Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Jill, My Fatherhood, Otis, Parents
A friend of mine who is gay is writing a book about how straight people would react if their child told them they were gay.
I wrote this:
If my son turns to me and says he’s gay, I would hug him and tell him I loved him and that I hope he finds someone who makes him happy.
If my son told me he had found a man that made him truly happy, I would hug him and tell him I am so excited for him and can’t wait to meet him.
If my son told me he had met the man of his dreams and told me he wanted to get married, I would probably cry tears of joy and say I am proud
I mean every single word of that … and yet, despite it being 2019, the LGBTQ+ community continue to face constant harassment and exclusion.
This scares me to death because as a parent, I would never want my son to suffer for his sexual preferences. And no one should.
While society has come a long way, we haven’t come far enough which is why being an ally to those who are forced to live in the shadows has never been so important.
You don’t have to become their best friend.
You don’t have to spend all your time together.
But letting them know you see them as a peer and believe in their right to live without oppression will help the progress we’ve made, keep moving forward so that one day, if my child – or yours – announces they are gay, you can celebrate them for being true to who they are rather than worrying about how others will treat them for who they are.
It’s the first of July.
JULY!
How the hell did that happen?
So to set it off with the sense of optimism we should all have for the upcoming month of [alleged] sun … here is a photo of my son walking past a bookshops sign with the sort of message that should make sure we don’t take any of it for granted.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Chaos, China, Chinese Culture, Creativity, Culture, Cunning, Devious Strategy, Fashion, Love, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Otis
Of all the places I’ve lived, China is the one that has left the strongest mark.
Frankly I absolutely and utterly loved my time there.
Sure part of that was because of Wieden – I loved and will always love them – but it was more than just that.
It was the people, the madness, the history, the chaos, the energy, the values …
Yes there were some things that bothered me immensely, but overall, I was intoxicated with the place and will always be that way.
I believe you can tell how much a place gets into your soul by how you react when it’s under attack. Not by guns, but by media and politicians.
If I look back on my 7 years there, I was very quick to jump to its defense when Western media decided to take an isolated incident and claim it represented the beliefs, behaviors and values of over a billion people.
Were there some shit things that happened there when I was there?
Absolutely.
Were there moments of madness and sadness that will never leave my memory?
100%
Are there some terrible restrictions on people lives and opinions there?
Sure.
But these are not isolated to China … every country has bad people doing horrific things, every country is creating an increasing division between rich and poor and in terms of government, countries either are doing their own version of ‘inflicting their will on the people’ or wishing they could get away with the stuff the Chinese government get away with.
I’m looking at you UK, Australia and the land of ‘the free’.
And that’s why I can still truly love the place and feel privileged for the experience it gave me.
I have absolute pride my son was born there.
Whatever happens in his life, he was born in China and for me, that means our links to the country will always be strong.
And while I will always be passionate in the pursuit of changing Westerners perceptions about the Middle Kingdom, there are some things that I just stand back and accept will just reinforce certain prejudices.
Some – like Uncle Martian – are terrible, especially as it was a conscious decision.
Some – like this, below – are perfection, especially as they were done in innocence.
[And if not, that’s even more genius]
China, I love you.
Lose the bullshit but please never lose your beautiful madness.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Context, Daddyhood, Emotion, Empathy, Family, Fatherhood, Holiday, Jill, My Fatherhood, Otis, Relationships, Resonance
Well this is the last post for another week except this time I’m not going away for business, I’m going away with the family for a holiday.
Believe it or not, this is the first family holiday we’ve had in almost 3 years.
Part of that is because we have moved countries twice in the last 3 years … the other part is that when we lived in Manhattan Beach, it felt like we were on holiday whenever we were together.
So this weekend we all go – including Rosie the cat – to a farm for a week.
If I’m honest, I never ever dreamed of going to stay at a farm for a holiday.
Only staying in a tent would be worse.
But whether it’s because I’ve been on a plane so much over the past 6 months or whether it’s because I’m a Dad to a kid who absolutely loves animals … I’m genuinely looking forward to it.
Evolving opinions are a wonderful thing.
While we might think our points of view on life remain fairly static, I love that they can grow or shift.
One of the reasons I’ve kept this blog up for so long is that it’s a reference point for how I have looked at the World over time. Looking back at some old posts reveal how much my opinion on certain subjects has changed.
I love that.
It means an old dog can be taught some new tricks.
Maybe this is because having lived in so many different countries, I’ve always had to be open to how things work … but whatever the reason, I’m happy I’m going to be spending a week feeding cows even if a version of me from the past would rather be a Derby County supporter.
See you in a week.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Comment, Creativity, Dad, Daddyhood, Emotion, Jill, Love, Mum & Dad, My Fatherhood, Otis, Parents
So today is my last post for over a week as I am off to the US [again].
And while that news might make you happy, today makes me happy for totally different reasons.
You see later today, my wonderful little boy, Otis, takes part in a theatre production.
For the last few months, he has been going to a drama class with other kids his age … and to say he loves it, is an understatement.
He comes home singing songs.
His vocabulary has noticeably evolved.
He’s using his imagination in new ways.
He is even projecting his voice to new levels.
Though on this last point, there are some disadvantages given Jill sent me this text as they were sat on the bus on their way to pre-school last week …
OK … OK … you can wipe the smiles off your faces now thank you.
I know it’s just a kids show.
I know it will be a bit ramshackle.
I know there may be tears and laughter.
But that’s what makes it brilliant.
Not from a ‘I get to laugh at a bunch of kids’ sense, but from a ‘look at those kids discovering the impact they can have on others’.
But of course, from a personal perspective, seeing my son express his creativity while being part of something bigger is going to be a massive thrill.
Quite frankly, I don’t care how he performs as long as he enjoys himself.
He wanted to do this – there was absolutely no push or pressure from us – and so all we care about is him having fun and seeing his parents support him.
That said, I hope it’s not like the first ever performance I did.
Christmas 1976.
The school nativity play at Heymann Primary School.
I was a rabbit. OK, not a pivotal role, but one that gave valuable context to the other ‘actors’.
However just before I was due to go on, Mrs Staples – or it could have been Mrs Berry – asked me to swap jumpers [Mine was a white one with red stripes in boxes, where hers was pure white] for some reason with Rebecca Baldwin.
After that last minute change, I went out on to the stage to a packed assembly hall full of parents sitting on very small seats trying to jostle their way to the front so they could snap off a few pics with their cameras.
Now imagine my pain – as I looked though my rabbit mask – seeing my parents proudly looking at Rebecca, thinking it was me.
They did this through the whole play and I can still see the look of shock on their faces when we took off their masks and they saw their little boy had become a little girl.
To be honest, if that happened with Otis, I’d probably find it funny … but overall, I am incredibly excited to see him perform today. Seeing him happy and free is one of the most beautiful things in my life. It’s why the schooling thing is quite hard because British schools are pretty strict and we want one with a much greater creative syllabus.
But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it …
Most important for me today is to see my little boy have the time of his life, which – as I’m sure most parents will agree – is the thing we wish for them most in the World.
What a great way to head off out on a business trip.
Thank you Otis.
See you in 10 days.