Colours of Being

Molly Måssebäck encourages being authentic instead of trying to fit in. Growing up with ADHD, she masked her differences but now sees neurodiversity as a strength linked to creativity and problem-solving. She contrasts “fitting in” with “belonging,” where people are accepted as they are. Her work shares personal stories about ADHD, mental health, and shame to reduce stigma and help others feel less alone.

Key points:

* Authenticity means expressing who you truly are and taking up space instead of trying to conform to fit in.

* ADHD can brings strengths like creativity, curiosity, and innovative problem-solving.

* Fitting in requires changing yourself, while true belonging allows you to be accepted as you are.

* Many people use masking and small talk as strategies to cope socially and gain acceptance.

* Creativity exists beyond the arts and is the ability to find new ways to solve problems in any field.

* Sharing lived experiences helps reduce stigma around mental health and neurodiversity by creating emotional connection.

* A flexible, intuitive creative process can be just as valid and effective as a highly structured one.

Get in touch with Molly

https://www.mollymasseback.com

Follow her advocacy work on Instagram , LinkedIn

Myllan Events

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Learn more about the project on our website thecoloursofbeing.com 🌈

This episode of the Colours of Being Podcast has been edited by Sadia Shaheen. Thanks Sadia for your time and attention to detail, and helping us bring more colour into the world.

What if creativity isn’t a rare talent reserved for artists, but a natural state of being we all share?

In this episode, we sit down with Maria Olofsson to explore how we create our realities every day through our thoughts, conversations, and unique expressions. Driven by her core values of curiosity, connection, and a purpose-led sense of freedom, Maria shares her distinct approach to nurturing the mind.

We dive into her concept of “cognitive picnics”—imaginative journeys where following a simple thought or word can unlock new metaphors and creative insights. Finally, Maria challenges us to completely reframe our relationship with time and pressure. By transforming the traditional, stress-inducing “deadline” into a supportive “dateline,” she reveals how we can turn looming dates into creative partners and celebrations of birth for our ideas, our lifelines.

Key Points from the Conversation

* Creativity is everyone’s nature

* Combining values like curiosity, freedom, and purpose allows for a more nuanced reality

* “Cognitive Picnics” lead to new metaphors, stories, and creative insights

* Reframing “Deadlines”into a dateline make them become a symbol of life

Get in touch with Maria

LinkedIn

Follow Colours of Being

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Learn more about the project on our website thecoloursofbeing.com 🌈

This episode of the Colours of Being Podcast has been edited by Sadia Shaheen. Thanks Sadia for your time and attention to detail, and helping us bring more colour into the world.

This is a special episode of the Colours of Being Podcast, recorded at the Colours of Being SustainabilityDay on the 18th of April, here in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Read our public message to the Mayor of Gothenburg and the uncomfortable questions we can all ask ourselves below.

Our interactive panel discussion explored sustainability as more than an environmental issue — it is also social, psychological, and systemic.

Through discussions on food, corporations, consumer culture, and community, we reflected on how modern life has disconnected people from nature, local systems, and the consequences of their actions. We talked about different aspects including the dangers of endless growth, the importance of transparency and local resilience, the role of privilege and responsibility, and the need for community-driven action.

The conversation ends on a hopeful note that meaningful change starts with reconnecting to ourselves, each other, and the systems we shape together.

Key Notes

* Sustainability is both environmental and social.

* Uncomfortable Questions....Everyone thinks about.

* Message to the Mayor of Gothenburg.

* Humans struggle to understand the scale of consumption and waste.

* Responsibility is shared, and represents possibility

A message to the mayor of Gothenburg

Dear Mayor of Gothenburg,

We are writing on behalf of a group of Gothenburg residents who gathered recently for an open community conversation about sustainability — what it means in our everyday lives, and what we believe our city and people genuinely need to become truly sustainable.

The discussion brought together people with a shared sense that sustainability is not an abstract concept for conferences and reports — it is something that shapes our daily lives here in Gothenburg, and something we all have a stake in.

