Thoughtful people

People we admire here at Thoughtful

street protests

Uprising: Photos documenting the anti-Trump movement

My first rally was the ‘Love Rally’ in New York City the day that Donald Trump was elected. People were milling around with placards, a little unsure what to do. But there was a general feeling of love in a community that was in shock. The next day, I joined the thousands of New Yorkers who marched up 5th Avenue… Read more →

alison camps

Q&A: Pride in London co-chair Alison Camps on the question of rising

The story of the Pride movement is one of people tirelessly overcoming adversity to create a better, fairer, more compassionate world. Alison Camps, co-chair of Pride in London, shares her thoughts.   What’s the biggest challenge you’ve personally risen to? I am very conscious that I have led a privileged life and that the challenges I’ve had to face are… Read more →

sea_level

Rising tide: Young climate activists and signs of change

How climate strikers are borrowing words and images from 1960s counterculture to influence the hippies of yesterday that stand in the way of climate action today.   A little over a year ago, an image took the world by storm. It was of a girl outside an old building, beside her a white board with hand-painted black capital letters on it: ‘SKOLSTREJK… Read more →

incantation roshni goyate

Incantation (We are healing our sister)

A poem by Roshni Goyate, 1/4 of the performance group 4 Brown Girls Who Write   Here is heartbreak, in the heart of our circle Walls made of triangles, walls made of light (Triangles of light) Here is heartbreak, heavy-hearted heartache Waiting to be healed   Sisters, we are healing; we are healing our sister   Hold a mirror up,… Read more →

connect creativity thoughtful workshops

Connecting the dots: How to solve bigger problems with better creativity

Commercial creatives are learning to get to better solutions faster by partnering with mission-led startups.   What happens when you combine a social mission with commercial ambition? It’s a question that’s fascinated me for ages. For me, there’s no inherent conflict between purpose and profit. In fact, given the influence it has on every aspect of our lives, I think… Read more →

connect culture

A culture of humanity: The art of connecting across races, languages and nationalities

Lessons from an unexpected encounter between a Pakistani immigrant and an older white man in America   Many years ago, as I sat next to the iconic lion statues outside the Art Institute of Chicago museum, staring at the waves of people passing by in front of me, I felt alone and mesmerised. I was new in the United States,… Read more →

connect without alcohol

Make friends with sober: How to connect with people without alcohol

Choosing to be alcohol-free no longer means you’ve signed up to sit home alone drinking tea.   I have a confession to make, I don’t love drinking. I’ve never been a big drinker. While I drank plenty—in college, when I studied abroad, in my twenties—most of the time, I didn’t like. it. I didn’t like how it made me feel.… Read more →

connect wealth relationships

What money can’t buy: Is wealth slowly degrading our relationships?

An uptick in financial fortune has made our lives better in many ways. But is it also making our lives worse?   A large swathe of Indians in the UK are twice migrants, arriving in Britain via Kenya at a time of strife. Most made this journey in the seventies, as teenagers with nothing but a suitcase and dreams. Amongst… Read more →

tessa clarke

Q&A: Entrepreneur Tessa Clarke on the question of connection

There’s nothing quite like food to help people connect. An unexpected benefit of OLIO, an app to stop surplus food going to waste, is how it brings together neighbours that might never have otherwise met. I asked its co-founder Tessa Clarke to share her thoughts on connection.   How does the idea of connection fit into your work? OLIO is… Read more →