Some short sketches from my online writing class this month.
Surprises;
Surprise! I look at this as a positive- happy surprise happily unexpected happenings. My friend is a bit of pessimist-- and to her- Surprises are usually bad news. Surprises are something to be worried over-- dreaded. I find it hard to put myself in her shoes. I am not sure why she is like this-- she has had some bad news in her life, we all have. But she's had some wonderful surprises too.
Disasters;
I live in japan where the real chance of a major earthquake is a real daily possibility. It informs how buildings are built, how your dishes are stored, how you react to even incidental shaking -- like when a heavy truck passes by. I come from a place where this is not a common thing, and even after years living in Japan I can't really adjust.
Weirdoes;
My friends and I are weirdoes. We are proudly strange. And we recognize and make space for others of our tribe. Weirdoes unite! Austin, Texas has a great city slogan. "Keep Austin Weird!" I love it. I think there are infinite lessons to be learned from infinite diversity.
Enemies;
Sometimes I am too direct. Too pushy. Too opinionated. It gets me in trouble. And it makes enemies where I least expect them. There is a woman on the board of my women's group with me-- she's taken my outspoken opinions as a reason for a pitched battle. It is exhausting. But I don't want to be one of those people who hides what I am thinking. Shouldn't I be able to tell her what I think without her taking it as a measure of her self worth?
Angels;
My better angels are the little lessons I can play in my head. Like downloadable video, given to me by my mom, grandmom, friends, and family. Little lessons I've learned from them or with them as we travel through life. Like a library of positive youtube videos that I can play whenever I want. (except with better resolution).
Dreams;
I have so many dreams- so many aspirations. I hope I can achieve even 10% of my dreams. It would be a life well lived. If I had a room of my own-- an office or play space-- I would make the walls all made of blackboards and I would write all of my dreams all over them in different colored chalk. Adding and filling in my whole environment with my dream ideas and projects. Creating a constant reminder of what really matters to me.
Hi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI love your writing! Your thinking style reminds me of Linda. Whether related or friends, I can see why you gravitate toward each other. We're very different, in a complementary way I hope. The comments you made in Surprises, Weirdoes, and Enemies were particularly interesting.
Your reaction to someone who doesn't like change, or the fellow board member who reacts to your strong opinions, all boils down to different personality types. I've studied this in school (human resources/psychology) and in research for my current profession as a professional organizer. It's really fascinating.
You and Linda seem to be idealists (it's only a title and has a good meaning) - original thinkers, adventurous, humanitarian, ethical, and embrace change, originality and surprise. You are probably more optimistic than pessimistic by nature.
I'm more like the other type (called guardians in some schools of thought). We default to this - factual, follow rules, traditional thinking, more analytical than original, dependable, and loyal. This type can, under pressure or stress, can be more pessimistic.
The women in Surprises may never have had a trauma. It's possible that she's more comfortable with the predictable. Her happiness might relate more to planning and anticipating something fun that the simple act of doing something fun. The Board lady probably wonders why you can't just follow the rules. She may be comfortable with control (not even intentionally). Recognizing someone's style sometimes helps in having successful relationships with them.
Viva la difference.
Sue, you can not know how much you cracked me up with your comment here. For a couple of reasons:
ReplyDelete1) It is just like you to analyze something like this and offer your help through explanation and anlysis. My first thought, in contrast to yours, when I read Lauren's writing was that I wanted to take those same words and write my reactions to those words. I guess that is the originality in your analysis of my character. And then your analysis of yourself is spot on (in my opinion).
2) And it is your accurate self-analysis that is the second reason I laughed. Do you remember when I worked at the County? My boss, Joe Freebery, had a wonderful sense of humor and he was always laughing. But I was the only person ever to make laugh hysterically, and it was completely unintentional. He was in my office one day, and for some reason we were talking about emotions or something. He said I wear my emotions on my sleeve, and I said he had it all wrong because I considered myself stoic and was not only able to hide my emotions, but also to control them. That simple comment set him off, and every time he saw for me days afterwards, he'd start laughing. After hiding my frustration and anger with him with a stiff smirk, I realized he was absolutely right, then realized that it is always someone else who points out some character trait of mine that at first I think is so wrong, but on further reflection, realize they are more right about my character/personality than I am. I hate that. And I think your analysis here of me (and Lauren) is generally true, although I think one can be idealistic AND factual, too.
Linda
But that's the way it is. We are never 100% this way or that. We can be factual or emotional but usually lean more in one direction. You might default to an emotional (or gut) reaction but are wise enough to analyze the fact before showing your feelings. We can adapt to any the situation if we're smart. When I first took a personality test in college 'judgemental' was one of the characteristics mentioned. My reaction was, "How dare they judge ME, Who are THEY to judge me." What it meant was I have my own sense of right and wrong and don't understand when it's not clear to others. Humm, like you said, hate when that happens.
ReplyDeleteI love trying to ID personality types because it helps to understand and reduce friction when others react in a very different way.
I might go into a restaurant and order from the menu because that's the way it's done. You might ask the waitress to make up something different because surely they have all the ingredients. After all the menu is just a guideline and life is an adventure.
Life wouldn't be fun if we were all the same.