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Showing posts from July, 2020

Academic Acrobatics: Self-care for mutual support

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At a recent research away day, attendees were prompted to reflect on their personal values and share an image that could represent these.  The image I shared was based on the picture shown above, and was inspired a story from Buddhist teachings called the Sedaka Sutta . In the teaching, the Buddha describes two acrobats who were talking about how best they should work together: Once upon a time, monks, a bamboo acrobat,  setting himself upon his bamboo pole,  addressed his assistant Medakathalika:  "Come you, my dear Medakathalika,  and climbing up the bamboo pole,  stand upon my shoulders."  "Okay, master" the assistant Medakathalika  replied to the bamboo acrobat;  and climbing up the bamboo pole  she stood on the master's shoulders. So then the bamboo acrobat said this to his assistant Medakathalika:  "You look after me, my dear Medakathalika, and I'll look after you.  Thus with us looking after one another, guarding one another,  we'll sh