35.- Good actions, good people

Some days ago, I saw this paper in a wall: "I've found an envelope with money in this area. If it's your money, please, call me". I got surprised, because this is not what usually happens.
But recently I've been involved in similar situations (loosing something that later I've recovered or returning something that other people have lost).
Maybe this socio-economical crisis makes more people more human.

It's the time of values. There is a light of hope!

#34.- Visiting "Fundació Joan Miró"

Sometimes I feel as foreigner in my own country because I don't know things that are supposed that I should know.
In this case, I'm talking about Joan Miró, one of the most famous catalan painters around the world.
This is something that make me some shame, but at the same time it make me fun.
I tried to find some explanations to this situacion. One of them could be a lack of interest on some topics. Another could be that the proximity (of the museum) gives me a false sensation that I could visit any day, but this day never arrives.
This is what happened along one year and half working beside the Sagrada Familia. Every day, when I went out of the underground, I said myself: one day, during the lunch, I should visit the temple. But that day never arrived. But finally, some years later I visited it.
Fortunately, I have an amazing English teacher and good friend, that have showed me the art of Joan Miró. So far than the "Caixa de Pension's" logo and the "The woman and the bird" statue, I realized than the works of Joan Miró are amazing, the colours that he used, the black and white draws, the expression of his humor sense through of the use of different materials and colours, the proud of painting the catalan rural life, etc...
I'm not an artist (in this sense) and much less a painter, but I felt very identified with some of the pictures of Joan Miró, especially the pictures of the field, the old and traditional way of living, the garden, etc... because I have a similar origin.

I feel lucky to have Valerie as "Life teacher in English" and source of inspiration!
I have a lot to learn and I have a lot to share!

#33.- Home cooking

A chef showing the Galician octopus and her husband
playing the bagpipes

Today is the Winter Feast in my town, Santa Maria de Palautordera. One of the most appreciated activities is a show of Home Cooking.
Today we have reached the 27th edition of it! That means BIG WORDS! At this moment this activity can be considered as a "modern" tradition.
More than 40 chefs have cooked their best specialities for the rest of the town. People have tasted new meals or food that people know but prepared for other man o woman.
It's beautiful to see how the generational change is made in this kind of activities. Young girls and boys help their parents to serve dishes or cook. This is a good sign of the work is doing well.
The dining room has been completely full. There wasn't space enough for anything more. It's wonderful see how this kind of "rural" activity has a place, despite the pressure of other activities like cinema, restaurants, weekend getaway, sports, ...
Although the activity is commonly catalan, it's wonderful to see how foreign people living in the town for years participates too. Today I've seen 4 morocco couples, 1 italian and 1 brazilian.

Good work, organizators!

#32.- Prune time

Usually, winter is the prune time. Prune is a way to prepare the trees for the next season and giving them the opportunity to produce more fruits. Usually, when we prune something, we remove all these parts  that are bad, or are not modelled as we want.

Applying these concepts to our personal or professional life, pruning, is a way to make our bag lightweight, enabling us to walk faster o giving space to put new things on the bag.

In an speech that I've received today, this is called "unlearning". For me this is a new, powerful and frightening (because it is unknow for me) concept.

I've participated in an experiment where I've learned that sometimes is better not knowing something than knowing it. But if you know it, your mental model block you from learning new things. In these cases is necessary unlearn, and this is not easy, because that means loose something that you have.

Good News are that psychologists are studying how to help people to do this process easier and enabling oneself to go further, minimizing the pain of doing that.

If you don't prune fruit trees on winter, year after year, the tree maybe produces more fruits, but, for sure, smaller and weaker.

Then, start to unlearn to leverage you to new horizonts!

#31.- Winning prizes

What's happening? says the mantis.

Today is day of celebration! These three photos that I presented in a contest have won a prize:

• The town through the window (Third prize)
• What's happening? - says the mantis (Special mention prize)
• Dandelions (Special mention prize)

In someway is reward for an appreciated work. But, the best reward is being the author of these prized photos and the time that I spent taking them, specially the photos series of the mantis.

Is nice to be recognized. Is a way to say "your work counts!", although this work had been done in your free time. 

The town through the window

Dandelions

#38.- Cooking for my workmates

I work at InfoJobs. It's a unique and fantastic company, completely different from any other company that I've ever known: the general manager gifts meditation books to the people, we have the joy room where we receive relaxation, meditation and yoga classes, we have the Santa Arroba fest (an incredible outdoor company day), the play station where people play after lunch, we have fresh fruit every Tuesday, flowers for mothers who have children, and a long and astonishing etc.
But there is something that overcomes all what I've written before: THE PEOPLE. Without the people that works here, InfoJobs would be four walls. Great professionals and good people, innovative, creative, commited, generous. able to do what nobody else is able to do and with the desire of being better every day, professional and personally
A proof of what I say is that sometimes people bring home made cakes or cookies for their workmates for any reason. For me, this simple action makes the team stronger and means that after the work, people think in their mates.
If you want, today you can taste "pasta seca". Pick it up in the innovation corner (in the sixth floor, beside the joy room).
Have a nice day!

#30.- Proposals for the new year

Usually before start the New Year, people sets long lists of proposals for the New Year: stop smoke, going to the gym and stop paying for nothing, take english classes, and an incredible long etc.

I could do the same, but I don't smoke, I don't go to the gym (but I go to excursions often) and I take English classes every friday. For this reason this year I want to set a different proposal.

