The Road ahead

Shean and his Dad sit down together this year for the first time. They look back at a restful and enjoyable Xmas, and Shean asks his dad about his thoughts for the new year. The conversation opens up about the need to be prepared and intrinsically aligned. In a world that is becoming more volatile and quickly changing, the idea of anchoring and being prepared to work through the transition really resonated in this episode. The pair discussed practical ways to help strengthen ourselves emotionally, and encouraged to build strong bonds socially and through community. We hope you enjoy this first offering of the year and take something out of it that will help you in the weeks and months ahead.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:07

We hope that you've all had an amazing restful Christmas and you're enjoying the start of a happy, happy, happy new year. And the sofa's a little bit fuller as well. It hasn't been for the last couple of weeks, so it should be a nice turn for you all of you. Gad, how are you this morning? I'm good.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Yeah? Good. Very happy to be here and to be doing what we're doing. Good, good, good. How was your Christmas? The Christmas was good. Um working, of course, and um looking looking forward to the new year.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Uh where I would have had some a bit of rest, but as things went, it's still busy.

SPEAKER_02 0:45

So you didn't manage to kind of find any pockets of rest for your side? No, no, no, no, not yet. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

So how is how do you feel that's knocked on to your new year? Um, I think it's there are things that I have to to get done that was that's absolutely necessary going forward. So um, so yes, it was no problem.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

So, how do you feel like that's kind of impacted your new year? Do you feel like you're catching up or do you feel like you're where you need to be? Do you feel like you there is um rest pockets to gain?

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Yeah. Yeah, I think basically it's a bit of a catching up, really, and also um finding time for a bit of a rest pocket.

SPEAKER_02 1:27

And uh once I've got over some things that I need to get done, yeah, then I should have been able to have a bit of time to just a question objectively, and this is actually probably for people that are quite busy, because I'm sure there'll be quite a few people that would have hoped they would have gone out of last year feeling quite rested, and maybe things popped up that um meant that just their workload was a little bit more consistent, right? What would you suggest to those people in being like super intentional about A, finding rest pockets for themselves, but B the ability to actually value what you do in your output enough that it either potentially goes higher up on the priority list because I think especially what seems to be happening in the world at the moment, the nature of it is that there's always gonna be something. Yeah, and it would appear that if you can't control the something, then it's almost like um I always think it's quite sadistic when I watch people watch their dogs chasing their tail, right? Because the the reality is that the dog thinks it's in motion and it's it has the ability to catch something, and everybody else watching on the outside realizes it's never gonna catch something. Exactly, that is true, and then they kind of you know excite the dog a bit, and then the dog goes even quicker, and the misery of having something feel so close, yeah, but yet you're never able to grasp it. And so, just as you were talking, I was just like, okay, I know how I would normally react or respond, I think is a better word, um, to a statement like that. But then I sat down and I thought, okay, cool, there's there's probably lots of other people that might be feeling this or thinking this or having this kind of so for me, just in terms of obviously because you know you're a very experienced person, um what steps are you putting in place for yourself to not only value your time but also your own yourself really? Because I think very rarely um do we see ourselves as commodities or um like structures of being that we need to manage and look after.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

I think one of the things that most people, I think, in the world has grown to have a certain expectation of how things are going to be, right, and therefore they would plan for it. But we are in a time now where everything seems to be going pear shape in you know in certain in in most areas actually. And what I mean by that is you don't have the definition, the definite things that most people oftentimes want to happen. And therefore you're having to be um in some instances catching up, um, other instances you have to adapt. And it is that constant adapting to the moving and changing environment that is oftentimes quite challenging. Um now that you're facing these, it's having to plan that yes, you may not have to you may not be able to to get the big thing that you want, but it's to gradually work with bite size. And it is that bite size that is going to help you to keep going, you know what I mean, because of the changing situation that you're always gonna come up against.

