An invitation to gather

SHARE

Our ability to tell stories is a uniquely human trait and has always been present in humanity, from cave paintings to podcasts. It is one of the oldest forms of communication and has been used to teach, entertain and influence people for centuries. Sharing stories has always had connection at its core with the unique power to inspire and influence our emotions. 

In the modern world storytelling has perhaps lost one of its superpowers which is to gather us, together, in person. Storytelling in Marrakech has rich and ancient roots, there is an old saying, “when a storyteller dies, the library burns”. The stories told in Marrakech only exist in the minds of their narrators who share them at gatherings and take their repertoire to the grave. I keep thinking back to this phrase, it has such depth and meaning but also captures the missing piece to the modern storytelling puzzle.

HUNGER

Stories are used to share our thoughts, feelings and experiences. Ultimately, we make sense of the world through the receiving and giving of stories. However, due to modern technology and the rise of social media apps we are now swamped with stories. At their core, this particular type of story strives to sell you another product, desire or lifestyle. We are in the breadth of an era of quick content, another flash of a story with each swipe. Nothing nourishing, just time spent. The outcome of this is that we are both desensitized and bored. Not only have we become over informed but the substance is missing. 

We’re all hungry for authentic connection. 

GATHER

Most of the stories we consume in the modern day are recorded and can be listened to anytime, anywhere. They are often rehearsed and edited, this removes the reason or necessity to gather. A story told in person is in itself alive. The story will change from one telling to the next depending on the presence and mood of the storyteller.

“The presence of teller and audience, and the immediacy of the moment, are not fully captured by any form of technology”-Joseph Bruchac

We have had the pleasure of hosting poetry evenings here at Tribe. I am always struck by the mood and presence of the room. How the shared feeling and tension can quickly shift from laughter, to sorrow, to joy and hope. There is a direct and respectful spotlight on the reader with no distractions. There’s no elaborate scenery or props, just a room of like minded people. What we are left with is a collective experience. An experience that cannot be replicated or shared outside of the space. Telling stories leaves the audience with the gift of an empathetic and shared emotional response. The teller and the listener share and experience emotion in real time, a give and take of energy.

Sacred spaces for telling stories in person are rare and more important than ever. Live storytelling gives you the power to cut through the noise and make meaningful connections to both inspire and influence. Let’s slow down. Take some time to sit with us and share stories. 

“We tell stories because we are human. But we are also made more human because we tell stories”. –Amanda Gormon

The invitation

Tribe Porty is collaborating with Soapbox to bring you an evening of storytelling. The first of these evenings is in partnership with Porty Pride with the theme of love. Join us at Tribe Porty on June 28th to gather, be inspired, to be heard, to tell (and to listen) to stories. 

You can find out more and book your space by clicking here. Tickets will be pay what you can with proceeds going to Porty Pride. 

If you’re interested in telling and sharing a story, or know someone who might be, please email soapboxforcreatives@gmail.com with the title ‘The Story Sessions’.

Thanks for reading,

Alice

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• Posted on May 31st, 2024 in Uncategorised

A warm welcome to Ellie

Exciting news, our team has grown! We are welcoming Ellie to our team and we wanted to take the time to give her a warm welcome and introduction.

Hey, I’m Ellie!

I first came across Tribe when Dani hosted TedxPorty here in 2016 and I volunteered to capture the event. I’d recently moved back to Edinburgh after living in London and it was one of the first community events I was involved with and I loved it. Since then I’ve attended other Tribe events and spent some time co-working. The community at Tribe is so welcoming and inviting that when a role came up it felt serendipitous. 

Things that make me smile are a good cup of coffee, spending time with friends and family, hosting Soapbox events, time spent on the beach, dogs in clothes, working at Tribe! I love the community and the environment at Tribe. The way Tribe feels when you come in – everyone is friendly, I really enjoy the art on the walls, it’s a space that breeds belonging and my creativity flows here.

My working life & creative practice

Most of my working life has revolved around connecting with people; as a photographer having the opportunity to meet new people and discover what drives them, what their story is and how they express themselves is what I find endlessly fascinating. 

I love, and have spent many seasons, capturing street style at London Fashion Week because I love seeing how people express themselves through personal style. My favourite personal project was one I undertook in 2021 called Love Stories; where I spoke to, and captured, over 100 people about someone, or something, they loved. 

I’m currently in the planning stages of my next personal photography project, which I think will revolve around kitchen tables, dinner parties and portraits.

Creating community

My connection to the creative scene led me to CreativeMornings, where I volunteered with the Edinburgh Chapter for a number of years before starting my own event, called Soapbox, last year. We gather on the last Wednesday of every month to blether and meet like minded folk who freelance and are employed in the creative, cultural, tech and digital industries. It’s so lovely to see people come along who are brand new to the creative scene but also have attendees who have been doing it for 20 years. Everyone has something to offer and are there to connect. 

Knowing how much being part of a community helped both my personal and professional life was the driving factor in starting Soapbox. Bringing other people together and helping them with their own journey is something that brings me a lot of joy.  I’m currently working on the evolution of Soapbox and developing what events, along with our current monthly event, we might host.

I’m really looking forward to hopefully hosting some Soapbox events in collaboration with Tribe, but mostly I’m really happy to be part of Team Tribe and the community that exists here. I really like being part of organisations that are bigger than myself, and that seek to bring community together.

A quote that I love:

“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.”- Brené Brown

Thanks for reading,

Ellie

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• Posted on March 19th, 2024 in Uncategorised

International Women’s Day 2024

 As International Women’s day approaches we wanted to dedicate a blog post to all the fantastic and accomplished women here at Tribe.

Women’s work whether it is paid or voluntary is often hidden or at best undervalued. Not to mention that we are simply far too humble to even consider self promotion. We wanted to take a moment to share and shout about some amazing achievements and work produced by some of our members over the past year. 

