By Riyad A. Shahjahan I love writing conceptual pieces. Such pieces help surface the questions or disconnections I feel as I am impacted by real events in the world. It’s like cooking my favorite dishes and tasting the distillation of flavors after a long arduous process. Yet, the process is always messy and tends to be a journey plagued with inadequacy. “Persuading an octopus in a jar” (p. 181) emerged as one powerful image in…
By Riyad A. Shahjahan A couple of years ago, a doctoral advisee was at the crossroads of what he could explore for his future dissertation. During the meeting, my brilliant Michigan State University colleague, Lynn Fendler, asked: “what kind of methodological lifestyle do you want to live? Do you see yourself engaged in talking to people? Do you see yourself analyzing images?” Lynn basically suggested going beyond the usual linear approach: reading the literature, developing…
By Kimine Mayuzumi In Part I, I discussed why it is (even more) important to be mindful, trust the process and let go of outcomes in this unique context, especially in the neoliberal culture with the pandemics (i.e., virus and social unrest) added. Then, a question I ask here is “what are the conditions and the mindset to create (or at least try to create) within ourselves so that we could more effortlessly be mindful,…
By Kimine Mayuzumi My relationship with the Passion Planner is as long as my blogging experience. Ever since I decided to launch this blog, Being Lazy and Slowing Down, more than four years ago, I have been using the Planner. I clearly remember when I went to the Blogging School in DC in 2015 and shared a hotel room with two other participants, I was excitedly showing off my very first brand-new Passion Planner to…
By Kimine Mayuzumi “How was your summer?” This is a question you may be asked by your friends, colleagues, and neighbors this time of the year. But have you really asked yourself the question? Oftentimes, it is hard for me to transition from summer mode to work mode unless my kids go back to school. When they are around, I tend to get distracted and procrastinate. So I create boundaries by going downstairs and putting…
