It’s a Wednesday lunchtime and, although I had only been working for The Melting Pot for a few months at the time, what could be my favourite Lunch and Learn so far is about to start. Today, Xabi, our Community Manager, introduces us to Gary Young of the Mindful Enterprise CIC. As I had hoped, we’re going to be spending the next hour absorbing information about the development of mindfulness and experiencing its positive impacts too.  

In the true style of The Melting Pot, simply sitting next to someone at an event led to an interesting discussion and opportunities to connect beyond the event itself. I met Angela Rayner, the only veterinarian member we have. I was interested to know exactly how she used the space. 

Angela, what do you do?  

I help to make veterinary care safer by improving the quality of care and hopefully(!) having a positive impact on practice for the patients and clients that we serve. There are also a number of public health benefits as well – animals and people share diseases all the time! My main focus is on safeguarding antibiotics – we use a lot of antibiotics in animal health, so part of my job is asking, how can we engage the public in helping us to do that too? 

After only a few minutes of mindfulness exercises guided by Gary, Angela and I are reflecting on the mental weights we feel have lifted since we entered the room. I even feel that the room lighting is softer. I met Angela a few weeks later to find out more about how she uses the coworking space.  

What do you gain from working at The Melting Pot? 

Connecting with people in this coworking space benefits my own wellbeing and that has a positive effect on my work because I can bring a better person to work. It helps fill my cup so I don’t have to pour from an empty one. When you’re in a room with likeminded people who want to make the world a better place, there’s a lot of symmetry in the ways you can go about change, or things you hadn’t thought about. TMP is a lovely way to expand your mind about what change can look like and how that can feel to other people as well. That’s helpful for me because my work is about change and it’s helpful to be around people who share ideas. 

Have any Member events been particularly interesting so far? 

Well, like I was saying about interacting with people on a deeper level – that would not have been possible if it weren’t for the Lunch and Learn that we met at. Those kind of events create a conversation and a space for connection. For example, the mindfulness workshop helped to confirm in my own mind that mindfulness is so important personally and professionally, we have to look after ourselves. Even though we are professionals at work, we connect with each other and that’s how we get stuff done.  

What would you recommend to prospective Melting Pot Members? 

There is so much energy in this space, so many people working on wonderful things to improve the world or their local issue. In this space, we can energise each other, keep one another going and learn from each other’s experience.  

I have been  so impressed by the quality of Lunch and Learn speakers that I keep going back, it’s infectious. Our member events are also a great way to meet key members of The Melting Pot if you haven’t coworked with us before. 

If this sounds good to you, our next member’s event open to the public is our Potter Problem Solving session on 11 July. Get your ticket, help support social innovation in Scotland and have a productive afternoon of coworking on us.