Hey friend, how’s your day. I hope the season has been a good one for you so far. It’s been a time for some quiet and contemplation here. The last two journeys through this season were brutal each in their own way. So now a little re-focus, a gentle application of beginner’s mind, and look, it turns out it works. I may have been released from my vow of stupidity but that doesn’t mean I can’t go back to the well now and then, sometimes it’s just the right tool for the job. Of course it’s always important to consider whether one has fallen into the habit of first assuming every problem is a nail simply because the hammer is to hand. Sadly only sometimes is that just a metaphor. And stupid only gets you so far. But somehow I stumble through.
It’s been warmer the last couple of days, so I celebrated by clearing the packed ice from the bottom of the driveway. I know, call me mad and impetuous, but everyone needs a good frolic now and then. Okay it was a bit of work, but there was even sunshine for much of it, so it wasn’t dreadful. And given some of our conversations over this last year or so I’m actually pleased to report that I managed it in one go. So hey things aren’t perfect by any means, and yes I admit it was just part of the driveway, but that’s better than things have mostly been for the last while. I mustn’t bank on it continuing, but sure is nice. So now I’m celebrating by sitting down and having a glass of water. You’re right, gay abandon is my middle name, or at least it would be if I had one, which I don’t, so I suppose I could check into it. I’ll let you know how it goes.
You know it’s funny how thoughts collide sometimes. And I often don’t understand what it means until much later. You’ve probably heard me say that I always enjoyed talking to my dad about business, and how I was impressed by understanding the similarities between his work and mine. That’d be between metal fabrication and the arts. No really. What I noticed was the nouns were different but the verbs were mostly the same. Took me a while to wrap my head around what that meant. Of course you can apply the thought in all kinds of useful ways. I’ve used it as a group process tool when the chair had to find common ground. Heck, it actually helps me frame my understanding when I experience and interact with a belief system that’s different from mine. Funny, I never thought of it, but that would explain the me always scanning for common ground thing. It’s kind of built into that way of framing understanding–and it specifically means I cannot just focus on the differences. If I do it’s only half the model, and I know it’s incomplete. It needs both similarities and differences to be really helpful. Both nouns and verbs.
Ah but what do I know? You’re right, as little as possible. And on that happy note, I guess it’s time to see if I’ve got a few more chores in me today. It would be nice, but if not that’s okay too. I hope the day has some beauty in it for you, friend. Thanks for being there. Write when you can. Be well.