From that conversation, five concrete needs emerged that we would like to bring to your attention and invite an open dialogue about:

1. Greater transparency in supply chains and business practices. Many of us feel disconnected from where our food and goods come from, and how economic value is distributed along the way. Clearer, more accessible information would help residents make informed choices and hold suppliers accountable.

2. Sustainability-linked tax policy. The recent reduction of food VAT from 12% to 6% was welcomed in principle, but felt like a missed opportunity. There was strong feeling in the room that such a measure should have been tied to local, ecological, or seasonal food — not applied equally to multinational brands and Swedish produce alike. We urge the city to advocate for tax tools that actively reward sustainable choices.

3. Affordable spaces for small entrepreneurs and community initiatives within sustainability. The lack of accessible, affordable property as the single biggest barrier to building a more diverse and locally rooted economy in Gothenburg. And there are a lot of unused public and private commercial properties in town at the same time. Easy accessto city-owned spaces for small businesses, cooperatives, and community projects would make an enormous difference and send a clear message that Gothenburg celebrates sustainability and local entrepreneurship.

4. Reducing monopolies in the local economy. Several participants noted how difficult it is to participate in Gothenburg’s economy outside of large corporations — as a consumer, a business owner, or a community organiser. We would like to see the city actively create conditions that level the playing field for smaller actors.

5. Increased support for small local food producers. Specifically, easing labour taxes such as arbetsgivaravgift for small farms and local food producers would strengthen Gothenburg’s food resilience, support livelihoods, and reduce our dependence on distant supply chains — something that has become increasingly urgent.

We share these not as complaints, but as an expression of care for this city and ourselves, and belief in our collective potential. Gothenburg has a long tradition of creativity, craftsmanship, and community. We believe that with the right policy conditions, that spirit can be channelled toward a more just and sustainable future.

Thank you for your time and attention.

With respect,

Residents of Gothenburg

Uncomfortable and important questions that came up in the panel talk:

* How are our actions benefitting us AND how are they affecting others ?

* How happy are you after becoming a wealthy millionaire/ billionaire ? Are you happier than you were 20 years ago ?

* What if we stop mass producing more cars ? How many cars are enough?

* Do you understand how the batteries of your new electric car are made ? And by whom ?

* Why is an hour of work by a CEO worth more than that of the average employee ?

Get in contact with the speakers

Prithvesh Ashok

Corina Akner

Devansh Mehta

Swan Hering

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Learn more about the project on our website thecoloursofbeing.com 🌈

Put red next to green and something happens — the eye vibrates, tensions rise, something comes alive. Kurt knows this feeling well.

In this episode, Kurt Lightner explores the relational nature of colour: how any hue shifts the moment it meets its neighbour, and why complementary pairs hold such electric charge. He also dips into the work of Josef Albers, whose systematic study of colour interaction became a quiet but powerful influence on how Kurt sees and shapes the spaces around us.

A conversation for anyone who’s ever looked at something and felt it looking back.

Key Points from the Conversation

* Colours have relationships with each other

* According to Kurt you can see similarities in the relationships of colours and culture

* Manual craft vs digital creation and what that does with the artist

* Constraints as a fuel for creativity

* Creative work is deeply process-oriented

* Gothenburg vs Borås and the role of imagination

* Freedom is what underlies art

Get in touch with Kurt

LinkedIn

Sit&Draw

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Learn more about the project on our website thecoloursofbeing.com 🌈

This episode of the Colours of Being Podcast has been edited by Sadia Shaheen. Thanks Sadia for your time and attention to detail, and helping us bring more colour into the world.

This conversation with Jonaz Björk explores the transformative power of playfulness and creativity in personal growth, societal change, and organizational culture. Jonaz shares insights on how playful approaches can foster trust, innovation, and systemic change, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a playful mindset in serious contexts. Let’s make play great again!