SPEAKER_02 5:28

So in terms of um a person in your position, how have you identified and discovered um to use the term that you used, the bite-sized pockets that are allowing you to hopefully build the environment that you want for yourself in terms of obviously the efficiency of your work, but also the peace and relaxation um of a restful environment.

SPEAKER_01 5:57

Yeah. In most cases, I think where I find the challenges are is that you can plan for yourself. Dad, I didn't ask that.

SPEAKER_02 6:07

What I asked you was how have you found the bite-sized pockets in terms of rest pockets.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

Yeah, that's what I'm I'm getting to. Okay, cool. Yeah. So what I'm saying is this that um for a lot of people, yeah, the problem is not necessarily with you per se, it is with the environment around you that oftentimes is changing and therefore impacts on you, um, where you then have to adapt to that changing environment. So where you can um perceive or anticipate changes, then of course you can work with how best you're gonna lean into it or not. And that is really where one would have to then be able to take a bit out when they can and deal with the issues that presents themselves. So it's not something you can sit down and say, okay, you're gonna plan for that, because the environment is changing constantly. And you having you, especially where I'm sitting, sometimes you having to be ready to move with that changing environment. So that is where, in many people's cases, I believe, the challenges are, and it's understanding that, and from that carve out, you know, the the pockets that you feel you need to keep keep you going.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:43

Um can I just re-ask that question? Because I waited and you could yeah, because I don't think you understood what I was asking. What you alluded to is saying that you'd found bite-sized pockets and stuff within a changing environment. So, what I was asking you to do was to explain to those that are listening how you found those bite-sized pockets and what those bite-sized sorry, what those bite-sized pockets look like, because I can I was completely following the fact that you're saying in a changing environment you have to adapt and adjust 100%. Um, but that was the point of the question that if the environment is consistently changing, then there has to be constants, right? So if you're the constant in an ever-changing environment and there are things that you need in order to thrive, 100% the environment is going to throw up challenges and it's gonna throw up different scenarios that would lean you into constantly having to invest an output, which at a point because we're not unlimited, you're going to run out of capacity or resource or whatever else. So, because you said that you found bite-sized pockets, I was like, okay, cool. Where are these bite-sized pockets? How did you find them? And how would you then instruct somebody else to no you have to?

SPEAKER_01 9:01

Uh rather, it's not that you particularly find it per se. You have to find it, you got to another word, as you go along, you have to find where it's possible for you to take that. It's a bit like you at work and you know, okay, you're there for three, four days. However, you're not gonna be working 24-7. So the key thing is to get over the important part of your work and then to carve out time for rest or for relaxation, anything else you're gonna do. So it is a moving situation where as it presents itself, as the opportunity presents itself, you've got to take it. And that is what I find, you know, especially in recent times, one has to do is to be, you know, it's like feeding on the wing, on the wings. You know what I mean? You have to recognize that this is what's going on. However, within all of that is to make time um to get your rests or relaxation, as it were.

