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Hey friends,
When I tell the story of Grokkist—both to others and to myself—I usually tell it in years. Years are my units of progress and meaning, each one its own chapter in a larger unfolding.
- 2021 – Is this a thing?
- 2022 – WHAT is this thing?
- 2023 – Make the thing real.
You never really know in advance what the year will turn out to be about, though you can set an intention.
My intention for 2024 was something like “secure the thing’s foundations.” In retrospect, I’d say this year has been about something different: bringing it alive.
What’s the difference between making something real and bringing it alive? You can feel the difference.
When something is alive, it moves on its own. It has its own momentum, its own rhythm. Living things integrate their parts in ways that create wholeness—and from that wholeness comes agency.
This year, Grokkist has shifted from being something I was building to something others can step into, understand, and inhabit. It’s become an ecosystem, alive with its own vitality.
By the way, Jon Burmeister talks about this beautifully in our latest podcast episode, where he describes software as a living organism. It’s an evocative way to think about what happens when the pieces of something come together to create their own movement.
As Grokkist has come alive, I’ve been reflecting on my own relationship to it. Grokkist is me, and it’s of me—but it’s not only me. I am it, and I am of it—but I am not only it. This dance between creator and creation has made me think about my own story over these years.
Not the story of leaving a well-paid professional career in higher education (that feels distant now, and less relevant), but the story of growth, transformation, and creation. The story of my relationship to Grokkist as a mirror for my own becoming.
If I mapped it, my chapters would look like this:
- 2021 – What future am I most interested in pursuing?
- 2022 – Who are my playmates?
- 2023 – Get serious about Grokkist.
- 2024 – Get serious about myself.
What does it mean to get serious about a purpose without yet having learned how to get serious about yourself?
That’s the question I’ve been living this year, and it’s too fresh to say much yet. But I know this place. It’s where many of my natural playmates dwell—whether they realise it or not.
And in reflecting on this year, I realise I haven’t written much about ‘why.’ There’s so much talk about ‘why’ these days—start with why, find your why. And maybe you have a small why that feels like a big why for a while.
But in my experience, the big whys don’t reveal themselves upfront. They open, slowly, like a flower. You discover them not by sitting still and searching but by walking the path. As Rumi says,
As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.
Pick something to do that holds purpose for you, even if it’s a purpose you can’t yet articulate. Later, if you pay attention, you’ll learn why you chose that purpose.
This is the last newsletter for 2024. Whether you’re a regular reader, a curious newcomer, or someone who dips a toe in when the moment feels right—thank you. Thank you for your attention, for your curiosity, and for making me and Grokkist part of your year in some way.
We’ll be back in the week of 12 January 2025. Until then, be good—or be good at it.
With curiosity and care,
Danu
Into the grokkiverse
The latest publications, events, and offerings from the Grokkist Press, Network, and Academy
From the Grokkist Press
Deep Thinking, Education, and Freedom in an Age of Distraction - Jon Burmeister | S4E5
By Danu Poyner (5 min read / 83 min listen)
What does it mean to think deeply and live freely in an age of distraction? Philosopher Jon Burmeister reflects on his journey from analytical rigour to embodied integration, exploring whole-person education, the history of ideas, and reclaiming attention in a fragmented world.
Upcoming Events
🟢 Grok Cafe [End of Year Wrap]
🗓️ Thur 19 Dec | 7–8.30pm ET (UTC-5) (view in your timezone)
Facilitated by Danu Poyner
As the year comes to a close, join us in our newly updated Grok Cafe format, a space designed not just for conversation, but for connection. At the heart of this gathering is a beautiful question—an invitation to explore together and to reveal parts of ourselves in community. This time, we’ll reflect on:
- “What wisdom has the past year gifted you that you didn’t expect?”
- “What part of you feels most alive when you think about the future?”
Inspired by Priya Parker’s The Art of Gathering, our purpose is simple yet powerful: These are people I would like to meet again. It’s a chance to step beyond the everyday, share meaningful reflections, and find belonging with others who share a kindred ethos of curiosity, care, and connection. Come as you are, bring a warm beverage, and let’s close the year in good company. We look forward to seeing you there.
Other Upcoming Events
- 12 Dec | 🟢 Living on Earth as if We Want to Stay
- 15 Dec | 🟢 Grokkist Kaitiaki Group Check-In | Q4-2024
- 16 Jan | 🟢 Free Writing Workshop
- 21 Jan | 🟣 Red Thread Circle
🟢 Open Access: Free and open to all.
🟣 Member Access: Exclusive to Grokkist Members.
🟠 Ticketed Access: Open to all with a cover charge.
For more info, check the guide to our events and gatherings.
🍬 Snackables
Assorted awesome links to nurture your curiosity
#1 - Distraction as separation: the digital drift and how to anchor yourself
Mandy Brown
On protecting one's attention: "The great power of a middle-aged woman is that she knows where to give her fucks." Mandy Brown delves into the pervasive restlessness induced by our constant engagement with screens and social media. She likens this digital immersion to a “strangely disembodied experience,” where our minds race to keep up with the relentless flow of information, leaving our bodies static and our spirits unsettled. Brown reflects on the concept of “distraction” as a form of separation, drawing parallels between the ceaseless online streams and the physical scattering of sediment in water, leading to a loss of self. A rich contemplation of the impact of digital environments on our sense of self and the potential of reclaiming personal spaces to cultivate authenticity and intentionality in our creative endeavours. Pairs nicely with my latest podcast episode on deep thinking and freedom in an age of distraction.
