Life goes fast. Sometimes it seems to be going faster than we as humans can handle, yet it’s because of us that things develop so fast. This is the trailer from the film ‘Surviving Progress’. It presents the story of human advancement as awe-inspiring and double-edged. It reveals the grave risk of running the 21st century’s software — our knowhow — on the ancient hardware of our primate brain which hasn’t been upgraded in 50,000 years. With rich imagery and an immersive soundtrack, filmmakers Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks launch us on journey to contemplate our evolution from cave-dwellers to space explorers. Seeing this definitely makes me think. How about you?
Pollination is vital to life on Earth. Pollination is the process by which plant pollen is transferred from the male reproductive organs to the female reproductive organs to form seeds. In flowering plants, pollen is often transferred by the wind or by insects. And although it happens all around us, pollination is largely unseen by the human eye. Filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg shows us the intricate world of pollen and pollinators with gorgeous high-speed images from his film “Wings of Life,” inspired by the vanishing of one of nature’s primary pollinators, the honeybee.
Television, internet, magazines, newspapers, billboards… It’s hard to not be influenced by the cosmetic industry. They show us people with a perfect appearance, living in a perfect world. We see it every day. And what you see every day, without even knowing it, slowly becomes ‘standard’. But let’s face it, the standard face doesn’t look as perfect as the advertisers want us to believe. No matter the promises they make, no matter how much of their product we buy. This film (sponsored by Dove) shows why our perception of beauty is distorted. A model with a perfect appearance, living in a perfect world, isn’t perfect and neither is her world. Watch this and you’ll understand how it works.
Thanks to a friend of mine, I stumbled upon a guy called Espen Fadnes, a Norwegian bass jumper. He says: “People who’ve seen me about to fly off a cliff say I look perfectly calm. It’s the complete opposite. I’m terrified. I’ve just developed techniques and methods to cope with that fear”. So, what is it like flying down a mountain at 250 km per hour? Espen – who is the world’s fastest flying human being 2010 – teamed up with project managers goovinn to communicate the experience of flying. It worked: this will blow your mind. It did blow my mind, I can tell you that. It’s a breathtaking mini movie (only 05:37!) that hopefully inspires you to face your own fears in one way or another.
“The funny thing about fairy tales, is that we forget about them so fast. And we grow up, we buy things, we build up fences. We sell our innocence and forget our dreams. We forget who we are in order to be something we’re not. And we’ll keep believing in this so called truths, until we forget how to live. Or until we open our eyes, and wake up.” This text comes from the trailer of the film ‘Intentio’ by Loïc Wirth. I wondered: are my eyes open? Am I awake? I mean, really? And – how about you?
Welcome to Paris on a warm afternoon somewhere in September. You’ll be accompanied by singer/songwriter Lianne La Havas. As she takes you through the crowded streets, her soulful soothing voice and gentle guitar play, really are an oasis of peace. Watching this video will make you feel as if you’re actually there. It’s a blissful afternoon tune, perfect for a sunday. The song she’s playing is called ‘No Room for Doubt’ and the video is shot as a part of the great Take Away Shows by La Blogothèque. More Take Away Shows that featured on focusNjoy.com, click here and here.
This film is about a lonely desk toy, who longs for escape from the dark confines of the office. So, one night he decides to take a cross country road trip to the Pacific Coast in the only way he can – using a toy car and Google Maps Street View. I think we can all relate to this in the sense that every now and then we all have the desire to break free from something. And every now and then we all long for something that is beyond our reach. So, lets be inspired by the power of creativity that ultimately gets this toy to where he wants to be. Or in the words of Albert Einstein: “Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere”. You can read more about that in this post.
People are vulnerable as individuals and as a species. And fighting vulnerability is useless. No matter how hard you try. Simply because you can’t control everything and so your life can turn upside down at any moment of any day. You may be the King of the World, the Smartest Woman in the Universe or the Sexiest Man Alive; it won’t help. You can however hide from it. And most of us do. Behind a fancy job title, nice car or house. Interesting friends, a busy agenda, designer clothes or healthy hipster life style, but sooner or later vulnerability will find you. So what can you do? Well, it’s simple.
Simply face it and embrace it. Because when you embrace it, you no longer need to fight it. You no longer need to run or hide from it, by keeping up appearances and putting energy in this hopeless attempt to avoid the discomfort of feeling it. You can now be as you are, vulnerable, instead of pretending not to be. The way I see it: vulnerability is indestructible. So by letting it in and become a part of you, in a way that makes you indestructible. Daring to be vulnerable gives you power to be.
Are you alive?
From time to time it’s good to ask yourself: “Am I alive?” Because it’s not uncommon to just be busy doing what you’re always doing. To be caught up in a routine. And that routine may very well result in hours, days, weeks, months or even years of living, without actually being alive. Because there’s more to living, than just breathing. Imagine someone in a coma and it becomes clear… I recently attended a re-birthing workshop and I experienced the difference between A) normal breathing: a mostly shallow, kind of mechanic and unconscious way of getting the bare minimum of oxygen ‘shots’ and B) breathing with full awareness, in a rich flow, organic and fully open to receive life’s energy in all it’s splendor. It let me experience the meaning of the phrase: “Just because you breathe, doesn’t mean you’re alive”. And so I challenge you, as I challenge myself, to wonder: am I really alive or mostly just busy breathing?
Who am I… or rather, what am I?
I guess you’re familiar with this sensation: one moment you feel great, and the next… well not so great. I sometimes feel like I’m nothing and sometimes I feel as though I’m everything. It’s a really fine line, much like it is with being crazy or brilliant. John Lennon had a nice way of putting it. He said: “Part of me suspects I’m a loser. The other part of me thinks I’m God Almighty”. I wrote a post about that one too. Anyway. A couple of days ago, I stumbled upon the “I, a universe of atoms…” quote by the American physicist Richard P. Feynman (1918 – 1988). And it’s stuck in my head ever since. Because to me his words are both mind blowing and heart warming. The thought of “I” being a tiny, stand alone atom – and an infinite, whole universe at the same time, blows my ego off it’s socks. Because “I” isn’t (only) the ‘earthly me’. “I” is a single atom and an entire universe, completing one another. Think about that when you’re looking at yourself in the mirror. So yes, it’s a quote I gratefully meditate on. It’s so simple and yet so deeply profound. It makes me feel humble and larger than life at the same time – it’s liberating. Look at us humans. Look at you, look at me. We are both nothing and everything. Again. That’s just… wow.
focusNjoy #122: Stop searching, start finding
Imagine you’re looking for something, but you can’t find it. Annoying. Yes. Very. But then, maybe you’re not supposed to find it. Or maybe you’re just looking in the wrong place. Or maybe… you already found it, but you don’t realize it yet. Whatever the reason is, you might want to stop searching. Why? Well think about it: as long as you’re busy searching – you’re not… finding!
A fresh start for focusNjoy
Dear friends, it’s been more than a year since my last post! Honestly, I needed the break but a lot of good things have happened to me in the meantime. Apart from a great time at Eyeworks Netherlands, where I worked as a Senior Creative with some great people at the Program Development Team, it were exciting times for me personally as well. Too much to tell you in one post. But I will share more in the coming months, because it’s been truly transformational.
I’m planning on a brand new start of focusNjoy at the end of April. And this time, I intend to actually make some money haha – because running an ad-free blog is great, but from a financial point of view it wasn’t a success and one of the reasons for me to get back to television. Later in 2014 I intend to finally start with my workshops in Amsterdam. I’m super excited about that but let’s see how things develop. Anway – I’m back and I’m feeling fresh. Hoping to hear from you – always feel free to send me an email and say hi!
