A WordPress Site – Finding the right balance between our privilege and our responsibility

Of Real Estate and Reconciliation

We spent New Years this year at a cottage and the weekend was filled with all manner of interesting conversation about issues that have preoccupied us in the past year. One of those is truth and reconciliation in our relationship with indigenous people in Canada.

In one of those conversations there was some reference to the value of real estate in the Haldimand tract “valued at billions of dollars”. I think it was made in an effort to get at the magnitude of the injustice. That comment got me thinking about the value of real estate, reconciliation, and how we make our way forward. My concern is that the reference to the dollars skews the real value because, while dollars may be the way that we as settlers measure value, it is not how our indigenous brothers and sisters see land value.

I also think it’s misleading. The truth is that it is settler development that created the dollar value (or even the concept of thinking of land value in dollars) and changed the land in a way that would be impossible to restore. The land had value in a very different way for indigenous peoples. Indigenous people did not consider themselves owners of the land. Value was not measured in dollars but rather in terms of what the land was able to provide in food, spiritual wellness, and a sense of place. We settlers could learn from that. The settler influence, however, is not necessarily all bad. Capitalism has created a lot of wealth and innovation and, as a result, a lot of influence in the rest of the world.

So what is the way forward?

Personally, I am less inclined toward guilt and angst about the effects of colonialization and more inclined toward grief at what was lost. Guilt may be appropriate, but it’s not useful. The thing that I grieve as I learn about our history is that our forefathers had a tremendous opportunity to learn from a culture that was very different from ours (and superior in many ways) when they first met the indigenous peoples of this land. And that opportunity was squandered because of an arrogant belief in our superiority.

Imagine, if you will, a world in which a capitalist system was built with the good of society as one of its pillars. We cannot deny that our capitalist system has achieved some remarkable things over the last 200 years, albeit driven by a construct of scarcity and competition. And as someone who has grown up in that system, and has seen the quality of life benefits and technical innovations that the capitalist model has provided us, I am not quite prepared to toss the whole system out. And I don’t think our society is willing to throw that baby out with the bath water either. I do, however, believe that we need to make adjustments. One of the results of the current model is that 1% of the people hold 50% of the world’s wealth, and the wealth gap has continued to grow. That trajectory is not serving anyone.

Indigenous people valued the land for the abundance that it provided for their society. Success was measured by whether or not everyone had what they needed to thrive. Capitalism pits individuals against each other in competition for resources and output. There are winners and losers. What if we could harness the competitive nature of capitalism to include a measurement of the social benefit that is created by business operations rather than relying on charity and philanthropy to serve the needs of those less able to compete? What kind of innovation could we imagine if one of the values of capitalism was that no one could be left behind?

For the past couple of years I have been sitting on a thing called The New Economy RoundTable brainstorming ways in which we can influence a better work environment. I believe that we could improve our world by educating consumers to demand more from the corporations that provide our goods and services. We need to be creative about how we can improve our capitalist model, and I wonder if using indigenous values as a guide would be a helpful way to frame our thinking.

We are the Champions

I recently listened in on a panel discussion that was organized by the World Economic Forum. It was a discussion on a set of 21 metrics that had been developed by a group of leading accounting firms in conjunction with the International Business Council. These metrics are intended to better measure business progress on Sustainable Development goals. And ultimately contribute to a growing chorus of voices pushing for a shift back to stakeholder capitalism.

This push is driven by a recognition that the current path the world is on (shareholder capitalism) has not served society all that well. Sure it has created wealth and innovation, things that benefit society, but it has also concentrated that wealth with a group of people that has been shrinking in size for the last 40 years, resulting in a growing divide between rich and poor that is ultimately not sustainable and contributes to unrest in the world. The 2020 pandemic has exacerbated that divide laying bear the vulnerability of people in long term care, front line workers, gig workers etc. And perhaps providing an opportunity to have a meaningful look at the alternatives. Which brings me to the main message here.

I believe that capitalism has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool for innovation and wealth creation and I believe that the reason for that is the power of free market, competition, and the ability of creative minds, effectively motivated, to solve problems. So I am always interested in ideas that I think might contribute to that motivation and unleash that creativity organically. Because that is the most efficient. So I don’t think tossing out capitalism is the answer and I don’t see capitalism as the enemy. I think we need to figure out how to tweak it so that it is not only profit that gets valued. I have seen that kind of shift in thinking over the past 35 years with regard to environment for example. The oil industry that I grew up in had to come to terms with its environmental impact in order to maintain a licence to operate. That was driven by a society that was not willing to tolerate us leaving a mess behind and eventually made environmental considerations equal in importance to profit. I see the same potential paradigm shift possible with regard to social benefit.

