💎 Friday Gems (The Blind Men and and the Elephant, Creative Discontent, You're a Person, Not a Pickle)
A good question can disturb people's balance enough to test the validity or absurdity of their beliefs and perceptions.
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Hi everyone!
In this edition of Friday Gems:
🐘 The Blind Men and the Elephant
🤨 Creative Discontent
💜 You Are a Person, Not a Pickle
🎍 Gem of Wisdom: A Haiku by Basho, comics and poetry combined!
🎵 Gem of a tune: Montparnasse by Floating Points
Enjoy!
💎 The Blind Men and the Elephant
I’m sure you have heard of the story of the blind men and the elephant in some form. I was surprised to stumble upon the actual parable on a website about systems thinking. It makes sense, though. The story is about six blind men who each experience a different part of an elephant and claim wholeheartedly to be what they experience without considering what the others experienced.
We tend to fall into a similar trap of thinking our view is the right view and digging our heels in to justify, advocate for, and defend our “rightness” without realizing there are as many interpretations of an experience as people involved.
The lesson of this parable is to take a step back and examine a situation from different lenses and viewpoints to get a more complete picture because we are seldom the only ones involved in a situation.
Our perception is not reality.
By gathering data about a particular situation from different perspectives, we get a better sense of the whole and can make more robust decisions. - Systems Thinker
So, we must bring curiosity into our understanding, interactions, conversations, and collaborations, which will help us, in the end, make better decisions.
Here is the full parable:
It was six men of Indostan,
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.The First approach’d the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
“God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!”The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, —, “Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me ‘tis mighty clear,
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!”The Third approach’d the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” —quoth he— “the Elephant
Is very like a snake!”The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee:
“What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,” —quoth he,—
“’Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!”The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said— “E’en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!”The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
“I see,” —quoth he,— “the Elephant
Is very like a rope!”And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!MORAL,
So, oft in theologic wars
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean;
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
Source: The Systems Thinker
💎 Creative Discontent
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Our dissatisfaction is a powerful force for creating the change we need. Think about something that has been bothering you. It could be a product you use, a process you go through, or a larger system you are part of. You will most likely find something that just doesn’t function or work how you would like it to. Don’t just brush it off or complain about it.
Try sitting with the dissatisfaction and as Jessica recommends to explore it and become curious about it.
Take a moment to be dissatisfied. Sit with the awfulness of it.
What causes you creative discontent?
What do you complain about the most?
What is something awful that moves you to take action?
Instead of getting frustrated and complaining, what if you looked at the dissatisfaction as an opportunity to improve and provide a solution?
Flip your creative discontent to expansive solutions using your imagination.
Use your experience, skills, passion, and creativity to craft a solution that solves the problem.
Drive with your curiosity and determination to fix what’s broken for others.
Dive into the problem head-first and expand your perspective by seeing it through different lenses and other points of view to get a holistic picture.
We frame problems according to our experience, so if you want to think creatively and strategically, include people with diverse perspectives as you create solutions. Know your own frames, their assets, and their limitations. Bring new frames into your world.
Creative discontent can help us go from complaining to creating the change we want to see in the world, one discontent at a time.
As you go about your day, challenge yourself to notice your dissatisfaction with products, processes, and experiences and document it so you can start practicing creative discontent with a challenge that lights you up!
Source: Jessica Powers
💎 You Are a Person, Not a Pickle
Some milestones in our lives make us pause to consider the path we have taken and the lessons we have learned along the way. To honor turning 39,
shared her “observations, lessons, reminders, and other gifts of experience.”Here are a few lessons that stood out for me:
1. You are a person, not a pickle. Your identity does not hinge on preservation. Use the eye cream or don’t. Do whatever moves you.
The first lesson is a wonderful reminder that you are a human and change is part of our DNA, so why try to stay the same or get stuck in some story of how you should be? Live, learn, laugh, and love as you change each moment.
7. Negativity does not pay more in rent. So don’t give it more space in your brain.
Why focus on the negatives and spend precious calories complaining? Focus on what can be changed and the actions you can take to make it happen. Leave what’s out of your control.
17. Everyone is making it up as they go along. Even and especially the people who seem like they’re not.
This is a big one. We are all learning and trying things to see what works. No one has all the answers despite their claims. Their solutions may work for them in their situations but you know your situation the best and what will work or what won’t. Experiment with different approaches and see what works for you.
25. There are many kinds of value. Time, space, personal freedom. Monetary worth is just one of them. You choose what you give weight to.
The value put on things is unique for each person, so don’t let other people’s values dictate yours. You know what you want more of in your life and what brings you joy. Money isn’t always the most valuable thing; instead, having more time, more space, or more personal freedom could bring you joy and is valuable for you. Choose what works for you.
Which lesson do you resonate with the most?
Source:
💎 Gem of Wisdom: A Haiku by Basho
I love how Grant Snider has illustrated this haiku to present it visually so we can think about it deeply. 💜
Source:
💎 A Gem of a Tune: Montparnasse by Floating Points
This is a chill tune to help you get in the zone. It has a melodic rythm to get you in the groove slowly but surely making sure you are fully present and focused. ✌🏽
Feel free to send any recommendations for songs to include in the Low Fidelity playlist my way.
Enjoy!
That’s it for this week’s gems. Do you have a gem you would like to share? Press reply and share, or DM me.
I’m thankful that you read this far.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Love the reminder about creative discontent - that's a great way to reframe frustration! Thanks for sharing this Gems!