Chapter 3 (of 20) Une Génération Perdue

Chapter 1 (of 20), A Good Café on the Place St-Michael, will take you back in time to the story that began my French culinary experiences while reading A Moveable Feast, chapter by chapter. From there, each chapter will take you to the next chapter and culinary experience. 

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” Ernest Hemingway.

Chapter 3 (of 20) Une Génération Perdue, accompanied by coffee and a brioche bun, consumed at L’eau à La Bouche Delicatessen & Café on Broadway Market.

Notes From Chapter 3: Une Génération Perdue

A WorkLife Book Club For One

Notes about Writing and Reading

“When I was writing, it was necessary for me to read after I had written. If you kept thinking about it, you would lose the thing you were writing before you could go on with the next day. It was necessary to get exercise to be tired in the body.”

“I had learned already never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it.”

There’s a lesson in Hemingway’s words for me. One that I learnt the hard way.

Because, unlike Hemingway, I didn’t know to stop writing. Instead, when I was in the flow, I wrote from dawn well into the night. 

I stopped exercising. I stopped taking time to shop for and cook healthy food. Instead, I consumed store cupboard staples with little nutrition. I had pasta with a processed tomato sauce for more days than I care to remember. 

The impact of lack of exercise and nutritious food took a toll on my physical and mental health and wellbeing, and I became quite unwell. 

It’s taking time for me to recover fully. 

I wish I had Hemingway’s insightful wisdom when I began writing.

But I do now, albeit through a lesson learned the hard way …

And as for reading when I’m writing.

When I’m writing short stories, I very much take Hemingway’s approach of reading after I’ve written.

But when I’m working on a book, I don’t stop to read. Unlike Hemingway, I want to keep thinking about it, and perhaps I’m scared if I stop, I will lose the thing I was writing. And so I will empty the well of my writing and will remain in the deep part of the well into the deep part of the night until I’ve done that. And then wake up and do it all over again the next day. 

But now that I’ve finished my book and I’m back to writing short stories, and I’m back to walking and reading, I’m discovering that I’m not losing what I was writing. In fact, it’s the opposite. I’m having new thoughts of ways to continue with a story or thoughts for a new story.

I now recognise Hemingway’s insightful wisdom in his approach to writing and taking time to read, exercise and sleep in the knowledge that these actions fed the springs of the well of his writing.

Albeit I came to recognise that wisdom the hard way, I’m OK with that. Because I needed to make that discovery for myself.

“If you don’t want to read what is bad, and want to read something that will hold your interest and is marvellous in its own way, you should read Marie Belloc Lowndes”.

“I had never heard of her, and Miss Stein loaned me The Lodger, that marvellous story of Jack the Ripper and another book about murder at a place outside Paris that could only be Enghien les Bains. There were both splendid after-work books”.

I love being reminded of how I so often find the next book in the current book I’m reading or through a recommendation.

I also love being reminded suspense books are splendid after-work reading.

“Suspense fiction – thrillers and mysteries are my favourite night-time read. They help me to switch off. It seems contradictory, but they help to relax my mind and unwind and feel ready for sleep. I couldn’t understand why this was at first, as with all paradoxes, I had to figure it out. What I figured was that in the same way we need physical exercise to maintain good health and wellbeing, we also need to work out our brain to keep it in peak condition. Thrillers and mysteries help achieve this because they provide puzzles to work through. A good workout – physical or mental – aids better sleep”. These words are from the character Maggie in my book,  WorkLife Book Club.

Notes about Character

“It was when we had come back from Canada and were living in the rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs and Miss Stein and I were still good friends that Miss Stein made the remark about the lost generation. She had some ignition trouble with the old Model T Ford she then drove and the young man who worked in the garage and had served in the last year of the war had not been adept, or perhaps had not broken the priority of other vehicles, in repairing Miss Stein’s Ford. Anyway he had not be serieux enough and had been corrected severely by the patron of the garage after Miss Stein’s protest. The patron had said to him, ‘you are all a génération perdue’.”

“That’s what you are. That’s what you all are,’ Miss Stein said. ‘All of you young people who served in the war. You are a lost generation.” 

