Kamlika Chandla: A Journey of Creativity and Connection

Growing up in India, Kamlika Chandla never considered the possibility that art could be both a passion and her career. After moving to America, her perspective changed as she found the courage to shift away from the corporate world to a life of creativity and creation.
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Guest
Kamlika Chandla
Painter, sculptor, poet and educator
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Highlights

When she was growing up in India, Kamlika never harbored a desire to move west, but on a visit to Chicago she met the man she would marry and decided to give America a chance.
Kamlika studied psychology and worked in the corporate world in leadership training and organization development before deciding to follow her passion for art.
Moving to America opened Kamlika’s eyes to possibilities and the freedom to choose her own path, so she took the plunge to pursue a career as an artist.
Today she is grateful for the opportunity to share a part of herself through her art, fostering connection with those around her.

Transcript

Intro

IVAN STEGIC: Hi there! You’re listening to ONE OF 8 BILLION, a podcast about all of us! I’m your host, Ivan Stegic. This podcast is supported by TEN7, a technology studio whose mission is to Make Things That Matter. Online at ten7.com.

We all have a story, don’t we? We’ve all had successes and failures, joy and disappointment, love and sadness. And yet, we’ve all made it to here… to right now! Our stories are one amongst eight billion others… eight billion other stories, each of them unique, each of them grand in their own way, and each of them a window into the humanity that connects us all. ONE OF 8 BILLION tells life stories from around the world.

Guest

Our story today is about Kamlika Chandla, who has taken a long journey literally and figuratively, growing up in India and moving to the United States, and going from the grind of the corporate world to a life of creativity, as a painter, sculptor and poet. Let’s listen.

Interview

IVAN: Why don't you introduce yourself. Tell me your name, and where you are in the world right now.

KAMLIKA CHANDLA: My name is Kamlika Chandla and I am in Edina in Minnesota right now. I have traveled across the world to be here. That's the current location.

IVAN: Tell me a little bit about your now. So, what does your everyday life look like these days?

KAMLIKA: So life right now is very exciting. I feel like I have come back full circle. A lot of things that I did in my younger days are looping back in and I think it's just fascinating. So, I spend my time in ratios, if you will. So I paint. I'm a professional oil painter. I sculpt, so there's a lot of creative work. I teach, conducting workshops and weekly classes. But then the thing that is looped back is that I am also doing a bit of OD work, which is organizational development, leadership training, and life coaching, those kinds of things, which I actually did back in my 20s. So doing that again, now and I'm very excited. It's just part-time, because art is really the anchor. That's what I do first and foremost, and the rest is built in based on the time and opportunity.

IVAN: That sounds amazing. So, would you consider yourself then as a professional artist? Like that would be your title?

KAMLIKA: Absolutely. I'd love to go for that title. Finally in life.

IVAN: Let's do that. Let's do that, you're a professional artist. Tell me about the beginning of your life. Where were you born? What did that look like? Did you have any siblings at the time? When did that happen? Tell me a little bit about the start of your life.

KAMLIKA: So my life really has been quite a roller coaster. But I am so grateful for that entire ride because that is what has made me what I am today. I was born in New Delhi in India. I ended up staying in a small town, which is the British capital called Shimla, Sims. It's up in the north, in the state of Himachal Pradesh. It’s just one of the hill stations that was very influenced by the British ways, if you will.

And so that's where the first few years of school were, until we moved to New Delhi, which is the Capitol. That was really my mom's idea to get us there. And she was biased because she was born in Delhi and she felt that the education system was not just British and it was a mix of everything. There was a more eclectic, and a more progressive idea of education in New Delhi and that's where her roots were so we moved there. I ended up going from New Delhi to another small town, and that's because I went to stay with my grand aunt, it was a bit of a rebel. So at age 13, I grew up with two siblings, two brothers, one older, one younger. And life was fun.

