A newsletter to fuel your creativity and storytelling

Welcome to the blog version of our new fortnightly newsletter of discoveries that have fuelled our creativity and storytelling, and just might fuel yours too.

🧨  Learn from the best! Imagine how much power would come your way if people could really understand the incredible work you do? And be as excited by it, as you are? New York Presbyterian Hospital tells the best stories that prove it’s crazy good tagline – “Amazing Things Happen Here.”  It’s supported by a big budget but the power is in the real stories from real people … and  remember, you have loads of both!  Watch: Heather McNamara – Amazing Things are Happening Here

🧨  We love a list AND we love a little self-improvement so this list of 100 things that will slightly improve your life…is right up our alley.  And the good news is there’s a big chance you’re already doing one of them. Our personal favourites: 17: Don’t be weird about how to stack the dishwasher, 34: Go for a walk without your phone and 94: Give compliments wildly and freely!

🧨  Speaking of budget… here’s an example of how these days low dollars don’t have to stand in our way when we want to prove our value and impact.  This is a heartwarming video story from Uniting NSW that shows a 70 year-married couple reunited during the recent devastating Australian floods. It’s a great example of how a tiny video, capturing a moment on-the-go, can tell a huge, emotional story. No worries if the sound isn’t useable – tell the story with captions instead!  Uniting NSW does fantastic storywork on their socials, by the way – keep your eye on them for ideas.

A quote we loved  – because curiosity doesn’t kill the cat, it grows the stories!

“I’m curious. Period. I find everything interesting. Real life. Fake life. Objects. Flowers. Cats. But mostly people. If you keep your eyes open and your mind open, everything can be interesting.” – Agnés Varda

A book we loved

The Hearts Invisible Furies by John Boyne. A touching, funny and sometimes difficult book to read about love, family and sexuality of a lifetime in Ireland. Complex, beautiful and full of feeling.

A podcast we loved

Loved this episode with Brene Brown getting Esther Perel’d during their conversation on partnerships, patterns and the stories we tell ourselves. Listen here.

A film we loved

As we get into the cooler months here ‘down unda!’ watching the Summer of Soul warmed and sent groovy tingles into our living rooms. The incredible footage in this part doco/part musicfilm/part fashion extravaganza was shot over 50 years ago at the  Summer of Soul festival right in the heart of Harlem. It was never seen and largely forgotten until recently. Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson it captures the spirit of the moment – celebrating Black history, culture and fashion.  Touching, cool and a must for soul lovers… 

This week’s story prompt – use the prompt to find another story to share

A time you have felt really welcomed.

Moya remembers

“I was in my 20’s cycling through France when I got a puncture. Night was falling and a young couple in an old van picked me up, threw the bike in the back and invited me home. They had a very simple basement flat – just one room. She made me up a little bed and strung a sheet for privacy while he made bean soup and put on the fire. I fell asleep to them singing French songs from their own bed. Oh and by the way… no common language meant we barely exchanged a word. The next morning, he’d taken my bike to town to get repaired and by lunch I was back on the road. Bienvenue, alright!”

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