“That evening as I was walking home … I thought of Miss Stein … and egotism and mental laziness versus discipline and I thought who is calling who a lost generation?”

“I thought that all generations were lost by something and always had been and always would be.” 

… “and I thought, I will do my best to serve her and see she gets justice for the good work she has done, as long as I can, so help me God and Mike Ney. But to hell with her lost-generation talk and all the dirty, easy labels.”

I, too, cannot abide ‘dirty, easy labels’. 

I, too, cannot abide generalisations, such as … all of you young (or old) people … but I, too, can now recognise the truth in Hemingway’s words, “that all generations were lost by something and always had been and always would be.” 

Through the development of the story, I’m enjoying learning more about Miss Stein’s character.

I’m also enjoying learning about Hemingway’s character as both writer and man – in his determination to do his best to serve her in getting justice for her good work while in no way accepting her ‘dirty, easy labels’. 

We all have good and bad characteristics. 

I recently read Discipline is Destiny: 25 Habits That Will Guarantee You Success by Ryan Holiday. The following habit stood out to me as:

Words of Wisdom

Habit 16. Be a little deaf. We have to develop the ability to ignore, to endure, to forget. Not just cruel provocations from jerks, but also unintentional slights and mistakes from people we love or respect. “It helps to be a little deaf,” was the advice that Ruth Bader Ginsburg was given by her mother-in-law. It helped guide her through not just 56 years of marriage, but also a 27-year career on the court with colleagues she adored–but surely disagreed with on a regular basis.

I love learning about this habit. I also love being able to connect these stories through that habit. And I love recognising this characteristic which I admire in both Hemingway and Ginsburg.

It’s a characteristic I would like to develop within myself because while I’m accepting of people for who they are, I’m inclined to walk away from behaviours I don’t like.

I’ve lived my life by the principle that if I choose to spend time with people, I accept them for who they are. If they behave in a way I don’t like, I have a choice of walking away or speaking up. I believe whatever has to be said needs to be said directly to the person. Then both parties can respond and can make the decision of what happens next in the relationship.

People are surprised when I share this. They say, “but you’re so easy-going, you get on with everyone”. It’s true, I am easy-going, but I’m also very values-driven, and if something goes against my values, I can become quite fierce—much to people’s surprise.

While I like this characteristic about myself, I can’t help but think that perhaps adopting or adapting, Being a little deaf, to develop the ability to ignore, to endure, to forget, could be helpful. Because, after all, other people’s behaviour is about them, not me. And besides, being fierce is draining, whereas being easy-going is rather restoring.  It serves to refill the deep part of the well that is my joie de vivre approach to life and living.

Epilogue

I’m not sure when I’ll read the next chapter of A Moveable Feast over a glass and a plate. 

It most likely will be another spontaneous happening. It may take a little planning to keep the French theme going, or, as with today, it may not.

… Let’s see where A Moveable Feast is going to take me …

The Continuing Story …

… I can now share where Chapter 4 (of 20) Shakespeare and Company took me …

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Today’s coffee was from L’eau à La Bouche Delicatessen & Café, Broadway Market. A wonderful new discovery, and I shall return soon to sample the très délicieux food in their delicatessen. Broadway Market is one of my favourite streets in London. Located next to London Fields, it’s filled with interesting shops, cafés and restaurants. Motor traffic free, it was beautiful to sit in the early autumn sunshine, reading a chapter over coffee and a brioche bun, glancing up from time to time, catching walkers and cyclists passing by.

Se souvenir de toi, Norma.

#FunFact1 Une Génération Perdue – The Lost Generation was the generational cohort that was in early adulthood during World War I. “Lost” in this context refers to the “disoriented, wandering, directionless” spirit of many of the war’s survivors in the early postwar period. The term is also particularly used to refer to a group of American expatriate writers living in Paris during the 1920s. Gertrude Stein is credited with coining the term, and it was subsequently popularised by Ernest Hemingway, who used it in an epigraph for his 1926 The Sun Also Rises: ”You are all a lost generation.” The Lost Generation became the driving force behind many cultural changes, particularly in major cities during what became known as the Roaring Twenties. (Source Wikipedia)

#FunFact2 Broadway Market is a working Victorian street market. In more modern times, Broadway Market, and specifically the barber shop, was the location for David Cronenberg’s 2007 film, Eastern Promises. The opening scenes of the 1988 movie Buster were shot at the Regent’s Canal end of the market. It was also used for filming some scenes in the 1947 film Odd Man Out. Along with many squares and streets in the East End of London, it is rumoured that the old Broadway Market partly inspired Eastenders. (Source Broadway Market).