I have been advocating for Social Procurement initiatives for the past couple of years and that has gotten me connected to a number of different initiatives. The thing that I find is that the people at these tables are predominantly from the social sector, people connected to the need and advocating for change. And some of the social procurement solutions I see being advanced are appeals to government and large institutions to prioritize social enterprise. My concern with that is that it has the potential to create an adversarial dynamic between the social sector and the private sector. And also an additional administrative requirement for business to demonstrate that they are meeting the requirements that are imposed on them if government regulation ends up being the answer. It seems to me that the right way forward is to provide incentive for them to work together with the social sector to deliver social benefit in the most efficient way possible, for the good of all.

Business would be well served to recognize the growing demand of society to consider societal impacts and shift more focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Get ahead of regulation and embrace the growing realization that company’s who have already moved in that direction are actually seeing that it improves their bottom line because of things like employee satisfaction and goodwill. I imagine a forward thinking company that creates a position called social benefit/social procurement champion whose job it is to identify ways for the company’s operation to create social benefit, either directly as a result of it’s operation or in partnership with social enterprise. And identify ways in which that could be accomplished using activity that is already happening or money that is already being spent.

Appreciate the thoughts of others on this.

Social Procurement

Hats off to staff at City of Hamilton who have, over the last year, been exploring ways to better leverage city contracts to improve the lives of people living in poverty. I believe this is important work that we, as citizens of this city, should all be supporting. Let me tell you why I’m excited about this and why I am strongly encouraging City Council to lead the way forward.

The thing I’m excited about is a concept called Social (or Strategic) Procurement which I was introduced to a couple of years ago. I’ve been focusing on things that address poverty related issues in an organic way and this concept is in line with that theme. Early on in my retirement I was involved with Indwell as a volunteer trying to contribute to improvement in the affordable housing space. I believe that secure housing should be a basic human right in a society that truly values every individual. But I have always struggled with the skewing effect that simple subsidization has on the economy and believe that success in any social enterprise requires engagement with the recipient of the aid (give a man a fish and all that….). So I am always looking for creative ways to meet housing objectives. I ran across a paper that was written by Sandra Hamilton (Canada’s first Social MBA) and reached out to discuss it with her. We had a long conversation about a number of things, eventually getting around to a concept she has been advancing called Social Procurement.

Here is why I like this concept and why I am going to advocate for inclusion of social value in procurement at all levels of government. Requiring taxpayer funded institutions to look for ways to generate incremental social value in contract evaluations is an effective way to mobilize and reward socially responsible business practices in the private sector.

Frustration with the soulless nature of corporations was one of the things that I heard often expressed over the years I was employed in the oil industry. The truth is that is exactly what they are. As a shareholder, I expect the corporation to do it’s best to maximize the return on my investment. As long as it’s legal, anything that will reduce costs and maximize profit is on the table in our competitive world. Until late 20^th century, that included compromises on our environment. We eventually wised up to that, sustainable development became a thing, and now sustainable development is simply “the way we do things around here”. Having been part of that evolution in various roles in the oil industry, I was given a chance to see how the alignment of our business with governmental and societal objectives became essential to retaining our license to operate. We, in the industry, knew that if we did not respect the environment as a foundational pillar of every project, we would eventually run ourselves out of town. Social Procurement is the next big transformation.

For all kinds of reasons.

We are being influenced by millennials who are not satisfied with the status quo and want to work for companies that demonstrate a strong social conscience
We are moving into a period where the available workforce is diminishing and we need to get more creative about how we attract and retain the best talent
Inequality (the growing gap between the haves and have-nots) in our world is one of the biggest issues facing governments today. Discontent at the way that wealth is distributed has contributed to the decline of empires many times in recorded history. I observed that gap in a more extreme form on a visit to Haiti in 2015. The poor live in a prison of abject poverty and the rich live in cages. Nobody wants that.

