When the world retreated into their homes at the start of the pandemic, some people thought it might be for a couple of weeks, and then things would be back to “normal.” While we certainly miss things from pre-covid times, I don’t know if things were ever normal… the time spent in our homes has redefined what normal is, and made us more intentional about how and with whom do we spend our time.
While parts of the world are opening up, and in-person interactions are becoming more common, I started reflecting on the start of the pandemic, when the sensible ones were quarantining and social distancing, while the deluded ones were stockpiling on toilet paper while ignoring soap and sanitizer! While people’s pandemic shopping habits and civil courtesy (or lack thereof) will likely be pored over by anthropologists decades from now, it also marked the evolution of digital communication and its impact on our lives. With in-person interactions largely eliminated, platforms like Zoom, Meet, and Teams became a lifesaver of sorts, allowing us to still be connected in different ways. We began to live on Zoom, with work, schools, universities, hangouts, meals, games, and deep conversations all taking place with a series of boxes on our screen, and the perennial battle cry of “You’re on mute!”
This also led to a shift in how we interact with each other, not just for the duration of that call, but also in terms of relationships and communities. While some struggled with it in the beginning, most embraced the digital aspect, and cultivated a different sort of community. One community that has been really great at this is CreativeMornings, a monthly breakfast lecture series designed for creative communities. Your participation was generally limited to your geographical proximity to a chapter, but with the power of Zoom, you could attend any CreativeMornings or FieldTrip event anywhere in the world, as long as you were awake and came with some snacks! :)
When the good folks at CreativeMornings invited me to speak on Purpose, I politely said yes, ended the call, and then promptly did a happy dance! :D Since this was the early days of the pandemic, I was still trying to get familiar with the whole online talk thing, but I thoroughly loved this experience, especially when we had people from around the world join us. We had people on their lunch break in East Asia, on their morning coffee break in South Asia, on their morning wakeup attempt in Dubai and surrounding Arabian regions, on their 5am club in Europe, and on their midnight snack in North America. If you wanted to reach the world, CreativeMornings is certainly the place to be! This was certainly one of the happier moments of the pandemic for me, and I hope you take a little time to hear my take on Purpose and let me know what do you think… Also, there’s a line in my talk where I say, “when in doubt, do it anyway,” so go see my talk! ;)
Until next time, take care, and be well, people :)
My talk on Purpose at CreativeMornings #CMPurpose