Anna Moffat- Photographer

Anna Moffat is a photographer based in Edinburgh (and beyond). Her style revolves around capturing authentic moments with creativity and attention to detail and providing emotive and engaging images. Recently, Anna has photographed amazing individuals such as Dr. Merritt Moore who recently conquered her dream of being both a Quantum Physicist and a professional ballet dancer.

Anna has worked with Holyrood Magazine and recently picked up an award from PPA Scotland for her portrait of Labour MSP Pam Duncan.

“Thank you PPA Scotland for the award – I still can’t quite believe it! Also thanks to @holyroodmagazine for the opportunity”

Olivia Furness- Executive Director, Oi Musica

Olivia Furness is a firm believer in music’s power to make change.  She has designed and delivered a wide variety of projects and programmes that have brought benefits to both the community and people involved. In April 2023 Oli was awarded professional development funding to spend 2.5 weeks in Cuba studying various styles of Aforcuban percussion.

In 2023 Brass Blast took home the Community Award from Creative Edinburgh.

“We’re still buzzing after scooping the Community Award for our youth project Brass Blast at the Creative Edinburgh Awards in November! The project is a proactive response to the disproportionately low numbers of disadvantaged young people taking up instruments in East Edinburgh, so we are over the moon to be recognised for the change that Brass Blast is making in our community.”

 

Jo Tennant-Photographer & Founder, 20 photos

Jo Tennant is an award-winning photographer and founder of 20 Photos, a creative service that curates hundreds of digital photos into 20 beautiful fine-art prints.

In 2023 Jo had two family photographs shortlisted for the Scottish Portrait Awards:

“One photo was shot on my phone and the other on a 1980s film camera. Our own personal photos have importance  and meaning and should be seen. We should photograph those we love and their idiosyncrasies which we want to remember. This is why I took those photos. Not for the awards- I just submitted the two photos I took this year that I loved the most”

Last year, Jo also had a feature in Stylist magazine about launching her business 20 Photos during the pandemic. She spoke to them about upskilling and taking the next steps. Read the full article here.

Rachel Mulrenan- Scotland Director, Wild fish

Rachel is the Scotland Director of WildFish, an independent charity in the UK campaigning for wild fish and their environment.

A significant area of focus for Rachel is the environmental degradation caused by open-net salmon farming. In collaboration with other like-minded organisations, WildFish calls for an end to this destructive industry. Open-net salmon farming has a hugely detrimental impact on wild fish and their habitats – from the spread of sea lice and disease to the environmental effects of the chemicals and antibiotics used on aquaculture farms.

Rachels work has featured in The Guardian and you can listen to a podcast she featured on about the damaging effects of Salmon Farming here.

Briana Pegado- Author

It would be wrong of us to not mention our host for our International Women’s Day event, Briana Pegado. 

Briana Pegado FRSA is an author, fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and festival founder. With nearly a decade’s experience as an award- winning social entrepreneur in the creative industries in Scotland. She works as an anti-racism, governance, and strategy consultant particularly in the creative industries.

Briana acted as a trustee, vice, chair and Chair of the Young Women’s Movement from 2018-2023, then Interim Chief Executive. The organisation supports young women, migrant women, and other marginalised women by providing skills and employability services, advocacy and campaigning, as well as research on the lived experience of young women in Scotland

A central theme in her work is how disrupting systems, processes, sectors, and ways of thinking can facilitate positive change. Her new book Make Good Trouble: A Guide to the Energetics of Disruption launches on 09 April 2024 and is available for pre-order now. Find out more about Briana by clicking here.

Sandy Brindley, Kathryn Dawson and Niamh Kerr 

Sandy is the Chief Executive Officer, Kathryn is the Director of Prevention & Training and Niamh Kerr is the Prevention Manager at Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS), Scotland’s leading organisation working to transform attitudes, improve responses and ultimately to end rape and sexual violence in all its forms.

RCS works with a network of 17 independent local Rape Crisis Centres across Scotland who provide trauma-informed support to more than 6000 survivors annually. It runs a national helpline with support and information for anyone affected by sexual violence open daily from 5pm – midnight, 365 days a year. They also support the National Advocacy Project to support anyone thinking of reporting or engaged in the system to navigate the justice process from start to finish. Its Prevention work takes an evidence-based approach. Working with young people in schools and communities across Scotland looking at issues like consent and healthy relationships. It also campaigns to change and challenge the attitudes that underpin sexual violence as well as on specific issues like funding for services and access to justice.

The support Rape Crisis Centres across Scotland offer can be truly lifesaving. When a survivor reaches out for that support, they need to receive it then. Not weeks or months later. But this is the reality facing too many survivors across Scotland. In 2021, the Scottish Government delivered emergency funding to tackle waiting lists. But even with this funding, demand for lifesaving Rape Crisis support is outstripping the resources available to Rape Crisis Centres to serve survivors. This emergency funding is due to run out in March 2024. If it isn’t extended, 28 specialist Rape Crisis support workers will lose their jobs meaning survivors will be forced to wait even longer for support. To support their campaign and find out more click here.

Reema Vadoliya-Founder,  people of data

This year Reema joined Tribe as part of the Creative Informatics inclusive innovation working spaces fund. Reema is a tireless advocate for inclusion in data with expertise gained through multiple roles within the data industry and the founder of People of Data. Their mission is to challenge how organisations think about data in order to maximise impact and centralise inclusion. 

You can listen to a podcast with Reema where she discusses the importance of looking at data inclusively. Reema emphasises the power of data by telling impactful stories .Click here to listen.

Reema will also be hosting our March Tribe Talks, this is a free workshop and is open to all. Click here to find out more.

