I wish someone had told me to learn to juggle…

“I wish someone had told me” is a series of posts that feed into our inquisitive nature at CN&CO. Each week we hear from someone in our network about something interesting or surprising that’s recently happened or occurred to them – or lessons they learnt. These blogs are a way to pay it forward and form part of CN&CO’s belief that the world can be a better place – and we all have a responsibility to make it so. This week’s post is by Blake Dyason.

At the end of the first week of lockdown, back in March, I was invited to join a Zoom call as a surprise guest for my friend Celine who was teaching a virtual class for the French School of Cape Town.

I have been helping the school with environmental education and assisting with their vegetable gardens, recycling initiatives and composting over the past two years.

Towards the end of the Zoom call, Celine challenge the kids to learn to juggle and share their video with their class mates so that they could stay connected and track each other’s progress. I love a challenge and so naturally I committed to joining the juggling challenge.

Little did I know that I would learn to love it and actively seek to find out more about the benefits it can have for us.

Here are a few quick ‘did you know’ facts about juggling:

Some people are encouraged to juggle as part of their rehab after a stroke.

Some research suggests it might prevent Alzheimers desease.

It improves coordination.

Engages your problem solving skills.

It is great for stress relief.

It helps with cravings. Some people use juggling to stop smoking. Who would have thought.

I found juggling really valuable as a distraction from work while stuck in the confined space of my home during the first phase of lockdown before we were allowed out. It took my mind off everything and felt like a reset button.

I also loved the challenge and seeing the improvement day by day. This focused distraction (yes this might sound contradictory) but it really helped me at the start of lockdown as everything around use felt like it was crashing.

Take a look at my short video I made after 2 weeks of practicing.

Go on try it, you never know what you might learn.