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Thursday June 23, 2016        

Look yourself, in the eye. See what you can see when you really look. Decide what is OK, what is not; we can evaluate what works, what does not – recall what brought joy within our grasp, what did the opposite. Frank talk. Looking in that mirror. So much easier to do when it is someone else looking in their mirror. Looking back to look forward?

Being away from ‘work’ for an afternoon? Therapeutic.

Not golf, but close*.

One-on-one workshopping with a friend. Process, working through, with tools that work.

Muck, issues, building a basis for planning.

Unknown territory can be scary exploration, like fearing a wilderness walk without gear, without a compass. Trusting process, one I know, felt safe for me. Not so safe for him. Scary to open mystery boxes. Scarier not to.

We’ve all seen workshop-mode. Facilitator between flip-charts and participants. One on one, it’s not so easy always to distinguish facilitator from facilitated. I had the floor, had flip-chart paper, markers and masking tape ready. What more could we need? A friend provided space. Not the room we expected. Better. Not the process we expected, better. We both invested time. Did work. Got results. Like chateaubriand perhaps, feast for two …

For my friend, I think it was the result he hoped for (perhaps scared of), to have a clear vision of self, self-worth and to own self-control for a self-directed future …

I came away recognizing better ‘why we get along’ – many ways we are alike. No overwhelming, but more than just a few.

Of course we can’t predict our future.

We CAN control which direction we look. 

*hard to beat – a room to meet, in a golf course clubhouse … oh that was nice!

written / published from Calgary, AB

morning walk with Gusta:  11C/51F, clear, steady north breeze, early enough for streets to be quiet – late enough that light was great. Magpies are somewhere else today – so it was quite serene. I think yesterday’s workshop is contributing to my feeling good as much as the weather – so I’ll enjoy both reasons!

Reader feedback:

IN THE NEAR FUTURE

Agree with your comment that cheap energy disincentive energy conservation, as demonstrated by Europe vs North America. Same applies to land. Cheap/free may also mean cheap today but more expensive in the long run. Case in point: televisions. Much cheaper today, but short lifespan. When attracted by cheap is it really more expensive or lower value in the long run? And, if cheap to you, what is the cost elsewhere, monetary, societal, environmental? But hey, I am human too, and will buy cheap if the value proposition works for me, SC, Edmonton, AB

… Gusta v. condo association: Has the appeal period expired yet?, AN, Calgary, AB [yes AN, and they’ve paid the costs the court awarded me – Gusta is free to live here as long as she wants]


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