August 20, 2008
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We had a speaker today. {He didn’t claim to be an expert, which I had to ask about later on.}
Anyhow, at first, I agreed with much of what he had to say. Then I started finding holes in some of it. And he just had too many catch phrases & metaphors; I’ve noticed how those don’t always work in every single situation. “Snipers can’t snipe if snipers can’t hide.” Well, they may still do it anyway because snipers are trying to kill someone, right? Do they really have morals and feel they can’t snipe unless they are hidden? Just asking.
And if you surround yourself with unhealthy people, you, too, may become unhealthy, but maybe not. I’ve worked in environments where the people were going nowhere with their lives; they were sexist and racist as well. I came out learning a lot about myself, after over a year of working there. I don’t really think I turned into them at all. Plus, who isn’t “unhealthy”? That’s like asking who’s “normal” out there? Everyone’s a bit dysfunctional, but I suppose the key is to surround yourself with those who will lift you up and find positives in the negatives of situations. You definitely can’t surround yourself with people who won’t lift you up, who won’t do their fair share of keeping the relationship alive and functional, who don’t make you feel good when you leave them.
I also noticed his assumption (and, typically, this is everyone’s assumption when talking to a group in the upper midwest) that everyone in the audience was religious/Christian (“let’s pray for that unhealthy person”) and married and/or had children (“Home is where you go when you are tired of being nice to people.”). I’m not part of those groups… so… yea…
There were other things I picked up, thought about during his four hour talk (with breaks, mind you), but I wrote them all up and I’m too pooped to find that notebook just this minute. I plan to workout and head to campus early tomorrow to work in my office before our next speaker, so perhaps tomorrow morning’s blog will be more insightful? Let’s hope and be positive about it.
p.s. I have a new rockin’ officemate, Anne! We may get a new laser printer to share too!
Comments (4)
Snipers can only work when they’re not being seen, whether by camouflage, distance, or a combination. They rely on stealth in order to kill a specific person at a specific time. A sniper who does not hide is basically, by definition, not a sniper.
@johnthehero -
Beat me to it
Your discomfort with generalizations is duly noted.
@johnthehero - I guess I’m looking past the actual meaning into the hypothetical-metaphor-meaning.
@trunthepaige - Thnx.
i hate listening to motivational group-talk. ugh. so many cliches and yes, so many holes. i always want to stand up and point out the obvious errors, but i don’t. i’m a good little conformist (with a rebel’s heart).