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“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way.
On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
— Arundhati Roy
Developing a Research Proposal, and contemplating the life of Einstein
Towards the end of his life, Einstein noted his intense curiousity about the world and a sense of awe for the mysteries of the universe...
Laurie Cook
Oct 29, 20237 min read
'Being Goldilocks,' and Writing a PhD Research Proposal
So, I am 3 years into my PhD and a little behind (although one of my supervisors says there is never really a timeline on a PhD, it comes...
Laurie Cook
Oct 1, 20237 min read
What does it mean to be 'Spiritual?'
I am a child of nature. I grew up in the rainforests of northwestern British Columbia. I'm not sure I realized it at the time but it...
Laurie Cook
Feb 12, 202311 min read
What is Truth?
If I have learned anything this week, it is that we need to be very careful about what we call ‘truth’ and how we use this word. It is...
Laurie Cook
Jul 10, 20222 min read
Covid-19 & Leaning into the Future
The reality is this is the new normal. Whether we are dealing with rapid climate change or mysterious viruses that can pop up out of...
Laurie Cook
Mar 18, 20206 min read
Conflict, Change, Innovation & Indigenous Relations
I, like probably many Canadians, are thinking what a mess, and what can we do to fix this? How can we acknowledge and be true to our...
Laurie Cook
Mar 16, 20205 min read
What is Innovation all about anyway?
So, it’s interesting. Been meaning to get back to writing for awhile, but it’s been hard to find the ‘space’ and time to really think...
Laurie Cook
May 4, 20195 min read
Community Visioning: A Powerful Tool for Change
Community development often does seem like a complete uphill (up cliff) battle. Wondering how to help your community become the best it...
Laurie Cook
Apr 21, 20193 min read
Mapping New Horizons for Change: How does Innovation happen?
The key question is what direction do we want it to go in, and who holds the power to push things in that direction. Personally, powerful...
Laurie Cook
Apr 21, 20193 min read
Creating an Ecosystem for Change: Three basic ideas...
How do we create a more powerful ecosystem for change in communities? Recently, I posted some ideas from Locality in the UK about this...
Laurie Cook
Apr 21, 20192 min read
Evaluation, Learning & Innovation: How NOT to kill the cat!
They say curiosity killed the cat… but I’d say curiosity is the foundation of developing a culture of learning and innovation. So, what...
Laurie Cook
Apr 21, 20192 min read
What does it mean to THRIVE, not just survive, as communities?
Reflections heading into another conference on community building. This one called How We Thrive. It seems there is A LOT going on in...
Laurie Cook
Apr 21, 20193 min read
Blast from the Past! Nikolaj Grundtvig, Highlanders, Nova Scotia & the Folk School Movement
Coming out of a recent conference called Thrive, I find myself reflecting on the value of some ‘old’ methods of community building based...
Laurie Cook
Apr 21, 20193 min read
Dreaming BIG! Iceland, the World Cup and Ocasio-Cortez
I am so impressed with the stories coming out of Iceland these days. Is it just about football? No. I think it’s about more than that -...
Laurie Cook
Apr 21, 20191 min read
Dreaming BIG with LOCAL Action! Localism, SDG's & the Sleeper Revolution
So a friend just shared an article with me about something called Localism. It’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about these...
Laurie Cook
Apr 21, 20192 min read
Leadership for the Nonprofit Sector - and Beyond! What might it take to grow really strong, powerful
I’ve written a lot recently about the importance of taking action locally and then networking globally. How do we take action locally...
Laurie Cook
Apr 21, 20192 min read
‘Righteous Mischief:’ Creativity, Innovation, Leadership… and Changing the World!
What usually happens when someone gets into ‘mischief’? They usually get into trouble, right? But what if we saw mischief as a source of...
Laurie Cook
Apr 21, 20193 min read
Democracy, Citizenship & Canaries: How are we doing?
One of my heroes, whose teachings I sometimes lose track of - but always welcome remembering - is Marshall Ganz. I ran across a 2017...
Laurie Cook
Apr 21, 20193 min read
Sheroes! The rise of women - it’s about time! #WECAN and #WEMUST
Something that’s got me quite jazzed these days is the rise of voice of such remarkable women - around the globe. We have Michelle Obama...
Laurie Cook
Apr 21, 20192 min read
Happy New Year? How So?
So, it’s been awhile. I - like many people - have been consumed lately with very pressing, daily matters. Insert irony here. But I’ve...
Laurie Cook
Feb 7, 20195 min read
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