I have no illusions that this is simple. Initiatives of this nature have been tried before (i.e. affirmative action). But we generally (even the haves among us) acknowledge that we need to do better at addressing the growing divide between haves and have nots in North America. I’ve never believed that direct government intervention (tax and spend) was the most efficient way to do that because it is managed by a group of people who’s primary objective is to keep their jobs. Free enterprisers are motivated by profit and that usually means doing things as efficiently as possible. Applying that kind of drive to solving social problems is, in my opinion, the best way to get things done. The key is to figure out the best way to leverage that drive. I think Social Procurement, done well, could be that thing.

Leveraging public procurement to reward the demonstrated power, creativity, and ability of free enterprise to find efficient solutions to solving social challenges would require committed leadership and vision. The immediate response of some people that I’ve shared this concept with is “the unions are not going to like that” or “how will we get the work done if contractors just walk away?” No question, those are legitimate concerns and challenges that will need to be addressed. Addressed by leaders with the vision and courage to find a way forward. Social Procurement is already “the way we do things around here” in Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and is increasingly being adopted by municipalities in Canada, including the city of Toronto.

I commend the City of Hamilton for embracing this concept and encourage all of us as residents to support this city in transforming how value is defined in taxpayer funded contracts. The city’s procurement manager is expected to deliver a report on the pilot project to the Audit, Finance, and Administration Committee sometime in November and I intend to be there to encourage the kind of bold leadership that I know will be needed going forward.

Citation: The City of Hamilton’s Social Procurement Framework has been designed by Sandra Hamilton, who recently won an international PhD scholarship to advance her work at The Manchester Institute of Innovation Research in the UK.

Imagining co-housing alternatives

I’ve written about the social challenges of affordable housing and the potential that, at least for some people, co-housing could provide a solution. The co-housing concept is becoming more and more a mainstream discussion as I get into conversation with people from all stages of life and occupation. In my last post I was floating the idea of building something, a condo or townhouse complex that would be suited to a co-housing model. Since then, I’ve been reminded of a couple of important things that need to be considered.

While social isolation is a challenge among older people, the choice to pack up and move into a smaller unit and new community is not without it’s challenges either. Home is where the heart is and leaving a neighbourhood and a place that has been home for, in some cases decades, can be very challenging, particularly as we get older. The other thing that I have been reminded of is that there is a lot of existing capacity in the current stock of housing that could be better used.

Co-housing could be a solution that would allow seniors to remain where they are, minimize the trauma of a change, potentially address a couple of other societal issues like affordability and social isolation, and also address planning issues like intensification.

The housing boom of the past 5 – 10 years has left many seniors in a position of having significant equity in their homes. Many of those homes have empty space. It has also left many others struggling to get into an expensive market.

Imagine I am a senior who is living in my large family home alone. I have raised children who have now moved off on their own, my spouse has passed away. I love my neighbourhood and don’t want to move but the house is becoming too much. Imagine I could engage a consultant who would come into my house, help me design a space that would be comfortable for me to live in, manage the renovation, and find me someone who would be interested in taking over the rest of the house through a rent-to-own arrangement that would ultimately result in title transfer. Someone who, like me, would have an appreciation for the community benefits of a co-housing arrangement.

I’m interested in exploring a renovation company or non-profit that would provide full service from assessment/design, to re-zoning, construction management, and lease/rental/rent-to-own agreement services to seniors for whom this model might work. The challenges of this type of solution have been pointed out to me in conversations I’ve had over the past year. Those challenges include finding suitable parties able to make a co-housing arrangement work, financing and title challenges. But I don’t think any of those are insurmountable if we are willing to give them some real thought. And the benefits could be significant.

I would like to assemble a focus group made up of a lawyer, financial planner, renovation contractor, city planner, co-housing advocate, and a realtor to work through those challenges. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in discussing this, please reach out to me by e-mail – ken.tigchelaar@homeandproperty.ca

Real estate becomes real

In a blog that I posted some time ago, I shared that I was working on my registration as a realtor. This is my announcement that, as of July 4, 2018, I can get out there and begin trading real estate. So if you are looking for a realtor, or know of someone who is, please consider passing on my contact information. My cell phone is 905-746-1750 and my e-mail is ken.tigchelaar@homeandproperty.ca .

I’ve had opportunity, as I worked through the real estate courses, to give some thought to where I want to get involved. There are many directions to take in real estate and the one thing that is pretty clear to me is that there is no way to be an expert in all types and markets. So I’ve narrowed my focus to Commercial and will likely focus on multi-unit housing. That’s not to say I can’t sell a house, or a business if that’s what the client needs. I’ve built a house and done extensive renovating so I do know how a house is put together, and I have operated a small business. But I am going to be deliberate about building my expertise in Commercial and, specifically, larger housing projects.