Broadway Market is a great resource to learn more about the cafés, bars & restaurants, shops and stalls that make this street so special. You’ll also be taken through time from 1,000 BC to learn about the history of the market. 

#FunFact3 The Regent’s Canal runs under Broadway Market in Hackney and then curves along Andrews road with industrial views of warehouses, rail bridges and gasometers. (Source Canal & River Trust).

Canal & River Trust is a Charity. In their own words, this is what they are about:

“We care for a 2,000-mile-long, 200-year-old, network of canals, rivers, reservoirs and docks because we believe that life is better by water.

Our vision is to have living waterways that transform places and enrich lives.

We provide a space where people can feel happier and healthier, nature is recovering and history is alive. A space for boating, angling, cycling, walking, paddling or just watching the world drift by”. 

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School of WorkLife helps you self-direct your WorkLife learning through resources that have been created to help you to take ownership of your learning in your own space and in your own time. 

What is Self Directed Learning?

Self-Directed Learning is when an individual is motivated to take the initiative and responsibility on decisions related to their own learning. It is a series of independent actions and judgements free from external control and constraint. 

Resources to Help You Self-Direct Your Learning 

You may want to self-direct your learning by starting your WorkLife Book Club For One, For Two, or for more people. Guidelines for Starting and Running Your WorkLife Book Club will help you do that. 

You may find the books below from The School of WorkLife Book Series helpful in meeting your learning needs as a self directed learner. Tap the book title to see a preview of what’s inside each book.

Your WorkLife Your Way

How To Use Your Voice To Express and Protect Your Identity 

How To Self-Coach, Direct and Lead Effectively

You can view the complete collection here: The School of WorkLife Book Series.

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Carmel O’ Reilly is a learning practitioner and writer. She creates resources to help people self-direct their WorkLife learning.  These include a Collection of Books which originated from her first book, Your WorkLife Your Way and a  Learn Through Reading Series of Case Studies.  which originated from her latest book WorkLife Book Club. 

That’s the power of writing (and reading, which is an integral part of the craft for writers), it helps you find, develop and tell the right story at the right time in all WorkLife situations – in day-to-day communication: WorkLife and feedback conversations, presentations, talks, and negotiations, at interviews, and when socialising and networking in building and maintaining good relationships. The practice of writing helps you to tell the stories that express who you are in an interesting and engaging way.

Chapter 2 (of 20) Miss Stein Instructs

Chapter 1 (of 20), A Good Café on the Place St-Michael, will take you back in time to the story that began my French culinary experiences while reading A Moveable Feast, chapter by chapter. From there, each chapter will take you to the next chapter and culinary experience

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” Ernest Hemingway.

Chapter 2 (of 20) Miss Stein Instructs, accompanied by coffee and a croissant, consumed on a bench in Elder Gardens, Spitalfields London.

Notes From Chapter 2: Miss Stein Instructs

A WorkLife Book Club For One

Notes about Writing 

“You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know. So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there. It was easy then because there was always one true sentence that I knew or had seen or had heard someone say.”

In this passage, Hemmingway was talking about how sometimes, when he was starting a new story and could not get it going, he would use this approach of writing one true sentence. 

I, too, have had times when starting something new – a story, a chapter, a book, an assignment, a project … when I couldn’t get it going. I have my own ways of pushing through – at times, that’s literally pushing through and getting words on the page

At other times I take myself away from what I’m working on and tap into The Three B’s of Creative Thinking. 

Bus – which for me is moving, i.e. I take a walk and let my mind wander and wonder, and ideas will seep in.

Bath – I turn my bath into a sanctuary with wonderfully fragrant bubbles, and ideas will bubble up.

Bed – I sleep on it, and Ideas will come to me in my dreams or on awakening.

The Three B’s of Creative Thinking are part of my toolbox as a writer, creator and storyteller.