Everything was good, except I think I had to constantly understand how to find some method in the madness that I was given. It was pretty chaotic, including change as a constant factor. I think the way I could describe it best is my early years from age zero to seven were the most adventurous, most beautiful. I have the loveliest memories, which include horse riding or just meandering around literally, with my older brother walking back from school, or roller skating or just being in theater, and all of that very easy, cozy life. And then when we moved to Delhi, I don't know if it's because I was coming of age or understanding a little more, I saw a lot of chaos around in my own limited understanding and that made me want to actually leave my house. So unfortunately, after age seven through age 13, I would say were the most difficult years and it made me want to leave home, regardless of how much fun it was to be with the brothers. There was a lot of family drama, if you will. And then I always wondered as a child that if these were the adults, and if this is the idea of elders, then what else is beyond us?

And where can I find my learning or inspiration or motivation because this is giving me an example of what I shouldn't be. In that regard. I was known as the little philosopher. Family and friends would often say that, “Oh, she's a thinker,” and “she's this and that.” But anyway, I was very drawn to philosophy at a very early age. And that rebellious instinct made me push my parents a little bit, and I said, “Well, I think I need to go because I have to become something in life. And if you guys are going to keep fighting, I don't think I'm going to get very far.” But they decided to send me to a grand aunt’s house, actually, because they did not agree or did not really appreciate the idea of being sent to a hostel. I think that's partially because of just the culture, which, in my later years, I pondered over how limited one can be or one's thinking can be just based on what you're surrounded by, other people, or why it matters so much what people think of you or what society thinks and so on and so forth. Why wasn't it just about what is right or what is good for you for good for the spirit. So, I went there, and they stopped me. They knew better than I, of course, that my aunt was this very tough taskmaster, she was a celibate, she was a spinster. She was a wonderful, very successful lady who had started multiple educational institutions.

So, she was very well known and reputable and all that. But she was a very tough disciplinarian and little did I know. That's where I landed, and suddenly, I had to swallow my pride and be like, Oh, I made the decision now I better suck it up or whatever. I have to just be here because the pride didn't allow for me to say to my parents, oh, my God, you were right. Why don't you bring me back? But life was really hard. I thought my life was hard but I was with my immediate family. But I think the four years I spent there were really what made me very strong. They created this space and this big void, which today is, I think, a reservoir that I tap into for a lot of my strength, my inner struggles, my philosophy, or just silence, I think. I learned my lessons in silence and resilience in those four years away from home. And also, just, I think so much was put on the table for me, which I wasn't prepared for. And yet, that was just something that has given me so much.

IVAN: When did you start speaking English? What was your first experience with English? And what was the first language you spoke? I'm guessing that English wasn't.

KAMLIKA: No, it was in fact, English as the first language, because we were in Shimla which I’m sharing with you, was known as the summer capital of England, really. And all the schools we went to were started by the British. In fact, I went to a convent school run by Irish nuns. They were again, very strict. So Hindi, which is mother tongue, if you will, was actually just a language that was taught in school just like French and Italian and German and so on and so forth. But English was the medium of education. So everything was taught in that, whether it's math or history or geography. And that was across for many years, I think even now in India you just grew up speaking English and then whatever regional language that your family happens to be a part of. So that's the other thing about India every 50 kilometers, 50 miles, the language changes. But then there are these major languages Punjabi, Gujarati, and Hindi is like a binder. Everybody pretty much knows Hindi. So that's like a universal thing.

IVAN: And how many do you speak?

KAMLIKA: I can speak Hindi and a little bit of Punjabi, in terms of the Indian languages. I understand French. Italian just a little bit. I can't say I know Italian well, but I can get by.

IVAN: We will get to that Italian in a little bit here, just a little bit. So you spent four years away from home, you were in New Delhi. As you know, the name of our podcast is ONE OF 8 BILLION, and to me, I sometimes feel really connected to 8 billion people and sometimes really disconnected. It's hard to get a sense of how big that number is. Maybe looking at the stars, and maybe looking at the pictures from the James Webb telescope, make it a little bit closer. But living in suburban and downtown Minneapolis, there's not a whole lot of overpopulation that I can see with my own eyes. Is that any different for you, for your experience living in India, home of 1 billion of those 8 billion people? How does that change the perspective that you might have than I have?