Louise Mason- Presenter, producer & Journalist

Louise Mason is a radio presenter, music journalist and producer. She produces the weekly podcast Changes with Annie Macmanus and regularly hosts music radio.

Last year with her cousin Fran she took on a Tuk Tuk challenge where they raced across Sri Lanka to raise money for Childrens Adventure Farm Trust.

“Between all the teams the donations so far have helped over 5500 families and counting”

Louise regularly interviews musicians and artists for radio and at music festivals. You can have watch some of her work by clicking here.

Recently, Louise also presented a show for a project called Peace Frequencies which she co-produced in a small team with broadcaster Gemma Cairney. It was a 24hr broadcast to mark International Human Rights Day. Louise’s own show gave voices to poets and artists who have contributed to the Manchester to Palestine compilation which raised money for Gaza.

You can find out more about Louise, listen to all her shows and donate to her charitable causes by clicking here.

Whilst International Women’s Day serves as an important day to celebrate women’s achievements, it is also a reminder that we must all still strive for gender equity in society. We must not settle. In doing so, workplaces and society at large can gain new perspectives, ideas and inspire inclusion. 

Join us in celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8th 2024. We are hosting an evening of poetry and discussion with Briana Pegado. Click here for more information and book your ticket. All proceeds will be donated to Edinburgh Women’s Aid.

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• Posted on February 23rd, 2024 in Uncategorised

Do good, Feel Good

This January, Tribe Porty has partnered with Vintage Vibes, an award-winning project tackling isolation and loneliness in Edinburgh. Volunteering has enormous benefits to our mental health, our communities and our local economy. 

Why volunteering is good for your health

There’s a common misconception that volunteering is a completely selfless act and that you are some kind of superhero if you volunteer. It might surprise you to know that volunteering has some surprising major health benefits. Volunteering is good for your health and community. So it is something you might want to consider adding into your self-care routine.

Studies show volunteering helps improve your mental health and wellbeing.  Helping other people triggers a release of the hormone oxytocin. This hormone has the effect of boosting your mood and counteracts the effects of cortisol aka the stress hormone in your body. When oxytocin begins to flow, blood pressure decreases, reducing social fears and anxiety. 

Giving an hour or so a week can act as a circuit breaker to the everyday stress of work and home life. It can give you a change of scenery, the opportunity to talk to different people, more structure to your week and allow you to build confidence or learn a new skill. It can also help you reset and appreciate what is important in life by giving you more self-awareness when starting to sweat the small stuff.

Vintage Vibes

Nicky Shallcross is the Volunteer Recruiter for Edinburgh based Vintage Vibes, a project working to combat loneliness amongst over 60s by creating 1:1 friendships between volunteers.

Nicky explains her motivation for volunteering…

“After starting my own business in 2022, I started to feel lonely working from home on my own. I’d gone from a busy head office environment to working alone and being all departments. I realised that you don’t have to be elderly or living on your own to feel like this, it’s surprising at how quickly this can happen to anyone. I was familiar with Vintage Vibes and their work from their annual Christmas Card campaign. It made sense to help someone else who was feeling lonely too by becoming a Friendship Volunteer.

I completed my volunteer training, the Vintage Vibes team then set about finding me a “VIP” who had similar interests to me. For the past year I’ve visited my 85 year old friend Sheila every week for an hour or so. We talk about anything and everything and are always giggling. My family live down south so there is something grounding and familiar having someone who is older to talk to. She’s warm, caring and dispenses no nonsense advice just like my Grandparents used to. I always come away from our visits with a sense of calm.

Sheila never ceases to amaze me with her constant curiosity on what’s going on in the world. In the summer she went on a girl’s weekend to Blackpool and enjoyed watching the Glastonbury coverage. Her highlight was Elton John, she said she turned the volume up and had a dance around her living room. Aging is natural part of life; I really hope I’m as sprightly as her when I’m older.

I’ve taken Sheila to local places close to where she lives that she didn’t realise were there. She loves the Edinburgh Printworks and Grow Urban plant cafe. The staff recognise her and chat, it makes her feel seen and included. For Sheila’s 85th birthday we went to Maison De Moggy, sadly she had to give up her beloved cat during the pandemic and misses her dearly. Despite personally not being a big cat lover, we had so much fun! I really felt that feel good feeling seeing her so happy.

Volunteering has personally given me a massive boost to my own mental health and was exactly what I needed. I’ve made a friend and got to meet so many amazing people. It’s even led to a part time job opportunity with the charity so you never know what good things volunteering can lead to.”

Fighting isolation

According to a 2021 study conducted by Age Scotland, more than 200,000 older people in Scotland are lonely. This study found that 10% of people over 50 feel lonely all or most of the time. Age UKs follow up 2022 study highlights that right now in Scotland loneliness among older people is at record levels. 100,000 older people say they feel lonely all or most of the time. Two years of Covid lockdowns and living under restrictions which prevented older people seeing family and friends have left countless older people feeling acutely alone.

The Scottish Government have identified that social isolation and loneliness are significant public health concerns in Scotland. Loneliness is linked to increased risk of poor health and reduced life expectancy. A Connected Scotland – a strategy for building stronger social connections and reducing social isolation and loneliness hopes to address this. Volunteering plays a key part in the plan to help achieve this. Volunteering at Vintage Vibes can supports both health and community.

Community impact

Government funding cuts to services combined with the cost of living and the fallout from the pandemic mean charities are under more pressure than ever. Charities must now deliver critical community support services that local authorities cannot. Volunteers are pivotal to being able to do this.

In addition to the benefits for individuals, volunteering can also have a positive impact on local communities. According to Volunteer Scotland, volunteers contribute an estimated £2.26 billion to the Scottish economy each year. Volunteering can also help build stronger, more connected communities by bringing people of all generations together.