SPEAKER_02 10:12

I think just in um response to what you were referring to in terms of my work, I agree with you in terms of like you saying, I will kind of go through the same things in terms of my work, but I think we slightly have different approaches. Um, there are certain things in my environment, dad, the sky could be falling down and I won't leave certain things that I'm doing, right? Simply because, like you said, if I know that I may be asked to take on an extra class or an extra couple of students, then my preparation days of Monday evening and Tuesday daytime, that can't change. Because even though I might go into the environment as I expect it, yeah, and then I have an expectation of what my environment should produce and provide me, even if there is a change within it, I believe that in an ever-changing environment, I have to be the one consistent, right? Because it's almost then like just kind of, and like I said, I want to create a juxtaposition and really understand what you're saying because I think this is going to be a good conversation for lots of people to have personally, professionally, emotionally, and otherwise. And this is just me leaning to what you said, okay, and trying to create a practical example. It would almost then be like the sun waking up and going, Well, it's grey, I'm off. Because you'd be like, Well, where's the blue sky? I don't have a cast, I don't have a co, I don't have a co-star, I am the star, so I don't need no grey, I don't need no rain, I don't need no wind, and then he wakes up and he's just like, Well, who ordered these lot? Right, I'm off. Does that make sense? But he doesn't because without him, irrespective of some of the other changes that may come into the environment, that's what makes everything run. So, even with me in my preparation for teaching, I will teach, uh, I will set my lessons as they are for let's say one ensemble class and five um five individual sessions. Within that, I will make sure, okay, cool. If I end up doing six individual sessions and no ensemble, or I end up doing three ensemble and two individuals, the work I've set lends itself into me going, right, whilst I'm learning this for one voice, where's the harmony in the chorus? Where's and that's literally just an extra five minutes based on my capacity and what I've learned in music. So I go into my situation saying, right, I'm ready to adapt and adjust, but not at the expense of myself. Yeah, and that's where I was trying to lean to. That I think there are a lot of people that go into, like you said, the challenges of an ever-changing environment, but they're adapting and adjusting at the expense of themselves, and then the time it's taking, after they've gone and adapt and adjust and become what this world or this moment needed them to be, for them to fit back into who they are, right? That's a whole bunch of time that they've also lost as well. Because if you just let's say you're a bird and you have the ability to turn yourself into a land animal, Dad, running really fast on ground is nowhere near the same as flying. And there will be a certain disorientation, right? Does that make sense? Because if you're used to doing this and you're you're trying to catch wind currents, yeah, and then all of a sudden you're on the ground, you're trying to make sure you don't trip over a stone, and that's why I was asking, okay, okay, now I see what you're talking about with the challenges and the da da da and the da d. The question I'd put to you is what would you then potentially encourage those that, like you said, are trying to find these rest pockets and and balance and manage their world? Um what would you encourage them to be the one constant in their personal environment?

SPEAKER_01 14:15

To be prepared for the changes. I mean, literally to have a mindset to be ready for changes and at the expense of what they're doing as well? Um, not necessarily within what they're doing. I mean, say for instance, a doctor. Right. Yeah. Um, you have those who are just coming into the practice. Now they're working something like 80 hours at the best of time, say per week. You know what I mean? So in other words, they will have breaks, but they are constantly on call. You know what I mean? So that is the thing. So they could go and work eight hours straight without a break, or it may be four hours straight without a break. The same thing with the armed forces. So depending on where people are, they have to look at that their their working environment, what what is going on, and to work out within that environment where they can find the best um situation to rest or to um to recuperate, whatever it may be the case. Because some profession operates like that, while others are static. You know exactly what you're gonna do, when you're gonna do it, how you're gonna do it, and therefore you can work and set things in in motion or in order around that. So that's basically what it is for someone like myself and for a lot of other people in different uh professions.

SPEAKER_02 15:48

Just one quick question I wanted to ask as you said that. Um, I completely agree with you in terms of the example you gave of the doctor. I think the only thing or question I'd ask you is that because of the nature of that job, there are certain protocols within that job. So those protocols mean that you're not taking a junior doctor and throwing them into a situation that A, they're not used to or having been able to reference on these levels. The first level, A, that they haven't seen it before, B, that there's not a superior waiting to either guide, mentor, or talk them through the process. Does that make sense? Yeah, which then means that the spontaneous change of environment, though they're not necessarily prepared for it or planning for it, they're not underprepared because they sit there and they go, right, the nature of my job, like you said, I'm on call. Now, the reason they're on call is because they'll be on call for a very specific amount of time, and then after that period of time, somebody else takes over. Right? Otherwise, when they are at home sleeping, the phone cut it's not the case because they realize it's such an intense amount of time in a very short space, right? Someone will sit there and go, three days isn't that long to be on call. Well, if you've got to stay up for 72 hours, yes it is. And if the decision you have to make is life and death, yes it is. So what they do is they provide the boundaries that allows them to be able to sit there and say, right, I have to do this intenseness of this job, but I'm going to do it in this short, sharp burst. Indeed. And the junior doctor will have a senior doctor who'll then probably have somebody that sits on the board of the hospital that allows to filter down all of what I call the executive decision. Right. Right? So even within the changing environment and being on call, would you agree that there are certain protocols and preparations that are set in place to help them to deal with this?