KAMLIKA: Yeah, I think, right from very early on, I was always very fascinated by what is beyond us, and very interested in science. And in fact, I was one of the first Indian ambassadors to be sent to NASA and things like the supernova or just metaphysics, or the model of the universe, these are the books I was reading at 13 and 14. But to your question about being ONE IN 8 BILLION, I feel that there is that sense of connectedness. It just doesn't stop to baffle me even today, that we ARE very unique, we may be different. But yet there is none like us. We have our own genotype, there's just one of us, and at the same time, I think it grounds you because it helps you understand that the human essence is really the same across the 8 billion that we don't even see. We are inherently the same people at the core, and that's just something that life has taught me over and over again, with my experiences while teaching or just traveling, or understanding the human diaspora, or the human sentiment, we’re really similar, and yet, very unique.

So sitting in India, looking westward was often encouraged. In fact, I think that's one major thing that is changing now in the youth there. But when we were growing up, I tell these stories to my daughter, and she laughs, but we were always told that everything westward was better. And there was a world beyond us right here where all the cultural influences were very strongly directed. I think that really helped us connect, in an interesting way, connect to the rest of the 8 billion through Musart.

IVAN: Growing up in South Africa, I completely understand that look westward, and in South Africa was more of a look outward, as opposed to westward because it was the bottom of Africa, far away from everything, isolated with sanctions. It was always looking out with the rest of the world looking in and you could go anywhere. Well, you couldn't really go anywhere, but you could look anywhere. You could look towards the east and towards Australia, and you could look towards the north up to Europe and England, and you could look to the woods in the West. And so I wonder what it was like for you. So you're in the United States so you definitely went beyond India and you went west, but did you look at the UK? Did you look elsewhere? When did you know that you weren't going to be in India and where did you want to be?

KAMLIKA: Yeah, to be very honest for me personally, it was never on the radar even wanting, even the decision or the desire to move westward. I think just fast forwarding through school and then getting to university and then a very successful, nicely paying corporate job in Delhi, I think there was everything that I wanted and I desired for while being there as a youth. So, I never thought about actually moving to America or England or anywhere. Going to England was something which was always encouraged because that's where apparently, all the best universities were.

If you were in the upper middle class in India, you had to go to Cambridge or Oxford or somewhere in London, because that's what people did, that’s where you got your education from. However I think, because I was doing well, and I was happy and satisfied or rather just very busy working, I never thought about it until 2007, there was a major life-changing episode, which kind of almost catapulted me into this decision of Okay, I am leaving everything. I’m going to move. I think time in India is done. And that's when I started thinking, for the first time that after all, India is not for me, maybe I should move to Europe, and France was on the top of the list. I was actually going to go to Paris and I was going to go to l'école des Beaux Arts, which is actually a school of arts. It’s one of the most prestigious art schools.

And when I was very busy turning 80 hours of work a week and feeling like all the philosophical notions have not escaped me, how much is enough? How far does one go? And how much money will be enough? What more titles do I need and relationships or failed relationships, or what is there beyond us? I think it was at that point in my life where I had truly understood the Maslow's hierarchy of needs and things on self-actualization at a very young age. People thought I was crazy and too philosophical and too wise and too mature for my age and it's not good for me.

It's at that time when I just felt I need to go, I need to move. And there were other, of course, very personal reasons that also made me think about it. 2008 is when I moved to the US, and that was not for work or studying, that was not the plan. But I got married and that was how I ended up here because my husband couldn't travel to India or come see me. It was the other way around. Usually in Indian culture the guy comes to see the girl, but that wasn't working out. I'm like, “Okay, you know what? I'm going to come see you. How about that?” Yeah, that's where I visited Chicago and that's where I met my husband and he tricked me into it, of course. He’s like, “Oh, why don't we just get married now so that you don't have to go back?” And I think, No, that's not going to happen. I have to go back and wind up my projects. There's plenty to be done. But yeah, that's really how it happened. It wasn't because I wanted to be in the U.S. to be very honest.