If you’re interested in varying your week, consider volunteering as way to do this as well as making someone else’s. Volunteer Edinburgh is a great resource for finding volunteer opportunities in your area to fit around your schedule and support organisations that align with your values, more information can be found here. If you’d like to find out more about becoming a Vintage Vibes Friendship Volunteer, please visit their website here.

Thanks for reading,

Nicky Shallcross, Volunteering Coordinator at Vintage Vibes.

An evening with Vintage Vibes

For our first Tribe Talks of the year we are collaborating with Vintage Vibes. Join us on 25th January from 18:30 for a fun evening hosted by volunteer coordinator, Nicky Shallcross.

Vintage Vibes is an award-winning project tackling isolation and loneliness in Edinburgh. The project, a partnership between LifeCare Edinburgh and Space at the Broomhouse Hub, started in 2015 as a fresh new way to combat isolation and loneliness among over 60s (called VIPs) in Edinburgh.

Vintage Vibes creates long lasting one-to-one friendships offering support, companionship and the opportunity for lonely VIPs to be more socially connected and active in their local community. Vintage Vibes are looking for volunteers of all ages (17+) from across Edinburgh.

This is a great opportunity to break the ice with Vintage Vibes and find out more about their work as well as how to volunteer. Nicky will introduce you to Vintage Vibes and their work and answer any questions about volunteering or how to refer someone who may benifit from their service.

Join us for a tea and a sweet treat, click here for more information and to register.

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• Posted on December 13th, 2023 in Uncategorised

Collecting Moments

Moments pass, or rather moments fly by without us even noticing. Should we consciously collect moments to find calmness and fulfillment?

In a recent blog post, Controlling Distractions, we explored our relationships with phones and how we can use them in a more meaningful way. Phones are often used to pass time and perhaps lead us to ignoring the world around us. Hannah recently shared a Mary Oliver quote on a post it note and stuck it to reception where it still lives now. The quote is as follows:

Instructions for living a life:

Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.

Sometimes, Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver’s work can teach us how to find comfort in the quiet occurrences of the everyday. In a world where we are surrounded by white noise it’s all too easy to stop paying attention. Days blur by as we fall into the rhythms of life. As a result of this, we forget how to appreciate the small delicate intricacies of living. I can’t help but feel that we have lost our awe in the everyday.  It often feels as though that in a busy world, we try to keep busy and amongst the hustle and that we are tricked into thinking this is how to feel accomplished or satisfied.  

Our obsessions with doing and comparing our productivity and accomplishments to others bares us with a neverending weight of dissatisfaction, eventually we burn ourselves out. We forget to notice the pleasure in the everyday. The pursuit of productivity leaves us feeling unfulfilled, like we’ve never quite done enough with our days, but what’s wrong with enjoying a day for exactly what it is? Start to allow your days to unfold as they are and try to stop with our tendency to constantly optimise our time. Allow our free time to be exactly that, free time and time to rest. I think that collecting moments it’s a nice way to nurture this growth.

“Our days don’t need to be optimised, but simply occupied-that is, lived in, tended to, renewed.”- Madeleine Dore, I Didn’t do the thing today.

Slowing down, paying attention, collecting moments. 

On our podcast, Working For Progress, we ask our guests for five simple pleasures. We have noticed over time that these simple pleasures are simply that, a collection of small moments. A morning coffee, the falling of cherry blossoms, a bike ride to work. They are never overly complex, nor do they tell an astonishing story. Most of these pleasures may not have been shared with others or spoken aloud. But what they do reflect is the fundamental beauty in the everyday. Free passings of time that we should consciously indulge in more often. 

Let’s practice collecting moments that bring a feeling of joy and focus on them. It’s one thing to keep a log of these small moments privately on your phone but to tell others about it spreads the joy, broadens your attention and ultimately makes us more connected to the world around us. When we look without noticing, we lose our sense of belonging.

It’s time to start to enjoy those moments of nothing… Spend your time noticing the free sounds, sights, tastes of life. I shared this thought with Hannah and Dani, I asked them to collect moments in their days so that we could reflect on them. We invite you to do the same.

“A mind narrows when it has too much to bear. Art is not born of unwanted constriction. Art wants formless and spacious quiet, anti-social daydreaming, time away from the consumptive volume of everyday life.”-Kyo Maclear, Birds Art Life: A Year of Observation

We wanted to share some moments our team collected over the past week.

Moments Hannah Collected:

• Absolute silence and the realisation that opposites co-exists, war and peace, calm and storm, excitement and dread, hope and doubt.
• A smooth shell that fits to the body.
• New questions from my daughter showing her view of the world and her place in it is changing.
• The rhythm of the train on old tracks, clackety-clack.
• Waiting and watching for a porpoise to break the surface – it could happen in an instant or never or always out of view. The infinity of possibility, unable to look away, always searching. 
• The warmth of the first hug with new friends.

Moments Alice Collected:

• How fresh and cold the air felt this morning, it felt refreshing in my lungs.
• A chunky Robin.
• Sun hitting the dew on the grass.
• The sun setting earlier and finding calmness in this rather than dread.
• During my walk to work, I spent several minutes in the trees looking at clusters of mushrooms.
• I passed four people on my way home, with each there was an exchange of a hello or good afternoon. I thought that was wholesome. We should make more effort to do so.
• The feeling of missing bike rides.

Moments Dani Collected:

• Trees. So many trees to examine, get to know, look up and find out more about them. To sit with, absorb their calm, inhale their smells, charged by their strength.
• The colours changing with the new season. Not just the leaves but the sky and light too.
• The feeling that no one is really a stranger. We all share so much.
• Hugs from friends and family who are still happy to see me (even when it has only been a few hours).
• Long, slow morning chats with pals over coffee (and oracle cards).
• Random whatsapp messages reading I love you from friends for no reason.
• Watching dumping waves with equal parts trepidation and awe.

