Twelve Hopes - Day 13

Thursday 13th December 2018

Thirteen is the number of British Colonies from which the United States of America
was formed - this is why the American flag has 13 stripes.

My musical week continues - tonight I am off to the O2 to be at the "Final Bow" of the iconic band, The Pretty Things, who, after 55 years of wowing audiences and fans, are performing their last electric gig. The band was formed by ex-Rolling Stone Dick Taylor and singer Phil May, and have influenced many of the world's most famous artists, including David Bowie, Bob Dylan and the Sex Pistols. I know that it will be wild. 

Today's piece is contributed by Mark Catchlove, the Director of the Insight Group at Herman Miller. Mark is a thought leader on the work environment and what occupiers and designers need to bear in mind when creating great places. If you get the chance to attend one of his events on workplace design and related research, I urge you to go.  I first encountered Mark on Twitter (you can follow him too - his handle is @markcatchlove). He writes an excellent blog and he will make you think. He always writes popular posts for the Adven Blog series, such as our need to be there and shine a light for others. This year's post is more personal to him - he is sharing his 12 hopes for Christmas. My hope is that Mark himself has a wonderful Christmas and an amazing year ahead. I suspect that he will have a peaceful and happy one full of smiles and laughter. Mark is musical - an enthusiastic and accomplished singer and guitarist. Mark is values driven, he does his bit to make the world a better place - such as by running youth clubs and Sunday schools and being a stalwart of his local community. 

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"Heartaches, Hopes and High Fives"

Christmas is a mix of all 3 but I wanted to focus on Hope.

Hope is a “feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen”
So here are my 12 hopes – 1 for every day of Christmas:

1. That we can agree to disagree – coupled with a sense of understanding and empathy.

2. That we can still have unity of spirit, even where there is diversity of thought.

3. That random acts of kindness are no longer random, but a part of every-day life.

4. That in this busy world we take some time to look around us, to observe, to enjoy, to contemplate.

5. That children can be themselves and are not driven into conforming to the educational norms which so often stifle creativity.

6. That we don’t always rely on data to prove what we already know and have called ‘common sense’ for years.

7. That we do not judge others that are different to us and we stop make sweeping generalisations that hinder our understanding.

8. That we can be the positive difference in someone’s life and have a lasting impact.

9. That good manners will be the norm again, where please and thank you return to our everyday vocabulary.

10. That we will take time to listen more and think before we respond.

11. That we are all given respect whatever our age.

12. That you will have a Christmas that outshines all your previous Christmases and it is one to remember for all the right reasons

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” Nelson Mandela

Be the light - Day 24

Day 24 (Sunday 24th December 2017)

24 times in a row - the number of times a radio DJ in Austria played Wham's
"Last Christmas" after blockading the door to the studio to stop others from getting
in to change the record. Jo Kohlhofer wanted to "get listeners into a festive spirit"
and ignored callers begging him to stop. He only ceased after his 4-year-old
daughter was put on the line to tell him how much she hated the song.

This Advent is flying past, it's Christmas Eve already. Have you been naughty or nice? Today's author is unfailingly nice. He is Mark Catchlove, the Director of the Knowledge and Insight Group at Herman Miller. Mark is a thought leader on the work environment and what occupiers and designers need to bear in mind when creating great places. I first encountered Mark on Twitter (you can follow him too - his handle is @markcatchlove). He writes an excellent blog and he will make you think. He wrote a very popular post for a former Advent Blogs series on our need to be there and shine a light for others. This year's post also encourages us to share and support. Mark is musical - an enthusiastic and accomplished singer and guitarist. Mark is values driven, he does his bit to make the world a better place - such as by running youth clubs and Sunday schools and being a stalwart of his local community. 

All of the photographs illustrating the piece have been taken by Mark himself. 

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"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

Make a difference - be the change - be the light in the darkness.

Total darkness can only exist if there is no light.
Even a dimly glowing light is better than no light.

Some people can see better in the gloom than others.
Some people are even afraid to open their eyes in the darkness.
Some people need to be helped along the way.
Some people just need to know if they require help it is readily available.

Light gives direction.
Light leads the way.
Light gives hope.
Light sustains life.
Lights work together to dispel the darkness and make a brighter world.

Be a light to others as their light appears to be fading.
Share the light, don't keep it all to yourself.

There will be times when you will need to let others light your way - don't be too proud to walk in the light of others.

Make a difference - be the change - be the light in the darkness.

Regent Street angel picture taken by Mark Catchlove Dec. 2017

Lock those doors

Lock those doors

Day 1 (Thursday 1st December 2016)

Illustration by Simon Heath

Happy 1st December and welcome to the Advent Blogs series of 2016. The theme this year is Heights, Hearts and Hollows. 

