2012.08.23 07:00 - Jaggedness

The Guardian for this meeting was Storm Nordwind. The comments are by Storm Nordwind.

Storm Nordwind: Good morning Sam!
oO0Oo Resident: Storm ! gtsy :)
Storm Nordwind: How are you today?
oO0Oo Resident: I'm feeling mostly relaxed and quiet.. but there are layers..
oO0Oo Resident: and you?
Storm Nordwind: Not too bad thank you. I'm smiling, so I guess that's good :)
oO0Oo Resident: Certainly bodes well for others who get to see the smile
Storm Nordwind: :))
oO0Oo Resident: :))

Topic of the week is apparently "Rules of Students, Teachers, and Life".

Storm Nordwind: I was looking through my email and seeing if there was a topic for the week.
Storm Nordwind: Having only been to one session this week, with its own topic, I don't know whether one has been discussed more widely
oO0Oo Resident: Not sure, but it might still be San's list of rules by john Cage?
Storm Nordwind: John Cage the composer?
oO0Oo Resident: believe so
oO0Oo Resident: *John Cage* that's it
Storm Nordwind: About students and teachers...
Storm Nordwind: I wonder if one ever stops being a student
oO0Oo Resident: http://www.alisant.net/cca/sitespecific/cage.html
Storm Nordwind: Looks fairly straightforward. I wonder how one couldn't do all those things

Dancing school.

oO0Oo Resident: Yes it seems to rely on the dancing school frame .. not sure how much
Storm Nordwind: "dancing school frame"?
oO0Oo Resident: That's what I was thinking
Storm Nordwind: I don't recall that expression. Could you elaborate please?
oO0Oo Resident: Cage is a composer right? Just keep fixing on a choreographer.. in some way as having crafted the rules ..
oO0Oo Resident: bit of an odd take admittedly
--BELL--
Storm Nordwind: Ah... I guess that shows up the paucity of my knowledge of Cage's biography!
oO0Oo Resident: That's me! just reading, and he does have a background in dance as well..
oO0Oo Resident: Interesting fellow
oO0Oo Resident: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cage
Storm Nordwind: Thank you :)

People are interesting.

Storm Nordwind: You know... so many people are interesting. If they are written about in the right way, or tell their story in the right way... everyone is fascinating.
oO0Oo Resident: :)) Yes many angles to people, and somethings to be learned from all the angles
Storm Nordwind: yes!
Storm Nordwind: But so little time to listen and read about it all.

Grateful to be listened to.

Storm Nordwind: I have listened to people who have been grateful to have someone at last, not only prepared but keen to listen
oO0Oo Resident: Oh, I can relate with that. I'm not sure how.. the windows open to be available with others, but I hope i am present and paying attention and willing to listen when they occur. Find it can be hard to determine who can hear what at times, which may sound strange.
Storm Nordwind nods
Storm Nordwind: yes ...
Storm Nordwind: But you know, even the willingness to listen, to share, to be open, to be human, is so rare, that even an imperfect or inconstant attempt is so much appreciated. :)
Storm Nordwind: And there is a humanity in that imperfection that brings warmth
oO0Oo Resident: People want to be loved/cared for, and accepted for who they are.. I feel that is fairly universal.. so if they can be themselves, and others will listen, that can be reassuring.
Storm Nordwind nods

Balancing talking and listening.

oO0Oo Resident: Sometimes people can only say so much though
oO0Oo Resident: or hear so much
oO0Oo Resident: balances
oO0Oo Resident: Some naturally listen, while others naturally talk
oO0Oo Resident: sometimes that needs to reverse
oO0Oo Resident: mindfulness helps

Understanding introverts.

oO0Oo Resident: I read a book about introversion
Storm Nordwind: Oh? Please say more :)
oO0Oo Resident: which suggested that extroverts do not understand introverts, why they do not socialise as much, but that introverts thoroughly understand why extroverts do take up much of the conversational space.
--BELL--
Storm Nordwind: Ah... this sounds very similar to what I find with the left brain/right model (left brain dominant not understanding the right brain dominant while the right understands left)
Storm Nordwind: Do you think that is true, introvert vs extrovert?
oO0Oo Resident: Here's the book by the way.. http://is.gd/Bz7XPT I suspect it is true often times, but not across the board.
Storm Nordwind: Thank you.
oO0Oo Resident: "After dispelling common myths about introverts-they're not necessarily shy, aloof, or antisocial--The Introvert Advantage explains the real issues. Introverts are hardwired from birth to focus inward, so outside stimulation-chitchat, phone calls, parties, office meetings-can easily become "too much.""
Storm Nordwind: If you substitute right brain for introvert in that book title, and left brain for extrovert, it also seems true in my experience. Which is not tying togther introvert and right brain, as stereotypically they are often regarded as opposite!
oO0Oo Resident: Well this is also interesting, because.. I watched a TED talk not long ago, that suggested the right/left brain differences that had been posited for a long time, may simply not be true.. Having said that I will be hard pressed to remember the talk.
Storm Nordwind: I think I saw that too!
Storm Nordwind: But also cannot remember
oO0Oo Resident: :))

Putting the effort in to understand.