We're immerse in a big economical crisis (at least is what media tries to convince). I believe that this crisis is moral, etical, cultural and energetic. Hearing all the day bad news makes difficult don't fall in the pesimism. The daily News can turn one self crazy... and the worst is that can convince everybody that this is normal.

For this reason this year I will try to focus on the positive aspects of everything. I will redouble my efforts to do that. This not easy, and requieres a bit of training and the hability to see the things from another point of view, usually "faced" to the vast majority.

But people needs new leaders with a positive discourse, who motive, who generates the inquietude of waking up every morning to build something amazing, a more fair world, who leverages their creativity, potentential, etc...

Let me give an example: here at Spain, the goverment have started to cut the  expenses, because we have been spending more than we could have  spent. Ok, then what we need to do is adjust or equilibrate the spending (adjust vs cut). The good new is that every month the difference between the incomes and the expenses should be less. If we have done the things well, that should be the result. And althought the challenge is big... getting these results would be hopeful. We need another way of communication!

This can be applied to our work. Yes, some companies are in "economical crisis", but I believe that companies are in creative and lack of entusiasm crisis.

Companies are not creative by themselves. Companies are nothing. Companies are a noun given to a group of people that work together. And here is the key point: each of us!

If each of us treats of give the best of one self, if each answer is preceded by an smile, if instead of focusing on defects we focus on oportunities, if we look to build a better and fair world, if we avoid the especulation, .... we could change this situation. And this is something that can start by oneself.

Some key words are important for this year:

* Challenges vs Problems.
* Community vs individual.
* Do more with less: an oportunity to redefine paradigms.
* Choose each word that you use in a communication to use positive words.
* Smile, be educated and respectful more than ever.
* Share, communicate and act in a network.
* Feel proud of leave a better world for your descendants.
* Learn from your errors, and explain it to avoid others commit the same errors.
* Listen your body and give yourself time to listen it: ofte it give signals about which option choose everytime you are in a crossroad.
* Reinvent, renew and rebirth yourself. Everyone of us is able to adapt to these continuous and changing circumstances. The normal is change. We have been changing along the history. The abnormal is don't change.


That's my proposal.

Which is you New Years Proposal? Share it!

#29.- Fighting against the waste of food

Some weeks ago we saw an interesting TV report that explained how the big supermarkets throw food in the waste to increase the sales.
The main characteristic in these food is that is close the caducity date, but all of them are in good status.
Curiosly, the supermarkets prefer throw these food instead of sell in a lower price or give it to organizations that help poor people to eat.
The idea below is... "if my clients realize that I have food close to the caducity date, they will go to other supermarkets. Then I prefer throw these food to maintain my clients and my revenues".
That's only one part of the report. In other part we could see how farmers had to throw a lot of vegetables that didn't seem perfect, although these vegetables are so good. Last summer I lived something similar, because my father grow cucumbers, and one of every five boxes wasn't accepted for the market, only for their aspect, no for the flavour, smell, and other.
See this hurts any sensible heart!!! This can't rest in this way! 
It seems clear that supermarkets have this behaviour because the clients have this behaviour too, but introducing some etica practices could avoid to throw food at waste.
So after some time talking with my soon we decided to send a letter to the supermarkets to know how they manage the food that is near to caducity and if they give food to NGO that helps poor people to have food.
Here is the letter. Kids are our future. My parents never encouraged me to send a letter to anyplace to give a complain or ask for something. I consider that is important teach children that throught their actions they can change the world.
I'm happy because the etic and moral revolution has started and the future will be better!

#28.- Your worst day can be your best day!

Some days ago, when I went to my work, I forgot my bag in the train. Inside the bag, it was my wallet with: my identity card, driving license, credit cards, my mobile, and other personal documents.
I was working very concentrated with my laptop when we arrived to the target train station. I was very happy because I got the results that I wanted.
I got off the train with an smile in my face... but suddenly, when I was in the stairs, my face changed: I noticed that I didn't wear my bag!
Quickly, I went to the lost 'n' found point of the station to request for help. A nice lady called the train driver to inform and request him to give a look when the train would arrived to the end of the journey.
Meanwhile I was waiting there, thinking in my misfortune, in all the dealings that I should do (cancel credit cards, renew the identity card, ...) a burden of things, only to want to work in the train.
I was sunk and dissapointed.
After 15 or 20 of awaiting in the lost and found point, I asked to the nice lady to make a call to my mobile. Without hope, I called my phone number and after some tones.... the most wonderful voice in the world answered me! I didn't have words. I was very nervous and emotionated. Just I was able to articulate some words to say thanks and request where I could go to pick up my bag. The kind woman gave me the address.
I was happy again. Now I was the most fortune man in the world!
I hadn't money to go there and I didn't know how to arrive there. I went to my work, I asked some help to my friend Dídac that gave me a public transport ticked and gave his phone. I took a bus to arrive there and after an hour, finally I recovered my bag!
Is incredible how your worst day can be, at same time, your best day only in 20 minutes. I choose: this is my best day.
Thanks Silvia for picking up and care my bag and answer to my phone call.


The world is better than we think and full of good people! And the world is full of clueless, but good people too ;-)

#27.- Taking fun with workmates

During a week we spend, more or less, a third of a day at work. This is a lot of time!
And usually we don't know anything about our workmates (are they single? Which are thei r hobbies, ...). This is a big paradox!
Yesterday we take an out of office day to "work" in other areas.
This was a good oportunity to know better who are the people with we're sharing, at least, a third of your life.