A Wide Brown Land For Me

In the Thinking Caps book there is a piece about 'Calling Australia Home' and the values of mate ship, giving things your best shot and a fair go for all. Each year I fly over Australia 30 or 40 times and this wide, red dirt land disappears in 5 or 6 hours of reading, doing a crossword or two and having a meal. It has been many years since I drove across Oz (I hitched across several times in younger years when the World was a different place) and it really is a wonderful thing to do. In a slow drive across this land you notice subtle changes, hues of color, diversity of landscape and you sense the rugged and ragged beauty. You also appreciate some of the great challenges of distance that rural and remote Australian communities face. I am so glad we are not just all cities and I am so glad that we have taken this slower time (Coo-ee Time) to journey. To dip our toes into various beaches, to sense the heat of 45 degree days when the wind can cook you and then to enjoy the spray of a late sea breeze.

Years ago Macca and I wrote a song called Cooee Child based on a poem I wrote as Marc Diffen and I sat on the granite rocks outside of Mt Magnet. 'Go gently within the morning, go slowly within your day, go with your eyes wide open, Cooee Child the word is spoken... let's walk about this wondrous untouched land...' As we walk about this wide and wondrous land I am reminded to breathe deeply in nature, particularly when so much of our lives is in cities and on planes.

Thinking Caps on www.glenncapelli.com

Multiple Personalities

It's funny but I bumped into someone recently who said 'Glenn Capelli, weren't you the footballer?' In my early years my 'identity' was that of the kid down the oval kicking a footy, the young bloke leading a side onto a field, Capa the Captain. Two knee operations later and I have to conclude my days of kicking a footy, so I get my knees to take up marathon running. For years I ran a minimum of 10KMs a day and usually far more. My best Marathon time was 3 Hours 15 Minutes and I was aiming to break the magic 3 hour mark when (as might be guessed) the knee collapsed again.

From 'identity' of Footballer, to Runner and then to Hobo. For a lot of the 1980s my possessions were all rolled into a backpack as I chucked laps of the World - kibbutz in Israel, four summers of Camp in North Carolina, months in Kenya, trains in Europe: sleeping rough and sometimes not sleeping at all.

It's funny how many identities we are tagged with throughout life - footballer, runner, hobo, husband, business person, teacher, guy on radio, speaker... but I hope whatever identities we are tagged with, no matter how the world sees us, that we maintain the identity of being a Learner at our core. To experience diversity and continue to learn from it, to experience others beneath their 'identities' and to continue to learn from them.

Sir Richard Branson Event

2010 holds a lot of good things already in place for my presenting - the NESA International Conference in Melbourne in March, the Capricorn Conferences in Fremantle, Spectrum Education in Christchurch (Jan), Life Education in Auckland (Jan), Independent Schools Conference at the Crown in Melbourne to name a few.

In March there is also the opportunity for me to meet and share the stage with Sir Richard Branson through the work of Shane Kempton. Not only do I present but also I will ask Richard some questions as part of a panel. If you had the chance to ask Sir Richard Branson something, what would you ask?

Tickets for tables are available. Double click the picture for details.

Chumbawamba Well

The musical co-operative Chumbawamba are mainly known for their world hit Tubthumping (I get knocked down and I get up again) though to me they exemplify what it means to be creative. Their songs and example teach us that creation is a process of good ingredients, good blending and working in layers. Whether we are creating through designing presentations, cooking a feast, writing pieces for radio, creating a novel or weaving practical art through textiles - we need to get the right ingredients (quality produce), get the right mix for the context and have layers of discovery in the taste and learning. Chubawamba well.

For more on Chumbawamba get the Thinking Caps book (Piece 14) www.glenncapelli.com

Many Lands of Smart - Brave Souls

Brave Souls with Bernadette Young is where we flip normal talk back radio and people call in but do not know what they will be asked to talk about. In November 2009 I devised a Brave Souls around how we teach the Multiple Intelligences Model of Professor Howard Gardner - The Many Lands of Smart.

The People You Meet On Stage

The Conference Speaking World is an interesting one and you get to meet and be team-mates with a host of fascinating folk, some who become your mates. I once was flown to Miami to speak and the evening entertainment was three of the former Doobie Brothers performing now with a 7 piece band; a magic combo.

Other joyful collaborations include Conference cards with Professor Howard Gardner, Harvard's wonderful David Perkins, Moira Kelly (founder of Children First), Edward de Bono (in Canada and Malaysia), astronauts, Everest climbers, Gold Medalists, scientists, Prime Ministers, Senators, street choirs and a vast array of CEOs. Not to mention the magic of other Professional Speakers.

One joy for me is when I get to interview folk on stage and turn interviews (and panels) into activities of thoughtfulness (for the audience) and involvement. Two years ago at the National Employment Services International Congress I was able to interview David Bussau regarding his life (from being an abandoned child) and his work in micro-lending championing the lives folk in need of livelihood. David's story as told by Philippa Tyndale in Don't Look Back is a touching and meaningful read. In 2008 David was named Senior Australian of the Year.

In March 2010 I will get to theme weave (and conduct other interviews) at the next International NESA in Melbourne. Magic.

Spreading Little Arrows of Magic

Leapy Lee's original name was Graham Pulleyblank and we can understand why he went with Leapy. In 1968 my radio kept playing Leapy's song (penned by the prodigious Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood) 'Little Arrows'. The tune, like an arrow, can get stuck in your head.

Recently I watched the excellent SBS series Who Do You Think You Are and saw the Australian episode on (also excellent) singer/musician/activist John Butler. John used the example of archery to consider what the journey back into his family tree had done for him. He noted he was quite future oriented with his arrow pointing to where it should go but that the arrow flies better and further when you pull the string of the bow back behind you. Going back helps you go forward better. A beautiful way of seeing the world.

In many ways my radio pieces and the 40 pieces that make up the first Thinking Caps book are little arrows that pull back in order to go forward. Some are reminders of a world we used to know and some of these reminders may help us go forward in a better way. Little arrows of magic that help us to leap(y).

You can order Thinking Caps on www.glenncapelli.com