Yet again it’s been a while since I blogged but much has been happening. Sept / Oct / Nov are always my busiest times of year on the speaking circuit. My kids adapt to being a single parent family and I chip away at my frequent flyers. Last month I was in Hanoi, last week I was in Geelong and tomorrow I go to Mulwala (it’s somewhere in Victoria).
A few weeks ago I did a talk at a high school for parents and teachers; it was a bitterly cold night in Sydney and I had a very hoarse throat. During the course of my hoarse talk I had to keep supping water and turning from the mic to clear my throat. The next day I received an email from a parent saying she’d enjoyed the talk and could she please have my home address, which I gave to her. Two days later a jar of NZ, Manuaka honey turned up. I was so delighted and chuffed at this lateral and incredibly thoughtful of presents.
As I mentioned last week I went to Geelong where I did a series of 5 talks to students, staff and parents at Geelong Grammar. The 1st cab off the rank was to year 9 at Timber Top which is like a school invented by Bear Grylls. The purpose built campus lies just below My Buller in Victoria and there’s no mobile phones, computers or game stations. The year 9’s who go there do so for the full year and have to hand write letters to their parents each week. When they’re not doing school work they’re either skiing, hiking, chopping wood or preparing for the 29km marathon that each have to partake in at the end of the year (the teachers have to do it too). It was such an amazing place and even though it was a ‘tough love’ kind of place the students and the teachers really seemed to thrive.
Then went to the Geelong Grammar campus back in Geelong. I love being involved with Geelong Grammar as this is where they teach Positive Education (positive psychology), such as gratitude, mindfulness, acceptance, engagement, positive emotion, achievement and so forth. Every student and every staff member including the gardeners and cleaners are trained in Positive Education and I have to say it shows. All I can say is I wish this sought of schooling had been around when I was growing up. The only life advice I got was that I should think about becoming a dentist – apparently people who are good at art can become good dentists …. (???!!)
Geelong Grammar fees are not cheap and you can see why, but thankfully because of the pioneering work they’re doing and the dividends this is showing in the wellbeing of the students who are lucky enough to go there, other schools are taking up a keen interest in doing something similar. So hopefully one day this important aspect of life, growing up and what it means to be a resilient, happy and fulfilled person with lashings of wellbeing, will be mainstream.
Next month is the launch of Capturing Mindfulness and then I’m going on holiday for 10 days – my 1st proper ‘do nothing’ in nearly 5 years – can’t wait.