SPEAKER_01 17:57

Of course, there is because the institution um caters for that. Right. Um, they have both the human resources as well as the financial resources and other resources to facilitate that. But you have other situations where you don't have that kind of resources available to you so that you can function with that level of efficiencies. So, for example, the let's say as we were talking about the medical profession, I mean, that body is fully established, funded, in most cases, even by the government. Then you've got other people like say, for example, somebody who is self-employed. He hasn't got that kind of institution support mechanism around him. So he has to, whatever he does, he's doing it because everything is about him achieving the objectives he wants to, while at the same time, he has to bring balance to his life. You know what I mean? And he has to do it within the limitation that he has. So that is why it varies, I said, depending on the environment and what you're involved in.

SPEAKER_02 19:11

Would you agree then, or would you not agree, that both have access to the same thing, but obviously the onus is on one to create it for himself, whilst the onus for the other is that, like you said, because it's rooted in an institution, it has that attachment to its dimensions. So you'd agree that it's for one to then potentially create that other base. Absolutely. Absolutely. So what I'd say to you is how do you or how would you encourage others to build that for themselves and wait one moment, and how or would you encourage them to do that irrespective of the environment? And the reason I say that is because if I lean into the point that you made that the environment's always changing, then my ability to sustain myself is then gonna have to become upon me deciding what is important and what's not. Does that make sense? Yeah. So where would you or how would you um advise or encourage people?

SPEAKER_01 20:23

So that's why the individuals would have to look at their situation and assess it based on what they are experiencing, what they're going through, and what they have happening in this phase of activities. So that's going to be down to them as an individual per se, um, especially if you are working on on your own, say self-employed, as a typical example, right? So it's the the amount, the time is going to be relative to what you can afford or cannot afford. While, for example, institution is different because uh things are set up differently. So I would say to any person, the onus is on them, they know their limitation, they know their capacity, and so therefore it's gonna be up to them to decide, okay, I can do this much and need X amount of um break. And it is like a story that I once heard about a young man and an old man, and they were gonna have a race, how many trees they could cut down in the forest. The young man got his axe and went to work non stop. The old man got his axe, and after every 20 minutes, he stopped and he sharpened it. In the end, he it's him who won the competition. So the young man said, Well, I went all day. He said, No. The difference is that you kept on going, you wear down your energy. I stop every 20 minutes, recuperate, sharpen my tool, and that's where I was able to um to to achieve the objective. And I think that's what it's going to be for most people going forward.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

How would you suggest that they find those pockets of rest, like in terms of the circuit breakers to sharpen their tools? What does that look like? Or how do you implement that in your life?

SPEAKER_01 22:23

Well, it determines on your energy level and your capacity, really, because for some people every 20 minutes works, they get 10 minutes' rest. It's in front of the person because they may feel a lot fitter, stronger, they can go for hours. So it's it's gonna be totally down to those kind of um uh situations as to whether how much, how little one and you know allow themselves.

SPEAKER_02 22:52

But just as a practical example for a person or be listening to his conversation and say, oh, okay, I um I identify more so with where his space of life is right now. What is it that you do practically that person sitting there go, okay, cool, that's what he does to circuit break. So it when I say that, I mean in terms of an example could be like, well, every second Tuesday or every Wednesday I do this or I do that. And how does your disconnection from a quite intense space allow you to then recalibrate and rebalance? And also, if you're saying that this is something that you're having to implement, then it's I'm guessing it's something that you're having to teach yourself, which means that it's kind of new. So, in that space, how do you then obviously introduce something that isn't normal, um sustain it to the point where it then becomes a habit so you can start seeing the results of it?