Storm Nordwind: I do know that my ex - about as INTJ as it was possible to be - could never understand me (ENFP) even after 10 years of consciously trying very hard, whereas I found it easy to understand her! ;-)
oO0Oo Resident: Wow, that is interesting
oO0Oo Resident: It is.. also
oO0Oo Resident: a little sobering to think of all the well intentioned energy put in there
Storm Nordwind: Yes
oO0Oo Resident: Can sympathise/empathise with that
oO0Oo Resident: :)
oO0Oo Resident: People do try so hard to get along
Storm Nordwind: And that is for the best :)
Storm Nordwind: There is a bizarre set of circumstances regarding that relationship and my marriage now. I'll not bore you with them all, but just to say that my ex and I also met on the internet and that she also lived in Colorado (though Boulder rather than Denver)!)
--BELL--
oO0Oo Resident: No need to say more than you feel to. I think they both have been lucky.
Storm Nordwind: That is very kind of you to say so. Thank you :)

Journey of life.

oO0Oo Resident: There is a definate journey quality to life.. and all along the way are so much a part of us.
Storm Nordwind: Yes.
Storm Nordwind: Though it sometimes seems there are definite episodes to that journey, sometimes with definite purposes. And when the purposes are done (with a relationship), it holds two people back if we tarry.
oO0Oo Resident: seems so
oO0Oo Resident: often hard to fathom
Storm Nordwind: Yes. Sometimes we find out only in retrospect with a clear but distant view. Sometimes we don't find out. We can only smile and be warm-hearted to each, and wish them the very best.
oO0Oo Resident: :)))

Cage's rules are "Activist".

oO0Oo Resident: John Cage's rules feel extroverted to me ;)
oO0Oo Resident: Coming from that kind of space.
Storm Nordwind: They are, to use the Honey and Mumford Learning Styles model, very "Activist"
oO0Oo Resident: Active is set off nicely by stillness, and stillness by activity.. I think also with groups of people who are a mix of intro/extro version.
Storm Nordwind: Whether or not that model is consistent and reliable, it made a useful teaching tool for me. But one thing I taught was that not all people learned best with any one of their four styles emphasized - something useful to know for teachers and bosses alike!
oO0Oo Resident: I'm not familiar with H & M.. ::: googles :::
Storm Nordwind: They suggest fours learning preferences: activist, pragmatist, theorist and reflector - not mutually exclusive
oO0Oo Resident: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles#Honey_and_Mumford.27s_model
--BELL--
oO0Oo Resident: Interesting Storm.. ty
Storm Nordwind: You're most welcome :)

Being jagged vs being well-rounded.

Storm Nordwind: It's interesting... so many people suggesting one should be this way, or should learn in that way, and that would be best for them, and if they're weak in one area they should build it up. But it's taught me something different, and that's tolerance of the diversity of others. And I tend to deliberately emphasize my jaggedness rather than compensate and become well-rounded - I seem more effective that way! :)
oO0Oo Resident: !
oO0Oo Resident: Hear Hear
oO0Oo Resident: So many theories are overlayed for driving business productivity, but I think are so crude to the diversity of who people are and what is possible between them.
Storm Nordwind nods
oO0Oo Resident: Triple bottom line might be more like .. living in a rain forest
Storm Nordwind: yes
oO0Oo Resident: Will take my jaggedness as contemplation and source of appreciation.. then :)
Storm Nordwind: Great!
oO0Oo Resident: Just pausing to appreciate.. those who have been there for others.
--BELL--
Storm Nordwind: Welcome back!
oO0Oo Resident: ty
oO0Oo Resident: Thanks for hosting Storm. I'll take my leave with this feeling of gratitude for interdependence of things, and take it forward with curiosity
Storm Nordwind: That is a world view that will no doubt bring us all benefit, even if just one person tries it. :)
oO0Oo Resident: :)
Storm Nordwind: Bye for now! :)
oO0Oo Resident: bfn