sweet
As he danced happily in the heat

Then Baby Sun climbed a pine
Got to the top and let his pride shine.

He enriched the flowers to make them grow.
In the river he dipped his toe.

Baby Sun noticed it was getting late
But he thought, “Oh sleep can wait!”

At the end of the day he was getting slow.
His shine was now only a glow.

Mother Earth took him in her arms, hugged him tight.
Now you could barely see his light.

After she dressed him all in white, Mother Earth put him in his crib and
said, “Goodnight!”

It got dark and in the night crept.
And tucked in his crib of stars, Baby Sun slept.

As the stars rocked him in a gentle way,
Baby Sun waited and dreamed of a new day.

Pandora’s Hidden Evil

Tiny bubbles inside your soul
Bringing new thoughts to the surface
Thoughts you hadn’t dared to think
‘Til those fatal words were whispered

Contrary to your thoughts
They brought new life
But the new flora is poisonous
You don’t realize this till it’s too late

‘Til you do something stupid
And the truth comes out.
These words were small lies
Dressed up as sheep

You had no reason not to doubt them,
Other than your own instincts.
We deny our link to the animals
So we forget that instincts can save you

Save your heart from dying
From unwittingly committing suicide
By taking the small pill
The pill called hope…

The Yearning

Why do I torture myself?

Crucify myself on your cross
Why do I pretend?
Not to feel the hurt

The yearning
The need to hold you
To melt away your fears
And heal all your wounds

But I can’t have you
And you don’t need me
Yet this hunger is with me
And I have grown accustomed

Accustom to you talking of your other loves
The ones I know you’d rather have…
Than your shield
The one that would do anything for you

Sacrifice everything for you
Only if you would smile for a second
The hope of this smile keeps me fighting
Fighting till my own ruin

My heart is aching when I don’t see your smile
Your smile so loving
Your eyes so knowing
Your heart… not mine