In a chapter on creativity in his book Smarter, faster, better author Charles Duhigg describes research conducted by biologist Joseph Connell, who visited the rain forests in Queensland, Australia, to investigate why some sections of the forests showed an incredible diversity of species, while other parts were dominated by a single species.
Connell found that in every instance where there was greater diversity it could be attributable to some disturbance in the natural environment – a fire destroying some of the surrounding vegetation, or a large tree falling and the resulting gap above allowi...
Over the past three weeks, I have been taking the DLA grade 10 class for Life Orientation, and the topic set out in the curriculum has been around issues of social justice. We've talked about poverty, food security, and access to resources and services. This week, the final topic in this theme was about becoming agents for change, learning to be active responsible citizens, and ways in which we can all contribute and make a difference.
As part of my lesson preparation, I spent some time researching young people who have made a difference, and I read about teenagers digging wells, starting smal...
We spent the first part of our Thursday morning watching our daughter take part in the annual So-High pre-primary sports day. There were a few tears (children, mostly) but on the whole, everyone had a good time. Watching all those kids running in different directions made me wonder what kind of people they will be when they grow up.
They will get taller and stronger and faster (if we feed them...). They will fill their heads with all sorts of knowledge (depending on what we expose them to). But it is possible to get bigger and cleverer without growing up emotionally. We all know adults who beha...
At UMC, we value and believe in education as a key tool for transformation, and a unique opportunity to impact people’s lives. We are privileged to have two schools on our property – So High Pre-Primary and DLA High School. We also connect with a number of other pre-schools through our Khanyisa Teacher Training programme, with High Schools through our Khanyisa After-School projects and with adult learners through our Khanyisa Adult Literacy project.
The more time I spent with teachers and in schools, the more I realised I did not know much at all about the education system in our country, or ...
Our family are back from a good week away – with a couple of days spent near St Lucia and then four days camping with friends in Injisuthi. We discovered that our tent isn’t as waterproof as we’d like, and we drove on a road that the 4x4’s battled on. Our Toyota Venture is still somewhat traumatised by the experience … But we had a good time together as family and came back refreshed and grateful. And it’s good to be back!
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If you were a part of our Lent course recently, or have been reading these blog posts you will have heard us speak about the prayer form given to the church by St Ignatius...
Where do you hang out on weekends? When was the last time you loved someone who the world has cast out as the worst? Have you ever sat with someone who is too ill to care for themselves? Have you had dinner with a prostitute?
Why do we instantly feel tension when presented with these questions? So often while growing up I felt an enormous guilt placed on me as a young "Christian" man to set the example to the world and not go to dark, dodgy clubs, or hang out with the wrong side of humanity; to do and say the right things. Yet, when I think about my past, my friends would often want to go to t...
Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! What a wonderful gift we receive this Easter morning, knowing that Jesus has risen, conquering sin and death and opening for us the way to life. We have journeyed with Jesus to the cross, now let us go also with the women and the other disciples to the empty to tomb, to see for ourselves that this is no April Fool's Day trickery – it is true!
Let us encounter the risen Christ, in our worship, in meals with our family, in our rest, and even in our return to work this week. For what the lectionary reminds us is that Easter is not just one day, it is a whole...
Packing several energetic small people into a car, making sure that each one has what they need for school can be the kind of experience that makes you want to take the rest of the day off! We manage though because it’s all over in a few minutes. Usually :)
By contrast, how do you direct something that moves much, much slower? A tree, for example, grows too slowly for us to see it moving (and responds to verbal commands about as well as energetic small people early in the morning…). Gardeners direct the growth of a young tree by tying it to a stake; in the same way, a vine is given a particular...
Towards the end of last year, on the mornings when I would take the children to school, I would see a man out for his morning run. It was always at the same time, and he clearly ran far. But what struck me most about this man, was how serene he always looked. In the midst of the morning traffic madness and rush to get the day going, this man had a look about him as if he knew he was exactly where he was meant to be, and all was right in his world. From the chaos within my car, I would see that man and I would think: 'if that is was running does for you, then I want that.'
Now I have always had...
I heard a young woman being interviewed on the radio this week. She is well educated and has held several high-powered positions, so the interviewer asked her to share a lesson learned that has helped her to be successful in her work. Her reply went something like this:
“I know it sounds clichéd, but I have found that it is so important to treat everyone I meet as my equal. And when I sit in a room full of people in a meeting, I remind myself to be open to being surprised by who the most important person in the room is”.
While it’s probably not helpful to fixate over who the most important pers...