It’s my toolbox that helps me self-direct my learning.

I love adding to that toolbox,

I love anything that helps me self-direct my learning.

I especially love anything that helps the learning by doing approach I’ve always taken in my WorkLife.

Writing one true sentence. Writing the truest sentence I know and then going from there is going into my toolbox of self-directed learning – my learning by doing collection of tools.

“Up in that room I decided that I would write one true story about each thing that I knew about. I was trying to do this all the time I was writing, and it was good and severe discipline.”

I liked learning how Hemingway wrote one true story about each thing he knew about.

I’m a reflective soul. I like to think things through. Writing them down helps me to do that. It’s my natural way of doing, of being, and it comes easily to me.

Speaking those words aloud, succinctly, clearly and in an interesting manner that draws people in doesn’t come as easily and naturally to me.

Impromptu speaking is certainly not my forte. It takes me out of my comfort zone, that’s for sure.

There was a time when giving a talk or delivering a workshop caused many a sleepless night because I was so incredibly nervous when speaking in front of people that I would be physically ill.

Writing down what I wanted to say and then learning it helped me overcome the crippling fear I had of speaking in public.

Writing it down and then speaking the words aloud (at home to an audience of nobody) helped me craft a talk or workshop in a way that drew people in because it was succinct, clear and interesting.

It’s a practice that has worked well for me. It’s also a practice that I want to get better at. To do that, I will adopt Hemmingway’s approach of writing one true story about everything he knew about.

I want and need to do this because I want to expand my range of stories. I want to develop them in a way that I can tap into the right story at the right time in all my WorkLife situations.

That’s important because, as Patrick Winston shared in his:

Words of Wisdom

“Your success in life will be determined largely by your ability to speak, your ability to write, and the quality of your ideas.” 

For me, that’s all connected to self-directed learning. My preferred way of learning.

That’s going into my toolbox to help me self-direct my learning by doing.

I liked learning about how Hemingway developed discipline in his work.

It’s something I’ve had to learn as a writer and creator and also as someone who works independently.

It hasn’t always come easily, and there are still times when I could do better, that’s for sure.

I like Hemingway’s words as a reminder to myself about the importance of discipline because I’ve learnt that discipline enables freedom.

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“It was up in that room that I learned not to think about anything I was writing from the time I stopped writing until I started again the next day. That way my subconscious would be working on it and at the same time I would be listening to other people and noticing everything. I hoped; learning, I hoped; and I would read so that I would not think about my work and make myself impotent to it. Going down the stairs when I had worked well, and that needed luck as well as discipline, was a wonderful feeling and I was free then to walk anywhere in Paris.”

I struggled to stop to write.

It’s what led me to write 10/12/14 hours a day, 6/7 days a week.

It’s what led to not taking care of my health and well-being.

It’s what led to my burnout.

In time it’s what led me to prioritising three hours a day to take care of my health and wellbeing.

In time it’s what led me to walk for three hours a day.

Sometimes I walk for three hours first thing in the morning. And that’s wonderful because it sets me up in such a positive way for the rest of the day.

Sometimes I work first and then walk in the afternoon. And that’s wonderful because I walk freely, knowing I’ve done good work.

Sometimes I walk late evening. And that’s wonderful because, in a slow and relaxed way, I soak up the nighttime atmosphere of the city.

I’ve reduced my time at my laptop to six hours, during which I research, write and create.

I also read for one to three hours a day. It’s still work because as a writer, learning practitioner and creator, reading is an important part of my craft. It’s just that it’s away from my laptop. 

As with Hemingway, it also helps me not to think about my work.

I’m striving to work no more than 8 hours a day, 5 days a week – I’m not quite there with it, but I am getting better.

Anyway, getting stuck in and writing for six hours first thing in the morning means that by early afternoon I’m free to walk anywhere in London. 

It’s that discipline enabling freedom principle again.

I still like to mix it up by also walking first thing in the morning or last thing at night to experience the city at different times of the day. And for me, I already have the discipline of writing. I know that will happen. It’s the discipline of stopping to write and the discipline of walking that I need to get better at. Because that discipline, too, will enable freedom – the freedom that comes from a clear mind and the freedom that comes from good mind and body health and wellbeing. 