My main motivation relates back to the decision to focus on poverty issues in retirement that has gotten further distilled down to affordable housing. This is a topic that is getting a lot of play in light of the way the housing market has broken so many records over the past 5 years and left many people behind, exacerbating a problem that was already quite acute. I feel like this area is a good fit for my interests and the skills that I have developed over the years.

I’ve also been thinking about creative ways to make housing more affordable and adaptive to the realities of today’s market. One of those ideas is co-housing and trying to promote the concept of integrating affordable housing units into a market rent situation by agreeing that individuals will make a contribution to the community as a condition of access to the affordable units. This scenario would provide younger people (single moms/dads, young couples, students) with an opportunity to access affordable units that are subsidized by seniors, or seniors-to-be, who have capital and a desire to age in place. In return for the support on housing cost the recipients of that support would volunteer a certain number of hours a month to help out with the chores of life and dealing with the isolation that can often plague seniors who find themselves alone in a big house and want to change their situation. Chores of life could include vacuuming, gardening (perhaps gardening together in a community garden), getting groceries. And mitigating isolation could mean time committed to playing games together or preparing and sharing a meal. The younger people benefit from the wisdom of the elders and support in the cost of housing. The seniors would benefit from a level of support that might enable them to remain in their situation longer. They could also have the satisfaction of knowing that a portion of their capital is providing an opportunity for young people to find their way back into the market.

There is lots of flexibility in how such an arrangement could be structured, and I will always be open to creative dialogue, but one of the situations I imagine is a condominium complex that is built with community features such as a common kitchen, community garden etc. Everyone would have their own space (unit) in a structure that is built in a way that is deliberate about creating community. Such a complex would include a percentage of units that are subsidized by grant money, investors money, patient capitaI, or any other creative ways of raising capital. These units could be owned by investors and rented out at affordable rates, or even Rent to Own. The primary objective would be to create a situation where the generations are helping each other get through life. Each bringing what they have to contribute. I would love to discuss this further with anyone that is interested.

Real estate

I wrote the third of 5 Real Estate exams at the end of last year. This one was the culmination of 3 weeks of in class study of the real estate transaction. It’s hard to believe you could find 2 large textbooks and all the associated workbooks full of technical detail to talk about but there it is. It was an intense and full 3 weeks. And one of things I am discovering along this road is that I don’t absorb new stuff like I used to. I think as we get older we just develop a thicker skull and it takes more effort for stuff to sink in. I have had to figure out how to study again.

There is process to learning and we don’t all learn in the same way. I have found over the years that learning something new is not about memorizing the individual parts of a thing. For me it is more like soaking in something and having the big picture slowly (more slowly now than ever) but surely start to come into focus. I think that may be because I have never been particularly good with detail. I need to know how it all works together in order to be satisfied that I have learned it. I really wish I could have discovered this way of learning when I was in high school. HIgh school was a brutally frustrating experience, a significant contributor to my decision to go to work rather than go on to university.

Another thing I’ve had to learn as I continue along my retirement journey is to be a little more gracious over against myself. I arrived in class the first Monday of this latest real estate course expecting to be handed my books and course material. I asked the instructor where they were and she advised me that they should have arrived at my house. I asked Debbie about it and she said “there’s a box of stuff in office closet that I’ve been wondering about”. Turns out the box arrived this summer while we were in Europe. I remember seeing it within the first few hours of arriving at home and thinking “I’m gonna have to get to that”. It was put into a pile of stuff that ended up in the closet and I never thought about it again. The bottom line was that everyone in the class had already been through the books once and I was behind the 8 ball. So the first week was a scramble to catch up and a period of beating myself up for not being on top of it. After all, I’m retired, what else do I have to do?

I did get through it, passed the exam which required a mark of 75%, and even managed to squeeze in a SCUBA course on one of the weekends. That was a whole other story. This time I was learning a whole bunch of new stuff with a group of 20-somethings watching every failed attempt. Again, a little bit more grace would have gone a long way to making that easier.

ONE

One of the things that has been somewhat of a surprise to me is how long it has taken me to find a “job” that I can jump into and make my own. I had honestly thought it would come clear to me much sooner than it has. I’ve been volunteering and expected that would lead to clarity on a place to plug in. The truth is that a volunteer position is limited and, unless I’m willing to commit to full time, I am still on the outside looking in to some degree. What I’m discovering is a big wide, sometimes bewildering, world that is full of opportunity. I’m also discovering that I am not as willing as I thought I might be to give up the flexibility that has given us the opportunities to travel or just hang out when we want to.

