Rivals or allies?
There have been several occasions over the last few months, while I have been slowly building this project, when I came across other people who were doing something so similar, and doing it so well, that my first reaction was to feel like giving up.
Would that be the correct reaction? Where does it come from? I think I have always seen life as a competition - a Darwinist struggle where the strongest will rise and thrive at the expense of the weakest. When I have seen others being more successful than me, I may have outwardly celebrated, especially if some of their success reflects on me, but I have probably also felt threatened.
I don’t think I can say whether this is right or wrong. But among the books I have read in the last few years which has fundamentally changed how I see the world is Humankind by Rutger Bregman1. It is possibly the most uplifting non-fiction book I have ever read. It shows how we have been conditioned to believe we are a dog-eat-dog species, and then tears that notion apart, exploring how the evidence shows us to be, fundamentally, a caring species, with instincts to collaborate even to the extent of sacrificing ourselves for people we have never met. And that, ironically, is one of our competitive advantages over our closest rivals in nature!
What I am trying to get round to saying is that my instinct to feel threatened by similar projects to Look Near First is, I think, counter-productive, and I have decided to push past it. Look Near First was never ever intended to be all about me - it is all about bringing together as many people with a similar passion as possible, so really, every time I see somebody doing something similar, it is a cause for celebration and collaboration (even as I am writing this I am having to squash doubts - I cannot help thinking about times I struggled against peers in the school playground, and protested hopefully ‘It’s not a competition!’)
Learning to love where we live
Last autumn, my friend Katie Thomson, founder of Bumprints - a closely-aligned project - sent me a link to a Substack article by Olivia Stamp, called Learning to Love Where We Live. It was a beautifully written piece, which chimed so strongly with my beliefs that we should try to find our moments of joy and awe in the places close to us, not only to cut emissions and look after the planet, but to feel more rooted, connected, settled, content. And it was not only an article, it was the foundation of a project, in which Olivia was intending to do something very similar to myself - encourage people to travel a bit less by showing them how awesome it is to look closer.
Fortunately, once I had recovered from the envy over how many Substack subscribers she had, I realised that Olivia might be the perfect person to make my first podcast with, and, fortunately, Olivia very kindly agreed to help me.
She was a fantastic first guest. I really enjoyed the conversation, and Olivia was very generous in her willingness to give her time and share her story so openly. The episode is available now; I’d love you to listen to it, and I really hope you enjoy it.
I have three more podcast episodes recorded, which I intend to release over the next few days. And then, if you want more, I’m open to suggestions!
You can find Olivia’s project at learningtolovewherewelive.com
And the podcast is currently on Spotify and Apple podcasts - links below, or search for Look Near First. And please like, subscribe, and leave a nice review - it would be hugely appreciated.
