BP_25 Week 3 Reading - Art of Possibility Chapters 4-8
I always think I'm going to struggle to find content for these blog posts so they don't read like book reports but somehow something serendipitously comes to to me at just the right time.
I think this video from Randy Halverson is a great metaphor for the message within the Art of Possibility, the idea that a world of possibilities is hiding in plain site. We just need to learn how to see them. This time lapse video is a compilation of 30 second exposures that reveals spectacular things in the night skies invisible to the human eye and standard video.
Temporal Distortion from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.
What really struck me about the 4 chapters we read this week is the way they support each other. I really identified with chapter 7 of the Art of Possibility - The Way Things Are. I've always been an optimist, to the point where it has frustrated other people. I hope moving forward I can use this strength to learn to lead from any chair as described in chapter 5. I think the key to getting others to be inspired by our own dreams is to communicate them with passion as described in Chapter 8. Chapter 6 stresses not taking yourself so seriously. I think too often people get misguided by feeling they need to convince others they are right instead of respectfully disagreeing or simply presenting their own ideas with positive conviction. I see this happen often in social media, especially Facebook.
I didn't realize it until writing this post but I took these lessons to heart earlier this week. Recording artist Whitney Houston died suddenly this past Saturday at age 48. Mixed with posts of sentiment there was a small contingent of my Facebook acquaintances who took advantage of the opportunity to communicate their opinions about how her life should not be celebrated. These people posted images of soldiers graves with comments stating that true heroes deserved the media's recognition not a "washed up drug addict."... I found these views misguided and in some cases offensive, not to mention incredibly passive aggressive. If this is truly what you believe you would post comments like this every day, not just when a celebrity you don't care for dies and the media focuses on it. I chose to remain quiet on all these posts and tried to ignore the threads of comments. Eventually I decided to do some research and politely posted on each of my acquaintances threads some facts I found out about Mrs. Houston's charity work. I noticed very few news reports were highlighting these fact that her proceeds from the sales of her recording of "The Star Spangled Banner" went to soldiers and servicemen and women, or her other charity work including her own organization that helped cancer and HIV stricken children. None of my acquaintances responded directly to my comments, but several people "liked" my comments after I posted them. I also posted my findings to my own wall which got several "likes" as well. Nobody confronted my comments.
I think we could all learn to take ourselves less seriously. No one of us is ever going to change the world or the way someone else feels with a single comment, no matter how aggressively you try. By respecting each other and communicating openly and sincerely though we might just be able to help each other stop and think.
Posted by John R. Hutchinson, Jr. at 9:14 PM
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5 comments:
1.
Jessica KelloggFeb 15, 2012 01:21 PM
Hutch,
I agree with you that these chapters blended and worked very well together. I really like the fact that you focused on not taking ourselves so seriously. The scenario that you posted about Facebook happens all too often. One of my friends from high school uses Facebook to constantly tell the world her opinions. What usually happens is that people start commenting back and then all of these mini fights breakout all over her Facebook page. She genuinely gets mad at people and has lost friends over comments made on Facebook. REALLY!!! It is not that serious. If people feel strongly about something, it should be a way of life not a angered Facebook, attention getter post. I didn't really gather the moral of the story the same way that you did. Thanks for pointing out that we can all step back and respect each others communication and ideas. Do you think that it would make a difference if they always treated people like that as opposed to only when it is convenient to make a big show?
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John R. Hutchinson, Jr.Feb 15, 2012 02:59 PM
Jessica,
Facebook does seem to have a lot of that. People don't always stop to think about what their posting. We see it all the time in the news with celebrity or high profile figures messing up on Twitter, Facebook, or some other Social Media group. Look at the backlash the Million Mom's group got after their protest over JCP's selection of Ellen as a spokesperson. The speculated a loss in sales, not based on any marketing facts or research, but just because that's what they wanted JCP to think was going to happen.
I think it would make a huge difference if people were able to stop and not only consider their opposition's point of view but also respect it. They don't have to agree with it, but you can't think someone is less intelligent because they believe differently.
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Cricket JohnsonFeb 16, 2012 03:52 PM
Loved this post Hutch! I completely agree with you about people over-reacting. And it is scary to see how Social Media sites are indeed impacting our society and major decision making factors. So many people are uninformed and cause what I think of as "feeding frenzies" - on misconstrued and even downright false information. People react and respond without finding out the facts, and while this kindof thing has always happened - the internet allows for it to happen faster and on a greater plane.
One thing that I really think has hurt our communication as a society is the fact that you cannot tell "tone" in computer-based communications. So much is lost in translation. So much of communication between people is body language, tone, facial expressions, and eye contact. If I have to pick between emailing a person or speaking to them in person - I will take the time to go to them if at all possible. It's just easier.
Really great thoughts and points brought up here! Well done!
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3.
Lewis SmithFeb 15, 2012 11:22 PM
Hutch,
So again I find myself commenting on the amazing artistry you display when looking at the lessons we are given. Thanks for the Randy Halverson link. His work is fantastic and I really enjoyed the editing on the video. I think it is indeed a reminder of how much we need to shift our viewpoint to see the larger systems at work in our lives. The reading gave a similar example with the very technically. but uninspired cellist. I feel that too often my students feel similarly disconnected from their educational experience, that they are just going through the motions. Waking them up to the bigger picture may be just the thing, I just have to build a time lapse viewer for their lives:-)
As a service member, I appreciate that you pointed out what Whitney Houston did for sailors and soldiers. She was one of the first to contribute in such a visible way, at a time when the Gulf War was political, and a very young Smitty was actually performing sit-ins to protest the war at my high school. Well, now I laugh and wonder what little Smitty would think of himself 20 years later. I do know that standing up for those who cannot defend themselves on Facebook or in any other venue is honorable though. You are a good man for doing so, and we need more people to think before they tread on others. Kindness is not weakness. Semper Fidelis.
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Drew FultonFeb 16, 2012 05:30 AM
Hutch,
I love that you used Halverson's video as a great metaphor. I actually spent some time yesterday watching his videos (and others) as I am prepping to do some of my own work in the same vain. I love the idea that a camera can capture what our eye can't see and it is that change of perspective that allows us to actually see things differently and can make all the difference.
I also totally agree with you about your thoughts on Facebook and other social media. I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. It's great for connecting with people but when people use it just thrust their opinions (usually in contrite/simplistic phrasing and often with a very graphic image attached) in to my face, it drives me crazy. That isn't going to change anyone's opinion or make any meaningful change in the world. To me, it is sort of like the billboards that are across the country but predominantly in the South saying that the end is coming and to find Jesus. Really? Do people become Christians while driving down the highway? Surely that money could be used to make a real change in someone's life. And now I am way off track.
Glad you shared your thoughts here and the research you did on Houston's life and work. I saw the same type of posts and remember seeing them when Steve Jobs passed as well. I think that most of the people that posted those negative posts probably never would have said those things but inhibitions are lowered and the mouse click is a very light trigger and people don't think.
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