Our Toastmaster, Ahmad, introduced the theme of the day “Self-care.” Self-care is so many things: going on vacation or simply enjoying a fresh cup of coffee. A good place to find it is by asking yourself, “what makes you happy?”
President Moises’s quote of the day was “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” The word of the day, presented by Grammarian Paula was “Edify.”
Our Self-care theme was woven throughout the three speeches.
Moises took us on a relaxing and heartfelt journey to his hometown, reenacting a visit from which he recently returned. He reminisced about a creative game that he played with his cousins as a youngster. He told us about a project his family was currently working on, and he showed a picture of an artist handcrafting a hammock, which he purchased on this trip. In addition to the beautiful scenes that flashed before our mind’s eye with his words, he also displayed several pictures inviting us into the journey. It felt like I was in a passenger seat next to him.
Isabella edified us with her icebreaker speech for her next Pathway, Team Collaboration. She shared her personal story of how Toastmasters prepares her to be more effective at work. At work there are many meetings, discussions, and presentations. Isabella believes that continuing with Toastmasters allows her to practice skills required for work. She linked 3 roles from Toastmasters to those required skills. Continuously studying and practicing with Toastmasters prepares her to make a greater impact at work. I absolutely agree with Isabella. This was a refreshing speech reminding us of the benefits of Toastmasters. Part of self-care is being prepared. Regularly showing up for Toastmasters helps us to do just that.
Ketan charmed us with his fun icebreaker speech. Out of the gate he hooked us with a question. Can we care for our soul by keeping it simple? KISS. The Keep It Simple Stupid principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated. Ketan shared his story of growing up, and how he chose his career, by KISS. He listened and humbly accepted the wise Jedi force from his father to Keep It Simple Stupid. He now has the opportunity to use those Jedi mind tricks on his son. For Ketan’s mental wellbeing he practices keeping things simple. It was such a delight to hear this fun, personal and well delivered speech from Ketan. I’m inspired to design my systems with simplicity in mind.
Our Table Topic’s Master, Steven, gave us one brief to discuss different aspects of self-care, such as financial, nutritional, and more. The brief: Covid is going to get worse and will continue to be bad until 2024. How will you practice self-care during these tumultuous times?
This meeting was self-care for me. It was relaxing, fun, entertaining, educational, creative, inspirational, endearing, edgy for a moment, enjoyed with friends and made me happy.
Keep sharpening your sword with Toastmasters!
Our next meeting is August 14th
Some ideas....What brought you to Seattle Sunrise? Where are you from? What would you like to learn? What's your proudest accomplishment? What did you want to be when you were small? What would you sing at Karaoke night?