For creators, this piece also offers a good deal of shop talk on today's publishing models, eg POSSE (Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere). This approach fosters a sense of “home,” providing a container that shapes and nurtures her work, free from the external pressures of social media dynamics. The sense of personal context in the POSSE model proves to be more important than mere content ownership, highlighting how it transforms her writing process and the nature of her expressions. This is also how I think about the Grokkist Press.
#2 - Wonderful Waste: stories of circular design
Never Too Small is a video channel dedicated to small footprint design and living; featuring award-winning designers and their tiny / micro apartments, studios and self-contained projects. For a great introduction to their vibe, check out their gorgeously-produced mini-documentary series Wonderful Waste, in which six designers tackle construction waste, turning discarded materials into innovative designs for a more beautiful and sustainable future. When "waste has a value", the designers follow a co-creation process with local communities to turn discarded materials into innovative product designs. Examples include plastic waste from Everest hikers in Nepal, hospital furniture in Malawi, and glass waste in Zanzibar.
#3 - Avoiding the trap of impact metrics that undermine real change
Vincent Sanchez-Gomez
It’s easy to dream of building a better world. Harder, though, is escaping the traps of the old one. Vincent Sánchez-Gómez lays bare the unintended consequences of chasing “impact” within the constraints of legacy systems. These insights resonate painfully with anyone who’s witnessed the well-meaning absurdities that arise when clever people bend themselves into knots to produce evidence of change—whether in social enterprise, academic research, or corporate CSR programs.
Sánchez-Gómez identifies three common pitfalls: reducing impact to metrics, conflating growth with success, and separating values from core operations. These traps are seductive because they mimic the language of progress while quietly undermining it. I’ve seen this dynamic firsthand in academic research, where the pressure to quantify impact often distorts rich, meaningful work into shallow metrics—an ironic twist that devalues what it aims to celebrate.
So, what does a better approach look like? Sánchez-Gómez offers a basket of "commitments" as guideposts for staying values-driven in practice, including commitments to disentangling growth and impact, acknowledging complexity, and to the "permanent drawing board." These commitments aren’t easy to stick to. They demand self-interrogation, a tolerance for uncertainty, and the courage to make decisions that may not scale—or even look good on paper. But they offer a way forward that’s rooted in sincerity and aligned with purpose. For anyone building something new and wondering how to avoid recreating the same old mess, Sánchez-Gómez’s essay is a must-read reminder: values aren’t just what we stand for—they’re how we move.
#4 - A timeline of the far future
Contributors to Wikimedia projects
How far into the future can we imagine? Wikipedia’s Timeline of the Far Future offers a mesmerising glimpse into events that lie tens, hundreds, even billions of years ahead. It’s a reminder of how the vast machinery of the universe keeps ticking long after our fleeting moment. Some predictions feel close to home: within 250,000 years, an undersea volcano will rise, adding a new island to Hawaii. In 100,000 years, the red supergiant Betelgeuse is expected to go supernova, creating a celestial spectacle visible even in daylight. And in a million years, the gravitational nudges of a nearby star will stir up comets in the Oort Cloud, sending icy messengers hurtling inward. Others are almost inconceivable in scale. In 10 million years, Africa will split to create a new ocean. In 500 million years, Earth’s plant life will wither as carbon dioxide levels drop and the Sun’s luminosity grows. And in 7.5 billion years, our Sun’s red giant phase may engulf the Earth itself—though Saturn’s moon Titan might briefly become a habitable refuge.
The timeline’s long arc continues beyond what our minds can grasp: the universe’s expansion accelerating into a potential “Big Rip” that tears apart galaxies, stars, and even atoms, trillions of years hence. Finally, the quiet, entropic end—a universe where black holes evaporate and light itself fades. It’s humbling to think how small a slice of this grand narrative we inhabit. And yet, there’s something oddly grounding about seeing ourselves as part of this vast chronology. What matters, then, in the here and now? What will still resonate a million—or a billion—years from now? If you’ve ever wanted to step outside the boundaries of time as we know it, this is a corner of the internet worth getting lost in.
#5 - People from all over the world are sending emails to Melbourne's trees
ABC News
Sometimes, the best results come from what you never intended. Melbourne’s Urban Forest Visual project started with a straightforward goal: assign email addresses to 70,000 city trees so residents could report damage or health concerns. Instead, it turned into a global love letter exchange. Thousands of emails poured in—not just reports, but musings, confessions, and poetry. Trees received everything from heartfelt thanks for their shade and beauty to existential queries about their age and purpose, to declarations of admiration from people halfway across the world. This whimsical use of technology reveals something profound: even amidst the busyness and alienation of modern life, people still yearn to connect—to something enduring, rooted, and quietly alive. A teenager in New York dreams of visiting a gum tree in Melbourne someday. A passerby wonders about a tree’s fingers and roots. Others pour out their hopes and heartbreaks, trusting these silent giants to listen without judgment.
We could easily turn this into a boring lesson in how to scope IT projects more effectively. But I prefer to think of it as a joyful reminder that not every interaction needs to have a clear “purpose” or measurable outcome. Sometimes, opening the door to something unexpected can spark an entirely new kind of relationship. In a world obsessed with productivity, this story offers a quiet, leafy antidote, highlighting the delightfully human tendency to turn even utilitarian systems into spaces for imagination, care, and play.
A pair of parting thoughts...
“The creative adult is the child who has survived.” — Ursula K. Le Guin
“The object isn’t to make art, it’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.” — Robert Henri
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