Paulo Alves

In 2022 collaboration with Chaperone provided me the chance to work together with amazing people to make career changes, understand where they would like to be, and share ideas on how to create a happier and more meaningful working life.

Thanks to the high ratings received from these exchanges I earned the title of Top Rated of Chaperone.

Waw, this was such a nice way to start 2023!

I would like to acknowledge Chaperone for their trust and a big thank you to those with whom I had the chance to work with.

For those that are unfamiliar, Chaperone is a platform that supports scientists managing their career empowering them making career choices.

I wish Chaperone and all of you a year full of amazing surprises !

.
🇫🇷
Chacun de nous a plusieurs facettes, n'est-ce pas ?
Cette image se rapporte à une de mes facettes, celle qui aime faire des choses avec mes mains, des choses qui exigent de la patience, de faire attention aux petits détails, des compétences manuelles qui au final conduisent à la création de jolis objets.

Ça, c’est une facette que j'avais oublié depuis longtemps… ou simplement peu mise en valeur. Ce qui m'a initialement motivé à faire du Kintsugi c’est une autre facette : celle qui aime l'idée de réparer pour réduire les déchets et la surconsommation et contribuer à la préservation de notre planète… En plus, l'idée de la perfection de l'imperfection était très séduisante pour mon côté « manuel ».

Cependant, il m'a fallu 5 objets cassés pour enfin arriver à ce sentiment d'être dans le moment présent, à apprécier chaque étape, et j'ai eu besoin d'un exercice très difficile, un objet cassé en 16 petits morceaux pour m’abandonner au plaisir de chaque instant de la tâche (le moment présent), détaché du résultat final (le futur).

C'était un beau moment d’être complètement immergé, dans un état de “flow” ! Et puis les résultats ne sont pas du domaine du virtuel ou du conceptuel, ce sont des objets bien réels et qui sont beaux. Ça me fait éprouver une énorme satisfaction d’avoir accompli quelque chose de très concret et tangible. Mais c’est surtout un plaisir de renouer avec cette partie oubliée de moi-même ! Essayez-le !

🇺🇸
Each of us has so many different layers, isn’t it?
The one this image relates to is one that has to do with the pleasure of doing things with my own hands, things that require some degree of patient and attention to the details, which required some hands skills, and that in the end lead to the creation of beautiful and useful objects. It was a layer I have left forgotten …or ignored or not valued.

What initially motivated me to do kintsugi was that other layer of myself that loves the idea of recovering/repair things to reduce waste and consummation… and the seducing idea of making perfection from imperfection.

It nevertheless took 5 objects to finally come to that feeling of being on the moment enjoying each single step. And I needed a very difficult object, broken in 16 small pieces, to at last surrender to the pleasure of each moment of the task (the present moment), detached from the final result (the future). It was a lovely moment of being in the flow!

When I look at the final results I get a huge satisfaction from having accomplished something very concrete, tangible and not something only on the realms of the virtual or the conceptual. But above all, it was the pleasure to reconnect with this forgotten part of me that made this experience very rich. Try it yourself!

Another one worth thinking about. To what extent can the fact of having access to abundant information, all the time, be a treat to our mental health? Is it the amount of information? The quality of it? Or something related with the time?

Food for thought!

Lovely words and thoughts for this special period of the year.
I wish you all Merry Christmas.

The winter solstice time is no longer celebrated as it once was, with the understanding that this is a period of descent and rest, of going within our homes, within ourselves and taking in all that we have been through, all that has passed in this full year which is coming to a close... like nature and the animal kingdom around us, this time of hibernation is so necessary for our tired limbs, our burdened minds.

Our modern culture teaches avoidance at a max at this time; alcohol, lights, shopping, overworking, over spending, comfort food and consumerism.
And yet the natural tug to go inwards as nearly all creatures are doing is strong and the weather so bitter that people are left feeling that winter is hard, because for those of us without burning fires and big festive families, it can be lonely and isolating. Whereas in actual fact winter is kind, she points us in her quiet soft way towards our inner self, towards this annual time of peace and reflection, embracing the darkness and forgiving, accepting and loving embracing goodbye the past year.

"Winter takes away the distractions, the buzz, and presents us with the perfect time to rest and withdraw into a womb like love, bringing fire & light to our hearth".

. and then, just around the corner the new year will begin again, and like a seed planted deep in the earth, we will all rise with renewed energy once again to dance in the sunlight.

More beautiful words on this magical night by Brigit Anna McNeill
Artwork by Jessica Boehman

I couldn't have said it better myself. 😊

Stigma related to COVID-19 can lead to cases not being reported, more people being exposed to the virus which makes responding to the pandemic more difficult.

𝚆𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝙽𝙾𝚃 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚖𝚊 in fighting the spread of the virus.

Et voila, nous sommes la pour vous écouter! 😊

Un collectif strasbourgeois se rend disponible pour être à l’écoute du mal-être étudiants On le sait, le mal-être des étudiants grandit en même temps que leur précarité. Alors, à Strasbourg, 12 professionnels de santé et coachs certifiés par l’État ont décidé de venir gratuitement en aide aux jeunes et aux moins jeunes en se proposant d’être à leur écoute, par télépho...

If you've lost your job, your business isn't running anymore or you're just not doing so well and we've worked together, studied together or crossed paths, please contact me and let me know how I can help you.

- Can I put you in touch with a person or company?
- Can I write you a LinkedIn recommendation?
- Can I endorse some of your skills?
- Do you need a conversation for a positive mindset?
- Do you want to brainstorm or have a second pair of eyes?

I copied this post from an acquaintance and I encourage others to copy it from me. We are a community and I think we all move forward by supporting each other in these challenging times.

Bonne année!
.. et voici une idée pour cultiver l'énergie positive pendant cette année. 😉