IVAN: So it was quite serendipitous is what it was. It happened through a series of circumstances. What were you actually doing before that required you to work 80 hours a week? That doesn't sound like a lot of fun. What was it that you were doing?

KAMLIKA: Yeah. I started working really early. I was about 18, and my education was in psychology. And I had done a little bit of mentorship work for the UNDP. I had started a nonprofit organization with a bunch of young people. So, there were a lot of things that I was doing at the time, but then I took a serious job and just never looked back.

IVAN: And when you finally arrived in Chicago and got married, did you guys end up staying in Chicago? How long were you there before you ended up here in Minnesota?

KAMLIKA: So yeah, my husband actually used to stay in Chicago already. He was there since early 2000 and I joined him in 2008. And then after that, we jumped, skipped and hopped around the country. He's in the healthcare system so it has taken him around. We moved from Chicago to Sacramento to Salt Lake City, and then we're back in the Midwest, which I'm very happy about. So not Chicago, but a little short of it. They say Minnesota grows on you and it sure has, and there are no plans to move anywhere.

IVAN: Okay, good. I see from your LinkedIn that you studied at the University of Chicago and also at the University of Illinois, Chicago. That’s where your Applied Psychology and Psychology experience comes from. And yet you are a professional artist. And I would love to hear how you went from studying Psychology and working in these fields to deciding that you know what, I'm going to follow my passion, and I'm going to spend time and be a professional oil painter. How did that transition happen?

KAMLIKA: Oh, wow, that sounds like an easy question but it’s a lot wrapped in there. I was always very interested in human psychology and human behavior, especially from the family. And so I actually went to University of Delhi first and studied psychology there. And then when I came to the U.S. in 2008, that was after working in the corporate sector, doing leadership work and motivation, and strategy and implementation, those kinds of things, and it was very satisfying. You are contributing to the backbone of an organization, you’re really building on core values and vision and mission, all those kinds of things are very satisfying, but yet, it seemed like tactics. It seemed like what do you do to make people feel good about their roles, even if there is nearly nothing much there? So there was a lot of that and then there was a bit of that philosophical thing in me that okay, what is the meaning and purpose of all of this? But then that was very demanding, which, to answer your previous question about the 80 hours, it was just whatever you could give and I think organizations that for me and it was never enough. It was very satisfying. I was sincerely applauded and appreciated for what I did and was good at it. But I think by that point, I had already given up on my idea or dreams of becoming a scientist or becoming a psychologist.

Some bit of it I had already given up, but then again, by pure chance or serendipity as you called it, when I moved to the U.S., instead of transferring back into OD, my husband's paperwork didn't allow me to work. And that was such a bloat for someone like me who was very used to just being independent and doing my own thing. And now here I am in a country, after having achieved all of that, suddenly, I'm not allowed to work. Okay, what am I supposed to do? How do I wind the clock back? It doesn't make sense. So the two options I had were either volunteer or study. And so, I think just my love for education just made me go back. That's how I found my entry back into the University of Illinois, doing independent research, I did Applied Psychology. And I think just the joy of going through all of that education all over again, initially I questioned it, but then I was so grateful because the kinds of subjects and what I studied here, I think that was the first time I really studied anything with such interest and enthusiasm, and I think with that receptivity, if you will. So that's how it really happened.

And I was on the track of doing my PhD, I had a very supportive mentor, Dr. Betty Bottoms, she was the Dean of the Honors College who was very encouraging, very appreciative again. And then I felt it was so easy to be a 4.0 student here, it's so easy to get scholarships, all you have to do is apply. And I think, coming in as a more mature student, among the other 18-year-olds, but I was the 28-year-old among all of them, it just felt a little odd, but again, it made it very easy, I think. I was more ready and more curious, more appreciative of the knowledge that I was getting. And then again, I was still on the track of being in psychology and that's what took me to the University of Chicago, where I did my internship, and I studied comorbid disorders, worked with the pediatric oncology department. I think, along the way, somewhere in about 2012, when I was really wanting to be a mom and have my own child or I think something changed.

