Awesome Stories 279

/ July 30, 2016

This week Awesome Stories brings you better conversation, edible cutlery, death, meaning and portable learning.

Better Conversation

In this TED Talk, Celeste Headlee shares 10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation. As some of you know, communication is a big deal for me. I’ve spent my work life in sales learning about better communication and written many posts about communication. As Celeste shares, one of the best things we can do is be interested in the other person. And listening plays a big part in connecting and understanding. Especially in challenging situations, we’re usually jumping ahead to our response rather than actually listening to the person. Watch the video for the rest of her tips for better conversations.

Accepting Death

In this article called learning to die, Brother David Steindl-Rast explores how we can face death to make our lives richer. Beyond his own monastery, which embraces death as part of their foundation and faith, he found that most spiritual traditions have some foundation related to embracing death. By bringing an awareness of death into each moment, our lives can become more alive, filled with meaning and gratitude. Brother David offers a rich exploration of life, death, meaning, letting go and flowing with life. He proposes that embracing death is a way of bringing more balance into our lives.

Edible Cutlery

Narayana Peesapaty was bothered by the huge waste from disposable chopsticks and cutlery. Beyond the oil and toxins from manufacturing, the estimated 350 billion pieces of disposable cutlery used each year are clogging our landfills. Narayana Peesapaty decided to create edible cutlery to help regional farmers and the environment. After experimenting, he came up with cutlery that is not only biodegradable but edible. They are made from rice, millet and wheat, and even come in a variety of flavors to make them even more fun to eat. Or, you can dispose of them and they will decompose in 4-5 days. I love this idea and would love to see all disposable cups, plates and cutlery made from edible or at least biodegradable materials.

ZubaBoxeducation, Awesome Stories

I’ve seen many creative uses for shipping containers including homes, offices, portable greenhouses and now this. Computer Aid International is outfitting shipping containers as portable learning environments. They are solar powered internet cafes that can be brought to remote areas or even refugee camps offering people connections to the outside world for education, training and more. Computer Aid International is a non-profit organization that makes these Zubaboxes and ships them to areas in need. You can explore their website to learn more or donate to help them share more Zubaboxes.

May our creativity be used to improve the world. 

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24 thoughts on “Awesome Stories 279”

  3. I loved these stories and videos. The edible (or at least biodegradable) cutlery is a wonderful idea. And it reminds me about the cappucino served in a chocolate coffee cup. It came with an edible spoon too. This was a few years ago in Paris 🙂

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  6. Superb video.. Conversation and the art of communication is such an important skill, one I fear that is being lost in our current day of soundbite and being hooked into all things techno….however, this video shows that good communication, and yes, listening is alive and well….janet:)

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  7. Wow! Wonderful stories, Brad! We all struggle with communication these days. The video is an extraordinary visual for my students this fall and for my collegues, too???
    I also found the second article extremely interesting while not many authors or not enough talk about this topic. Dying is a way to live in fact.
    Food for thought!
    Have a great inspiring week!

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  8. Smiled at the edible cutlery Brad.. Loved the container to teach IT skills.. I think if we knew that today would be our last day on Earth we would all live our lives differently..
    I well remember my sister when facing Cancer and having a young family of 4 children.. It altered her whole perspective on Life and Living.. 🙂
    If I could give a Pound £ for everytime some one jumped in and over took a conversation without ‘Listening’ to what had been said except their news.. I would be rich.. 🙂
    One thing about Support working it taught us how to Listen and also to what was not being said..
    Great shares again Brad.. Thank you my friend
    Have an Awesome week too ❤ hugs Sue

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  9. I liked the tip about not nodding the head and repeating what the other person said to show that he is listening, because if one is listening, it’s obvious,

    Also, it was helpful to find out that, people can talk at about 2,500 words a minute, but can only listen at 500 words per minute; which says to me — slow down one’s talk.

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      • I’m guilty too, I think that the culture is speedy; the video was a nice and gentle nudge to slow down — and not only will it help with communication, it will also help the mind calm down, Lawd (a friend of mine says Lord that way and I always chuckle because she does it for fun!) knows we all need to calm down!

        Thanks, Brad, Blessings right back at ya. 🙂

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