Unlike Hemingway, I’m not quite there with not thinking about anything I’m writing until I start again the next day.  It’s a work in progress and that’s good enough for now.

Hemingway’s practice is a good practice, and it’s one that I want to adopt. I’m doing that by adapting The Three B’s of Creativity in my approach. That’s helping my subconscious mind to work on it, as opposed to my conscious mind.

There’s still a lot of room for improvement. But I am getting there. And that’s good enough, for now.

Notes about Miss Stein

“That afternoon she told us, too, how to buy pictures.”

“You can either buy clothes or buy pictures, she said. It’s that simple. No one who is not very rich can do both.”

“But even if I never bought anymore clothing ever, I said, I wouldn’t have enough money to buy the Picasso’s that I want.”

“No, he’s out of your range. You have to buy the people of your own age. You’ll know them. You’ll meet them around the quarter. There are always good new serious painters.”

I like the character, Miss Stein, and her way of thinking about how to buy pictures.

I love art, and I would love to have more art hanging on my wall.

But I always thought I couldn’t afford it.

Miss Stein has challenged that thinking for me.

I live in Shoreditch, London. It’s a wonderfully creative neighbourhood that draws an eclectic mix of amazingly talented artists – the good new serious painters that Miss Stein talks about. I need to follow Miss Stein’s advice and get to know them.

Then, I, too, can buy pictures.

Notes about a Park

It was sad when the park was closed and locked and I was sad walking around it instead of through it.

Elder Gardens, where I read today’s chapter over a coffee and a croissant, is a London pocket park, or actually a little garden. It was closed during the pandemic, and that made me sad.

Sometimes it takes something we enjoy and love but perhaps take for granted to be closed and locked before we fully appreciate it. Then we become sad because it is no longer.

I liked having that lesson which I learnt during the pandemic, reinforced through Hemingway’s words as I sat and read this morning in Elder Gardens over coffee and a croissant. 

I like that I’m making connections because that’s what storytelling is about.

I like learning through reading. Learning through and from other people and their WorkLife experiences, and also relating that learning to my WorkLife experiences and learning about myself through that. 

I like to then apply those lessons to my WorkLife to embrace my learning by doing approach of self-directed learning. 

Epilogue

I’m not sure when I’ll read the next chapter of A Moveable Feast over a glass and a plate. 

It most likely will be another spontaneous happening. It may take a little planning to keep the French theme going, or, as with today, it may not.

… Let’s see where A Moveable Feast is going to take me …

The Continuing Story …

… I can now share where Chapter 3 (of 20) Une Génération Perdue took me …

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The Three B’s of Creative Thinking are from chapter 15 of my book (and accompanying workbook), Your WorkLife Your Way: Creative Thinking: If You Have a Problem or Question you also have the Ability to Cope and the Answer is Within You. It also featured in The School of WorkLife book: How To Be Creative In Your Thinking. (Tap on the titles for inside views of the books).

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Today’s coffee was from Black Sheep Coffee, Principal Place (nestled underneath the Amazon flagship office building located on the cusp of Shoreditch and the City in London). I chose it because it’s really good coffee. There’s nothing particularly French about it, but their slogan “Leave The Herd Behind, somehow, for me, connected to Hemmingway’s time in Paris. “He recalls the time when, poor, happy and writing in cafes, he discovered his vocation.”  To keep the French Theme of A Moveable Feast I savoured a croissant. 

Se souvenir de toi, Norma.

#funfact1 Elder Gardens is a public garden located close to Lamb Street and Folgate Street near Old Spitalfields Market. London City Gardens (parks, gardens & church yards) are sometimes known as ‘pocket parks’.

Old Spitalfields Market is a great resource to keep up to date with what’s happening in the market and wider in East London too  – In their own words – “From Castles and City Farms to community-centred galleries, we have you covered for a well-rounded day out in East London”.

#funfact2 Elder Gardens is bisected by Nantes Passage. Nantes Passage was built for Huguenot weavers. (Source The Underground Map).

Spitalfields Forum is a helpful resource if you want to discover and explore Parks and Gardens in Spitalfields.

