Another excellent essay - thanks for the consistent quality and depth! I always take away a great deal from them. As for the careers programme you did on the Apple - in the early 2000s it was my homeroom's turn to do one of these, but as I wasn't sure how it worked I decided to test it before subjecting the kids to it. There were always four answers to every question, so to speed through I just hit C for each one. The result: border/immigration agent ... or clergy. Which I found eerily similar!
Wow -- border agent wasn't an option when I took that test (though law enforcement was). Not sure whether clergy were included, either. I suppose you know from one of my earlier posts that I'm highly suspicious of attempts to quantify human motivations (I'm preparing another rant on branding in higher ed for next week) and tend to believe that tests like that rarely point us in more promising directions than our natural intuitions do. But, as Leonard Cohen wrote, "I don't trust my inner feelings / Inner feelings come and go." Thanks for reading!
I used to be a distance runner. Then the knees gave out. Then I tried to be a walker. Boring. Then I bought a farm and became a raspberry pruner. Same sort of ritual as running, just as long in time, only productive. Now the ritual is to brush my Maine Coon cats. Same sort of ritual, shorter amount of time, and two beings enjoy it.
Collette, your story reminds me that it's not running that matters as much as the principle of stabilizing rituals. I've often wondered what I'd do if I couldn't exercise at the same intensity. It's good to know that these other ways of being mindful and present have worked for you. I have found that working on my garden fence (if you've followed that project) has been anchoring in a similar way, even though it doesn't raise my heart rate!
Eventually you get to a point where you don’t want to raise your heart rate and you’re thrilled to be on the right side of the grass! I have been following the garden fence project. Can’t wait to see it when it is finished.
Another excellent essay - thanks for the consistent quality and depth! I always take away a great deal from them. As for the careers programme you did on the Apple - in the early 2000s it was my homeroom's turn to do one of these, but as I wasn't sure how it worked I decided to test it before subjecting the kids to it. There were always four answers to every question, so to speed through I just hit C for each one. The result: border/immigration agent ... or clergy. Which I found eerily similar!
Wow -- border agent wasn't an option when I took that test (though law enforcement was). Not sure whether clergy were included, either. I suppose you know from one of my earlier posts that I'm highly suspicious of attempts to quantify human motivations (I'm preparing another rant on branding in higher ed for next week) and tend to believe that tests like that rarely point us in more promising directions than our natural intuitions do. But, as Leonard Cohen wrote, "I don't trust my inner feelings / Inner feelings come and go." Thanks for reading!
Incredible story.
I used to be a distance runner. Then the knees gave out. Then I tried to be a walker. Boring. Then I bought a farm and became a raspberry pruner. Same sort of ritual as running, just as long in time, only productive. Now the ritual is to brush my Maine Coon cats. Same sort of ritual, shorter amount of time, and two beings enjoy it.
Collette, your story reminds me that it's not running that matters as much as the principle of stabilizing rituals. I've often wondered what I'd do if I couldn't exercise at the same intensity. It's good to know that these other ways of being mindful and present have worked for you. I have found that working on my garden fence (if you've followed that project) has been anchoring in a similar way, even though it doesn't raise my heart rate!
Eventually you get to a point where you don’t want to raise your heart rate and you’re thrilled to be on the right side of the grass! I have been following the garden fence project. Can’t wait to see it when it is finished.
Alas, I cannot post photos in the comments, but I've been sharing my progress on FB. This is a good reminder to add an update next week!