SPEAKER_01 23:49

Um let's take it from a physical perspective, yeah. Um when I was say 35, I go to sleep whatever time I want to go to sleep, and I would sleep for eight hours, um perhaps sometime more, as well as can be less. And I'm good. Now, at my age, now you go to sleep and you sleep for two or three hours. You wake up, you know, for various reasons. Then after a small period of time, you fall back asleep again, and that may go on for two or three times throughout the night. Yeah. You wake up, of course, in the morning, and then you feel energized because you just wake up freshness of the morning. But as you go through the day, you get to a certain point where you then feel exhausted. So therefore, now you need the time to rest. So I would take time out from what I'm doing, get an hour to um sleep, re-energize, and then continue again. So therefore, for me, it's over 24 hours uh period in most in most cases, unless um have a specific holiday break. But that is how it would for me to function at the level that I have that I function at. I mean, so that's what I that's that's what, as a typical example. So I so I I um I create um what I need that fits my circumstances, and I would say to every person that they should look at theirs, for example, the person who is 35, for example, may not need uh because you don't have these breaks coming at him at different hours and different times. So he may deal with it differently and find different time to um to fit in, whether it's a long or a short, bite-size or protracted.

SPEAKER_02 25:55

Okay. Um you 2026, you were saying um or last week actually, that you were speaking to a congregation on New Year's Eve and that you had felt that you needed to give quite a well, it's not what I'd call your usual New Year's Eve message because a lot of people are quite giddy on New Year's and they're looking forward to the new year and resolutions and and ideas of what they want to do and what they're gonna upscale and what they're gonna descale. Um, but you were quite you were you were quite um adamant's the wrong word. I would say it's specific. I wouldn't even say it was specific, I would say it was what I call a quiet knowing, um, in terms of your conviction with regards to what you think this year is going to throw up in terms of challenges and stuff. So I want I kind of wanted to go into that a little bit because obviously, like you said, the world as an environment and a community feels very chaotic at the moment. So, in terms of what we were speaking about in the first part of our conversation, in an ever-changing environment, um you kind of want to be able to hold on to a couple of absolutes and constants. So, firstly, I wanted to kind of explore a little bit about what you kind of meant in terms of the challenges that you think people might face, and then for you just to, if you can, um just provide some practical steps and examples that people can use to maybe battle some of these things.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

Yeah, I think um for me it's in my field of operation, I didn't name it the church, we have something called discernment, yeah, where it is the ability to see um not only in the spirit world, but also using the gift of knowledge, uh sorry, wisdom, you can see ahead what is happening. And um so combine those two together, it gives you um uh an insight into what is pending or even what is happening. So for me, as you rightly said, it was a rather um strange, strange um message uh when most people uh coming into the new year want to be optimistic and making, as I said, resolutions, etc. So my thing was that it is going to be a very challenging year, very difficult. Now, my knowledge of biblical prophecy is one uh of the source of my information, to the discerning of the environment around me, politically and socially, as well as environmentally. So that's what lend me to be so specific in terms of what I said as regarding to this year. However, having said that, we individuals have to get into a mode of preparation. Imagine, and just to give as an example, when the pandemic was announced, people rush to get things to compensate for any shortage that may come or lack of delivery that may be made. In the same way, we are saying to people is that in the light of what is happening in these four spheres of activity, politically, environmentally, and um politically, environmentally, spiritually, and of course, um socially. Yes, then one has to ask themselves a number of questions, how prepared are they for any of those eventualities? And to address that question, then one has to look at where they feel if anything were to happen outside the norm, how are they prepared for it? What do they have in store? For example, they do they have savings as a typical example, if things go financially peer shape, do they have food if climatically we have floods, snows, whatever? And these are the areas in which each person has to look and see what have they got to combat any such emergency. That's what I would suggest.

