November 11 is Remembrance Day—a day to remember those who paid the ultimate price in the name of freedom. On this day, we have an opportunity to pause and reflect on the sacrifices made during wartime, and gain a renewed perspective of what freedom really means.

Welcome to the 87^th edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a decluttering challenge for the week. In addition to freedom, this week’s edition looks at hubris, the importance of strength training, Travel Tuesday, and decluttering Halloween and fall décor.

On my mind this week: November 11 is a day to reflect and remember

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: 

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

W will remember them.

For the Fallen, Laurence Binyon

On November 11, we observe Remembrance Day—or Veteran’s Day for my American readers. It has been 79 years since WWII ended, so there are very few veterans of that war left. I wonder what those veterans would think of the world today. Does our current view of freedom align with what they fought for?

I ask this because there has been a definite change in our world in the last decade. As a society, we’ve become more narcissistic and self-indulgent, with many asserting their right to “freedom” when they don’t get their way. But is getting our way really what freedom is all about?

Life during wartime

Growing up in England, my dad told me stories of wartime life. It’s hard for me to imagine what it was like.

Young men willingly signed up and went off to war to fight for the freedom we take for granted today. Millions of them didn’t return. Millions of others sustained life-changing injuries. Without exception, the rest carried the emotional scars of war in their hearts until their dying breath.

Beyond the sacrifices of those who fought on the front lines, everyone left behind at home played a role in the fight for freedom. Young mothers went to work to help the war effort. This left older siblings to care for the home and look after their younger brothers and sisters. Children who were old enough went to work as farm workers and drivers, on top of keeping up with their schoolwork.

Many children were evacuated to safe places far away from their homes and families. Add nightly blackouts to that, along with nights spent huddled in dark bomb shelters, and rationing of basic food items and other supplies, and it’s clear that life during wartime was difficult.

Despite the challenges, people pulled together in support of a common cause. In our world today, we seem to have lost that keen sense of community and the desire to do the right thing.

What is freedom?

Ultimately, freedom is not about getting your own way. Nor is it about being able to do whatever you want. And it’s definitely not about amassing material possessions and personal wealth at the expense of others. Freedom is about building a fair and just society for all. That’s what I believe the veterans were fighting for.

This Remembrance Day, let us pause to reflect on the true meaning of freedom. And let us remember there are people around the world—and in our own countries—who don’t have many of the rights and privileges we take for granted. Finally, let us consider the legacy we want to leave for future generations. Will it be one of greed, power, and fear—or one of equality, harmony, and hope? I know which I prefer.

Three highlights of the week

It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:

• The mild temperatures continued this week, making it easy for me to get out for my morning walks. The mornings had been cooler so on Tuesday I bundled up and headed outside. I got to the end of the street and realized it was close to 20C outside. Note to self: check the temperature before heading outside.
• My sister Lorraine came over for a visit on Wednesday. We caught up over a pot of tea and some delicious baked goodies.
• I ended the week with a short trip to San Diego to attend my final board meeting for my professional association. It was wonderful to catch up with friends and colleagues, although I left a little sad that my term of service has come to an end.

Things I learned this week

Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week.

A new word – Hubris

Being a lover of words, it’s rare for me to come across one I’ve never seen before. This week, I saw the word “hubris” for the first time in the readings for my online course.

Hubris. It’s a problem too prevalent in our world today. It means having excessive pride or self-confidence. In my course, it was presented in the context of people being so in love with, and confident of their data and reports, that they forget to turn that data into useful insights that will be of interest to their audience.

In the aftermath of this week’s US election, I could write a whole blog post on hubris vs. humility.

(Source: The 7 Deadly Sins of User Research)

Validating the importance of strength training

I knew strength training was important to reduce muscle loss as we age, but this week I learned it’s also good for the brain.

Strength training increases levels of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor)—a protein that supports the growth and survival of neurons and promotes brain plasticity. Some experts call it “Miracle-Gro for the brain!”

(Source: Dr. Gillian Leithman, Booming Encore Brain Booster Challenge webinar)

Travel Tuesday – What the heck?

Marketers will go to great lengths to get you to part with your hard-earned money. First, we had Black Friday. Then came Cyber Monday. Now we have Travel Tuesday. (Source: McKinsey)

How about we just say no to all of it and embrace Buy Nothing Day instead?

This week’s decluttering challenge – Fall and Halloween Décor

In 2024, I’ve been revisiting the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge I completed in 2021. This week’s challenge was decluttering fall and Halloween décor. I didn’t expect to find much, so I’m happy to report I decluttered 64 items. Find the details, along with my tips and learnings, in this week’s decluttering post.

Join the challenge! Visit this post to download your free checklists and jump right in with this week’s task.

I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.