I do, however, want to be connected to something. It is one of the things that I miss most about not going to work. So I continue to seek out connections in different ways.

A few weeks ago I was reminded of an organization called ONE that was started about 10 years ago by Bono from U2. It’s an organization of mostly volunteers whose sole purpose is to advocate for an end to extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Their approach is to use social media and networking to raise awareness, to educate people as to what the issues really are and to keep government leaders accountable for the commitments made on their election platforms.

I like the element of political activity and the challenge of conveying a coherent message to a sound byte society. I like the fact that the message is hopeful. While extreme poverty continues to be a factor for far too many of the worlds people, considerable progress has been made and I feel like I want to make a contribution to that progress. I’ve been asked why I would want to get involved in a problem that is half a world away and doesn’t really affect me. I don’t think it’s true that it doesn’t affect me. I honestly believe that, if we were to solve the problem of extreme poverty, many of the threats that we are now spending trillions of military dollars on would simply disappear. And, again, from whom much is given, much is expected.

So I’ve volunteered as a Parliamentary Riding Leader for ONE. My job is to build a team of volunteers and supporters in my riding of Flamborough – Glanbrook (David Sweets riding). This blog is kind of a coming out I guess. I am going to spend the next few months figuring out how to engage people and will probably be much more active on social media than I have been. Good skills to develop, an opportunity to build relationships, and maybe have a little fun along the way.

Just to be clear, I will never ask you for money. It’s your voice that I’m interested in. That may mean your signature on a petition or a card to your Member of Parliament. If you’re not in my riding, I can hook you up. If you’re interested in getting more involved, feel free to contact me and we can talk about that. Or check out ONE.org to learn more about the latest project.

Privilege and Responsibility

As a kid, and eventually as a young man growing up, I was very clearly told that, if I wanted to enjoy the privileges of adulthood, I had to be willing to accept the responsibility that inherently comes with them. It seems to be common sense. I grew up accepting that I had to count the cost for privilege and seemed to understand intuitively that the responsibility that came with it was inherent.

It’s a principle that I’ve applied in guiding me through my retirement journey. I believe that we are privileged in North America. We are among the richest people in the world and I don’t believe for a second that God has blessed us this way because He loves us more than all the rest. I think He makes it pretty clear that we are to share that blessing and use it for the benefit of all.

I’ve had to get my head around that as I find my way forward. When I reflect back on my path so far, I remember that it began with a nagging feeling that the way we lived was a little uncomfortable. A family of 5 living in a 2700 square foot brick house out in the country. It felt a bit like gluttony, space to spare, food to spare. That nagging feeling seemed to increase in amplitude as I spent time in Calgary and Haiti. And yet, when I looked around, it seemed that the message I was getting was that it was simply a reward for hard work. That is, after all, the American dream. Work hard, own your destiny. Now, there’s nothing wrong with hard work. But it seems to me that the dream has gone off the rails in the last few years. The dream seems to now be driving the protectionist agenda to build walls and fences in order to keep out the huddled masses that stand in the way of “making America great again”. That doesn’t seem right………. does it?

I do not believe the answer is as simple as just opening up my house to someone less fortunate. That’s not a sustainable or even a desirable outcome for my family or the family that would share our space. And carrying around a burden of guilt and angst because of my success does not serve anyone either. I think it’s the realization that my “success” is as much about privilege and circumstance as it is about hard work and the right answer is in finding the balance.

So I realize that my political view is shifting because I can’t simply respond to the need around me with the advice to work harder and make better choices. I know I have a responsibility to share my gifts, abilities, and resources with those who find themselves with a heavier load to bear that they have strength for. That resource is not just money. I think Haiti has taught me that just pouring money into a situation can sometimes do more harm than good. Sometimes the resource I can offer is a simple word of encouragement or a hand up rather than a handout. Because it is very clear to me that the poor have responsibilities too and I expect them to show up with whatever they have to contribute.

I want to share a little story that illustrated this for me. I had a conversation with the Executive Director of Indwell a few months ago. I was being interviewed for a volunteer position and we were talking about poverty. I shared a little of my personal view that everyone should come to the table prepared to contribute whatever they are able. Jeff told me a story of a fund raising dinner that he had attended. After the dinner he was helping to count the pledges that had been collected from the attendees and he noticed that some of the addresses were familiar. He quickly realized the reason for that was that the contributions were being made by people who were tenants of Indwell, people who were benefitting from the ministry and community at Indwell and who wanted to give back. People who had been helped to their feet at some point and recognized their responsibility.