Spitalfields Life by the Gentle Author is an excellent resource to learn about the history of East London – its people, its landmarks and its culture.

#funfact3 French Huguenots, a religious group of French Protestants, fled persecution in France. Those who settled in Shoreditch built houses distinguishable by their elegant wooden doors and shutters and have especially high attic windows. These were built for a very specific purpose, the Huguenots were mainly master silk weavers, and by placing their spinning wheel in the attic, they could benefit from natural daylight, allowing them to work as long as possible into the evening. One particular house of note is Dennis Severs’ House in Folgate Street. Woven through the house is the story of the fictional Jervis family, Huguenot silk weavers who lived at the house from 1725 to 1919. (Source WorkLife Book Club – my book). 

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School of WorkLife helps you self-direct your WorkLife learning through resources that have been created to help you to take ownership of your learning in your own space and in your own time. 

What is Self Directed Learning?

Self-Directed Learning is when an individual is motivated to take the initiative and responsibility on decisions related to their own learning. It is a series of independent actions and judgements free from external control and constraint. 

Resources to Help You Self-Direct Your Learning 

You may want to self-direct your learning by starting your WorkLife Book Club For One, For Two, or for more people. Guidelines for Starting and Running Your WorkLife Book Club will help you do that.

You may find the books below from The School of WorkLife Book Series helpful in meeting your learning needs as a self directed learner. Tap the book title to see a preview of what’s inside each book.

WorkLife Book Club

How To Let Curiosity Be Your Driving Force

How To Self-Coach, Direct and Lead Effectively

You can view the complete collection here: The School of WorkLife Book Series

Carmel O’ Reilly is a learning practitioner and writer. She creates resources to help people self-direct their WorkLife learning.  These include a Collection of Books which originated from her first book, Your WorkLife Your Way and a  Learn Through Reading Series of Case Studies.  which originated from her latest book WorkLife Book Club. 

That’s the power of writing (and reading, which is an integral part of the craft for writers), it helps you find, develop and tell the right story at the right time in all WorkLife situations – in day-to-day communication: WorkLife and feedback conversations, presentations, talks, and negotiations, at interviews, and when socialising and networking in building and maintaining good relationships. The practice of writing helps you to tell the stories that express who you are in an interesting and engaging way.

Chapter 1 (of 20) A Good Café on the Place St-Michael 

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” Ernest Hemingway.

I always have a book (or two) in my bag when I go walking.

I always like to find somewhere to stop and read awhile along my path.

One of the books that is currently in my bag is, A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. 

I do some of my best thinking when I’m walking. It’s when I have some of my best ideas.

Yesterday, I had the idea to take Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast on A Moveable Feast. Chapter by Chapter.

The idea is simple. I’ll stop and read one chapter at a time over something to eat and drink.

I’ve added a little twist. It needs to be French cuisine. (I like a little twist).

Because, after all, Hemingway is sharing memories of his life as a writer living in Paris. He has created a wonderful setting that transports readers back in time to the Paris of the 1920s. 

A little French cuisine will serve to enhance the mood created by Hemingway. And add a little fun too. 

This brings me to:

Chapter 1 (of 20) A Good Café on the Place St-Michael accompanied by Saint Marcellin, Mountain Comté and *Moody’s Rosary Ash cheeses paired with a glass of Waitrose Provence Rosé (At Waitrose Wine Bar, Kings Cross, London).

Notes From Chapter 1: A Good Café on the Place St-Michael

A WorkLife Book Club For One

Notes about Writing

“The story was writing itself and I was having a hard time keeping up with it. I ordered another rum St James.”

“Then I went back to writing and I entered far into the story and was lost in it. I was writing it now, and it was not writing itself and I did not look up nor know anything about the time nor think where I was nor order any more rum St James without thinking about it. Then the story was finished and I was very tired.”

“I asked the waiter for a dozen portugaises and a half-carafe of the dry white wine they had there. After writing a story I was always empty and both sad and happy, as though I had made love, and I was sure this was a very good story although I would not know truly how good until I read it over the next day.”

As a writer and learning practitioner, these words on the page spoke to me.

