Hummingbird604.com » personal reflection

Storytelling: Embracing a powerful method to share knowledge

Raul — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 23:48:19 +0000

Credit: Tris Hussey

The words of my PhD advisor (whom I respect quite a lot, and with whom I am very much in touch even after having completed my PhD) have been resonating in my head for the past few days… “Remember, Raul – research is about telling a story with the data you have, the insights you have gained from your research, and communicating it in a clear way to your audience”. This past week and also this weekend, I’ve been contemplating the idea of storytelling as a method and embracing my inner storyteller.

Yesterday, on our way to the WaterDrop event where I spoke at, I shared a few stories about how I came about doing a PhD in environmental studies, where I studied my MBA courses, which countries I’ve lived in, etc. I also shared the story of how I started blogging and where it has taken me. As I was sharing my stories, I thought of the advice given to my by my advisor, the words of my dear friend Erica Hargreave (with whom I shared this morning a lovely breakfast and a walk along the seawall), the musings of my dear friend and neighbour DMcN (who is able to bend the English language to her very whim at will), as well as the powerful insights I’ve gained from my brother HZ (who, like me, is a scholar who is very engaged with the community at large): we are all telling stories.

My PhD advisor always told me that one key element to my success in academia, and to write excellent academic papers, books, thesis, journal articles, was to be able to find one key insight, and tell the story around it. Despite this fact, I never thought of myself as a storyteller. I always thought that I was an academic, a scholar, someone who was supposed to report back on facts, findings and issues. In the past week, however, I’ve come full circle. I’ve come to embrace my inner storyteller. I realize that with my blog, I am sharing not only the pathway of my evolutionary development as a human being, an academic, a scholar, a consultant, but also my very own personal journey through life.

Credit: Tris Hussey

Further reflecting on this issue I thought of the powerful results of a project like Fearless City, and the poster children of this project and its leader April Smith, who launched her own mobile media company (AHAMedia) and who has been developing her and her team’s portfolio by virtue of deploying an ensemble of multimedia platforms to document recent events. April and her team learned a lot through their involvement in Fearless City and by sharing and documenting their life stories in the Downtown East Side.

Furthermore, and while we are on the topic of storytelling, I was particularly amazed by the fantastic work that April, Peter, Tris, Marina, Dan, Rebecca and all of my peers did at Women in Film 2009 Bridging Media Day. I think that the wonderful and major effort that Erica put to bring a team of social media specialists of the caliber that were in the room and the panels really paid out well, because we (the social media panel and the social media team) were able to tell a new story: the story of how traditional and mainstream media can create bridges and embrace new media. I think we were very, very successful in doing exactly that.

I am quite disappointed that I missed James Chutter‘s talks both at Orality 2.0 and at Northern Voice ’09 on storytelling, because I think that I would have learned a lot from James. Lucky for me, my dear friend Rebecca captured his NV’09 talk here. I’ll have to say that I’ve learned a lot from everyone who has been sharing their stories with me through their blogs, Twitter, and other platforms, through our continued interactions. I am also hopeful that Mental Health Camp will help people afflicted with mental illness tell their stories in a manner that makes them feel safe, comfortable and protected.

I have also come to embrace the power of telling stories through a variety of media and platforms, and through both my research eyes (see my research blog) and my personal lenses. I do hope that in sharing these stories, the people who read both my blogs can find some insights into their own personal learning journeys. If that is my contribution to the development and growth of our community, I will feel extremely successful.

My name is Raul, and this is my story.

Painting on a personal piece of canvas

Raul — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 07:21:24 +0000

Rarely have I ever felt that people have criticized my blog (with the exception of one commenter who complained about one very specific element of my blog). The main (if very rare) criticism I have ever received has been that my blog has lost a lot of the personal commentary it used to have. Many of my civilian friends (I call civilians those friends of mine who don’t blog) who have happened to read my blog have mentioned that it’s really funny how my blog has become more ‘techie’ or even commercialized (this last one made me chuckle).

I’ve had conversations about the topic with several friends of mine who write blogs that fall more under the category of a diary (the category is usually referred to as ‘diarist bloggers’). I could name a few but I don’t want to leave anyone excluded. In a recent conversation I mentioned that I see my blog as my very own personal canvas. I paint on it whatever picture I want to. Obviously, with the number of events I attend, the kinds of things that get me excited, the environmental and social media issues I want to discuss and think about, my blog presents a rather broad mosaic of things.

I’m sorry if people don’t like this broad array of elements that I try to highlight in my blog, but after all, it is MY personal space. My blog does for me what notebooks do for the rest of the world – it allows me to jot down ideas, reflect, think and produce content that satisfies quite obviously the readers who decide to read my blog, but more importantly, satisfies ME. I don’t write this blog for the fame, the glory, the free tickets to events or the social interactions. I write for myself.

The importance of saying “I love you”

Raul — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:15:04 +0000

I am a very loving guy, that’s something that I think pretty much everyone knows about me. I have an immense capacity to make space in my life for people, and to engage in meaningful and strong friendships and relationships.

