Explaining the new name of my blog - Eudaimonia

I've been thinking about changing the name of my blog for a while, as I would like it to be about something more important than myself (the previous name was Gabi Werner).

Reading a book, I came across the concept of Eudaimonia; found it clear, touching and revealing; and immediately headed to the library in order to explore it's original source - The Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle. Check what it's all about:

Eudaimonia is the WELL BEING that comes through the ACTIVITY in accordance with the excellence of the BEST PART OF US.

When I read the book, I was sure I had found what I was looking for. If you want to understand the idea a little further, explore the breakdown below and perhaps the original text by Aristotle.

Eudaimonia: this Greek word is used to refer to the life that is most desirable or satisfying. Therefore, it's the objective of each person, generally translated into English as "happiness" or "well being".

Eudaimonia is an end in itself: discussing who is the "happy man", Aristotle identifies 3 popular views of the nature of life. 1) Life is pleasure; 2) Life is honour; 3) Life is making money. But none of them are according to virtue, either because it doesn't consider its sources and impacts (1 & 3) or because it depends on an external recognition (2). Therefore, the happy life should be of a fourth nature, a contemplative life, an activity of the soul in according with virtue (both moral and intellectual).

Eudaimonia is not a state, but an activity: eudaimonia is not a state or a feeling of amusement (as the word happiness may imply). That's because it's not short-lived, it's not external to ourselves and it's dependent on how we do what we do (coherency).

Best part of us: it's our virtues, which differ us from other living beings. It comprises both moral and intellectual excellence, as well as both practical and theoretical wisdom. The consistent practice of these virtues is Eudaimonia.

Oxfam Challenge Report

"Nothing can match the strength of those whose lives have been shaped and forged through challenging and overcoming hardships."
Diasaku Ikeda

It’s with great pleasure that I write this post with news about the amazing journey I just lived: not the Oxfam breeze, the Oxfam CHALLENGE!

Setting the scene:
- 502 teams
- 2008 walkers
- More than 700 volunteers
- The hardest track ever
- Weather forecast: rain!

In Colmar Brunton (corporate group where I work):
- 6 teams
- 24 walkers
- 15 supporters
- 1 day off
- Excitement. And an incredible “doing the right thing” feeling

The day:

Fri, 10 a.m. (starting time)

- Team still at registration, as 1 team member was late, due to lack of taxis in the area
- Therefore, a lot of traffic slowing us down
- Anyway, energy was super high
- 2 of our company teams were walking together (8 people)
- Stops in the first 2 checkpoints (20.5 km) were brief, just enough for refuelling water bottles and grabbing a little food

Fri, 6 p.m. (checkpoint 3 – 30.5 km)

- Drizzle turns into rain and we got quite cold
- 3 people from the other team retire (we're 5 walking together now)
- We decided to walk a little faster, as traffic was gone



Sat, 4 a.m. (checkpoint 5 – 51 km)

- Terrain is very steep and got quite muddy because of the rain
- Team energy is drained and tiredness is apparent
- 2 more people pulled out, one with strong feet pain, another really dizzy. Now we are 3 girls left and make a vow we’ll finish together

Sat, 12:30 p.m. (checkpoint 7 – 72.5 km)

- Sun has risen, terrain is drier, energy level is higher
- 4 amazing friends (or should I say saints?) met me with signs, motivation lines and disposition to give me a foot massage!
- The hardest leg is about to start
- Changed clothes; feeling a new person



Sat, 5 p.m. (checkpoint 8 – 86.5 km)

- Feet are sore, muscles are good, disposition is great!
- 1 team mate doesn’t have any strength left, is crying of pain and desperation, but decided to continue
- 1 of our company teams finished the walk, 1 retired, the others are behind us
- We didn’t think we would need to face another night, but ready to head for the final leg!



Sat, 10 p.m.: Finish line crossed! 100 km completed!



Results:

- 16 of our Company walkers finished the Challenge (1416 overall)
- More than AU$ 17,000 raised for Oxfam in our Company (more than AU$ 2,118,000 overall)
- Everybody learned a lot about team work, the importance of mental strength and our own limits!

Thanks a lot for everybody who supported me in this amazing journey!

For more pictures, click here.

For the one...

... who’s been bringing me joy, tranquillity, care... thank you!

Lovely weekend in Brisbane

I’ve been to Brisbane this last weekend. The weather didn’t make justice to the capital of the sunshine state, but it was certainly lovely anyway.

Quality time with Brett for riding bikes, seeing the contemporary art centre, watching movies and enjoying each others’ company and catch up with wonderful Anh, after 9 months in Cambodia, a broken fist and a Portuguese love story.

Talking to Anh, the development work issue surely arose. We discussed how it seems to be the right thing to dedicate one’s career to, as it directly addresses fundamental issues. On the other hand, it so many times doesn’t work, neither for the professionals, nor for the communities!

Facing that, Daniel Quinn would probably say that "kids don't follow the circus to give up about things”. So I guess we need to listen to our intuition more often and consciously follow our circus.