When crafting learning resources – stories, books and assignments, I have experienced the three stages Hemingway described 

1. Getting into the story.
2. Being so immersed in the story, I notice little else.
3. The bittersweet feeling of both sadness and happiness when the story is complete.

I liked learning this about Hemingway.

I liked learning this about myself through Hemingway’s words.

This learning wasn’t new to me. But somehow, having what I already knew about myself and my way of working, reinforced through the short story Hemingway had shared about his experience, made it more meaningful.

I liked having that learning reinforced very much.

I also always know when I have written something good, but I, too, need a little space from it. Not to know how good, but rather to know if it’s good enough to put out into the world.

When setting out to write my first book, Your WorkLife Your Way and its accompanying workbook, Your WorkLife Your Way The Workbook, I established three criteria to guide me in knowing when I have written something good.

1. It had to be helpful.
2. It had to be insightful.
3. It had to be inspiring.

This simple approach continues to guide the books and stories I write and the learning resources I create in knowing I have written something good.

This simple approach also enables me to look at my work objectively. 

Taking a little space from my writing also enables me to look at my work objectively.

However, unlike Hemingway, I was of the thinking that the measure of how good my work is, is for other people to decide, not me.

And I was OK with that because in following my three criteria, I knew I had put good work out into the world. And that, for me, was good enough.

Now, at the same time I’m reading this chapter, I’m also re-reading stories I’ve previously written that have become part of my body of work as an author, writer and storyteller.

These stories go back weeks, months, even years, and so I’ve had a lot, rather than a little space from them, to know how good they are. 

And they are good. 

On the one hand, It feels wrong or strange, or at least a little big-headed, to write that about my own work.

But, on the other hand, it feels right because I’m taking ownership of my work, and following my three criteria, I’m doing it objectively. 

Although I’m also doing it subjectively because it’s coming from a place of sensing or feeling.

And that’s what artistic creation is meant to be. So, I’m also OK with a subjective approach when considering whether my work is good.

That’s a shift in my approach or my way of thinking, or enlightenment brought about by Hemingway’s words and way of thinking. 

I really liked this new learning about myself and my work.

Epilogue

The Wine Bar at Waitrose, Kings Cross, London, was a favourite place for my dear friend Norma and me to meet. Sadly Norma passed away in December 2019. Yesterday was my first time being back there. Partly because of the pandemic, but also partly because it was our thing to do together. 

We talked about a lot of things, including discussing books over a glass and a plate. I used to think of it as our WorkLife Book Club For Two. Because just as I did yesterday, we made sense of what we read by connecting it to our experiences, both in and out of work.

Today, on reflection, I think yesterday was the beginning of a WorkLife Book Club For One – For/With Me, Myself and I. This realisation brings about the empty feeling that Hemingway described as being both sad and happy. 

Sad, because it won’t be the WorkLife Book Club For Two over a glass and plate that I had shared with Norma.

Happy because I can have an experience that I treasured in a different way. I can have a WorkLife Book Club For One over a glass and a plate. 

I know Norma will always be with me when I do, and I will raise a glass (or a cup) to our friendship. 

Se souvenir de toi, Norma.

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The Back Story to Taking a Moveable Feast on a Moveable Feast

Recently, I needed to take time out because I was feeling burnt out. I needed a little rest. I needed to re-energise and re-focus. I had been writing non-stop for close to three years. Ten/Twelve/Fourteen hours a day. Six/Seven days a week. I hadn’t been taking care of myself, and my health and well-being suffered. I needed to take time out to rejuvenate. I also needed to re-focus my WorkLife to understand where I’m at and what’s next.

I made a commitment to myself to take better care of myself by devoting three hours of my day to my health and well-being. I’ve made it that those three hours need to be focused on doing things physically and mentally that bring me to life.

I started with walking every day for three hours. In time I may mix it up a little. Perhaps I’ll do something different in those three hours. But for now, I’m walking three hours every day.

Simply because I love walking, it’s a gentle exercise, and that’s important because of how I was pushing myself so hard. I needed to develop a practice that is kinder to/for me. 

Walking allows me to explore, to discover new places and re-discover old places. 

Walking allows me to think or not to think. At times when I’m walking, I think about what I need and want to think about. At other times I switch my mind off and think about nothing as I walk. 