Recently, someone I care for very deeply was physically assaulted. When I heard the news, the first thought that ran across my mind was “damn, and I didn’t ever tell him how much I cared for him… what if something fatal had occurred?”

Luckily, I had a chance to see him this past week and tell him how much I care about him and that I would always be there should he ever need a friend. This unfortunate event reminded me that I have always made a point (and should ALWAYS make a point) of telling the people I care about “I love you“. It shouldn’t take a scare for me to be reminded of this.

An attempt to shift my lifestyle

Raul — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:16:45 +0000

Photo by Nomade Moderne.

Every few weeks, I make a reflective post, mostly on the state of my own health and wellbeing (although I’ve also written about how my life has evolved). I’ve had some scares before. I once blacked out for 1.5 hours, another time I was sick for about three weeks, and every week-long social media events leaves me usually exhausted and wanting to cocoon for the rest of the year (see my VIDFEST posts for more details).

The time I’ve spent with my family these past few weeks has left me pondering whether I want to continue leading the lifestyle I’ve had for much longer. As somebody once told me, “even hummingbirds need to rest“. I know that I’ve become popular as the ultra-speedy, fast-reader, fast-writer, uncanny photographic memory Hummingbird604. But I am also a human being who can also get really tired and feel overwhelmed.

I plan to take time to smell the flowers, not run around them.
I will try to commit to less things, be it academic or social media or just social stuff.
I will write if/when I feel like it, not when I feel obligated to.
I care VERY little about my stats, but I do care about my friends and my readers, which is the reason why I won’t stop blogging.
I know that everything will be ok, all I need is to SLOW DOWN.

More than anything, I realize that despite the circumstances of my trip to Mexico, I am VERY, very happy. Happy to be alive, happy to be able to help my family go through difficult times, and mostly, just happy to be me.

Reflect on who you are and where you are going

Raul — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:01:55 +0000

I read Jeff Pulver’s blog very frequently, not only because he is inspiring but also because I regret, day after day, having missed breakfast with him when he was recently in Vancouver.

For all the wonderful things I’m supposed to be able to do, I wasn’t able to make it to that breakfast. I regret it, I seriously do. Anyway, we were having a comments/online conversation about who we were and where we were going.

I commented on Jeff’s post that sometimes I didn’t know if I was the Raul I wanted to be, and given my recent experiences, I would really like to reassure myself that I am, indeed, the Raul I want to be. I am pretty sure that wherever I go, I will brighten people’s lives. Not being self-centered, it’s just the truth. I am a guy who can bring light and happiness to you, if you let me.

The problem is, how often do we reflect on who we are and where we are going? Very seldom, I would venture. Ask yourselves – how often do you think about yourselves and whether you are the person you want to be?

One of the privileges I have in my blog, and I have just recently discovered it again, is that this blog is about ME. If you want to know who I am (Raul the academic, Raul the blogger, Raul the volleyball player, Raul the professional salsa dancer, Raul the geek) you don’t need to go anywhere. Here I am, and here is my story. Where is YOURS?

The courage to learn (A post to reflect)

I am afraid…

Raul — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:15:18 +0000

I am a very strong guy. Physically, I may not look like it since my physique tends to be slim (although lately, I’ve gained some weight so I don’t look as slim as usual). But this post does not refer to physical weakness or strength. I am very well trained in martial arts, so engaging in a fight is not something I fear. But I do fear that I have been pushing my own boundaries and limits too much.

A few weeks ago, you’ll recall that I blacked out for a period of 1.5 hours. Earlier this year, I was sick (the expression being ‘sick as a dog’) for three weeks and I had a really tough time recovering. This past weekend, I managed to quadruple-book myself and ended up having to juggle commitments, I stood up a friend of mine (inadvertently) and had a really rough Sunday despite having enjoyed the Car Free Festival. I can’t keep doing this to myself.

I have acknowledged in previous posts that I see myself as sort of an agent of change. Someone who can bring happiness and joy to people. Someone on whom you can rely. Someone you can trust with secrets. Some sort of super-hero. Someone who can comfort you when you feel down. Someone who can write and publish three journal articles, two book chapters and three conference papers in a year. But in order for me to do that, I *need* to take care of myself.

It’s hard for me to say no, both professionally and personally. I am excited by too much. I love working hard, and I am in love with what I do. And in recent years, I have started to learn (and train myself) to say “No, I can’t” to stuff. But I still over-commit. I manage (99.5% of the time) to fulfill my commitments, comply with deadlines. But there’s always *that little thing* that I end up missing, or I end up sick as a dog, or feeling entirely drained and empty.

Saying no is not a sign of weakness. I need to drill that idea into my brain. And when I say that I am afraid, I am not someone who is hindered by fear. Fear does not overtake me. I actually tend to be pretty fearless. The title of my post referred to the fact that I am afraid that one day, I won’t be able to say “no” and I will over-commit and that will be detrimental to my health. I can’t do that. I fear that I won’t be able to fulfill my potential if I keep pushing myself to the limit. Therefore, I think that my fear will have to be (instead of a crippling, paralyzing feeling) a mechanism for my own survival.