The thinking of my starter kit was founded in the idea of a drill, and emerging from this, a non-linear pathway of interests, concepts and ideas that I intend to explore throughout this course. As I am coming to this course with an interest in systems thinking, this map suggests an interconnectedness between issues, as well as providing an overview of the things I care about, if I lose my way, or need to centre myself.
The drill, as a practical tool that can connect and build new things, reflects my intention for this course, to expand my knowledge base and practical skills, in order to realise something new.
Using a drill is also a skill I recently learnt, which felt really empowering and exciting, and I hope for this feeling to be replicated throughout the course.
I also challenged myself to animate the original starter kit, as a first step in the learning-new-things journey
The colourful, meandering pathway starts with “inner growth”, as I believe that meaningful change in the world comes from first looking within and having a resilient, compassionate and emotionally intelligent personal foundation, from which you interact with the world.
From here, other areas of interest follow:
Degrowth; a political, social and environmental movement that rejects consumerism, capitalism and growth, focusing on slowing down, prioritising social and environmental wellbeing.
Education; I have come from an organisation that works with primary schools, so I have a keen interest in the education system and hope to continue working on this.
Connection; as a community, we will build connection with each other and with communities, on an emotional, academic and professional level.
Future gen; the work I hope to do is with future generations in mind, both human and non-human entities. I am also interested in the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, that Wales passed in 2015.
Confidence; sometimes I struggle with self-confidence, so I hope that this course will help me grow in this sense.
Protest; I believe that activism, civil disobedience and protest have a large part to play in the building of a new, more just future.
Gentle; this serves as a reminder to be gentle with myself if I am struggling, as well as how I treat others.
Anti-capitalism; see “Degrowth”
Imagined futures; coming from a place of Active Hope, I will use the power of imagination and hope for the future to source much-needed energy and momentum for the upcoming year.
Mental health; I worked for the past two years at a children’s mental health charity, and struggle with my own mental health. Mental health and wellbeing will be at the heart of a lot of my work, as I believe that personal, emotional wellbeing is intrinsically linked to global, planetary wellbeing.
Fungi; fungal networks are life-giving, inspiring systems. I would like to research more into how they can improve biodiversity and planetary health.
Land; land rights, growing vegetables, agriculture.
Ecosystems; life-sustaining, everywhere.
Systems; everywhere, constructed and complex.
“Dig deeper”: this card comes from a pack of cards called “We are not really strangers”. The game encourages conversations on a deeper emotional level and aims to produce genuine connections between friends, families, partners and strangers. It is my belief that if we, as a society, are going to overcome social and environmental challenges, we need to connect to each other on a deeper level, to have emotionally vulnerable conversations and to truly understand one another.