I always have a book (or two) in my bag when I go walking.

I always like to find somewhere to stop and read awhile along my path.

Reading has always been my go-to place for learning. It helps me to understand what I need to do to self-direct my learning.

Self Directed Learning has always been my go-to approach for learning because it enables individualism from an independent mind, without intervening factors or intermediaries. 

Yesterday I had the idea to read the first chapter of Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast over a glass and a plate. 

It wasn’t planned. It just happened spontaneously. 

That’s the wonderful thing about walking and thinking or not thinking. It allows me to go with the flow of whatever idea or thought that comes into my mind.

I think of it as the slow and gentle approach to figuring things out and getting things done.

Having pushed myself through a fast and hard approach to figuring things out and getting things done, I like the slow and gentle approach better.

So, that’s how I’m going to continue.

I’m going to walk and think, or switch my mind off and not think. I’m going to read and partake in my WorkLife Book Club For One to self-direct my learning. I’m going to process my thinking and learning through writing, as I’ve done with Notes From Chapter 1.

That’s important because, as Patrick Winston shared in his:

Words of Wisdom

“Your success in life will be determined largely by your ability to speak, your ability to write, and the quality of your ideas.”

For me, that’s all connected to self-directed learning. My preferred way of learning.

I’m not sure when I’ll read the next chapter of A Moveable Feast over a glass and a plate. 

It most likely will be another spontaneous happening. It may take a little planning to keep the French theme going, or, as with yesterday, it may not.

… Let’s see where A Moveable Feast is going to take me …

The Continuing Story …

… … I can now share where Chapter 2 (of 20) Miss Stein Instructs took me …

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The cheese and wine were from King’s Cross Waitrose Wine Bar Platters Menu. 

*Moody’s Rosary Ash is an English cheese. The platter allows for a selection of three cheeses. There were only two French cheeses on the menu. And so I improvised. All three cheeses were excellent; it has to be said. 

#funfact1 located next to the canal; when eating al fresco at King’s Cross Waitrose, you can hear the jazz music playing on Word On The Water – The London Bookbarge.

You can stroll on there when you’ve finished to experience their wonderful collection of books. And if you want to take your walk further, you can stroll along Regent’s Canal – the charming waterway winding through King’s Cross. Walk the towpath, visit canalside Granary Square & Camley Street Natural Park. (Source King’s Cross – a great resource to keep up to date with what’s happening in the area and also to learn about its history)

#funfact2 There are regular jazz evenings in the wine bar, as well as wine tasting evenings. You can follow them on Instagram @ waitrose_kingscross to keep up with what’s happening at the wine bar and the store.

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School of WorkLife helps you self-direct your WorkLife learning through resources that have been created to help you to take ownership of your learning in your own space and in your own time. 

What is Self Directed Learning?

Self-Directed Learning is when an individual is motivated to take the initiative and responsibility on decisions related to their own learning. It is a series of independent actions and judgements free from external control and constraint. 

Resources to Help You Self-Direct Your Learning 

You may want to self-direct your learning by starting your WorkLife Book Club For One, For Two, or for more people. Guidelines for Starting and Running Your WorkLife Book Club will help you do that. 

You may find the books below from The School of WorkLife Book Series helpful in meeting your learning needs as a self directed learner. Tap the book title to see a preview of what’s inside each book.

WorkLife Book Club

How To Be Creative In Your Thinking

How To Self-Coach, Direct and Lead Effectively

You can view the complete collection here: The School of WorkLife Book Series.

Founder of School of WorkLife, Carmel O’ Reilly is a learning practitioner and writer. She creates resources to help people self-direct their WorkLife learning.  These include a Collection of Books which originated from her first book, Your WorkLife Your Way and a  Learn Through Reading Series of Case Studies.  which originated from her latest book WorkLife Book Club. 

That’s the power of writing (and reading, which is an integral part of the craft for writers), it helps you find, develop and tell the right story at the right time in all WorkLife situations – in day-to-day communication: WorkLife and feedback conversations, presentations, talks, and negotiations, at interviews, and when socialising and networking in building and maintaining good relationships. The practice of writing helps you to tell the stories that express who you are in an interesting and engaging way.