As always, thanks for reading. You can read all of our previous blogs by clicking here. Make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletters by filling out the form below:

• Posted on October 25th, 2023 in Uncategorised

Working For Progress

We recently took the time to record a season wrap up episode of our podcast, Working For Progress.

Reflecting on Working For Progress

Working For Progress was launched with the intention of clebrating our communities and sharing their individual journeys. We are lucky to have a community of creative people, all doing interesting work and who are also interested in the bigger picture. Their health, their communities, their impact on the world. It is important for us to connect through conversations about how we craft our working life and make progress. Each episode sees us ask our communities questions about their working life, the challenges they’ve faced and the progress they’ve made.

It was funny to think back to the initial awkward fears that producing and recording a podcast brings. We are forever grateful to our pals over at Glocast for allowing us to record our trailer episode with them. Perhaps without this as a date in the diary to record we would not now be reflecting on our eleven published episodes! 

We spoke at length about what stood out to us in season one and we really wanted to thank our guests for their honesty and vulnerability. Even recording a conversation with people that you know in a place that you are familiar with can bring nerves. Not to mention that using a mic can initially feel very intimidating. It has been a joy to listen to the intricacies of people’s journeys and without creating the space to reflect there’s so much we may have never known! The podcast has made both myself and Dani feel ever more connected to you all. Taking the time to interview each person has served as a valuable reminder of how important connection and conversation is. 

Dani reflects: “Each person brought their unique story to the conversation, a bit of where they have come from in terms of significant life moments which have impacted on what they are doing today. Thinking back, it was often a person or an interaction which profoundly impacted a decision or direction. Sometimes only with hindsight do you notice such influences.”

Working at the speed of trust

We also spoke about what we wanted out of the podcast. I really wanted to showcase all of the possibilities your working life can bring and highlight the turning points in people’s career journeys. For myself, I am very early doors. I have spent most of my working life in hospitality. I adore the world of hospitality but always desired something more stable without losing what I value. Before Tribe, I remember having this weird sensation that I was failing or doing things wrong and that I simply wanted more out of my working life. 

Coming to Tribe gave me the term value based work. It’s a privilege to work alongside so many people where value is at the heart of their working lives. At points in my own journey, value based work felt out of reach and at times it just felt like ‘a nice idea’. I wanted this podcast to highlight how many different avenues and directions life could take you. Career journeys are not always a linear path like you are told at school. For me, each episode really encapsulates this as each guest highlighted the journey and risks that they have taken themselves.

It was interesting to note how the support of communities and the right people at the right time came up alot in each person’s journey. Alongside this came trust and putting yourself in the relationship of trust to find trust. These seem to be vital ingredients in both navigating working lives and in taking risks. Here’s what Nasim Forootan said about the importance of trust: 

“It’s okay to trust and to open yourself up and be vulnerable sometimes with how you are feeling and what you’re seeing. Sometimes you need to have difficult conversations to explore the nuisance of things. Have faith that things will come out right. If you go into a situation with doubt, you won’t let yourself explore the relationship that could be. Trust is a really strong value for me. Trust is embedded in everything I do. When we work in organizations or when we look at community spaces and governments, it’s one element that is constantly broken. If we had a tiny bit more trust in each other the world would be a better place”-Nasim Forootan

 

The importance of community

Trust and honesty certainly became an overarching theme, both in trusting in yourself and the people around you. This is why coworking is so incredibly important. It’s not often in life you get to choose the people around you and people are such a strong and beautiful part of Tribe. Tribe is not just a desk to work from, it is the people that you’re sitting next to, have lunch with and stop for a tea break and a chat with. Coworking perfectly encapsulates the human need and want for both community and connection. 

During our chat, Dani reflected: “Think of Brene Brown’s saying, ‘It’s hard to hate people when you see them up close and know their story’,  it’s true. Bear with me, I am so far from hating anyone, especially this crew. But in a similar vein, the care and love I now have for each guest has expanded. To know them a bit more, to be trusted enough that they share themselves with us (and everyone who listens) is not taken lightly. We could easily brush it off, quite normal to be on a podcast and chat about your working life. But when people share their values, why they do what they do, what brings them a sense of belonging and awe, it connects us in generative ways.”

Bob Cummins of SODAK amply said during his interview that “Emotional safety is formed with people. If you’ve got others you can take the journey with, it makes risks easier”.  We hope that in listening to each of these stories you may find more confidence in navigating your own journey and not to feel scared of taking the necessary risks. Founder of Good Life School, Lorna Lythgoe spoke of this in such a beautiful way whilst reflecting on her on career journey :

“I felt like I had leapt off a cliff, I was falling and would occasionally land on a shelf. It was painful and scary and uncomfortable, which sounds like I’m saying don’t do it. In retrospect, now I know that was the growth and the career path, I started to gleefully leap off as I understood It wasn’t an abyss”- Lorna Lythgoe 

Keep working for progress

Most of all, our podcast makes us feel so very grateful for the communities of Tribe Porty and Keystone. We are so lucky to meet so many incredible people through these communities. It is an honour to share your stories. We want to keep showcasing you as the brilliant, incredible and completely normal people that you are. People who are real and care deeply about others and this planet. We hope that our little podcast helps you to stay surrounded by good people, keep true to your values and to keep working for progress. (Too cringe? Nah, we love it!). You can listen to all of our episodes, including our season wrap up by clicking here. Fancy joining myself and Dani in an episode? Drop us a line at: more@tribeporty.org

As always, thanks for reading. You can read all of our previous blogs by clicking here. Make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletters by filling out the form below:

• Posted on September 19th, 2023 in Uncategorised

Controlling Distractions

How distracted are you by your phone and is it worth your time?