Key Topics

* The role of playfulness in systemic change

* Using Lego Serious Play for organizational and societal insights

* The importance of trust and vulnerability in creative processes

Guest Links

Jonaz on LinkedIn

Website — Samklang.se

Resources

Lego Serious Play

Ken Robinson on Creativity in Education

Jojo Rabbit Movie

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Laurence shares insights on creativity, connection with nature, systemic change, and embracing uncertainty. Discover how biological systems can inform sustainable practices and how personal authenticity can flourish through nature and collective imagination.

Key Topics

* Creativity as a process rooted in nature and science

* The interconnectedness of biological and economic systems

* Embracing uncertainty and the importance of being present

* The role of collective and decentralized leadership

* Personal authenticity and connection with nature

Connect with Laurence

LinkedIn

Sense In Nature

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Join us for season 2 of the Colours of Being Podcast, interviewing local creatives about their creative process.

In the first episode we explore the creative mind of Felipe Rocha Melhado, a multicultural service designer, who shares insights on community building, systemic impact, and embracing uncertainty in design and life.

Key Topics

* The role of service design in social impact

* How to navigate wicked problems with creativity

* The importance of community spaces for innovation

Guest Links

Where to find Felipe

LinkedIn

Medium

Goodreads

Where to see some of his (ongoing) projects:

Aretê Design Studio: Design with Meaning

Tácito Podcast: Bilingual Interdisciplinary Knowledge

Thursday Gothenburg: IRL Dating Events

Go Push: Community Innovation

DJ FiLiPi: House, Latin & EDM

Follow Colours of Being

LinkedIn🩵

Instagram 💜

Facebook 💙

We discuss our experiences from initiating the Colours of Being CommunityCafé, emphasising the importance of engagement and collaboration. We explore the concept of creativity, challenging misconceptions that say it is limited to the arts, and highlight how creativity can manifest in various fields, including engineering. We understand that creativity is at the core of human nature.

The discussion transitions into how Colours of Being serves as an incubator for creative expression, providing a supportive environment for individuals to explore their creativity. Through that we delve into a discussion on the relationship between creativity and sustainability, proposing that true sustainability arises from symbiotic interactions that benefit all parties involved.

We learned lots. So happy to share it with you!

If you want to share with us, please do. Find us on Instagram, Facebook, Substack, comment wherever you found the podcast. We would love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time!

In all your messy, magnificence,be free, and be you.

Much love, Devansh & Swan

Here is the link to the other Podcast Devansh mentioned in the end: Sanna & Sanna talking about creativity (in Swedish).

We share our response to the first episode of the Colours of Being Podcast (you are all way too kind!). We continue to reflect on how to build a community and organisation that is truly rooted in empowerment and how that is tricky in a system that has face validity, but where intention and impact often disconnect. We discuss the complexities of belonging in a diverse society and the role of privilege in empowerment. We end on a declaration to establish a Community Cafe initiative aimed at fostering connection and provide a space to start conversations among people right here in Gothenburg, Sweden.

And please: Start sharing, start having conversations about how you actually feel (joy and grief are equally vulnerable). Allow yourself to be here. Name what you observe, all the colours. Arrive in reality and don’t continue to feed into collective denial of experiences that we are all having. Talk to your friends, your co-workers, your family. Be real. And from there we can move forward and see what we are actually dealing with.

If you want to share with us, please do. Find us on Instagram, Facebook, Substack, comment wherever you found the podcast. We would love to hear your thoughts.

Keywords

identity, love, empowerment, systemic change, belonging, community, human connection, cultural perspectives, adaptability, podcast

We explore the complexities of being human, discussing the messy and magnificent aspects of identity, societal roles, and the importance of self-expression. We emphasize the need for community and collaboration in fostering personal growth and well-being, while also addressing the limitations imposed by societal expectations. The dialogue culminates in a vision for creating a platform that empowers people to discover their authentic strengths and passions, and helps them find sustainable and intrinsically motivated ways to thrive as individuals and as society.

Keywords

human experience, self-discovery, community building, personal growth, identity exploration, emotional well-being, societal roles, intrinsic motivation, collaboration, podcast