SPEAKER_02 30:47

Okay, so in terms of um environmentally, what do you think some of the challenges people are going to face, or what do you perceive to be coming that they're going to need to prepare for?

SPEAKER_01 31:02

Take for instance, I would say, like, let's use Jamaica as a typical example. Now, we just heard of one of the worst hurricanes that um that hit that island. In principle, it has been coming, and the meteorical office has been saying to people, look, things are gonna get worse in terms of the weather climatic condition. Then one would have asked, did anyone listen to it? And if they did, then number one, they would have said, okay, let me do some savings, let me have something put aside in the event something like this happen, I can have money. Because for those who experience this storm, one of their greatest needs is financial fluidity. A lot of people they don't have it. And that is the cry you hear from most people. Now, if one waits until the problem happens and to to then try to say, it's clearly you're gonna catch them off guard. So I would say to people that you have to look at, I say, these four um upper upper upper activities, these four elements that potentially can happen, and do as much as you can to circumvent it by being ready in many instances. If, for example, tomorrow, okay, let's take Essex. Right now, in Essex, they're having this problem with the water company, and for nearly uh, I'm not sure how many weeks it is, they have been without water. Okay, the government is giving them water presently, but how many people are prepared of water just even for a week, if in the event something happened? And then that applies to all almost other all other commodities. So these are where I believe, looking at what is happening around us, I would say to every person, where possible, begin to prepare, because it's inevitable, it's happening, and it's happening on every continent.

SPEAKER_02 33:20

And so you said socially, what do you think the challenges people are gonna face on a social level?

SPEAKER_01 33:25

Social level, again, people have come to adapt to certain um operations or situation that they see or they're used to. Um for example, going out, um having sports and these these kind of kick these kind of things. You know, people like the weekends are different times that they would go and socialize with their friends, etc., because they have the means to do so. However, if that suddenly stopped, like we have another lockdown, how will people deal with that? Because people just think they sneak to each other's houses like they did last time. No, I I really believe that if something like that happened again, the government also learned that there was sneaking going on. Right. And I think that they would make it far more restrictive in our people do. And it is how much capacity does one have to deal with, for example, a shut-in for a protracted period of time. And these are where rather than just taking, as I said, small gulp of oxygen, you need a tank sitting there somewhere that when the oxygen becomes short, you can go to it, you know, and and live. And I believe that that is what there has to be that conscious awareness. How much do I have within me to deal with, as I say, any of these eventualities that will come, and begin the preparation for it. Look at what is it that keeps you ticking, look at how dependent you are and people around you, and what kind of people are around you, and ask yourself the question: are they the kind of people that if I'm in trouble in any shape, way, shape, or form, can I call on them? You know, and it is something that I've even been saying in my some of my messages to the church body as a typical example. Look, don't just sit at home on YouTube and all these other social media. Find yourself into a community, an environment where you're interacting with people because in situation that will happen, you're gonna need those people. You can't call YouTube or any of the other social media and say, hey, I need somebody to come and talk to me or to come and sit with me. It's not gonna happen. So these are the things that I believe one has to create this kind of awareness going forward.

SPEAKER_02 36:19

If you could put pick three things that people could apply to their daily life to lean them into these spaces like you've just spoken about, what what three things would you choose?

SPEAKER_01 36:31

Find good friends. Okay. That's that's that's number one. Have be self-sufficient as much as you can in terms of um what you have or can or should I can have. For example, money, savings, etc. And more important is to be as fit as you can. To be physically healthy.

SPEAKER_02 36:57

Physically healthy, yes. Perfect, perfect. Thank you so much to everybody that has taken the time to hang out with us in our first uh podcast delivery of the year. We hope that you have heard wonderful pieces of information that you can apply to your own life, but also that you can have great conversations with those in your everyday world and in your family circles. Have a great rest of your day, and we look forward to seeing you next time from myself. I hope you all have a great day from my dad.

SPEAKER_01 37:25

Stay blessed.

SPEAKER_02 37:26

Bye, guys.