A frequent conversation around the coworking table is the nuisance and distraction that technology, phones and social media brings. This stems from doom scrolling, to issues spurred on from social media and questions on how to ‘correctly’ parent technology. It’s a big multilayered problem and it seems the thread of desire is to find a way to detach. We want to remove ourselves from passive connection and stop being distracted by our phones.

Why have phones become such a distraction?

When we use our phones we are selling only our time, it’s often the moments where we want the time to pass that we fall into the trap. We are always wanting to be busy, we always want to be consuming, maybe it’s time to step back and let yourself be bored. Let yourself day dream and be alone with your thoughts. 

“Solitude Deprivation. A state in which you spend close to zero time alone with your own thoughts and free from input from other minds.”― Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World

So what are the real problems we cause ourselves when we take to our phones for light entertainment or to pass some time? A study in 2007 by Dr Martin Hilbert and Dr Priscila Lopez found that the average person is drowned in 174 newspapers worth of information everyday, across TV, radio and reading. It’s easy to assume that this figure is even greater today. When you consider how much information we receive everytime we pick up our phones you soon realise why it’s so easy to be overwhelmed by the doom and gloom in the world. Or more likely, you feel yourself becoming ever more detached and unresponsive. We have no time to form any true compassion or understanding as we are always onto the next big news story. 

Time to break from the distraction?

Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics, found that on average an adult working in an office stays on a singular task for no more than three minutes before switching tasks. We are tricked into thinking that we are great multitaskers, we are not- we are however very good at getting distracted and losing focus. Mark argues that especially during computer based work, instead of seeing a new tab, email reply or doom scroll as adding a new task, see it as adding a new distraction. This sounds easy but we have already programmed our brains to shift focus constantly, this is why we always are reaching for our phones. 

After 14 years, I deleted my Twitter account and removed the app from my phone. This was spurred on by the change to X, in a weird way the visual change prompted discomfort but also made it easier to delete and let go, so thanks for that Elon! Since then, I notice myself whilst routinely checking Facebook and Instagram my thumb automatically going to tap the Twitter app. My brain is fully in a trance, it’s terrifying! Another thing I noticed, whenever I think of something funny my brain frames the thought as a tweet. It’s like an ingrained desire and need to tweet it, again…terrifying! 

Make it worth your time

I feel like I do not need to delve into the problems around phones too much as we all experience it daily. I did consider counting how many times I picked up my phone whilst writing this piece but I feared it would be too shameful of a number. However, I do not believe that a complete detox, hiatus or banishment is the answer. Nor is blaming or shaming ourselves. I think it’s more important to consider the good things phones and tech can bring to our lives. Think of how much time has been saved through emails, online banking, google and life admin. We just need to be more aware and purposeful of how we use this tech. 

For me, it’s the small impromptu moments of time where picking up my phone is becoming a problem. The automatic reflex to have a quick look always turns into at least ten minutes of scrolling. It is entirely passive consumption and is the definition of needless. I’m really good at misplacing my phone, something I’m weirdly proud of. It means that it’s not constantly on my mind or in my hand. Now when I lose track of it, instead of hunting it down straight away I purposefully question why I need to find it? What do I need it for? Unless the reason is valid, like calling my nan or if there’s a fire that needs tending to, I do not bother looking for it.

Find the balance

‘You want to read a book, but you are pulled away by the pings and paranoia of social media. You want to spend a few uninterrupted hours with your child, but you keep anxiously checking your work email. You want to set up a business, but your life dissolves into a blur of facebook posts that only make you feel envious and anxious. Through no fault of your own, there never seems to be enough stillness.’-Johann Hari, Stolen Focus

By detaching from our phones, time alone can become more nourishing, remove the need to compare and focus solely on ourselves. Instead of taking to social media for a ‘break’ try out some meditation, a little day dream, a quick stretch or a wee stroll around. Maybe what you’re craving is in fact a quick brain reset! Choose to feast on your own life, instead of small snippets of others. Rember, tech is designed to be addictive but we can choose to have a more purposeful relationship with it.

HERE ARE OUR COWORKERS THOUGHTS, TIPS AND TRICKS! 

• APPS (the irony). A few of our members use apps such as: Niagra Launcher and Minimalist Phone
• Deleting social media accounts and using IRL or direct messages to connect
• Deleting apps that have no regular use or purpose 
• Removing apps from my home screen so that I would need to search for them
• Creating time limits for usage 
• Phone-free Sundays (it’s amazing how much time you gain!)
• Newsletters, I have become a big fan of newsletters. It’s a great way to consume meaningful and chosen content without the gateway to endlessly scroll. 
• Keeping a ‘lookup list’ I take note of things that peak my interest. I can then I look up these in moments of boredom without falling down the rabbit hole. Example: What is Suminagashi? Do bumblebees hibernate in houses?
• Setting alarms which signal times to not use your phone
• Uninstalling the app and using web browser versions (just to make it less accessible)
• Educate yourself on how the apps and algorithms work, as they say ignorance is bliss. Once you learn the ins and outs of how they can manipulate your attention, you might second guess why you use them.

Don’t forget, habit is key and habits are harder to break than they are to form.

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Thanks for reading,

 Alice.

• Posted on August 24th, 2023 in Uncategorised

Finding Your Ikigai

The Man Who Wanted To See It All

I recently stumbled across a documentary titled, The Man Who Wanted To See It All. It told the story of Heinz Stücke, in 1962 he left Germany and set off on a bike ride touring the world which spanned close to 50 years and covered enough distance to circumnavigate the world 15 times around.

