Tag Archive for: culture

Culture

“What is that for?” she asked.
“Its an egg cup.” I replied.
Then she responded “How do you use it?”
Picking up a boiled egg, I then demonstrated how an egg cup works!
Using a knife I showed our guests how to cut the egg open and eat it using a teaspoon.
“Fascinating” I thought.
Sitting around the breakfast table that morning, we were informed that it wasn’t a common thing in the USA to use egg cups. Yet for generations in Europe – egg cups have been quite a thing!
It was a wake up call for all of us.
𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 – traditions, societal norms, languages, what we wear, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, unwritten rules that govern our social behaviours, foods, ceremonies, pastimes, architecture or simply put – they way we do things around here – is part n parcel of our everyday experience at the moment.
In our interconnected world, our cultures are fluid and in continual motion.
While change is inevitable, this little egg cup experience reminded me that no matter what culture a people are a part of, one thing is for certain, we constantly make random discoveries of cultural norms all the time!
I am writing this from a hotel room in Copenhagen this morning. Walking around the city yesterday, Monic and I came across a cultural icon of this nation – Hans Christian Andersen! He too has influenced the culture of this society for generations!
From a little egg cup, to a prolific writer, what cultures have impacted your life?

Curiosity

“Tell me, on a scale from 1 to 10, where are you right now?” I asked curiously…

Since my earliest childhood memories, I’ve been curious about things, people, nature, places, history, travel and culture to name a few. I have always been eager to know or learn something new and understand “why?” That probably explains one of the seemingly insatiable penchant’s of mine…..reading books!

One vivid memory from my childhood involved filling a jam jar with some foliage and then capturing a bumble bee. I’d already had some help to put some holes in the lid of the jar, so that any bee’s I captured could breath. I recall observing and listening to the bee for no more than a day, studying it, feeling sad about keeping it in a jar and then setting it free again.

Curiosity is often seen as the driving force behind not only human development, but developments in science, language, and industry. I know too that it is a vital component in coaching and mentoring

My experience is that questions driven by the curiosity of a coach can be the catalyst and driving force for change. I have come to understand that curiosity is the key to learning. It can help to expand our empathy too by helping us understand life experiences different than our own.

What are you curious about?