Week 3 Reading Blog
The Art of Possibility – Chapters 5-8
Chapter 5
The silent conductor. I can apply
this concept to many aspects of my life. As a parent, I was able to guide
my children to make (usually) appropriate decisions regarding their
actions. I did not need to raise my voice or get in their faces or make a
big show of my authority. I did a lot of waiting patiently (and silently)
while they thought things through and made choices. As an educator, I
choose to allow students to make decisions and choices, while I am poised on my
chair, ready to jump in and support them whenever needed. I allow them to
make mistakes and then try to figure out why they made them. I told my children
and I tell my students that it’s OK to make mistakes, just not to make the same
ones over and over.
Chapter 6
I love Rule #6. If only I could
figure out how to live by it all of the time. For me, the world we live
on demands that we take our responsibilities and ourselves seriously, some if
not most of the time. The time to stand your ground (and take yourself
seriously) and the time to make light of a situation often follows one after
another, many times a day. I think if I can just keep myself in check,
and remember to think before I act, I can practice living by Rule #6 – and not
take myself so seriously.
Chapter 7
The information I’m walking away with from
chapter 7 is the reminder that when we are in a situation we don’t like, we
tend to misplace our attention. Instead of focusing on how things are, we
instead shift to how we think things should be. Maybe it’s just human
nature – we try to analyze situations, even when they are not near and dear to
us, and make conversation out of what is wrong with the situation and how it
should be handled differently. I appreciate the intention of the author,
who, through examples, demonstrated accepting the way things are, and clearing
away the “should”. I also appreciated the differentiation between talk in a
downward spiral, and talk from a central point, with unlimited direction.
I need to remember these ideas when talking to my children and my students.
Chapter 8
As is the common thread throughout this
book, the author is again, through examples, giving us permission to “let
go”. We’re encouraged to take notice of things that are holding us back,
and make a conscious decision to change it. I cannot tell you how many
situations I’ve been in where I have been guilty of “holding back”, whether due
to discomfort or unfamiliarity or upbringing! When I do let go of
inhibitions, the experiences in my life are much more full and enjoyable.
I need to remember that I cannot ask things of my students that I am not
willing to do myself!
Posted by Paula Sanchez at
6:13 PM
My Response to Paula’s Post:
Paula,
I agree that not taking myself too seriously
will be difficult to do all of the time. We get so caught up in our little
world around us that we forget to stop and look at the big picture. I often
find myself wondering why this or that is such a big deal to me. I especially
had to do that when I first got married. You could say that I tend to be a
little OCD about certain things. I know that most of the time those “things”
don’t really matter as much as I think they do. When I got married, I didn’t
realize that my husband was extremely laid back and “things” didn’t really
matter to him as they did to me. One of those “things” was putting his clothes
in the hamper instead of throwing them on the closet floor. This drove me
crazy, and I let him know that every time he did it. As you can imagine, it
caused a lot of stress and tension, especially for me. So, I decided that my
marriage was WAY more important than clothes on the floor. At least they were
in the closet and I could shut the door. I stopped complaining about the
clothes and he eventually started to put them in the hamper. YAY!! I realized
then and there, that I was taking my desires and myself too seriously! Did it
really matter if the clothes were in the floor of the closet? No. I am still a
little OCD, but not as much as I was.
No comments:
Post a Comment