What I found striking about this documentary is that Heinz did not set out to be the best cyclist, or the best photographer and any records that he broke were seemingly a welcomed accident. His soul focus and purpose were set on experience, connection, seeing and being. After leaving his home town in 1962, Heinz decided to not return home as he deemed going home as the end of his adventure. After over 50 years of nomadic living, this is where the documentary found its focus.

The documentary shows Heinz putting his memories in order and sorting through his tens of thousands of photographs, reuniting with family and friends and reflecting on his achievements and sacrifices. Something that has stuck with me since watching this documentary was how his friends spoke of his life journey. Friends from childhood reflected on his journey with great solace, they asked the question “I wonder if he is happy?”. The conversation felt heavy and remorseful. In contrast, the family that grew close with Heinz in Japan spoke of Heinz and his journey with tremendous joy and fascination, they remarked that Heinz had achieved Ikigai. But what is Ikigai and how do you find your ikigai?

“I consider myself a treasure trove, what I hope of the day is that it gives me the pleasure of finding something new” – Heinz Stücke: Home is Elsewhere.

What is ikigai?

Ikigai roughly translates to, a reason for being. The word itself is composed of two worlds: iki, which means life and gai, which describes value or worth. The word can be used similarly to happiness but ecompasses a deeper nuance. Ikigai is also about discovering your purpose and aligning your actions with this. If you have a clear sense of purpose, you can then align your sense of purpose with your values and goals. 

By thinking of ikigai in relation to Heinz, it’s easy to assume that to achieve it you must do something extraordinary, however the true meaning of ikigai is rooted in the ordinary. Ultimately, this practice allows for moments of happiness in each day, you can find meaning and joy in even the most mundane tasks. 

“I found the way of life I enjoy, and what is better than to follow a life which is fulfillment. The journey is my fulfillment.” –Heinz Stücke: Home is Elsewhere.

 

Using ikigai as a tool 

In Western society, ikigai is seen as a tool to achieve a long and happy life. A google search will show you a plethora of venn diagrams on how to achieve it with four overlapping qualities: what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.

This Western approach includes work and payment which isn’t necessarily the truest adaptation of the meaning. At its core, ikigai is as simple as finding out what makes you happy each and every day. When you ask yourself questions around the principles of Ikigai it is vital to curate answers about you and your soul, not your work.

Of course I agree that you can align the principles of ikigai with your working life in order to achieve happiness and satisfaction in all meanings of the words. Nevertheless, I think it is wrong to consider your work when asking questions around ikigai. Ikigai is deeper than your work, it is about you, your inner being and how to nourish your soul. Once you have answered these questions honestly, you can then apply these to your work practice.

“Japanese people believe that the sum of small joys in everyday life results in more fulfilling life as a whole”- Yukari Mitsuhashi

Asking the right questions to find your Ikigai

Your life is not limited to your work. It is only possible to find ikigai in your practice if your work’s values and ethics align to your own, your work must also actively nurture your personal growth and wellbeing. There is nothing wrong with the Western adaptation of ikigai and it can be used as a powerful tool to navigate and curate your working life.

Regardless, I think we should break away from ‘Ikigai in the workplace’ and instead keep it simple. It is far more powerful to get in touch with yourself. If you can find something in the everyday that makes you happy, brings you joy or a sense of awe you too can find ikigai. No matter how big or small.

• • What lifts your spirits?
  • What gives you a feeling of awe?
  • What are small things that you cherish?
  • What gives your life meaning?
  • What might you want to contribute?
  • What are you doing when you lose track of time?

Write down your answers to these questions and actively incorporate the answers into your everyday life. This is how to find and nurture your Ikigai and lead a happier and fufilled life.

“essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.” – Hector Garcia, The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life.

Helpful Links

To read more about awe, click here.

Want to find out more about Ikigai, click here.

To find out more about Hans Stücke, click here.

We post new blogs every month. To see more, click here.

Join us for our next Tribe Talks with Rise of Happiness to help create your path to happiness. To book your free ticket, click here.

Share your thoughts and keep in touch by signing up  to our newsletter below!

Thanks for reading,

 Alice.

• Posted on March 27th, 2023 in Uncategorised

Embrace Equity

International Women’s Day is on the 8th of March. This years theme is Embrace Equity. But what does equity mean and how do we embrace something that isn’t always there?

What is Equity?

“An equitable outcome is one where every individual from every demographic has the opportunity to reach their full potential resulting in more economic opportunity for everyone.”

–Imani Dunbar

The simple definition of equity refers to fairness and justice. Whilst it is easy to list it as a synonym to equality, it is in fact a very different matter. Equality fights for the same for everyone, expecting that this will make people equal. However, this wrongly assumes that we all start out in the same place. Inequality affects many people, historically it has and continues to block marginalized communities. 

Equality revolves around the concept of fairness, which makes things tricky as it is often assumed that being fair means that everybody should get the same thing. Equality is only fair if we all start with the same things, equality only works in a world where we are all equal to begin with. The only way to truly remove these barriers is through personalized approaches. 

The goal of equity is to change systemic and structural barriers that get in the way of people’s ability to thrive.  Equity acknowledges that people do not begin life in the same place and unfortunately, evolving circumstances make it increasingly difficult for people to achieve the same goals. Despite leaps of progress, women are still under-represented in the workplace. Even more so, inequality affects people of colour, people with disabilities, economically disadvantaged groups and those in the LGBTQ+ community. This is why equity is so important, peoples experiences are diverse and reach beyond gender. 

What does it mean to Embrace Equity?

“ 42% of young women have experienced discrimination whilst working or looking for work. Furthermore, 73% of women experience bias at work—yet less than a third of employees are able to recognize bias when they see it.”