I have received some wonderful pieces and I know that there are more to come. What soaring heights and terrible hollows some of you have experienced; however your year has been, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to you all for sharing your thoughts here.

As in former years, I will be posting one new blog per day, during Advent and into the holiday period/New Year. The daily illustrated numbers are based on topical events of the year (2016) and do not express my particular interests or leanings.

1 American, like him or loathe him, will soon run the USA - 

a real estate magnate, tycoon and former reality TV star and TV producer -  

he achieved the majority of electoral votes 

and is now the President-elect of the U.S.A.
Donald Trump will become the 45th President when he is sworn in on the steps
of the US Capitol at noon on Friday, January 20th 2017.

The Advent Blog series is not a competition, you will not be asked to vote for your favourite. However, we have some striking, thought-provoking and at times touching reads ahead. I hope you enjoy the journey.

We are getting off to a great start. The first post in the series is written by the very talented Mark Catchlove. For the past 18 years Mark has worked for Herman Miller. He is the Director for Knowledge and Insight and spends his days commissioning workplace related research and informing designers. I first encountered Mark on Twitter (you can follow him too - his handle is @markcatchlove). He writes an excellent blog. I am often struck by the fact that he is so clearly principled and values-led.

Mark wrote a beautiful piece for last year's series, encouraging people to shed a bit of light in others' lives, which was very well received. This year, again, he entreats us to do our bit to make the world a better place and it is a fitting start to the 2016 Advent Blogs. Enjoy!

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An Advent calendar is a daily acknowledgement of the anticipation of a special event – Christmas.

Christmas, a time of laughter, fun, giving and a family get together. A time of eating copious amounts of food and imbibing rather too much alcohol.

However, for some they desperately want those doors on the advent calendar to stay firmly locked.  They have no anticipation or excitement for Christmas and its jollities. Another day nearer to a time when all the hollows of their life are highlighted more than any other part of the year.

Some will not express their despair and angst outwardly – they will smile, they will dance, they will give and they will receive. Inside, however, their heart is broken into small seemingly irreparable pieces. Shattered by bereavement, bad news, illness, broken relationships or a myriad of other heart breaking episodes.

Broken hearts don’t have to stay broken – but this won’t happen without support and help from someone like you. We all need to develop a heightened sensitivity at this time - seeing what is really going on behind those smiles, and being available to do something about it.

If you’re the one with that broken heart, then please connect with somebody, anybody – using any of the communications tools that we are blessed with today. You don’t have to give all the details unless you think it would help – but that listening ear might be the difference between slowly opening those advent calendar doors and desperately hoping they stay firmly locked.

Have a blessed Christmas

Shine a Light

Day 33 (Saturday 2nd January 2016)

33 percent of the world's adequate or high-quality food-producing land has
been lost over past 40 years, a speed surpassing nature's ability to replace diminished soil.
It takes 500 years to form 2.5 cm of topsoil under normal agricultural conditions.

For many of us, today is the day of lull, perhaps going to the gym or clearing up and replenishing stores, after a period of partying, rest and reunion. New year's resolutions abound and most of us are looking forward. Today's post slightly touches on the concept of resolutions, but not just as a fad for the New Year. This blog has been submitted by Mark Catchlove, the Director of the Insight Group for Herman Miller's EMEA region. Mark and I share a passion for the working environment. I first encountered Mark on Twitter (you can follow him too - his handle is @markcatchlove). He writes an excellent blog and his thinking is often at the cutting edge of workplace thinking. Mark is musical - an enthusiastic and accomplished singer and guitarist. He grew up in Kent, the "Garden of England" - perhaps that is why he has a fine appreciation of fundamental human needs and the pleasure of great surroundings.

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Comet tails and coal dust made me think of Light and Darkness

We live in dark times. The reality is we have always lived in dark times.

But in darkness, there is still the opportunity for a light to shine. That light can be you.

• When someone is in need, you can be available.

• When someone lacks confidence, you can build them up.

• When someone needs to talk, you can listen intently.

• When someone needs advice, you can be their sage.

• When someone needs to belong, you can welcome them in.

• When someone wants to scream, you can ask them why.

• When someone feels left out, you can pull them in.

• When someone needs to laugh, you can be their clown.

• When someone needs protection, you can be their shield.

Because you never know .... that someone might just be you.

Be a comet tail shining brightly ...........

Comet Hale-Bopp with its blazing tail 

Have a wonderful New Year - and be there to shine a light.

"There's a light...over at the Frankenstein place..."