100 Days of Wonder – #14
Fun. Why do we so often think of work and fun as 2 different things that never really come together? I’ve had a really busy work week with my teaching, teaching cover, a workshop in Worcester, meetings, head of school stuff and general administration plus an Open Day today. Looking at my calendar and the lack of gaps suggests anything but fun. I’m tired, sure but I had soooo much fun this week. I taught something I didn’t think I knew anything about or understood and I loved learning it, I had a really great discussion about Constitutions with our LLM students, I had references to and pictures of the Disney Castle, the Avengers and Figment in my keynote on Wednesday. Many of my meetings gave me chance to check in with wonderful humans and hear about, plan and reflect on exciting things to come. When we get caught up in the busy-ness of life, it seems to me to be even more important to stop and consciously look for the joy and fun in what we’re doing. Pause a minute, stare out into your life in wonder and I hope something makes you smile!
100 Days of Wonder – #13
The picture is of the Contemporary Resort taken from the ferry that connects the Magic Kingdom to the Ticket and Transportation Centre. It was taken in January 2006 and the now familiar sight of the Bay Lake Tower which would be to the left of the building is missing. I talked about familiarity and it’s importance in previous posts but looking at this photo made me think about it more. It’s not just that our brains need something familiar (my base camp in the 100 acre wood) to go explore (learn from), my brain needs the familiar to focus and also sometimes to recharge. I am actually quite happy at the limits of my comfort zone and I like change and new and different. But I also like familiar. I like it to rest my brain and also to focus. I go to the music I listened to over and over and over when I was younger when I am writing. I like writing in my Mum’s house with its mix of things I remember from being little, some of mine and Kath’s old furniture and some new bits and pieces and as much as I like exploring new places and having adventures, I like going back to the Contemporary. The smell as you walk in, the sounds, the knowing where things are. Familiar doesn’t necessarily mean ‘the same as it was’. It’s more about how a place, music, book or whatever makes me feel. I don’t mind Bay Lake Tower now being there, I don’t mind there being new things to discover every time we go. It doesn’t make it any less familiar. I think maybe it’s about not having to think too much about things and just feeling at home in a space or moment.
100 Days of Wonder – #12
Me on the day we left Disney World in January 2023. I am always slightly reluctant to return to reality and I have also usually forgotten how to be a responsible adult. I also always need a little while to readjust to ‘normal’ customer service because Disney level customer service is another level altogether. I don’t really understand how they do it but every interaction we have ever had with any cast member has been perfect. For the duration of the interaction they make you feel like you are the most important person in the world. That’s not to say that things have not gone wrong, they have, but the interactions are always so so good. I wish I could fully pin point the magic of that and try and bring it to my interactions. I think it is something about being fully present in the interaction, about not being distracted by the last one or the one that comes next or what’s for dinner or what spreadsheet needs filling in. It’s about understanding people in a split second, about engaging with them right where they are in the moment and it’s about never ever passing people from pillar to post. Having experienced what is possible I now often watch in restaurants, cafes and other customer service contexts and am bemused by how inefficient and bad it often is. People remember how you make them feel and Disney World makes me feel special, seen and cared for in just the right way. I hope that just sometimes at least, my colleagues and students feel even just some of that in our interactions.
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