– Young Women’s Trust: Annual Survey 2022

Whether it is deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it not only harder for women to get hired, but it blocks promotion and career progression. Aside from this, it negatively impacts day to day life. Finding connection and support at work is a major challenge. Since most senior leaders are men, women are less likely to have access to mentors who can not only relate to their experiences, but promote important change. 

Significant numbers of young women are in precarious financial situations, this hardship is only spurred on in the ongoing cost of living crisis. Young Women’s Trust: Annual Survey 2022 found that 44% of young women have been offered zero hour contracts in 2022, compared to 33% of young men. 

Active Allyship in the Workplace 

“Women and underrepresented groups alone cannot solve diversity and inclusion problems. An ally is a person who stands up for others to proactively build inclusion in our workplace”

–Rosanna Durruthy

So how do we as individuals, or as employers, managers or coworkers ‘Embrace Equity’ in a system which is flawed? One vital way is to become an active ally. Active Allyship in the workplace means that we as individuals must put in the groundwork to not only examine, but confront personal and systematic bias. When we not only witness, but acknowledge bias we can then build actionable change. 

Active Allyship is arguably the most important catalyst to not only build but drive inclusion in our workplaces and communities. It must become a daily practice sustained through not only action, but education. Rosanna Durruthy writes about the importance of connection in order to “explore where you can be creating opportunities, build professional bonds and act as a resource and advocate for others in your professional community”.

Ok things have improved over time, but this doesn’t mean we should settle. Nor does it mean that we should overlook barriers that disadvantage groups still face. Make the commitment to yourself to become an active ally, ensure that people’s rights are upheld and respected. It is important to create communities that revolve around compassionate accountability. Remember, your perspective will always be limited by your own circumstances and personal biases. Keep listening, sharing and growing and actively drive for inclusive culture. It is only through embracing equity that we can achieve equality. 

Get involved with International Women’s Day:

International Women’s Day Events

Tribe Porty: Celebrate International Women’s Day

Keystone Women: Find Your Community

Building an Equitable Workplace Culture For All

Edinburgh Women’s Aid: Challenge 50 Fundraiser

Share your thoughts and keep in touch by signing up  to our newsletter below!

Thanks for reading,

 Alice.

• Posted on February 28th, 2023 in Uncategorised

Playing With Creativity to Find Fun

Why should we add creative play into our lives to find fun?

“It is in playing and only in playing that an individual is able to be creative and to use their whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self.”

― Donald Woods Winnicott, Playing and Reality

Creativity is unique to each individual, it encapsulates many different forms, processes and connections. Creativity and play can generate an important challenge; embracing fear and your inner critic. We lose interest in hobbies as we grow older, arguably this is as they need to hold a greater meaning than ‘just for fun’. Spending our precious time on something, anything, must produce a worthy outcome and once play is lost from our lives, it is difficult to regain. 

A quick google search of the word ‘play’ will primarily show images of children playing, but it is just as important for adults to play too! The further removed we become from the idea of play, the more troubling the idea becomes. A purposeless activity becomes a concept that is impossible to grasp and often causes feelings of awkwardness. The average person has up to 60,000 thoughts a day and creative play has been shown to help focus the mind. Creative play and finding your flow can reduce anxiety, depression and stress. So why is it so alien to us?

Using Creative Play to find Flow

Flow is a state of mind achieved when you are fully engrossed in an activity. When you lose all sense of self and time, that’s flow. It’s been found that repetitive creative tasks can help you find your flow, tasks such as writing, knitting and drawing are great examples of this. Once you have achieved a state of flow, your brain becomes flooded with dopamine, the feel good chemical that helps to motivate you and ultimately will encourage you to repeat your chosen form of play. 

“…It is when we act freely, for the sake of the action itself rather than for ulterior motives, that we learn to become more than what we were.”

― Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Happiness

Using Flow to encourage Play

Having fun with creative play is often seen as a nice idea, but we are at a loss as to where to start. For most people, it’s been so long since they last played, they have forgotten altogether how to do it. Whilst it is a nice idea, we are no longer sure what it means to play. In the words of Maya Angelou, creativity is a bottomless pit: ‘The more you use it, the more you have’. Creative play becomes even more important as we age and as our lives get busier. When embracing play, it is important to remember that the act of play must be deemed as being more important than any form of outcome. Most of all, creative play should bring you joy, you should engage in play to immerse yourself in a moment to moment experience. 

“Life without play is a grinding, mechanical existence organized around doing the things necessary for survival.Play is the vital essence of life. It is what makes life lively.”

― Stuart Brown, Play

 

Growing Down to find Fun!

Often, we recognise that people benefit from free spirited play such as dancing, scribbling or writing but cannot see the point in engaging in it ourselves. Art in any form wears a veil of elitist mysticism. If you view yourself as an ‘outsider’ to the culture, it becomes even more difficult to engage with it. Instinctively, we lean into these feelings of imposter syndrome by becoming more concerned with the physical outcome than the positive internal feelings the act brings us. Creative play is not about making great art, or a great piece of writing, it’s about finding your flow and happiness.

I think sometimes we need to grow down, free ourselves from the constraints of what it means to be an adult. Let yourself indulge in silly fun and stop thinking about what is and isn’t possible. Be in the moment, open your mind, find your flow and remember, the act is more important than the outcome.

Need Some Inspiration?

• 100 day challenge
• Attend a local Workshop or a Class to help with inspiration and motivation. (The first time is always the hardest)
• Take 20 minutes of each day to play, this could be through free writing, doodling or playing a game.
• Move your body, pop on some tunes and have a mid-afternoon boogie. Don’t be shy!
• Most importantly, decide what fun means to you and make the time for it.

Share your thoughts and keep in touch by signing up  to our newsletter below!

Thanks for reading,

 Alice.

• Posted on January 30th, 2023 in Uncategorised