🗺️ Greetings from the northern coast of Madagascar! I'm writing these words from a room appropriately named the 'Cabinet of Curiosity'—filled with a compendium of eclectic artefacts: from 17th century maps and charts decorating the walls—to various shamanic totems (used by Madagascan witch doctors) and a glorious old brass diving bell helmet.
💌 This particular newsletter is a slight departure from the regular Curious Humans broadcasting, but I have something that feels important to share…
🌴 Two months ago, I was invited to give a TEDx talk in Ubud on the theme of the ‘Gifts of Grief and the Art of Surrender'. At the time, it honestly didn't compute how much emotional labour might be required to dig into the depths of two years navigating grief.
🤔 However, what emerged from this exploration was my case for embracing ‘radical curiosity’ and having the courage to sink into the emotionally challenging experiences that we’ve been conditioned to habitually avoid.
🙏 What happens now feels somewhat beyond my control, but I hope that my story may invite in some new perspectives, questions and contributions to our cultural ideas surrounding grief, mental health and perhaps even reconsidering our relationship towards 'negative' emotions.
🔗 Alright, that's enough preamble from me, here's the link to the talk for those of you who are curious: https://www.ted.com/talks/jonny_miller_the_gifts_of_grief (there’s also a transcript here)
❤️ Final thought, if you think of someone who maybe has been through an experience of grief and might appreciate this talk please do forward on this email or share the TEDx video link on the socials.
Stay curious out there,
–J