Heading for the future

Lots of people amongst my group of friends are finishing important phases in life and / or taking important decisions. So 10 days ago we organised a friends gathering / heading for the future conference. Objectives:
- self assessment and reflection
- inspiration and next steps planning
- having a good time close to friends and nature!
Cool, isn't it?

Kana, Josh and Lucy were great in leading us through this journey and I need to confess the outcomes were stronger than I could predict. Deep reflections about entrepreneurship and sense of belonging vs. current state are still in my mind.

One of the main insights for me was to realise that the "time in a company before I do something else" might not only not deliver the money, skills or anything else we say we seek, but kill the entrepreneurship spirit, which is probably the most important thing, as we need to be sort of domesticated in those environments.

Cantinho Escondido (Hidden Corner)

Composed and beautifully sung by Marisa Monte

Dentro de cada pessoa
Tem um cantinho escondido
Decorado de saudade
Um lugar pro coração pousar
Um endereço que freqüente sem morar
Ali na esquina do sonho com a razão
No centro do peito, no largo da ilusão

[...]

Eu posso até mudar
Mas onde quer que eu vá
O meu cantinho há de ir

============================

Free translation

Within every person
There is a hidden corner
Decorated with nostalgia
A space for the heart to land
An address it visits, but where it doesn't live
Located in the corner between the dream and the reason
In the centre of the chest, in the illusion square

[...]

I can even move
But no matter where I go
My hidden corner goes with me

Oxfam Challenge countdown: 2 weeks!

It's been a while I don't post about the Oxfam challenge, right? It's probably because I've been too busy training ;o)

After the last post, we've walked between 30 and 55 km practically every weekend, including under rain and during the night. Moreover, the training is complemented by gym, swimming and yoga. Hope it all proves worthwhile in 2 weeks time!

Besides the team bonding and the fitness feeling (running to catch the train after 42 km walk is priceless), the fundraising has been fun. Emails and funny messages to / from friends and small events, talents competition and an auction at work should guarantee that our team reaches at least 150% of its $ 1,000 goal initially established.

The special thanks goes to:
Work mates: Simon, John McL, John S and all others involved in the initiatives
Trainees: Jhow, Salma, Marina, Jerry, Sid
AIESECers: Ruth, Ausra, Laura
Aussie friends: Brett, Lucy D, Ity, Duncan
Brazilian friends: Marcio and my Dad!

You all rock guys! (If you haven't donated, there is still time - just click here.)

Youth in Australia

I’ve been thinking about posting about Australian Youth for a long time, but I didn’t want to jump into conclusions too fast, in order to be able to understand a bit more of the hidden part of the cultural iceberg. After chairing 2 youth conferences and facilitating 2 others (including a recent high school girls’ leadership event – thanks Flor and Lucy for the invite!), I think I’m ready to share some perceptions.


Young people in Australia are incredibly capable. They are smart, skilled, express themselves very well and have a fairly good understanding of the world’s situation. They are interested in internationalism, are free from pressures if they want to pursue an Arts degree and broadly wish to live in a better world. They value their leisure and life style a lot and have tons of opportunities available, such as education, government welfare programs, individual sponsorships and corporate jobs.


However, with all these things easily available, they tend to hop around different things and don’t generally commit a long / a lot of time for a project in which they believe. Therefore, big initiatives don’t tend to be carried on and beliefs such as “it’s too difficult” and “there’s not enough money” are reinforced.


Talking about Australian society, this behaviour probably works. People are exposed to different jobs throughout their lives, have a great quality of life and are happy, whereas the economy runs smoothly and prices rise proportionally to the incomes. On the other hand, it’s a pity to have these many capable people doing so little to transform a very uneven and unfair world out there.

If you were paid, you can’t complain!

Last weekend, I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art – MCA in Sydney, to check the Latin American temporary exhibition. Amongst lots of amazing stuff reflecting the culture, strong sentiments and socio-political tensions in the region, one piece called me my attention. A Spanish artist, realising how little Mexican workers earned, paid 465 of them to crowd up an art gallery room and spend the day there. Unfamiliar with the environment, the workers first felt confused, but got increasingly comfortable in the place. The underlining message was: if you were paid to do something, you’re not supposed to discuss or complain – you were paid how much you’re worth for your time and that's it.

Seems an exaggeration?

During this week, I’ve been taking part on corporate workshops, facilitated by the consultancy I work for. Unfortunately, the Spanish artist was not amplifying the problem. Amongst almost 30 very smart people in the room, I couldn’t see one single individual with a strong purpose to be there. Conversations floated around processes, competitors, profitability and I’m pretty confident I wasn’t the only one bored. Can individuals change the whole idea of a corporation existence? Can the companies create systems which inspire people to give their bests for something worthwhile? The only thing clear to me at this point is that selling biscuits and poker machines doesn’t stimulate the best in people. (Once I read a very wise phrase, with which I couldn't agree more: money doesn't inspire the best people nor the best in people.)

But, in the end of the day, all of us were getting paid to be there. So perhaps we can’t complain...