And something reminded me that I'm doing the same battle all over again. These immediate accolades of the title and more accolades, or more growth or more money. How is this directly impacting the people that I meet? And you know how it is in universities, you are trying to be published in academic journals, and I was doing that too. But, the question always was where is this all going to go? And right from when I was a child in Asia, you're not allowed to be an artist. Just for the record. You cannot do something vocational. If you choose to be an artist or a creative person or musician, that means either you're not intelligent enough, or there's definitely some issue there.

IVAN: How many creatives have been stifled by that? And how many great artists have we not seen because of that?

KAMLIKA: I think an easy billion.

IVAN: Yeah. How awesome that you could pursue that?

KAMLIKA: Yes, I think there was that question, that fire. And that's what America gave me. When I moved here for the first time in my life, I understood the meaning of liberty, the meaning of freedom, the meaning of being your own person. The only thing I told myself was, if I can't do or I can't be who I want to be in this country, then shame on me, the onus is on me. Now, I cannot say that society didn't let me do this, or my parents didn't let me do this, or this and that or the other. It was really about me finding myself and being who I really was.

I think that's where I took a very deep dive and plunge into it and said, “You know, I'm going to do it,” and I'm going to do whatever it takes to be the kind of artist that I want to be and it's not going to be an easy journey. It wasn't easy to give up a consistent job, or money coming in, but I think I was philosophically ready and I think in that way, or in some sense, that was really a renunciation of sorts for me personally or spiritually that I'm ready to surrender. I'm ready to give into this creative process which is a privilege. A deep privilege.

IVAN: What was the first piece of creative work you remember thinking to yourself, and then realizing that this is something you made professionally, that may be sold, or that maybe was in an exhibition? Do you remember the first few items of things that you could identify with that you could definitely say, Oh, I'm a new person in a new career?

KAMLIKA: I knew that if I wanted to be an artist, I would definitely have to learn. And this is the big problem with anything creative, right? When people think of becoming a doctor, or a lawyer or a scientist you have to spend the time and money and the energy, but you're supposed to be born an artist, and you don't have to put in any work. So, I think I was very clear about that idea of how hard I will have to work or where will I have to go with this journey. But you'll be surprised my first few pieces that I made were actually back in India while I was working 80 hours a week. And it told me that I wanted to be an artist when I was maybe five but since I was just not allowed to be one I still found myself doing that after those 80 hours of work into the night coming in and working still painting or still working. So those were very abstract pieces, very powerful pieces. You will be surprised those are the pieces that sold when I brought them back here.

IVAN: Really?

KAMLIKA: Right away. Yeah. The ones that I had spent 80 hours on very skillfully. Yeah, that was the irony of it, that the pieces that were more abstract and wild and probably a little more raw, which came from a place of originality, and absolute expressionism, I think they were very emotional pieces. I think a lack of a proper craft or a skill but then my first piece that sold here was definitely something that I was very proud of. There were a bunch of roses painted in the Flemish method, the Flemish technique, requiring a lot of skill, a lot of time and understanding into conservation and preservation of art, not just painting something from an idea of expressing or pouring out. Not as an outlet but actually a piece of skill and craft. So I think that's what made me proud or which made me feel down the line when I sold portraits of people who started reaching out and saying, “Would you paint a picture of our child or our grandchild?”

And I think those few first few years, first few pieces, just getting commissions from mothers or to be mothers of existing children and then more children, I think that just made me give my best. And yeah, even until this day, anybody who reaches out and says, I'd love for you to paint a picture for us, whether it's of a beautiful sunset, or of their child or their grandchild, or for a special anniversary or whatever, I always have the same reaction. I just feel very grateful. And I feel like I'm adding a piece of me and a piece of all the sensibilities that connect all the 8 billion of us, that creative energy, which I feel I'm very lucky to tap into and letting others be a part of that. That's just how I take it. And I feel like I have such a long way to go. I'm still waiting myself for that masterpiece which is not made yet. It's not been made yet.

