Recent quotes:

How giving up alcohol made me appreciate wine more

Finding sobriety didn’t end my relationship with alcohol, it fundamentally changed it. It took me a couple of months to engage with wine professionally again, tasting and spitting instead of seeking the end goal of intoxication. Even now, I tend to avoid large tastings and limit the number of wines I explore in one sitting. But the greatest change was of intention with the process: tasting to understand and explore the flavours, stories and nuances of each wine.  I began to discover a new clarity. Those little edges that had once felt softened suddenly had greater definition. Minerality shimmered with more purity, and heady aromatics haunted with newfound intensity. It became less about identifying red or black cherries, and more about appreciating the details that give each wine its own character. I often talk with our team about the circular notion of “purpose and presence” and how relevant this is when tasting wine – and in sobriety it has never felt more relevant. The purpose of tasting creates presence. And the presence gives purpose back to tasting. The more present you are, the more detail you notice; the more detail you notice, the more present you become.
#alcohol #wine #presence - ft.com

Why Jeff Goldblum Eliminated Caffeine From His Diet - WSJ

Sanford Meisner was my great acting teacher, who I had at a formative stage, just when I graduated high school. On one of the stones of his foundation would be written, “Use what exists,” and that’s an ever-revealing bit of wisdom. I take it to mean, Use what exists all around you, not only when you’re acting but in life, too. Pay attention to the present moment, receive it openly, and don’t resist it. There’s something about whatever surrounds you that’s perfect in some way and, if navigated in a certain way, can teach infinitely.
#wisdom #presence #advice - wsj.com

All together or all apart

The researchers then had the teams complete a decision-making activity (in this case, act as top management for a fictional Hollywood studio tasked with green-lighting the production of one or more screenplays) and then answer a survey about the experience wherein they rated other team members. "We learned that if you want to have a clear leader emerge, you are better off having them all located face to face or all working remotely," Reeves said. "It's when you start mixing and matching -- some on site, some virtual -- that's when the real confusion comes into play."
#managing #teams #presence - sciencedaily.com