It’s a story that I recall whenever I need a reminder of how privilege and responsibility is supposed to work.

Distillation (2)

In my last post I wrote about distillation and the kernels of character knowledge that come out of that process. I started my retirement journey with a general interest in poverty issues and the political and economic implications of it and have been exploring avenues and relationships that catch my attention. It feels intentional and yet feels like an adventure. To some degree I’m following a quote I heard recently that resonated. It was “if you’re the smartest guy in the room, you’re in the wrong room”. I like that.

Last summer I began volunteering with a non-profit organization called Christians Against Poverty. It’s an organization that provides debt coaching and financial literacy training in partnership with local churches. I think it is a great model in that it gives churches a practical way to walk alongside people that are struggling with debt or money management issues and a level of professional support to stick with them even through the really tough stuff like bankruptcy. Initially my role was that of money coach delivering the money course that my local church was offering but eventually I got involved as a one day a week volunteer at the CAP head office. My goal was to get to know the organization better and find a place to fit in.

I also began volunteering with Indwell, a non-profit organization that develops affordable housing. Their area of focus is people that struggle with mental health issues. The theme of hope and homes really resonates with me. That and the fact that my brother works for Indwell and loves it, and Debbie and I have been supporting the organization for years. It also felt like a good fit because I have a lot of years of high level project management experience, there is an element of politics in getting housing projects approved, and I’ve had experience owning a multi-unit residence that we operated and rented to an organization that supports people with developmental handicaps. So I’ve had a bit of exposure to the sector.

I have been reminded along the way that it is a journey. I’m becoming more and more excited by the adventure, the fact that there are lots of opportunities and I do not have to resign myself to just choosing one path. I am getting involved in small projects at Indwell, building relationships with politicians and leaders in the social housing sector, and working on the second of 5 courses toward my registration as a Real Estate agent (did not see that coming). I still have no idea where I might end up but I am becoming less concerned about the destination. And I’m OK with that. It makes me trust more and continue to look for the subtle whispers of the Spirit that might prompt a move in one direction or the other. And I’ve had some great conversations with a lot of smart people.

Distillation

Once again it has been a number of weeks since my last post and I wonder where the time goes. It’s almost bewildering. One of the things I expected when I retired was that I would have all kinds of time to pursue all of my whims, hours well wasted in the garage tinkering with tools, afternoons spent on the streets of Hamilton listening to, and writing the stories I encountered, renovation projects put off far too long that I would be able to finally get to, hours spent wandering the back roads on my motorcycle “livin the dream”. And on and on. That has not been the case and I’ve found myself often frustrated. Not that I haven’t been able to do some of those things but that it seems the list of things I have not done is longer than the list of things I have.

When I take a few minutes to reflect on why it is that I feel more rushed and disorganized now than I did when I was working, a couple of things come to mind. When I was working I had my job to give me a feeling of validation. I could justify my existence every day because, well, I was at work. When that structure was gone it was as if my life had gone off the rails and, without the job to give me a sense of purpose and direction, and the desire to have purpose every bit as strong, I found myself going off in all kinds of directions. It’s an interesting state to be in and one that requires me to give myself a lot of grace. Something I’m not particularly good at.

One of the things I thought I would be doing much more of is writing. I left my job with a head full of things that I wanted to write about and it was as if it all evaporated when I finally had the chance to sit down. When I look back on the past few months the best way to describe what I have been experiencing is a process of distillation. I try things and realize that they are not quite what I imagined. Or maybe fun for a while and the novelty wears off. And, as is the case in the distillation process, I find that sometimes when the water is boiled off, I’m left with a kernel of something that I can set aside as an area of study or interest I can pursue. It’s not unlike a crucible where impurities are burned off in order to get to the pure metal. It’s hard. Mostly because there are so many distractions along the way and so much uncharted territory to explore that rather than looking for things to do, I find myself overwhelmed by all the things there are to do. The reason for the gap in blogs is because I never seem to complete a thought so the writing tends to be incoherent at times.

I am trying to get better at is writing in the midst of the mess, so here I go again. Over the next few weeks I will try and share some of the kernels that have come out of the distillation process.