IVAN: Art is never finished is it? You're always working on it. It's always something that could be changed and evolved and improved and destroyed in some cases, too.

KAMLIKA: Oh, absolutely. I think the interesting part of every creative person's journey is that even though in the early ages or stages, it may have been that idea of pain into passion. But what happens along the way along the journey is when that in itself, the process turns into joy and you're driving from it, you're gaining from it as much as you're giving into it. So, I think it's that tipping point, it’s that realization, when the pain turns into joy in any creative person's life, I think that's what we're all really going for, whether it's a musician or an artist, or someone who's very proud of whatever they do.

IVAN: Absolutely. Even in science, we're not done. There's always that frontier that we're pushing. We understand a finite amount, and then we go onto the edges and we learn more, and we just are honing the craft in science too.

KAMLIKA: Absolutely.

IVAN: So I totally understand. So, you're a professional painter, we've talked about this, you have a background in psychology. At the beginning you told me about how this organizational development is coming back into what you're doing. And I want to ask about that in just a second. But before I ask about that, I want to ask you about your recent trip to Italy, and your work in Florence. Tell me a little bit about that. Because it is creative, but it's not related to your painting. It's relating to something else.

KAMLIKA: Yes. I think the one thing that keeps me going or is a realization by now, I turned 40 last year, and something happened, something changed. But what has never changed is this idea of continuous learning and improvement. I was in Italy for sculpting the portrait and the figure. And it's a new skill, it's a new craft. The idea may be the same, but it's just a whole different slew of techniques and skills and it's very physical, very manual. And just the idea of using all those tools, and drills and armatures, and wires was so intimidating to me for all these years while I was painting, and I wanted to turn the corner in oil painting before I picked up a new skill.

And I think that's really just the truth about why I waited so long to sculpt, is because I wouldn't have been able to give my all in honing a craft if I did too many things at the same time. So that was really what took me there, a bit of learning, a bit of teaching, a bit of an opportunity to assist and to learn at the same time. I’m very grateful. And these are the things when I look back and I made that decision. As a young whatever, even if this journey has not been that long I think it just reminds me that I was so fortunate and so right to have taken the plunge when I did and made that decision. There is no going back once you have tapped into that very beautiful space, which is both inner and outer and in very in sync with everything else. So yeah, that's what Italy was all about.

IVAN: It sounds amazing.

KAMLIKA: It was.

IVAN: Now, tell me a little about how you are enjoying bringing organizational development, OD, back into the work you're doing now. And how have you changed it and molded it based on the experience you've learned over the last 20 or so years?

KAMLIKA: I truly believe that no education, no life experience ever goes waste, whether it's personal or professional.

IVAN: Yes.

KAMLIKA: And so all the OD or the corporate experience that I had, is definitely something but then what life taught me and then what university taught me and what my personal philosophy today is, I think all of that today, at 40, I'm a richer, wiser, more holistic person. And what I can contribute today, whether it's for a small organization, or a bigger firm, is a collective of all of that experience and understanding which I am able to do in a more confident way. And I think over the years what has been a very humbling experience even when I walked away from the corporate world, almost 16 years ago, till this day there hasn't been a week that has passed when someone has not called me, either a previous mentor or a boss or a colleague or someone who has a successful startup in the Silicon Valley today, or other friends who have started with their own nonprofits and this and that, who always reached out and said, we wanted to pick your brain on this idea or on leadership or how do you manage teams? How do you encourage someone? How do you motivate someone?

And I think that job never changed. I kept doing that even though I wasn't paid for it all these years. I've always been a friend. I’ve always been that person that people have called. Finally, it made me feel that why not? And COVID changed the World. COVID changed a lot, especially small businesses and creative people. We took a hit and we realized more than ever that if we do not get the kind of respect or renumeration for what we do, then how do we share our stories? How do we change the world? How do we teach them how to respect artists and writers and musicians and all those people who do not have corporate to go to, or people working from their own homes, their own basements or their own dungeons?

When will they become part of the category of people who are also equals? So I think we just have such a long way to go. And I hate to share this, but I just somewhere down the line know that whether I get commissions or not for painting, I will always have a steady job when it comes to the corporate world. And I wish that wasn't the truth. I wish that wasn't the reality, but it is. I can always jump back into the corporate world and get paid without any questions. But we don't do the same for people who are doing their own thing, or it's just not as much money. There is a difference. We have a long way to go in helping people understand what we do.

IVAN: For sure. I think this might be one of my final questions. I’ve just had such a good time talking to you. I wanted to just change the mood a little bit and ask you about your greatest struggle in life. I often ask this question as part of the podcast, and it’s a way to just remind ourselves where we're at and that we're all human. And I'd love to hear you describe yours if you have one.

KAMLIKA: Yes, absolutely. I can even probably share it in the format of a poem if you're okay with it.

IVAN: Of course, yes.

KAMLIKA:

Life Oh life:

It goes on,

As though it has a will of its own

Shows us plenty

But keeps enough unknown

Sorrow, mystery, joy, passion and pain

Lessons on it all, just to die one day in vain?!

Perhaps it’s all about the small chapters, the little things, the moments, the few friends, the beautiful children we borne

For watching the sunrise, hearing the night,

Taking in the fragrance of flowers, our struggles and goals, our darkest truths and lies.

The agony of illness, impermanence, the pretense and the frivolity of it all,

The void, the burning passion, mortality, and the pulsating life itself inside…

We just have to learn to let it all be

Walk a little more, focus on what we believe

There’s no reason, no motive, no purpose, no need after a while

And yet we must accept, perhaps filter, listen, let go and befriend our deeper self inside.

Then on repeat,

Watch, observe, learn, love, and live

Share, laugh, reflect, and continue to give.

Kamlika Chandla
Paris, France
August 23rd 2021

IVAN: Wow. Thank you. We've definitely never had an original poem on the podcast and your creativity shines through in every kind of medium. That was beautiful. Thank you for sharing that with us. It's so true, there is no reason, there is no rhyme. It's just ourselves repeating and doing it over and over again and learning. Thank you so much for spending your time with me today. It's been so great talking to you. I am so glad that we know each other and that we were able to spend this time learning more about you and your story as ONE OF 8 BILLION and I thank you for everything you bring to the show and everything that you've brought to my daughter Eva, you are her teacher, she's your student, so very grateful for that as well. Thank you so much for being on the show today.

KAMLIKA: Thank you so much Ivan, it’s really my pleasure. And you know, a note about Eva. I think you know that's the future right ahead of you. She's such a joy. And, you know, I feel like there are no great teachers, there are just great students. They draw out of you. That's really the truth. So, she's such a joy. Thank you so much.

Preview

IVAN: I hope you’ll join us in the next episode of ONE OF 8 BILLION… when we hear from Dr. PZ Myers, a biologist and founder of the Pharyngula science-blog, a site aimed at promoting independent thinking and individual autonomy.

DR. PZ MYERS: One day we had an egg sack hatch out, and I opened up the container in the lab. This was before I knew all the details of taking care of spiders and they started ballooning out and the lab was full of all these little tiny baby spiders. Hanging from threads and it was magical. Yeah.

Outro

This has been ONE OF 8 BILLION, a podcast about all of us... online at 1of8b.com. Join us again next time as we listen to one of eight billion other stories!

ONE OF 8 BILLION is supported by TEN7, a technology studio whose mission is to Make Things That Matter. Find out more at ten7.com. I’m Ivan Stegic. Thank you for listening.

Credits

This is episode 142 of ONE OF 8 BILLION. It was recorded on August 22, 2022 and first published on September 14, 2022. Audio length is 39 minutes. Transcription by Roxanne Chumucas. Summary, highlights and editing by Brian Lucas. Music by Lexfunk. Produced by Jonathan Freed.

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